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Laser Focus: ONR Global and the Competition for High-Intensity Lasers

ONR Global recently sponsored the travel of a Nobel Laureate to a conference about the development of high-intensity lasers in the U.S. and Europe.
June 03, 2019

ONR Global Gaining Insight into the Effects of Glacial Melting in Coastal Regions

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.
February 14, 2024

ONR Global Opens New Location in Melbourne, Australia

Scientific collaboration was front and center as Capt. James Borghardt, commanding officer of the Office of Naval Research Global, officially inaugurated a new location in Melbourne, Australia, on Nov. 6.
November 06, 2019

Office of Naval Research Global Launches $750K 'Global-X' Challenge

The Office of Naval Research (ONR) Global has launched Global-X, a nine-month international science challenge worth up to $750,000, to encourage groundbreaking research from all around the world.
April 22, 2020

Strengthening Scientific Diplomacy: ONR Global Celebrates 20 Years in Santiago, Chile

Chief of Naval Research Rear Adm. Lorin Selby, as well as other leaders from the Office of Naval Research (ONR) and ONR Global — the command’s international arm — recently traveled to Santiago, Chile, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of ONR Global’s office in that city.
December 19, 2022

Serendipitous Science: ONR Global Reverse Engineers the Search for New Technology

Seeking out new technology or exciting ideas at the Office of Naval Research (ONR) Global is something of a treasure hunt. Dr. Scott Walper, science director, ONR Global, says the search for innovative projects can take him and his team of program officers all over the world, relying on a bit of luck — or serendipity — to strike gold. But recently, Walper said he and his predecessor for Synthetic Biology at ONR Global, Dr. Patrick Rose, who is now with SPRIND (Germany’s Federal Agency for Disruptive Innovation) had an idea to try something a little different. Walper said, “The thought was we would put out a call for a ‘Serendipity Collective,’ where we would sponsor a workshop and ask people to tell us their craziest ideas”. To attract innovators, the team worked with the company IdeatePlus. Walper said Kevin D'Silva, IdeatePlus CEO, and his team were instrumental in helping develop and manage the event, setting up a web-based platform to crowdsource and push out a social media campaign. The website generated 73 concepts from more than 225 active participants. The information was collected and shared it with a team of experts, including an artist, engineer, scientist and someone from the humanities. The experts scored proposals based on originality and feasibility. Eight teams were then invited to the “Serendipity Collective” held in Berlin in May. From those core concepts, another panel of experts composed of representatives from ONR Global, DEVCOM, the VW (Volkswagen) Foundation and SPRIND picked the ones they wanted to sponsor with an award of $50,000 to kick-start their efforts.
October 31, 2023

ONR Global Leads Iceberg Tagging in Greenland for International Maritime Situational Awareness

A recent activity was executed with participants from Denmark, Canada and the United States using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to deploy GPS tags onto icebergs near Disko Bay, Greenland.
January 01, 2021

The 2025 GlobalX Innovation Challenge: AI Innovations for Maritime Security Launched

The U.S. Office of Naval Research Global (ONR Global), in partnership with the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) Singapore, is proud to announce the launch of the GlobalX Innovation Joint Challenge: AI for Advancing Maritime Security. This nine-month international science challenge offers significant research partnerships to encourage groundbreaking research from around the world.
May 19, 2025

Global-X Challenge awards over $1 million

The international science challenge launched by the Office of Naval Research Global selects four teams with revolutionary concepts.
January 01, 2020

How Science is Finding Ways to Navigate in GPS-Denied Environments

The Office of Naval Research (ONR) Global selected and co-funded with the U.S. Army Development Command the winning proposal of its second annual Global-X Challenge.
November 23, 2021