Addressing an audience largely composed of science and technology professionals working with the Department of Defense, Assistant Vice Chief of Naval Research Billy Short exhorted them to take inspiration from celebrated naval officer Rear Adm. William “Deak” Parsons.
During the 1930s and 1940s, while serving as a liaison officer between the Bureau of Ordnance and the Naval Research Laboratory, Parsons saw game-changing potential in two nascent technologies that would help win World War II — radar and proximity fuzes (which could explode shells in the proximity of targets). Despite facing bureaucratic criticism, skepticism and resistance, Parsons persevered in shepherding these innovations to the battlefield.
“Today, we live in an era of rapid technological innovation, where artificial intelligence, quantum computing and biotechnology will eventually change our world,” said Short. “Yet we still encounter the same resistance to change that Rear Adm. Parsons faced decades ago.
“Innovation requires not only creativity and technical skill but also the courage to pursue wild dreams. Let us be like Rear Adm. Parsons and challenge the status quo, navigate bureaucratic hurdles and champion new technologies.”
Short gave his remarks during Modern Day Marine, held April 30-May 2 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. Modern Day Marine is the largest military equipment, systems, services and technology exposition exclusively targeted to the Marine Corps.
The Office of Naval Research (ONR) hosted several booths at the expo, showcasing several technologies being developed to help Marines achieve mission success in an increasingly complex military landscape, including:
Marine Corps Surf Observation Tool for Littoral Expeditionary Operations — This tool ingests data from various unmanned systems and sensor feeds and displays them in a format that can be interpreted by users based on existing training and tactics, techniques and procedures.
Augmented Reconnaissance and Estimate of the Situation (ARES) — ARES is a tactical decision aid created to allow small-unit leaders and commanders to directly exploit geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) during planning processes. ARES evaluates raw GEOINT with analytical models for helicopter landing zone generation, tactical pathfinding and direct-fire battlespace optimization.
Autonomous Casualty Care and Evacuation — This system, which includes a “smart stretcher,” is capable of continuously monitoring an injured person and providing therapeutic treatment, while enabling warfighters to autonomously transport a casualty to a higher echelon of care.
Multiple ONR speakers gave presentations during Modern Day Marine, including Short, whose talk was titled “S&T Ecosystem: Growing Capabilities for the Future Marine Corps.”
Short discussed how ONR’s science and technology (S&T) investments are structured, as well as highlighted success stories such as gallium nitride, a powerful semiconductor material used in various electronic systems.
He also stressed how the partnerships and collaborations fostered by events like Modern Day Marine align with the new Naval S&T Strategy released in April by Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro.
The strategy serves as sailing directions for strengthening collaboration with industry, academia, and partners and allies, to cultivate groundbreaking scientific research and accelerate delivery of technological innovation to the Navy and Marine Corps. It also is a call to service for scientists, engineers, inventors and innovators to work with the Department of the Navy to solve naval problems. The strategy can be viewed at https://www.navy.mil/Resources/Strategic-Library/.
“At ONR, we never stop researching, inventing and improving the future of combat capability,” said Short. “We work with our warfighters — the true end customers of our designs — to accelerate our learning with fleet-informed concepts of operation as well as warfighter feedback.”
Jason Payne, head of ONR Global’s TechSolutions program, also spoke to attendees about solutions his team offers to the Navy and Marine Corps. TechSolutions is ONR Global’s rapid-response S&T program focused on producing near-term, low-cost prototype solutions to problems submitted by Sailors and Marines, typically within 12 months.
“We offer effective science and technology solutions that address near-term needs and challenges,” said Payne. “This could involve new technology or existing technology used in a new, innovative way. Ultimately, we give Sailors and Marines an avenue for sharing their ideas for better systems to make their jobs safer, easier and more effective.”
Warren Duffie Jr. is a contractor for ONR Corporate Strategic Communications.