(in alphabetical order)
Clark Atlanta University - Nanoscience and Biotechnology Laboratories and Research Program
Funds are requested in the amount of $2,000,000 to support the enhancement of the nanoscience and biotechnology research effort at Clark Atlanta University in mission critical areas for the Department of Defense.
GA Tech - Technology Development for Quiet Tactical UAV
From 2000 the number of UAVs used by the Department of Defense has grown from less than 50 to over 6000 as of May 2008 with the majority of the UAVs entering into service in the theaters of Iraq and Afghanistan. While often providing actionable intelligence to commanders on the ground, and being “the most effective weapon against the Taliban” as quoted by a Taliban commander, their utility is often limited by the fact that these UAVs are easily detected by their radiated noise. UAV’s in this class have been optimized for endurance, cost, and payload with effectively no consideration of noise built into the design. The combined propeller and engine noise can be audible by an observer on the ground at a distance much further than the onboard sensors can detect humans on the ground. This problem is exacerbated for the Special Operations community who often operate at night where larger optical payloads are required (to capture longer wavelengths) and where the background noise is lower. This provides persons of interest on the ground some time to react before the UAV can provide imagery of the subjects which in turn reduces the utility of the UAV. There is a present and pressing need for tactical UAVs which can carry out ISR missions undetected in quiet environments. This project will develop technology which can be used to quiet both present tactical UAVs as well as be integrated into a new ultra quiet UAV. Trade studies have shown that it will be necessary to integrate many of the quieting technologies into a single platform in order to achieve the desired level of noise reduction.
GA Tech - Maritime ISR Technology Center (MISRTC)
The purpose of this initiative is to establish the Maritime Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Technology Center (MISRTC). This unique facility and integrated test range will focus on technologies for multi-medium sea-land-air systems, ocean engineering and design tools, littoral water surveillance, and advances in unmanned maritime systems. MISRTC will address the development and demonstration of advanced sensors, innovative maritime defensive systems, and new techniques for maritime measurement, modeling, prediction, and data exploitation. MISRTC will investigate unique approaches to in situ and remote collection, processing, and presentation of information from and about the maritime operational environment.
Maritime threats ranging from unmanned maritime systems to suicide divers/swimmers could be used in an asymmetric manner against maritime assets, defense critical maritime infrastructure (e.g., ports, pipelines, undersea cables), or otherwise be employed to disrupt maritime operations. As a result of these unconventional threats, Maritime ISR has emerged as a critical form of naval warfare confronting the United States, and technology advances are needed to counter potential threats before they escalate and impede our Nation’s maritime operations.
Morehouse College, John H. Hopps Defense Research Scholars Program
This John H. Hopps Defense Research Scholars Program is designed to advance core federal missions and Defense Department goals to increase the participation of minority students in emerging scientific and technology fields by identifying top tier high school students and placing them in a rigorous program in the Division of Science and Mathematics that includes one-on-one mentoring, a summer educational and research program, and challenging internships at top research institutions, with the goal of placing them in doctoral programs on a track to work in the national laboratories.
The Hopps program will continue to build upon collaborative partnerships developed with the national labs and defense contractors that provide meaningful research and educational opportunities for undergraduate minority students to increase the diversity of the STEM workforce. This is consistent with stated Federal missions aimed at increasing minority participation in the defense research sciences, as well as increasing the number of American born and educated research scientists with doctoral degrees in areas of expertise that are key to the defense industry.
Georgia State - Center for Vaccine Scale-Up/Process Research
The Center for Vaccine Scale-up and Process Research of Georgia State University requests funding to develop technologies to rapidly develop vaccines/biologics of interest to the military. Two areas have been identified as critical bottlenecks in accelerating the development process and for supplying sufficient quantities of effective recombinant vaccines in a timely manner: (1)Transition from the laboratory to manufacturing and (2)Rapid assessment and validation of the impact of changes during scale-up and implementation to the manufacturing processes. FY2011 funding would be used to develop a cGMP pilot vaccine facility, available to multiple discovery groups that will be used to develop “Turn Key” approaches to vaccine development through workforce training and research.