United States Naval Research Laboratory

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Naval Research Laboratory

NRL emblem
Established: 1992
Commander: Capt Daniel R. Gahagan
Director of Research: Dr John A. Montgomery
US Military Budget: $842.3 million (2006)
Employees: 2,474 civilian
120 military (2006)

The United States Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) is the corporate research laboratory for the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps and conducts a broad program of scientific research and advanced development. NRL has existed since 1923, when it opened at the instigation of Thomas Edison. In a May 1915 editorial piece in the New York Times Magazine, Edison wrote; "The Government should maintain a great research laboratory.... In this could be developed...all the technique of military and naval progression without any vast expense." In 1946, upon the establishment of the Office of Naval Research, NRL was placed under the direction of the Chief of Naval Research. NRL in its current form was created in 1992 after the Navy consolidated existing R&D facilities to form a single corporate laboratory.

Naval Research Laboratory complex on the Potomac River in Washington, D.C.
Naval Research Laboratory complex on the Potomac River in Washington, D.C.


Contents

[edit] Mission Statement

NRL's published mission statement is:

NRL operates as the Navy's full-spectrum corporate laboratory, conducting a broadly based multidisciplinary program of scientific research and advanced technological development directed toward maritime applications of new and improved materials, techniques, equipment, systems and ocean, atmospheric, and space sciences and related technologies.[1]

[edit] Research

NRL's accomplishments range from the development of gamma-ray radiography and radar to the Large Angle and Spectrometric Coronagraph Experiment (LASCO) and Dragon Eye, a robotic airborne sensor system. The laboratory first proposed a nuclear submarine in 1939, and developed over-the-horizon radar in the late 1950s. The details of GRAB 1, deployed by NRL as the nation's first intelligence satellite, were recently declassified. The laboratory is responsible for the identification, friend or foe (IFF) system. In 1985, two scientists at the laboratory, Herbert A. Hauptman and Jerome Karle, won the Nobel Prize for work in molecular structure analysis. The projects developed by the laboratory often become mainstream applications without public awareness of the developer; an example in computer science is onion routing. The Timation system, developed at NRL, provided the basis for the Global Positioning System [2].

A few of the laboratory's many current specialties include plasma physics, space physics, materials science, and tactical electronic warfare.

[edit] Directorates and Divisions

The laboratory is divided into four research directorates, one funding directorate, and one executive directorate.

[edit] Executive Directorate

[edit] Institute for Nanoscience

In April 2001, NRL established an Institute for Nanoscience to conduct multidisciplinary research at the intersections of the fields of materials, electronics and biology. The Institute is one of only two units run directly through the Executive Directorate.

[edit] Scientific Development Squadron One (VXS-1)

The Scientific Development Squadron provides airborne research facilities to NRL and other agencies of the US Government.

[edit] Business Operations Directorate

  • Washington, D.C.
  • Chesapeake Bay Detachment, Chesapeake Beach, Maryland

The Business Operations Directorate provides program management for the business programs which support the scientific directorates of NRL. It provides contracting, financial management and supply expertise to the scientific projects.

[edit] Systems Directorate

The Systems Directorate is responsible for performing a range of activities from basic research through engineering development to expand the operational capabilities of the US Navy. There are four research divisions: Radar, Information Technology, Optical Sciences, and Tactical Electronic Warfare.

[edit] Materials Science and Component Technology Directorate

The Materials Science and Component Technology Directorate carries out a range of materials research with the aim of better understanding of the materials in order to develop improved and advanced materials for use by the US Navy. There are seven research divisions: Laboratory for the Structure of Matter, Chemistry, Material Science & Technology, Laboratory for Computational Physics and Fluid Dynamics, Plasma Physics, Electronics Science & Technology, and the Center for Biomolecular Science & Engineering.

[edit] Ocean and Atmospheric Science and Technology Directorate

The Ocean and Atmospheric Science and Technology Directorate performs research in the fields of acoustics, remote sensing, oceanography, marine geosciences, marine meteorology, and space science.[3] There are six research divisions: Acoustics, Remote Sensing, Oceanography, Marine Geosciences, Marine Meteorology, and Space Science.

[edit] Naval Center for Space Technology

  • Washington, D.C.
  • Pomonkey, Maryland
  • Blossom Point, Maryland
  • Midway Research Center, Stafford, Virginia

The mission of the Center for Space Technology is "to preserve and enhance a strong space technology base and provide expert assistance in the development and acquisition of space systems for naval missions."[4] There are two research divisions: Space Systems Development and Spacecraft Engineering.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ NRL - Mission
  2. ^ The Space Review: Who invented the Global Positioning System?
  3. ^ NRL - Ocean & Atmospheric Science Directorate
  4. ^ NRL - Naval Center for Space Technology

[edit] External links

Military of the United States Portal