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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.

New scans are providing detailed three-dimensional replicas of a whale’s hearing anatomy using a breakthrough method developed by marine biologists sponsored by the Office of Naval Research and the Chief of Naval Operations Environmental Readiness Division (N45).

Midshipmen at the U.S. Naval Academy spend years sharpening their academic and leadership skills to prepare for duty. Now, the best and brightest of those midshipmen are advancing future naval research capabilities even before being commissioned and starting their first tour.

Distinguished by a rich history of trailblazing research and discovery, the Office of Naval Research (ONR) commemorates its 64th anniversary on Aug. 1.

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.

For his research on traumatic brain injuries, Alberto Garcia received the Chief of Naval Research Scholarship Award.

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.

ONR Global acts as a technology broker, bridging operational Sailor and Marines with the Naval Research Enterprise.

The Office of Naval Research is looking at birds’ perceptual and maneuvering abilities as inspiration for small unmanned aerial vehicle autonomy, trying to understand why birds make particular flight path choices and how they can do so quickly at higher speeds than would be safe for current engineered air systems in these environments.

Chief of Naval Research Rear Adm. Matthew Klunder announced Oct. 24 that the Office of Naval Research will bring together Navy, Marine Corps, industry and academia on a quarterly basis, starting in 2013.