Award Data

Objectives and Intellectual Merit: The infrastructure of modern civilization is a set of complex systems1 that dynamically interact across multiple layers of abstraction. Researchers from many disciplines2 are designing analytical tools for predicting the global and local behaviors of these complicated, multi-layer networks. Easily usable, available (open source) and inter-operated tools are neede ...

The Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) has been supporting research of energetic materials and incendiaries as payloads for weapons to defeat targets containing chemical and biological agents. Several universities and Navy labs have been involved in this research, and have narrowed down on a few material formulations that are efficient biocides. These formulations contain a chemical ingredient ...

The proliferation of nuclear and radiological weapons of mass destruction is a serious threat in the world today. The goal of this proposal is to develop a new, very low cost radiation detection technology that will be useful for detection and for surveillance of individuals who have been near radioactive materials. The technology can also be used for dosimetry, and will provide the technology for ...

With missions surrounding counterproliferation, nonproliferation and WMD reduction, the stakes for DTRA are incredibly high. Effectively conducting this work involves cooperation and coordination across a wide range of military and government organizations throughout the United States and the world. The decentralization of threats has led to an explosion in the sources and types of data needed to ...

A drop-in 3He-tube replacement technology for thermal neutron detection does not exist today. It is critical for homeland security and nuclear safeguards applications. In this program, Triton Systems proposes to develop a light-weight, large-area, high efficiency portable neutron detector for passive interrogation using an innovative gas detector structure. The resulting 3He-free thermal neutron d ...

Miniaturized base metal electrodes (BME) multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCC) are of great interest for future missile applications as designers are striving to achieve smaller, lighter, cheaper, faster and better electronic assemblies without sacrificing long-term performance. Unfortunately, screening, reliability and qualifications criteria are either not available or not standardized. In the ...

Luna proposes a novel technique for the accurate quantification of the remaining effective stabilizers (RES) in solid rocket propellants. This sensing concept does not require access into the solid rocket motor (SRM). Therefore this approach does not in any way compromise the integrity of the motor and it can retrofit legacy systems and can be part of the next generation of motor systems and wil ...

Nokomis ultra-sensitive radio frequency (RF) sensor, the Hiawatha System, can leverage changes in unintended emissions signatures to monitor the overall state of electronic device health. As a device ages, emissions signatures change in a predictable and deterministic manner, enabling reliable determination of device readiness. Under this effort, Nokomis proposes to leverage hand-held embedded h ...

Physical Sciences Inc. (PSI) proposes to design, develop, and demonstrate a portable, non-invasive, real-time sensor to assess the chemical and physical health of solid rocket motors (SRMs) as a function of age without affecting the motors integrity. In Phase I, a sensor to monitor specific gas species that are markers of the chemical and mechanical aging processes of composite and double base pr ...

Space Micro will develop the core of the decision support system, assemble the models and material properties and demonstrate the utility of the program in materials selection on a subset of failures related to a specific test-bed, which will be the attachment of quad-flat no-leads (QFN) and ball grid array (BGA) devices to printed wiring boards using different solders, underfills, QFN or BGA geom ...