Award Data

Waste generation at forward bases creates significant challenges; its disposal presents an economic cost with no direct benefit and its accumulation or burning is a health hazard. The bioconversion of waste into useful compounds could save thousands annually for every soldier and tens of millions in capital expenditure. However, widespread adoption is impeded by low conversion efficiency. We propo ...

Achieving strong and durable polymer adhesion to inorganic substrates under various environmental conditions is challenging. The required long-term durability tests are over long time- and length-scales, beyond the capability of current modeling, and extensive experimental testing is needed. Currently, no commercially available method exists for monitoring how a polymer/substrate system evolves du ...

Many environmental factors can potentially affect a communitys security. In this project, we propose to develop an open source system, called RiskWatch, for harvesting data from multiple sources and linking that data to security outcomes. Relevant data can potentially be found in a wide variety of sources, including structured, numeric data sets and images published by governments and NGOs, in na ...

LongWave Photonics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Virginia Diodes are proposing the use of the Terahertz Quantum-Cascade Lasers (QCL) combined with a Schottky diode detector for high dynamic range heterodyne imaging. Two single-mode, distributed feedback (DFB) QCLs with milliwatt power levels will be used as local oscillator and illumination for imaging. The QCLs will be downconverte ...

OKSI and Northwestern University propose to develop a super-resolution (SR) methodology for mid-wave infrared (MWIR) imagery that produces extreme enhancement of low resolution images. Image enhancement of at least 4x is expected using a standard imaging system. OKSI and Northwestern University will also develop a detector-limited imaging system specifically designed to be used with the SR methodo ...

Current scene projection hardware is challenged to simultaneously meet the requirements for high peak temperature (> 2000K), high resolution (> 1Kx1K), response time < 1 ms, cryogenic and temporally uniform photon flux. MEMS, Resistor arrays, liquid crystals, and photonic crystals all suffer in one or more areas. MEMS suffer from flicker and low dynamic range. Resistor arrays suffer from low frame ...

An experimental method is proposed to enable time-resolved measurements of both gas and particle velocities in explosions containing particles for munitions research. The approach involves novel processing methods for two-dimensional images that allow discrimination of the image content based on particle size. This allows an image containing a poly-dispersed distribution of particles to be decompo ...

Development of a new generation of high-energy-density capacitors for power conversion/conditioning systems will be beneficial to reduce the size, weight, and cost of resultant transmit and receive (T/R) modules in modern radar and electronic warfare transmitters. Among capacitor technologies available, multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) and polymer-ceramic composite dielectric based capacitors ...

Historically, the monitoring and detection of biological threats has been carried out via the deployment of high sensitivity / high complexity monitoring nodes to insure high probability of detection and low false alarm rate. Unfortunately, this detection strategy has inherent limits with respect to coverage and response due to its high deployment/support costs, mandating a new approach to environ ...

Vacuum Process Engineering, Inc. (VPE), in collaboration with the University of California, Davis (UC Davis), proposes to develop and quantitatively verify a large scale production process for scandate tungsten nanocomposite powder to be used in high current density and long life cathodes during the Phase II effort. The plan for implementation of the large scale production process at VPE with powd ...