LTC(P) William L. Koch Assistant Professor Space Science Program Director Physics and Nuclear Engineering william.koch [at] westpoint.edu About Education LTC Will Koch is an Academy Professor and the Program Director for Space Science in the Department of Physics and Nuclear Engineering. He graduated from the United States Military Academy in 2004 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Physics. He was commissioned in the Aviation Branch and served as a Platoon Leader in the 3rd Squadron, 17th Air Cavalry Regiment during the surge in Baghdad, Iraq. He later served as company commander in the 1st Squadron, 6th Air Cavalry Regiment during Operations Iraqi Freedom and New Dawn. Following his commands, LTC Koch earned his master’s degree in Physics from Massachusetts Institute Technology (MIT) in 2013. He taught in the Department of PaNE from 2013-2016. After his junior faculty time, he spent two years working in NASA’s Astronaut Office focusing on the SpaceX Commercial Crew Program. He was the prime stakeholder for many of the crew-vehicle interface requirements on the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft. LTC Koch then earned his PhD in Nuclear Science & Engineering from MIT before returning to USMA as an Academy Professor.LTC Koch is married to the former Miss Vanessa Kurtiak of Flint, Michigan. They have two incredible children and one poorly behaved cat.