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Four teams from the U.S. Naval Academy, Naval Postgraduate School and Navy Information Operations Command Texas pitched innovative solutions to naval challenges during an educational challenge at the Naval Agility Summit—held Sept. 21-25 in Alexandria, Virginia. The event—which people attended virtually and physically—was hosted by the NavalX Agility Cell (also known as NavalX) and supported by multiple partners, including the Office of Naval Research (ONR).

Famed explorer Dr. Robert Ballard recently visited ONR to celebrate his 53-year partnership with the command.

The NavalX Agility Cell, or NavalX, will hold its Agility Summit on Sept. 21-25 in Alexandria, Virginia. The event—hosted by NavalX and supported by multiple partners, including the Office of Naval Research—is designed to build partnerships in the Department of the Navy on matters of innovation, acquisition and transition; share best practices; and discuss problems facing the fleet.

Retired U.S. Navy Capt. Don Walsh, best known for his daring dive to the deepest spot on Earth, nearly 36,000 feet below the ocean’s surface, has died at age 92. Walsh was a co-pilot of the Trieste bathyscaphe, a deep submergence vehicle acquired by the Office of Naval Research (ONR) in 1958. Two years later, on January 23, 1960, Walsh and Swiss engineer Jacques Piccard, son of the inventor of the bathyscaphe, became the first humans to descend into the Challenger Deep, located in the Pacific Ocean’s Mariana Trench. “ONR sponsored the Trieste, but it was then-Lt. Don Walsh who made the very daring decision to make the first descent into the deepest spot of the earth’s ocean. Walsh was a Navy officer, a submariner, an adventurer, and an oceanographer. To his family, we extend our deepest condolences and gratitude for allowing him to explore, and share his extraordinary experiences and knowledge with us,” said Chief of Naval Research Rear Adm. Kurt Rothenhaus.

A research project from the Office of Naval Research (ONR) Global is providing valuable information about the effects of melting glaciers in Patagonia that feed into coastal fjords, transporting sediments, freshwater and nutrients. Dr. Chris Konek, science director at ONR Global in Chile, said the research will help the Department of the Navy (DoN) understand the effects of a changing climate on the coastal environment. “That’s the kind of the thing the Marines need to be able to handle,” he said. “It’s basic research and so it will help provide a fundamental understanding of this aspect of coastal systems where you can expect more things like this to happen in the future – more glacial melting as opposed to less.” Cristian Escauriaza, professor, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, is the principal investigator along with his university colleague, Megan Williams. They are working with the Filantropía Cortés-Solari, a conservation organization that owns and manages the Melimoyu Elemental Reserve in northern Patagonia. Patagonia is largely remote with a diverse ecosystem and a rich array of wildlife, including penguins and blue whales. Konek said ONR Global is interested in Escauriaza’s project for its potential to inform what’s happening to that ecosystem, which can also help inform what’s happening to other coastal regions experiencing the same challenges.

Today, the White House Office of Science, Technology, and Policy (OSTP) released the “National Strategy for Aquatic Environmental DNA.” The Environmental DNA (eDNA) Task Team had 10 federal agencies participating in drafting the strategy and included significant scoping and engagement of the private sector, academia and non-profit organizations.

Two Office of Naval Research (ONR)-supported professors — Dr. Terrence Sejnowski of the University of California, San Diego and Dr. Haim Sompolinsky of Harvard University and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem — recently won the 2024 Brain Prize for pioneering contributions to computational and theoretical neuroscience.

The Office of Naval Research Global TechSolutions program recently demonstrated the latest advancement in surf observation (SUROB) technology at the Technical Concept Experiment 24.2 held at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California.

The International Cooperative Engagement Program for Polar Research (ICE-PPR) International Workshop for Sea Ice and Icebergs was held recently at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. The workshop attendees focused on three areas: science and technology researchers who study data and create new algorithms or sensors; the centers that produce ice analysis products for mariners; and the operators themselves, personnel from the U.S. and Canadian Navies and Coast Guards who have operated ships in polar regions.

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