2013-2014 Assessment of the Army Research Laboratory (2015)

2013-2014

ASSESSMENT OF THE ARMY RESEARCH LABORATORY

Army Research Laboratory Technical Assessment Board

Laboratory Assessments Board

Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences

NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL
                OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
Washington, D.C.
www.nap.edu

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NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the authoring board responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.

This study was supported by Contract No. W911QX-14-C-0039 between the National Academy of Sciences and the Army Research Laboratory. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the agency that provided support for the project.

International Standard Book Number-13: 978-0-309-36832-2
International Standard Book Number-10: 0-309-36832-4

Copies of this report are available from

Laboratory Assessments Board
Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences
National Research Council
500 Fifth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001

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Advisers to the Nation on Science, Engineering, and Medicine

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ARMY RESEARCH LABORATORY TECHNICAL ASSESSMENT BOARD

JENNIE S. HWANG, NAE,¹ H-Technologies Group, Chair²

R. BYRON PIPES, NAE, Purdue University, Chair³

KENNETH R. BOFF, Socio-Technical Sciences

EPHRAHIM GARCIA, Cornell University⁴

GEORGE (RUSTY) T. GRAY III, Los Alamos National Laboratory

PRABHAT HAJELA, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

WESLEY L. HARRIS, NAE, Massachusetts Institute of Technology⁵

Staff

LIZA HAMILTON, Administrative Coordinator⁶

EVA LABRE, Administrative Coordinator

JAMES P. McGEE, Director

ARUL MOZHI, Senior Program Officer

ANDREA L. SHELTON, Administrative Assistant

PANEL ON BALLISTICS SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING AT THE ARMY RESEARCH LABORATORY

GEORGE (RUSTY) T. GRAY III, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Chair

MELVIN R. BAER, Sandia National Laboratories

ELIZABETH A. HOLM, Carnegie Mellon University

MICHAEL JAFFE, New Jersey Institute of Technology

JERRY A. KRILL, Johns Hopkins University, Applied Physics Laboratory

WILLIAM S. MARRAS, NAE, Ohio State University

GARY L. MESSING, Pennsylvania State University

ALAN NEEDLEMAN, NAE, University of North Texas

FRANK J. SERNA, Charles Stark Draper Laboratory

JOSEPH E. SHEPHERD, California Institute of Technology

LESLIE E. SMITH, National Institute of Standards and Technology (retired)

WILLIAM E. SNOWDEN, System Planning Corporation

DONNA K. VARGAS, Independent Consultant

_______________

¹ NAE, National Academy of Engineering.

² Jennie S. Hwang, a member of the Army Research Laboratory Technical Assessment Board, was appointed chair on February 6, 2014.

³ R. Byron Pipes resigned as chair of the ARLTAB on February 5, 2014.

⁴ It is with deep sorrow that the Board notes that Ephrahim Garcia passed away on September 10, 2014.

⁵ Wesley L. Harris was appointed to the ARLTAB on September 15, 2014.

⁶ Liza Hamilton served as the administrative coordinator for the ARLTAB until February 22, 2014, when Eva Labre was appointed to that position.

PANEL ON HUMAN FACTORS SCIENCE AT THE ARMY RESEARCH LABORATORY

KENNETH R. BOFF, Socio-Technical Sciences, Chair

LINDA NG BOYLE, University of Washington

JEROME BUSEMEYER, Indiana University, Bloomington

W. PETER CHERRY, NAE, Independent Consultant

NANCY J. COOKE, Arizona State University

CAROLINA CRUZ-NEIRA, University of Louisiana, Lafayette

PAMELA H. DALTON, Monell Chemical Senses Center

BARBARA A. DOSHER, NAS,¹ University of California, Irvine

HOWARD E. EGETH, Johns Hopkins University

PAUL W. GLIMCHER, New York University

NICHOLAS G. HATSOPOULOS, University of Chicago

JOHN C. LACH, University of Virginia

MARGARET L. LOPER, Georgia Tech Research Institute

GEORGE E. LUKES, Institute for Defense Analyses

ROBERT A. LUTFI, University of Wisconsin-Madison

JEAN MacMILLAN, Aptima, Inc.

ANN C. McKEE, Boston University School of Medicine

J. ANTHONY MOVSHON, NAS, New York University

MATTHEW S. PETERSON, George Mason University

STEPHEN F. SANDS, Sands Research, Inc.

BARBARA G. SHINN-CUNNINGHAM, Boston University

BRIAN A. WANDELL, NAS, Stanford University

MARY C. WHITTON, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

KING-HAY YANG, Wayne State University

PANEL ON INFORMATION SCIENCE AT THE ARMY RESEARCH LABORATORY

PRABHAT HAJELA, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Chair

JEAN M. ANDINO, Arizona State University

DAVID W. AUCSMITH, Microsoft Corporation

ALFRED O. AWANI, New York Life

KATHLEEN M. CARLEY, Carnegie Mellon University

WILLIAM R. CHESWICK, Independent Consultant

MARK E. DEAN, NAE, IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center

KELVIN K. DROEGEMEIER, University of Oklahoma

VERLIN B. HINSZ, North Dakota State University

JAMES T. KAJIYA, NAE, Microsoft Corporation

GEORGE KARYPIS, University of Minnesota

JOHN M. LANICCI, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

DEBASIS MITRA, NAE, Columbia University

_______________

¹ NAS, National Academy of Sciences.

A. STEPHEN MORSE, NAE, Yale University

RANDOLPH L. MOSES, Ohio State University

LINDA A. NESS, Applied Communication Sciences’ Applied Research Laboratory

LYNNE E. PARKER, University of Tennessee, Knoxville

AROGYASWAMI J. PAULRAJ, NAE, Stanford University

RADIA J. PERLMAN, Intel Labs

H. VINCENT POOR, NAS/NAE, Princeton University

PADMA RAGHAVAN, Pennsylvania State University

ARMANDO A. RODRIGUEZ, Arizona State University

NELSON L. SEAMAN, Pennsylvania State University (retired)

JULIE A. SHAH, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

GURINDAR S. SOHI, NAE, University of Wisconsin-Madison

SALVATORE J. STOLFO, Columbia University

STEVEN J. WALLACH, NAE, Convey Computer Corporation

HOLLY A. YANCO, University of Massachusetts, Lowell

DUSAN S. ZRNIC, NAE, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

PANEL ON MATERIALS SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING AT THE ARMY RESEARCH LABORATORY

JENNIE S. HWANG, NAE, H-Technologies Group, Chair

RICHARD C. ALKIRE, NAE, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

MICHAEL BASKES, NAE, Los Alamos National Laboratory

ELI BROOKNER, Raytheon Company

STUART L. COOPER, NAE, Ohio State University

HORACIO D. ESPINOSA, Northwestern University

MICHAEL ETTENBERG, NAE, Dolce Technologies

ELSA M. GARMIRE, NAE, Dartmouth College

JAMES S. HARRIS, NAE, Stanford University

THOMAS L. KOCH, NAE, University of Arizona

CHRISTIAN MAILHIOT, Washington State University

CHRIS A. MARIANETTI, Columbia University

MARC A. MEYERS, University of California, San Diego

SORIN MITRAN, University of North Carolina

DUNCAN T. MOORE, NAE, University of Rochester

KRISHNA RAJAN, Iowa State University

MICHAEL G. SPENCER, Cornell University

ANIL V. VIRKAR, NAE, University of Utah

TUAN VO-DINH, Duke University

LARRY P. WALKER, Cornell University

PANEL ON MECHANICAL SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING AT THE ARMY RESEARCH LABORATORY

EPHRAHIM GARCIA, Cornell University, Chair²

WESLEY L. HARRIS, NAE, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Chair³

FU-KUO CHANG, Stanford University

ADITI CHATTOPADHYAY, Arizona State University

JAMES HAMILTON, Target Chip Ganassi Racing

JOHN KIM, NAE, University of California, Los Angeles

WILLIAM Q. MEEKER, JR., Iowa State University

PARVIZ MOIN, NAS/NAE, Stanford University

DAVID A. PETERS, Washington University

KENNETH M. ROSEN, NAE, Aero-Science Technology Associates, LLC

JAYANT S. SABNIS, Pratt & Whitney Division, United Technologies Corporation

WILLIAM A. SIRIGNANO, NAE, University of California, Irvine

EDWARD C. SMITH, Pennsylvania State University

_______________

² Ephrahim Garcia passed away on September 10, 2014.

³ Wesley L. Harris, a member of the Panel on Mechanical Science and Engineering at the Army Research Laboratory, was appointed chair on September 15, 2014.

Acknowledgment of Reviewers

This report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the National Research Council’s Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making its published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process. We wish to thank the following individuals for their review of this report:

Michael D. Byrne, Rice University,

Peter M. Kogge, University of Notre Dame,

Richard M. Murray, NAE, California Institute of Technology,

C. Kumar N. Patel, NAS/NAE, Pranalytica, Inc.,

Edgar A. Starke, Jr., NAE, University of Virginia, and

Dwight C. Streit, NAE, University of California, Los Angeles.

Although the reviewers listed above have provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations, nor did they see the final draft of the report before its release. The review of this report was overseen by Lyle H. Schwartz, NAE, Air Force Office of Scientific Research (retired). Appointed by the National Research Council, he was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the authoring board and the institution.

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Contents

SUMMARY

PART I: INTRODUCTION

1 INTRODUCTION

The Biennial Assessment Process

Preparation and Organization of This Report

Assessment Criteria

Approach Taken During Report Preparation

Report Content

PART II: CORE SCIENCE COMPETENCIES

2 MATERIALS SCIENCES

Introduction

Accomplishments and Advancements

Opportunities and Challenges

Overall Technical Quality of the Work

3 BALLISTICS SCIENCES

Introduction

Accomplishments and Advancements

Opportunities and Challenges

Overall Technical Quality of the Work

4 INFORMATION SCIENCES

Introduction

Accomplishments and Advancements

Opportunities and Challenges

Overall Technical Quality of the Work

5 HUMAN SCIENCES

Introduction

Accomplishments and Advancements

Opportunities and Challenges

Overall Technical Quality of the Work

6 MECHANICAL SCIENCES

Introduction

Accomplishments and Advancements

Opportunities and Challenges

Overall Technical Quality of the Work

PART III: CROSSCUTTING FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

7 CROSSCUTTING FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Key Findings and Recommendations

Open Campus Concept

Outstanding and Exceptional Areas

APPENDIXES

A Army Research Laboratory Organization Chart

B Biographical Sketches of Army Research Laboratory Technical Assessment Board Members and Staff

C Assessment Criteria

D Acronyms