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Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771

ENGINEERING COLLOQUIUM

photo of Patrick Weadon

Monday, September 28, 2015 / 3:30 PM, Building 3 Auditorium

Patrick Weadon

"The Enigma Machine"

ABSTRACT -- During World War II, the Germans used a supposedly unbreakable code. Messages were coded using a device called the Enigma Machine. The breaking of this code formed the backdrop to the 2014 historical thriller "The Imitation Game". This lecture will explain why the Enigma posed such a challenge. It will also describe how the Allied code breakers managed to decipher it.

SPEAKER -- Patrick Weadon assumed the role of curator for the National Security Agency’s National Cryptologic Museum in January of 2005. Prior to appointment as chief of the museum Mr. Weadon spent 20 years at the NSA where he served in such diverse positions as Special Agent, Intelligence Research Analyst, and Public Affairs Officer. He also served on active duty with the United States Navy in the days and months following September 11th, 2001. Before coming to the Agency, he interned during the Carter Administration at the President’s Council on Environmental Quality and worked on Capital Hill for Legislate Inc., a division of the Washington Post Company.

Mr. Weadon holds a B.A. in Politics from the Catholic University of America, an M.A. in Legal and Ethical studies from the University of Baltimore, and is currently pursuing his PhD in history at American University. He is an adjunct professor in the Department of History for Anne Arundel Community College and in 2003 he was inducted into the nationally recognized history honor society, Phi Alpha Theta.

During his tenure as curator, Mr. Weadon has been prominently featured in the New York Times, Baltimore Sun and a wide range of other diverse print and broadcast media outlets to include National Public Radio, the History and Discovery Channels, and the Tokyo Broadcast System. In addition, he is the two-time winner of the George Jelen Literature Achievement Award for excellence in matters dealing with OPSEC (Operations Security) and a monthly columnist for his community newspaper, the Severna Park Voice.

Mr. Weadon is a native of Washington, D.C and currently resides with his wife Catherine and four children in Severna Park, Maryland. He is an avid sports fan having played both ice hockey and lacrosse during his college years and serves as coach for both sports on the youth level for the Severna Park Green Hornets and Navy Youth Hockey program.


Engineering Colloquium home page: https://ecolloq.gsfc.nasa.gov