Edward Friesema (Computer Science) is one of seven winners of the HEROx CubeSat Challenge  put on by the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), which is charged with manning, training, and equipping the various Special Operations Component Commands of all the Armed Forces. The challenge sought global ideas on how to advance CubeSat capabilities. Friesema, a graduate student, was awarded $5,000 for TweetSat: Civilian communications in a crisis. He worked with computer science professor Evangelos Yfantis.