Air Force Notches Successful Joint Review of Basic Science Portfolios in Atlanta

  • Published
  • By William Sharp
  • AFOSR Public Affairs
The Air Force Office of Scientific Research here recently completed in Atlanta its annual Joint Program Review of basic research funded projects.

Hundreds of notable researchers and scientists from throughout the United States attended this year's program representing universities, the Air Force Research Laboratory, and the federal and private sectors.

"The JPR benefits the Air Force by providing an opportunity for cross-disciplinary communication and collaboration among members of the Air Force Research Laboratory family," said Dr. John D. Schmisseur, an AFOSR program manager and conference co-host. "At the conference AFRL personnel receive updates on progress, accomplishments, and breakthroughs concerning AFRL-funded research." Air Force program managers also use the JPR to asses the overall strength of their basic research portfolios. In addition, the JPR nurtures opportunities for scientific peer reviews in an open forum and encourages collaborative solution development among the researchers - an important layer of scientific discovery and innovation.

Major topic areas covered during the review included physical mathematics and applied analysis, plasma aerodynamics and magneto hydrodynamics, boundary layer physics, numerical methods, flow control, turbo machinery flows, cooperative control, shear layer flows, and control for space systems.

The featured speakers included Dan Marren, director, Arnold Engineering Development Center, White Oak, Md; Dr. Jaiwon Shin, deputy associate administrator for NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate; and Dr. Richard M. Murray, director, information science and technology, California Institute of Technology. Each speaker offered perspectives on the future needs of the Air Force and challenged the research community with taking the Air Force successfully into the next century with new designs and innovations.

Many of the JPR research projects in progress continue to show great potential for future Air Force application. For example, a research team at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has developed a new approach to the task assignment process of unmanned aerial vehicles - UAVs - operating in uncertain dynamic environments. The approach has to do with such factors as target cost, time variance, and target-to-UAV distances.

In another AFOSR-funded project, a team at the University of Iowa has been developing numerical methods and a computer code focused on high-speed munitions impact. This research could have important applications in the areas of target penetration, hazard prevention, and collateral damage control.

Program managers who led the review on behalf of the AFOSR Aerospace and Material Sciences Directorate are Drs. Schmisseur, boundary layers and hypersonics portfolio, and Lt. Col. Rhett W. Jefferies, turbulence and rotating flows portfolio. Program managers who led the review from the AFOSR Mathematics and Information Sciences Directorate are Fariba Fahroo, computational mathematics portfolio; Arje Nachman, physical mathematics and applied analysis portfolio; and Lt. Col. Sharon A. Heise, dynamics and control portfolio.

The AFOSR aerospace and material sciences directorate is responsible for research activities in aerospace, engineering, and materials. At present, its program mangers oversee more than 350 basic research projects. The four major projects in the directorate are solid mechanics and structures, structural materials, fluid dynamics, and propulsion.

Program managers in the mathematics and information sciences directorate manage an estimated 300 basic research projects with focus on mathematical, information, and computer sciences. Many critical research activities are multidisciplinary and involve support from the other scientific directorates within AFOSR. Such activities include both joint research in the design of high-power microwave devices, and in human-machine interaction and information fusion.

By supporting events such as the JPR, AFOSR continues to expand the horizon of scientific knowledge through its leadership and management of the Air Force's basic research program. As a vital component of the Air Force Research Laboratory, AFOSR supports Air Force's mission of control and maximum utilization of air and space. Many of the technological breakthroughs enjoyed by millions today, such as lasers, GPS, and the computer mouse trace their scientific roots to research first funded by AFOSR.