Shea Burcham

Shea Burcham, from San Antonio, Texas, is pursuing a master’s degree in management, science, and engineering. At the United States Air Force Academy, she earned a bachelor’s degree in systems engineering focusing on astronautical engineering and model-based systems engineering. By marrying her graduate degree with operational experience as a helicopter pilot in the United States Air Force, Shea aspires to bridge the gap between policymakers and engineers to positively impact national security efforts. While at the Air Force Academy, Shea conducted model-based systems engineering research to aid the Long-Range Stand-Off (LRSO) missile program office in verifying the nuclear arming sequence. For the same program, she developed a cyber-threat assessment tool that considers threats throughout a Field Programmable Gate Array’s (FPGA) life cycle and produces a risk matrix encompassing all assessed threats. Shea was awarded Mountain West honors while competing as a Division I swimmer.