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In the world of science and technology (S&T), getting a new product to warfighters in less than five years is nearly unheard of—unless you are talking about the TechSolutions program, which puts newly developed prototypes into warfighters’ hands in 12 months or less.

The Navy Metalworking Center (NMC) participated in the Defense Manufacturing Conference (DMC 2008) in Orlando, Florida, 1-4 December 2008. NMC team members talked with many of the 1,000+ attendees from government, industry and academia about the center’s capabilities and successes in implementing advanced metalworking technology for the U.S. Navy.

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.

Chief of Naval Research Rear Adm. Lorin C. Selby recently expanded on his remarks about reimagining naval power from November’s HacktheMachine Unmanned competition.

TechSolutions, part of the Office of Naval Research (ONR) Global, takes a problem identified by a Sailor or Marine and tries to come up with solutions through a rapid-response technology development program. Jason Payne, director of TechSolutions, said his office is eager to hear about anything needed that may be solved through technology. A good idea does not necessarily need to come from an engineer or scientist. Sailors and Marines who wish to make a submission may register for an account with their CAC-enabled computer at the link provided on the TechSolutions webpage: https://www.onr.navy.mil/techsolutions/. Accounts are validated within a few minutes and ready for input.

A new mobile app from the Office of Naval Research (ONR) is just a download away – expanding ONR’s reach to a wider and more diverse audience, and increasing awareness of its role within the Department of the Navy (DoN). The user-friendly “ONR” mobile app has been approved for downloads on DoN work phones, as well as the general public, giving access to ONR information to anyone who wants to learn more about naval science and technology. The “ONR” app is based on a similar mobile platform used for several years by the Department of the Air Force. It is free to anyone through Apple’s App Store and Google Play. Simply search for “Office of Naval Research” on your preferred platform. If downloading to a DoN work phone, tap the Flank Speed Comp Portal app on your GFE mobile device. Tap the Apps Menu, then scroll to categories. The “ONR” app is located in the reference category.

Representatives from the Office of Naval Research (ONR) recently spoke to students studying science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) about the benefits of ONR's Science and Engineering Apprenticeship Program during an outreach visit at Harrison High School in Atlanta, Georgia.

Assessing surf zone conditions has never been an exact science for the Department of the Navy. That’s about to change thanks to a recent request to TechSolutions, which has resulted in new surf observation (SUROB) technology to make operational forecasts more precise. For the past six months, a team of scientists and engineers from the Naval Research Lab (NRL) and the U.S. Army’s Engineering Research and Development Center (ERDC) have been developing the technological tools needed to create a more precise surf observation report. In order to gain greater insight into how the surf observation tool may improve warfighter operations, NavalX recently organized a workshop that brought together the science and engineering developers with the Sailors and Marines who would use it. TechSolutions received the request less than a year ago for a technology-driven solution for surf observation from Maj. Zachary Taylor, a technology officer with the Marines’ Warfighting Lab. Within weeks, TechSolutions began working with the development team at NRL and ERDC to come up with a prototype.

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.

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.