COL Christopher Morrell

COL Chris Morrell serves as the director of the Cyber Science Academic Program and as an associate professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the United States Military Academy (USMA).

COL Morrell was commissioned as a signal officer upon graduating from West Point in 2000. He has served as an information systems management officer and now as an academy professor. From 2018–2021, he was USMA’s first chief technology officer and director of IT operations.

His previous assignments include battalion signal officer, 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, Fort Richardson, Alaska; node center platoon leader, 21st Signal Company, 172nd Arctic Infantry Brigade (Separate), Fort Richardson, Alaska; signal detachment commander, 2nd Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne), Fort Lewis, Washington; battalion signal officer, 2nd Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne), Fort Lewis, Washington; and chief of enterprise engineering, 335th Signal Command (Theater), Camp Arifjan, Kuwait. While assigned to the 1st Special Forces Group, COL Morrell deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom–Afghanistan under the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force–Afghanistan.

COL Morrell is a graduate of the Command and General Staff College, the Combined Arms and Services Staff School, the Signal Captain’s Career Course, the Signal Basic Officer Leader Course, Jumpmaster School, and Airborne School.

He holds a Bachelor of Science in computer science from USMA (2000), a Master of Science in computer science from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (2008), and a Doctor of Philosophy in computer engineering from Virginia Tech (2016). His certifications include Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA), and Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP).

His academic interests include network security and optimization, network management, mobile device software development, and enterprise information technology.