Search Results

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.

The Office of Naval Research (ONR) — and its international arm, ONR Global — participated in the recent Autonomous Warrior 2023 (AW23) exercise, located at HMAS Creswell in Jervis Bay, Australia.

Student engineering teams from Princeton, Washington College and the University of Alabama have won first place in their respective events at the “Promoting Electric Propulsion” (PEP) boat races, sponsored by the Office of Naval Research (ONR) and the American Society of Naval Engineers (ASNE). In just six years, this electric boat-building competition has grown from a single university to 34, with more than 200 students who took part in the five-mile races on Broad Bay in Virginia Beach. Dr. Steve Russell, program officer, Sea Warfare and Weapons department, said he launched the PEP competition with a colleague from ASNE, Dr. Leigh McCue, and Tim Cullis, Naval Sea Warfare Center Carderock, after seeing a public race by local hobbyists in the Chesapeake Bay.

The Office of Naval Research's multi-scale mechanics research area endeavors to develop multiscale and multiphysics mechanics theories that bridge the nano scale to the continuum scale to predict material and structural strength.

The Office of Naval Research's resilient structures research area endeavors to develop structural configurations, materials and technologies to enable self-sustainable, self-repairable and highly damage resistant structures.

The Office of Naval Research's Applied Physical Mathematics program focuses on new foundational theory and experimental approaches to areas concerning wave, energy, heat, and momentum dynamics.

Gathered in a temporary maritime operations center in Arlington, Virginia, military, industry and political leaders watched multiple satellite images flash onto large monitor screens. These images showed three types of drug-running vessels hundreds of miles away in the Atlantic Ocean — a small, fast, highly maneuverable boat capable of transferring illicit cargo between ships on the high seas; a support ship with a crane for loading and unloading contraband; and a tugboat serving as the recipient ship for smuggling cargo into the U.S. The scenario was part of a larger July 2023 experimentation event designed to emulate drug-smuggling activities in the maritime domain as well as efforts to deter the flow of such contraband. Called the SCOUT Main Experimentation Event, the two-week exercise involved partners such as the Office of Naval Research (ONR), Joint Inter-Agency Task Force-South (JIATF-S), U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), and numerous naval warfare centers and industry and academic partners. Chief of Naval Research Rear Adm. Kurt Rothenhaus, who was one of several ONR leaders at the maritime operations center, said, “I’m truly impressed by the innovation, teaming and analytic rigor you’ve all brought to this exercise. Your pioneering approach is leading the way for us to learn faster with new partners to tackle the hardest operational challenges.”

When in Rome, as the saying goes, do as the Romans do. So, when in Britain, the Office of Naval Research (ONR) Global does what the British do – take tea at least once a month with potential industry partners. Jeffrey Brewer, co-director, ONR Global London Tech Bridge (LTB), said the Tea and Tech engagement is more than just a fun event. Its aim is to find solutions to problems that have been identified by U.S. Navy and Marine personnel or by the Royal Navy. Most of the companies that are invited are based in the U.K., although other European-based companies as well as U.S. companies may be approached. “We meet with several innovative companies in a rapid-fire format,” said Brewer. “Companies have a limited time to make their pitches, and we have subject matter experts from both navies on hand to ask questions and provide feedback. It’s almost a “Shark Tank” format.”

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 TechSolutions sponsored project has been honored with an award from the National Training and Simulation Association (NTSA) for its TS-872 Breathing Dynamics Trainer, created in a collaboration with the Naval Aviation Training Systems and Ranges Program Office at Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR PMA-205) and the Naval Medical Research Center (NMRC). TechSolutions is a department within the Office of Naval Research (ONR) Global, which quickly responds to viable requests for new or improved technologies or systems from Sailors and Marines. In the case of the Breathing Dynamics Trainer, Jason Payne, director, TechSolutions, said there was already training for pilots to experience hypoxia (low oxygen) using the Mask on Breathing Device (MOBD). However, TechSolutions received a request to expand its capabilities so that pilots could experience the effects of other breathing issues in a safe training environment, such as hyperoxia (too much oxygen) and excessive inhalation/exhalation pressures.