Dennis Knoop, Chief of the Experimentation Division at North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and U.S. Northern Command, is a CU alumnus not one, not two, but three times over.
The three-time grad first joined the CU family at CU Denver in 1990, where he earned his bachelor’s in Civil Engineering during his Air Force tenure of 20 years. He earned a graduate degree several years later in Computer Science at UCCS in 2002, and returned once more in 2012 to pursue a Master’s in Public Administration (MPA), again at UCCS. Dennis’s wife, Edis, is a double-alumna herself, having earned her bachelor’s from UCCS in 1997 and master’s from CU Denver in 2021.
“UCCS definitely prepared me for the work that I’m doing,” said Dennis. “Going through the process of learning is a learning process itself, and the graduate program taught me many different processes and skills that enable me every day. I consider myself a lifelong learner and did the master’s a little later in my life, not directly out of college. Going back to get the advanced degree lets you really fine tune what you’re learning and focus on more specific curriculum and what you want to achieve. But you learn more about learning, too.”
Soon after earning his master’s, Dennis transitioned from the military to engineering contract work for a few years. After this, he joined NORAD as an Enterprise Architect and has been moving up their ranks for the last fifteen years.
“In about 2015, I switched over to the government side, and just recently took over J6X, which is the experimentation division within the cyberspace directorate,” Dennis said. “We primarily focus on data science-type projects and new technology, and how to implement them across the community. I was previously the division chief in another area, where I was in charge of operational support, which is responsible for cyber resource management, cyber human capital, theater security cooperation, and cyber security. The cybersecurity office is responsible for system approvals, and ensure compliance across all the different networks.”
“Before the Operational Support division, I was on a team called Pathfinder, which is what this Experimentation team used to be,” Dennis explained. “We worked out of Catalyst Campus downtown, which was a unique experience. So we did that for a few years, and that was kind of where this division started. We saw a need to implement new capabilities and look at new ways of doing business. That’s still part of our charter, along with constantly locating funding, because we need to project out pretty far. I lead a team of people that work with other people within our commands to look at how they can implement some new technology into their day-to-day work. The ever-changing environment and being able to try new things is a great part of the job.”
With Dennis’s extensive experience it’s hard to pinpoint just one of many accomplishments, but he is proud of his overall service to the Department of Defense (DoD) and being a longterm part of keeping his country secure.
“Making it through and retiring from the military is always a great thing, but the support to the DoD community as a whole is what I would consider some of my greatest accomplishments,” Dennis shared. “Supporting our government and our country, doing my part for the security of the United States.”
To balance out the weighty responsibility of working in national security, Dennis pursues several hobbies outside of work and especially enjoys going to concerts and being outdoors with Edis and their son, Ian.
“I belong to the American Legion Riders, which is a motorcycle group, and to the Pikes Peak Air Coolers group, for Volkswagen enthusiasts,” he said. “I have a 1970 VW bus, so working on that and interacting with that group is my most recent passion, and enjoy the Colorado life of hiking and biking.”
“But my biggest passion is music,” Dennis continued. “I love to listen to a variety of different bands. Red Rocks is my favorite venue, but small shows of live music is probably the thing that I really enjoy the most.”
After earning several degrees and working in varied environments for decades, Dennis has a good sense of what is important for young professionals to succeed when they enter the workforce.
“Don’t get hung up on only the content of the classes you take,” he urged. “The relationships you build with your peers and the opportunity to make connections are key skills as well, along with being able to relate to others and help a team succeed. Obviously the content is important, and we need people with hard skills, but well-rounded people are who we look for. Try taking the classes you might not normally take and hone your soft skills, because those are just as important. Being part of a team and being able to work with a team is crucial in our work.”