The Department of Defense (DoD) today announced plans to award $54.7 million to academic institutions to support the purchase of state-of-the-art research equipment.  The 190 awards to 100 academic institutions are being made under the Defense University Research Instrumentation Program (DURIP) that augments current university capabilities or develops new university capabilities to perform cutting-edge defense research.

“The Defense University Research Instrumentation Program is essential to the department’s investment in university research,” said Zachary J. Lemnios, assistant secretary of defense for research and engineering.  “Instrumentation is critically needed to accelerate research progress and ensure world-class research training for the next generation of scientists and engineers in defense-critical fields.”

The Defense University Research Instrumentation Program supports DoD’s investment of more than $2 billion each year in basic, applied, and advanced research at universities.  It meets a critical need by enabling university researchers to purchase scientific equipment costing $50,000 or more.  Researchers generally have difficulty purchasing instruments costing that much under research contracts and grants.  The awards announced today are expected to range from $50,000 to $1.9 million and average approximately $288,000.

These planned awards are the result of a merit competition for DURIP funding conducted by the Army Research Office, Office of Naval Research, and Air Force Office of Scientific Research.  Each office requested proposals from university investigators conducting science and engineering research of importance to DoD.  This includes research underpinning advances in surface chemistry and physics, computing and networks, electronics and electro optics, neuroscience, fluid dynamics and propulsion, robotics and autonomous systems, and ocean, environmental, and biological science and engineering.

In response to the requests, the research offices collectively received more than 700 proposals requesting $226 million in support for research equipment.  All awards are subject to the successful completion of negotiations between DoD research offices and the academic institutions.

Winners of the FY 2012 Competition Under the Defense University Research Instrumentation Program

AUV Related Research Winners

Appelgate, Bruce University of California - San Diego CA Shallow-Water Multibeam Swath Mapping System & Ocean Acoustics Instruments

Balazs, Anna University of Pittsburgh PA Computer Hardware to Study Materials Approaches to Marine Biofouling Prevention

Chotiros, Nicholas University of Texas - Austin TX Acoustic Equipment for Shallow Water Experiments

Chryssostomidis, Chryssostomos Massachusetts Institute of Technology MA Unmanned Underwater and Surface Vehicles

Deering, Timothy University Of Delaware DE Multibeam System for Bottom Topography Survey

Elgar, Stephen Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution MA Sensor Array to Measure Waves and Currents in Harsh Littoral Environments

Eriksen, Charles University of Washington WA Deepglider for Low-Cost High-Endurance Ocean Surveillance

Fisichella, David Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution MA Hull Mounted Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler Suite

Frazzoli, Emilio Massachusetts Institute of Technology MA Distributed Mobile Robotics for Field Assembly, Repair, and Maintenance

Klinck, Holger Oregon State University OR Long-term Acoustic Real-Time Sensor for Polar Areas

Kyriakides, Stelios University of Texas - Austin TX Equipment for Study of Material and Structural Failure for Underwater Structures

Lee, Craig University of Washington WA Ice-capable Long-Endurance Autonomous Seagliders for Arctic Research

Legleiter, Carl University of Wyoming WY Remote sensing and In-situ Instruments for Research on Riverine Environments

Lien, Ren-Chieh University of Washington WA Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler and Conductivity-Temperature-Depth Equipment

MacIver, Malcolm Northwestern University IL Autonomous Underwater Vehicle for Study of Active Electrosense for Navigation

Melville, W. Kendall University of California - San Diego CA Instrumented Unmanned Surface Vehicles for Air-Sea-Interaction Research

Neal, Gary Pennsylvania State University PA Enhanced Undersea Weapons Research

Sanford, Thomas University of Washington WA Autonomous Sensor Floating Platforms for Origins of Ocean Currents

Smits, Alexander Princeton University NJ Equipment to Study the Hydrodynamics of Bio-Inspired Propulsion Systems

Song, Aijun University Of Delaware DE Development of High Data Rate Acoustic Multiple-input/Multiple-output Modems

Terrill, Eric University of California - San Diego CA Autonomous Underwater Vehicle for Littoral Characterization

          

External link: http://www.defense.gov/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=15254