Search Results

A dynamic era in naval oceanography recently ended as the iconic Floating Instrument Platform — popularly known as FLIP — was officially retired from service. Built in 1962 with funding from the Office of Naval Research (ONR), FLIP helped generations of scientists and oceanographers better understand the mysteries of the sea, including internal waves, air-sea interaction and long-range sound propagation. Sadly, age and exorbitant life-extension costs resulted in the platform being disestablished. On Aug. 3, a solemn gathering of well-wishers watched as FLIP was towed, at sunset, to a dismantling and recycling facility. Last month, a formal good-bye ceremony was hosted by the Marine Physical Laboratory at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). Though retired, FLIP will live on at Scripps. One of its booms (crane-like arms for suspending instruments) will be installed on the Scripps research pier in La Jolla and used to deploy instruments. Also, artifacts from the platform will be displayed in a permanent exhibit at Scripps’ Birch Aquarium.

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.

The ONR 33 NEPTUNE Program is a two-year pilot program providing funding to five universities, the U.S. Naval Academy and the Naval Postgraduate School. Its goals are to help the Navy and Marine Corps discover ways to improve energy conservation, generate renewable energy and implement energy-efficient technologies—while giving active-duty military, military students and veterans the chance to immerse themselves in university-level research.

The Office of Naval Research's Navy Undersea Research Program (NURP), in collaboration with the National Science Foundation, sponsors science and engineering graduate students pursuing thesis topics in core undersea weaponry technology areas.

The Office of Naval Research Undersea Weapons Program develops technologies for current and next-generation, offensive and defensive weapons capable of engaging submarines, surface ships and threat torpedoes.

The Office of Naval Research (ONR) Human and Bioengineered Systems Division's mission is to direct, plan, foster and encourage science and technology in cognitive science, computational neuroscience, bio-mimetic technology, biophysics, social/organizational science, training, science of learning, human factors, and decision making as related to Naval needs.

The Warfighter Protection and Applications Division's mission is to direct, plan, foster and encourage science and technology programs directed at maintaining and enhancing the survival, health, and performance of Navy and Marine Corps personnel.

The Office of Naval Research (ONR) Privacy Office is responsible for processing Freedom of Information Act, or FOIA, requests.