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The Office of Naval Research's Corrosion Science and Corrosion Control Technologies program has a primary focus to create a science-based understanding of corrosion through damage evolution mechanisms, develop corrosion-informed materials concepts, and evolve surface protection and modification sciences.

The Department of the Navy’s (DoN) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program is seeking the talents of small business partners who can help provide advanced solutions as quickly as possible to the mission-critical challenges faced by Sailors and Marines. SBIR – located at the Office of Naval Research (ONR) – issued a $50 million Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for “Open” topics in areas where the DoN wants to adapt commercial products and solutions to close capability gaps, improve performance or provide technological advancements in existing capabilities. The ultimate goal is to accelerate the delivery of a prototype that has been tested and is ready for transition to the forces and fleets. The BAA, titled 23.4, is open to proposal submission from July 13 to Aug.15. Topics include mission critical needs in the areas of Operations and Logistics in a Contested Environment and Holistic Common Operational Picture (COP).

The Office of Naval Research (ONR) sponsored a project at Virginia Tech University nearly 20 years ago that is now growing in influence across the world for measuring aerospace and aeronautical acoustics. Since noise reverberates against solid surfaces, such as the walls of a wind tunnel where acoustical testing takes place, collecting accurate sound data had been nearly impossible at the time. Researchers were also struggling to discern the sound of the wind tunnel’s air flow from the noise of the object traveling through it. After learning about some experiments on Kevlar as a wind screen, William Devenport, an engineering professor and director of Virginia Tech’s Stability Wind Tunnel, said he and a colleague wrote a proposal to then-ONR program officer Ron Joslin to try adding Kevlar to their wind tunnel walls. Devenport submitted the original grant proposal (N00014–04–1–04933) through the FY 2004 Defense University Research Instrumentation Program (DURIP) for alterations to Virginia Tech’s existing Stability Wind Tunnel that would allow it to measure flow-induced noise of relevance to Navy applications.

For excellence in research areas such as robotics and machine learning, the Department of the Navy’s (DoN) Historically Black Colleges and Universities/Minority Institutions (HBCU/MI) Program recently presented $15,000 scholarship awards to five students competing in the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) in Dallas, Texas. Anthony C. Smith Sr., director of the DoN HBCU/MI Program, which is located at ONR, presented the CNR Scholarship Awards, which honors students in grades nine through 12 for producing and presenting quality science and engineering projects. The honors were distributed at ISEF — one of the world’s largest science and engineering competitions for high schoolers — as part of the Naval Science Awards Program (NSAP), a Navy and Marine Corps program encouraging American students to develop and retain an interest in science and engineering. NSAP celebrates the accomplishments of eligible students at regional and state science and engineering fairs, as well as large ones such as ISEF.

A U.S. Marine and Coast Guardsman each recently received a Chief of Naval Research (CNR) Award for Excellence in Intelligent Autonomous Systems from the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS).

As the lead of curriculum for the Naval Aviation Maintenance Center for Excellence Training (NAMCE-T) unit at Naval Base Ventura County (NBVC), Point Mugu, California, Master Chief Avionics Technician Andrew Karsten wanted to give his students more than just PowerPoint instruction. He wanted them to get a feel for the parts of the plane they were going to be tasked with repairing – the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye. However, obtaining parts for that hands-on experience was going to be a challenge. Karsten reached out to TechSolutions and asked, if there was a way to potentially obtain a 3D printer or connect him to somebody who could provide 3D printing services. TechSolutions is the Department of the Navy’s (DoN) rapid response program that addresses warfighter needs by quickly developing science and technology-driven solutions. Although the request was out of scope for the program, which does not facilitate getting commercially available products, TechSolutions took immediate action to help. Dr. Scott Steward, then-deputy director of TechSolutions, connected with colleagues in their network to find someone who may be able to support the warfighter’s request. Sailors and Marines interested in learning more about TechSolutions may email the team at ONR_TechSolutions@navy.mil.

Extraordinarily rugged with a melting temperature of several thousand degrees Fahrenheit. That describes the results of research into new ceramic materials sponsored by the Office of Naval Research (ONR) and recently published in the Journal Nature. A research team, led by ONR’s Principal Investigator, Dr. Stefano Curtarolo, Duke University, developed a computational method for creating new types of ceramics using transition metals – carbonitrides or borides – through a process called Disordered Enthalpy-Entropy Descriptor (DEED). The applications are endless, said Dr. Eric Wuchina, a research materials engineer who was the program officer with ONR’s Sea Warfare and Weapons department when Curtarolo’s research team was awarded the Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI). According to Wuchina, the variety of new compositions could create potentially millions of new materials.

TechSolutions has just celebrated its 1000th request for a technology-driven solution identified by the men and women who need it most – Sailors and Marines on the frontlines of the mission. “Necessity is the mother of invention, which is why it’s so important to deliver what our warfighters need when they need it – not five to ten years later, but as soon as possible,” said Capt. Andy Berner, commanding officer of the Office of Naval Research (ONR) Global, which oversees TechSolutions. “When a viable request comes in, TechSolutions works to put that technology into the hands of our Sailors and Marines within months while other procurement requests are still working their way through red tape.” TechSolutions received its 1000th request on Jan. 19. Jason Payne, director of TechSolutions, said they are looking forward to celebrating the next milestone, number 1500, which he hopes comes in sooner than the first 500 requests since warfighters can now contact TechSolutions directly by phone, email, Teams, or through the ONR mobile app.

The Office of Naval Research's Chemical Physics program seeks to deepen the understanding of the interactions between Naval systems and the chemicals that surround them.

Chief of Naval Research Rear Adm. Kurt Rothenhaus will moderate a panel of industry leaders at the Navy League’s Sea-Air-Space Exposition, April 8-10, at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland.