The NRL now is working on high-tech projects like battery technology and railguns. “Power generation, especially with batteries, is one of the most fascinating technologies we’re working with right now,” Stewart says. “The roots of solar power were developed here, and right now, we’re working on the next generation of solar arrays for spacecraft. We have a satellite called WindSat ... and [we] just launched TacSat4 in September.” As its name would suggest, WindSat is supplying the Navy with ocean surface and wind vector measurements, while the TacSat family is military communication satellites.
The NRL recently built a Laboratory for Autonomous Systems Research at its campus in Washington, D.C. “The NRL built the first autonomous aircraft in 1926,” says Stewart, “and we were operating ships autonomously back in the 1920s. So we’ve been involved in that research for a long time. [Since the laboratory opened] in the spring of 2012, [we’ve been] investigating artificial intelligence, power, and energy and how systems can operate independently and together.”
The NRL’s work with railguns, which fire projectiles using electro-magnetic force, is a favorite topic, Stewart says. The lab fired its thousandth railgun shot in fall 2011, but Stewart notes there is much more basic research to be done before it can be deployed. “There’s more to understand in the areas of materials and energy,” he says, “and how to refine those so that you can get rapid, continuous fire. Still, there’s nothing like shooting a gun that goes from zero to Mach 7 in 6 meters.”
Important Improvements
The two noncombatant uniformed services, the NOAA Corps and the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, have research arms as well. The Public Health Service’s Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and its officers are dedicated to carrying out the Corps’ mission to protect, promote, and advance the health and safety of our nation. The NOAA Corps, the smallest of America’s uniformed services, supplies officers for positions of leadership and command aboard airborne and seagoing research craft. NOAA’s Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR) works to provide a better understanding of atmospheric processes, early warning of impending natural disasters, and better weather forecasts.
AHRQ research centers specialize in quality improvement and patient safety, clinical practice and technology assessment, health care organization and delivery systems, and improving outcomes and effectiveness of care. Recognizing it can take decades to bring research applications to the public, AHRQ has embarked on a five-year program called Accelerating Change and Transformation in Organizations and Networks (ACTION) designed to accelerate that process.
OAR researchers have consistently improved hurricane track and intensity forecasts, and the agency’s NEXRAD (next-generation weather radar) and Advanced Weather Interactive Processing systems have been credited with reducing tornado-related injuries by 40 percent and fatalities by 45 percent. Twenty years ago, the average tornado warning time was three minutes. Thanks to OAR research, that time has been extended to 15 minutes, greatly improving survival rates.
64 MILITARY OFFICER DECEMBER 2012
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