8
Crosscutting Conclusions and Recommendations and
Exceptional Accomplishments
ARL’s mission—to discover, innovate, and transition science and technology to ensure dominant strategic land power—demands an institutional culture that values and rewards foresight and farsighted vision while meeting the Army’s current scientific and technological needs.
As technology marches on at an unprecedented pace, the relentless pursuit of innovation by means of an integrated multidisciplinary system approach is becoming increasingly important. Through an interconnected, holistic perspective and integrated systems approach, project synergies and spillover benefits can be optimally harvested. A concerted effort to understand future needs and to craft the research portfolio relevant to the Army of the future is the ultimate challenge as well as an opportunity for ARL.
The competitive institutional stature of the ARL vis-à-vis other research organizations in the United States and abroad hinges on crafting and executing a robust and focused research portfolio. The success of ARL researchers, in turn, is directly linked with their continued professional development in the workplace. Nurturing the research staff, tenured and early-career, requires a continuing effort.
In this uncertain funding environment and the fast-moving global technological landscape, productivity is another essential element of institutional success. The ability to shorten the research cycle from science to technology to useful product is essential to the institution’s competitiveness and sustainability.
Additional opportunities will be presented by having the ability to effectively utilize technologies, commercial or otherwise, that are deemed critical to the well-being of the soldiers, eschewing the not-invented-here syndrome. A systematic, structured effort to leverage innovations from outside sources, by either complementary in-house projects or by collaborating with well-selected research partners, will enhance the overall productivity.
During the 2015 reviews, collaboration efforts were well demonstrated across ARL Science and Technology (S&T) campaigns and externally. Most of the projects were engaged in upward collaborative efforts to various degrees; this is commendable. The success of ARL’s leadership in recruiting energetic, early-career talent was evident. However, a heightened excellence can be achieved by working toward a higher level of portfolio focus, project synergy, and overall productivity.
In the act of constant innovation, ARL can continue building toward a best-in-class, forward-looking culture. To this end, researchers need to be relentlessly asking the questions, What is the impact? How can we make an impact? What comes next?
ARL’s open campus initiative is poised to facilitate cultivation of a constantly innovative environment. The initiative also serves as a conduit for garnering the benefits of open innovation in search of the delicate balance between importing and exporting knowledge to sustain a competitive edge.
This chapter highlights crosscutting conclusions and recommendations. At the end of this chapter exceptional accomplishments are identified that correspond to each of the ARL S&T campaigns areas reviewed in 2015.
RESEARCH PORTFOLIO, NICHE AREAS, AND STAFF DEVELOPMENT
During the 2015 assessments, which are summarized in this interim report, the ARL campaign areas did not uniformly present adequate information to permit confident understanding of the overall portfolio of ARL research or the rationale for sampling of the projects selected for review, nor did they clearly present a rationale for a limited set of niche areas selected and pursued to drive a robust research portfolio that addresses the significant relevant scientific and technical challenges. The metrics for evaluating the success of projects within the context of ARL’s strategic plans, the technical strategies for starting and terminating projects, and the approach to mentoring the research staff were also not clearly described. (This information will be needed when ARLTAB prepares its final report summarizing the 2015-2016 assessment.)
Judged by the limited sample of projects reviewed, the research portfolios in the various campaign thrusts at the ARL comprise projects that reflect a broad scope of activities in the given areas of research. While there may be value in each project at an individual level, significant impact can only be realized through better integration and the development of a coherent and unifying thrust for the research program. Without such a focus, and against the backdrop of constraints on materiel resources and a limited workforce, it is impractical to expect ARL to establish leadership in any chosen area of research endeavor. It is, therefore, important to identify niche areas where ARL aspires to assert research prominence and distinction, and to focus effort and resources in a manner that achieves the desired impact. ARL research would benefit by focusing on critical needs that are addressed at greater depth.
Such a rationale would include identification of how ARL expects to lead in a limited set of areas while watching and leveraging in others; how the chosen research focuses would enable ARL to be perceived by customers, peers, competitors, potential recruits, and its own scientists and engineers as an unparalleled provider of value in each of the niches in which it executes its program. Defining the rationale for leadership in a research niche could include such considerations as anticipated Army needs for such technological superiority and the feasibility of accomplishing them, cutting-edge facilities, ability to be agile and proactive in response to domain dynamics, acknowledged competency by peers and competitors, likelihood of effective transfer and transition; and capability for effective leverage and collaboration.
ARL has to strike a balance between farsighted high-risk, high-reward research and the programs necessary to meet more immediate Army needs. ARL’s open campus initiative provides an opportunity to explore strategies to promote and nourish a farsighted scientific culture balanced against the more pragmatic Army needs. Regardless of the strategy employed in this exploration, key questions need to be addressed. Principal among these is the development of productivity metrics different from those used to assess short-term productivity such as number of citations. From these metrics ARL will be able to develop appropriate expectations for research productivity. As a means to this end, ARL management might take a historical look at discoveries and technologies that produced impacts 25 years later and in retrospect determine how these developments might have been identified and evaluated.
An effective research portfolio will evince not only selection of projects for inclusion, but also appropriate termination of projects. Sustained progress in the S&T campaigns requires ongoing assessment and prioritization of ARL’s strategy goals tied to the specific objectives and evolving needs to support the campaigns. A strategic approach to phasing out projects will assure that ARL remains focused on campaign needs and that technical programs and projects remain focused on meeting both near-term mission needs and long-term investment goals. An effective strategic approach also facilitates reallocation of personnel and other resources personnel in support of new topics and objectives.
Exit criteria might include such considerations as (1) technical feasibility has been proven or determined unlikely, (2) work has been adequately addressed by others, (3) the Army requirement has been met, (4) higher strategic priorities demand reallocation of resources, (5) lack of technical progress, (6) shift in scientific and technical paradigm, and (7) determination that the expected benefit to the Army no longer exists.
The recruitment and development of competent scientific and technical staff are essential to the successful performance of the research portfolio. Recognition of success and recognition for success go hand in hand. Associated with metrics for program and project success is a formalized reward system for staff. The reward system may include such components as monetary and nonmonetary awards, internal recognition, external peer review, research freedom, and laboratory-wide recognition of stature (for example, fellowships).
Beyond rewards, staff development includes enhancement of the individual’s professional knowledge, skills, abilities, and career growth. The increasing influx of new research personnel into ARL provides an opportunity to continue the advancement of high-quality research. A significant portion of these new hires is being educated and trained at leading U.S. universities in areas of interest and importance to the mission of the Army. The research culture at several of these universities is different from that at ARL. Recognizing this cultural difference and taking action to accelerate the careers of new research hires within the ARL culture require a formal mentoring process that is effective and efficient in transforming successful researchers from one culture (academia) to a different culture (ARL).
Mentoring is more than obtaining a favorable return on investment. Effective mentoring impacts the whole person, reflecting the mentee’s strengths and needs, both internal and external to ARL. The impacted mentee is then able to provide ARL with more than high-quality research—namely, an enriched culture that becomes self-sustaining and more productive.
Recommendation 1. For each campaign ARL should provide to the review panels during the 2016 review a description of its research portfolio that describes each program and project in the portfolio. This description should include information on the project conception and initiation, project planning and scope, project performance and control, and project life cycle and should identify the percentage of each researcher’s time allocated to the project, facilities and equipment required to support the work, and the inception date and anticipated completion milestone or termination date of the project. By referring to the portfolio description, ARL should provide to the review panels for each campaign answers to the following questions:
- What sampling strategy has ARL applied to the selections of projects to present for review? In what ways do the selected projects provide a representative sample of the portfolio?
- What projects represent the limited niche areas in which ARL proposes to work, in which of these areas does ARL propose to lead, and what is the rationale for its niche and leadership choices?
- What metrics has ARL identified to define the success of a project, and which exit criteria has ARL identified to help decide when to terminate a project?
- What rewards has ARL established to promote accomplishments by staff?
- What is ARL’s approach to recruitment and development of its staff, including the approach to mentoring?
INTEGRATION OF RESEARCH AND SYSTEMS ENGINEERING
During the 2015 reviews, which are summarized in this interim report, the ARL campaign areas did not uniformly present adequate information to permit confident understanding of how projects are integrated within and across campaigns and of the systems engineering whereby projects are conceptualized and planned from initial planning (considering the relevant theory base and the work of others) through application of results (considering potential for transition to development).
The distribution of projects reviewed showed a common mission goal but unique research and development challenges that reside within different campaign thrusts. This speaks to the increasingly multidisciplinary nature of contemporary research challenges. While it may be possible to develop a
solution in isolation that meets the functional needs of a campaign thrust, such a solution may be suboptimal at best; in the worst case, such a solution may seriously compromise the ability to meet the functional requirements defined in another campaign thrust. Adopting a systematic and formal approach for collaborating in a multidisciplinary research and development environment can circumvent some of these issues.
The problems faced by the Army of the future are extremely complex and will require options for solutions that are complex and multidisciplinary in conception. Success by the campaigns depends on effective leveraging of ARL’s disciplinary competencies. Despite best intentions, however, interdisciplinary collaborations often flounder within research laboratories in the face of inadequate vision, skills, incentives, resources, or action plans. Deliberate inclusion of interdisciplinary interactions in the early stages of problem formulation can yield unexpected results and may result in solutions that have a greater impact.
To optimize the progress of their research, to set a path forward for each project, and to perform tests, analyses, and experiments that produce meaningful results, researchers need to consistently analyze data and contemplate the theories that are behind the observed physical phenomena, test data, and modeling systems. A key consideration in data collection and analysis is face validity—the extent to which a test, experiment, model, or analysis measures and examines what it is purported to measure and examine. A salient example of inadequate face validity is the selection of nonmilitary human subjects for study in human science experiments purported to yield results and conclusions generalizable to the military population. It is suggested that ARL survey communities in academia, industry, and other government agencies establish strategic baselines for investments in interdisciplinary areas.
ARL might consider treating its evolving interdisciplinary research and development as a challenge problem in organizational change and might consider assigning proactive responsibility to individuals with the expertise and mandate to develop and facilitate an ARL-centric approach that leverages ARL disciplinary strengths for each campaign area.
Recommendation 2. For each campaign ARL should provide to the review panels during the 2016 review answers to the following questions:
- How does each specific project presented fit within the overall framework of ARL’s research portfolio, and how are projects and programs integrated within and across campaigns so that their work is performed in cognizance of related work and their findings feed into one another and into common goals?
- How are systems engineering principles and processes applied across the life cycle of projects?
- How is face validity addressed across the design of experiments, modeling, tests, and analyses?
- What approaches are planned to secure military-relevant subjects for human sciences tests, experiments, and field studies?
FACILITIES AND EQUIPMENT
In addition to human capital, facilities and equipment constitute a critical pillar of the ARL infrastructure. ARL possesses an extensive suite of state-of-the-art facilities supporting all of its campaigns. These facilities support high-quality work at ARL; they also represent a key attractant for recruitment and for candidates to participate in ARL’s open campus initiative. While some of the facilities are new, others are aging and warrant ongoing analysis of needs for maintenance. Some of the facilities are seriously underutilized.
ARL’s vision of Army needs and of ARL’s goals through 2035 requires facilities and capital equipment upgrades and acquisition investments tied to technical campaign goals, for both computational
and experimental needs. The vision would take into account the long timeline for acquisition, upgrades and refurbishment, construction, decommissioning, and dismantlement.
During the 2015 reviews that are summarized in this interim report, the ARL campaign areas did not present adequate information to permit confident understanding of ARL’s plans for maintaining, expanding, or contracting current facilities; determining the need for new facilities; staffing the facilities; and securing funding to support these plans.
Recommendation 3. ARL should work to complete formulation of 5-, 10-, 15-, and 20-year strategic plans linked to the technical goals for staffing, facilities, and capital equipment, and should present the plans to the panels during the 2016 reviews. The plan should include a 2-3 year short-term tactical plan for access to necessary computing resources.
ARL RESPONSES TO RECOMMENDATIONS
The ARLTAB’s recommendations are proffered with the understanding that the Board is not an oversight body and with the confidence that ARL will consider the value of the recommendations and the feasibility of pursuing their implementation. However, it is always helpful during the assessment to learn the ways in which ARL has addressed the recommendations of the previous review.
Recommendation 4. ARL should present to the panels during the 2016 reviews responses to the recommendations contained in this interim report.
EXCEPTIONAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS
The following are the exceptional accomplishments for each campaign area.
Materials Research
The biological and bioinspired materials group has an excellent track record that includes the stabilization of proteins against thermal and chemical extremes using new chemistries and methods to derive antibody-like reagents that improve upon antibody properties (specifically bimolecular recognition and binding characteristics).
The research on structural batteries using additive manufacturing combines novel fabrication methods with insight selection of compatible multifunctional elements that combine structural components with energy storage components. Experimental work is carried out concurrent with modeling studies that guide system design choices. The external collaborations are facilitated by a flexible methodology that provides easy incorporation of next-generation subcomponent materials as they are developed.
ARL has an opportunity to move aggressively to capitalize on internal and external advances in the energy and power arena. For example, the world-leading results on enhancement in quantum-well infrared photodetector (QWIP) efficiencies could be translated into capability demonstrators for manufacturers and customers.
In the area of engineered photonics materials, facilities and capabilities are being leveraged into compelling device- and application-driven work, especially in the ultraviolet (UV) materials, infrared (IR) devices, and the device physics in each of these areas.
Sciences for Lethality and Protection
The most impressive accomplishments of the battlefield injury mechanisms program are that it has been implemented, a strong cadre of scientists is working on it, and a credible program is under way. Almost all the battlefield injury mechanisms research topics presented had a combination of computational and experimental approaches whose interplay will be fundamental to the success of this research.
In the directed energy area the ability imparted through the RF-enabled detection, location, and IED neutralization evaluation (REDLINE) technology applied to a convoy to sweep and destroy IEDs without interfering with operations and civilian communications is a game-changer. The progress in applying an old idea, harmonics detection, to solve this problem is impressive. The investigators have done an exceptional job of transitioning the hostile fire detection technology to an operational prototype. Patents to protect intellectual property rights provide the potential of monetizing the innovation, e.g., for acquisition by police forces. This level of transition is probably more appropriate for 6.3-6.4 R&D.
In the armor and adaptive protection area, the research and development described showed how ARL is building on its tradition of excellence to provide the knowledge basis for current and future Army needs in protecting our warfighters. This remains a core competency that underlies Army capabilities across the entire DOD.
Information Sciences
Of the reviewed projects, the work on using a distributional semantic vector space with a knowledge base for reasoning in uncertain conditions represents a strong contribution. The research features a combination of statistical and machine learning (ML) methods with semantic rules for reasoning in an uncertain environment. This work draws upon the use of semantic models with a goal of augmenting a curated knowledge base by reasoning through analogies based on statistical representations. Both the ideas and the proposed methodology contain novel elements. The work is well grounded in the literature, and the researchers are aware of related efforts in the research community.
The opportunity for strong technical contributions and for differentiation from research conducted elsewhere, as well as the value proposition for the Army, lies in a mission-oriented focus to the research. In several projects this focus and constraints, such as limits on prior information or on available bandwidth, were a clear driver for the research. The work on autonomous mobile robot exploration with an information-gain metric stood out in this regard. This project featured a functional prototype of a robot capable of autonomous exploration. This work has opportunity for near-term application, and yet it is set in an information theoretic framework that is rich enough to support the development of more sophisticated and capable algorithms applicable to potential missions.
Computational Sciences
Research efforts in areas of quantum computing and software environment optimization are leadership-quality work that advances the basic science in important areas of computing technology. The development of a threaded message-passing interface for reduced instruction set, computing array multicore processors has yielded innovative solutions to the challenging problem of power-efficient parallel programming. The work on high-performance computing scaled quantum hardware description language is representative of one of the few efforts in the area of quantum networking; it is likely to have a strong influence on the development of future systems.
Multiscale material modeling is a potential game-changing computational technology for predictive simulation in the mechanical sciences. These multiscale simulations are essential for assessing vulnerability, lethality, and effectiveness of weapons and protections systems, and the current effort
demonstrates the project’s utility in theory and also in practical application to software commonly used (e.g., Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s ALE3D production software tool,1 used for high-explosive weapons and target simulations).This research is of high value for predictive forward analysis, and components of this work have application to enhancing the performance of inverse analyses and QMU estimations.
Sciences for Maneuver
In the human–machine interaction (HMI) area, the science is technically sound, and the work is published in top journals, including Human Factors. The utility of the work appears to be recognized within ARL—for example, elements from the tactile feedback project will be incorporated into the next warrior experiment. The use of soldiers in experiments is commended. The move toward more realistic warfighting vignettes and more real-life simulations, which instantiate threats and hostile elements, would help establish the value of a technology in achieving a desired capability. The research presented will be shifting from one-person/one-robot studies to multiperson/multirobot scenarios. This shift in research focus is appropriate as the Army moves toward use of more complex teaming architectures. This use case also highlights the importance of providing the right information at the right time to the humans and to the robots, identified as a thrust of the HMI program.
The intelligence and control (I&C) work employs innovative approaches in developing and supporting advanced technologies, algorithms, and tools in support of the warfighter effort. This area invests in advancing the effectiveness and efficiency of its research personnel. The focus of the I&C theme is on developing software and algorithms that enable vehicles to approach a higher level of cognition, enabling teaming of autonomous systems and soldiers. The higher level cognition that the I&C theme focuses on is aimed at enabling autonomous assets to work in the environments of relevance to the military.
In the perception area, the work on weakly supervised segmentation for mobility is significant for several reasons: an interesting vision/science result was published at a major conference; it is an integrated end-to-end project that demonstrates the value of the research; and it involves an external collaboration with a university.
Human Sciences
In the human variability research, the initiative on individual variability, with its emphasis on high-quality R&D and peer-reviewed publications is making important contributions to the science of brain state measurement and individual differences. The recent peer-reviewed publication record indicated 5-10 journal articles per year since 2012, including 6 to date in 2015, with 10 additional articles submitted. The focuses of publications are well distributed over the scope of the initiative and are directed at cutting-edge issues in human variability.
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