Bret P. Van Poppel was promoted to the rank of colonel in the U.S. Army on May 30 at West Point, New York.

Van Poppel serves as director of the Mechanical Engineering Division and an Academy Professor (Associate Professor) within the Department of Civil and Mechanical Engineering at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

He graduated from USMA in 1992, and he holds a Ph.D. from the University of Colorado at Boulder in Mechanical Engineering.

Van Poppel, his wife, Chris, son Will and daughter Charlee live at West Point. He is a 1988 graduate of Hays High School.