Dillard U. and the U.S. Army sign agreement
6th June 2016 · 0 Comments
By Della Hasselle
Contributing Writer
Dillard University has signed a five-year agreement with the United States Army Research Laboratory for an initiative that will allow students to conduct physics-based research projects with hands-on training for 10 weeks this summer, the school has announced.
The partnership builds on an already strong working relationship with the United States Department of Defense, and will permit students to continue their work throughout the upcoming 2016-17 school year.
The deal was made under what is known as a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA), or a written agreement between one or more federal laboratory and one or more non-federal parties.
It allows the government, through its laboratories, to provide the school personnel, facilities, equipment or other resources. The non-federal party – in this case, Dillard — provides personnel, funds, services, facilities, equipment or other resources to conduct specific research or development efforts that are consistent with the mission of the laboratory.
Dillard’s agreement with the Army’s research laboratory will be an extension of its current grants funding for the school’s physics program, officials announced last week, which is considered to be one of the top 15 in the nation.
Over the 15 years, the school has become known for conferring physics bachelor’s degrees to African-Americans, Dillard officials said in a release announcing the joint partnership. Dillard ranks as the second-highest producer of African Americans who earn bachelor’s degrees in physics, according to the American Institute of Physics (AIP).
The new agreement with the Army is based on the discovery of something called a Novel Adaptable and Sensory Materials System, according to Dr. Abdalla Darwish, Dillard’s first Presidential Professor.
The new materials system will be the building blocks in the development of materials capable of detecting, analyzing, and reacting to environmental changes, according to the release. Darwish said the intelligent, multifunctional materials will have “unique capabilities.”
The Army Research Laboratory also sought out Dillard for its work in the area of nanotechnology sciences, including the fabrication of the thin film for optical technology and biosensors.
The Army Research Laboratory will offer core competencies in cryogenic nanostructuring process and smart materials process sciences while Dillard will provide core expertise in related analytical materials sciences and in a physics multi-beam pulsed laser deposition process, recently invented by Darwish.
Darwish, who school officials say has long-standing relationships with the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, Army Research office and the Army Research lab, complimented Dillard’s prestige for getting the opportunity to work with the military’s research program.
“A CRADA is typically reached with R1 institutions, and Dillard University with our cutting edge technology is on the way to reaching that level,” Darwish said in the release. “This will open the doors to greater opportunities for more training for our physics and pre-engineering students and provide them with the skills they need for graduate school and beyond.”
The impetus for the Army Research Laboratory dates back to the early 19th century, when the Army tried to rework its technology base following the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe and the end of the Cold War, according to its website.
The Army’s Laboratory Command had already established research laboratories aimed to advance the Army’s technology for the future, as well as offer technical support to other departments. Combat systems supported by the command center included the main battle tank, the Multiple Launch Rocket System and the Army Tactical Missile System, among others.
Then, in 1989, an Army Management Review Task Force came up with the idea of a centralized Army “corporate” laboratory, and began a “Lab 21” study to flesh out the idea.
In 1992, the Army consolidated the seven corporate labs of the Laboratory Command with other Army research elements to officially create the U.S. Army Research Laboratory. The new, centralized lab concentrated on scientific research, technology development, and analysis.
Civilians have conducted the majority of the Army’s basic science programs through the military labs, according to the Army’s website, including contractors in academia.
For example, civilians in the lab created the first operational, general purpose, electronic digital computer. They also grew some of the first synthetic large quartz crystals and developed the titanium alloy T1-6Al-4V.
The laboratory’s scientists and engineers are currently doing groundbreaking research in neuroergonomics, energetic materials and propulsion and individual warfighter protection, the Army has said.
Researchers are also conducting experiments on energy science, electronics technologies, network sciences, virtual interfaces and synthetic environments and autonomous systems.
Dillard’s students have also participated in advanced research projects, according to Darwish. For example, the school’s programs have resulted in more than 15 peer-reviewed research papers and five patents, which are now pending.
One of the most “exciting” projects developed, according to Darwish, is a double and triple Pulsed Laser Deposition and Matrix assisted Puled Laser Deposition.
The research has “advanced the technology to another dimension,” he added.
Dr. Yolanda Page, Vice President for Academic Affairs, anticipates that agreement between the school and the Army Research Laboratory will strengthen the university’s ongoing projects with both the Army and Air Force.
“Physics is one of Dillard’s signature programs and our goal is to be a primary destination for students who are interested in this particular discipline,” she said. “What makes this doubly exciting are the opportunities that will be afforded to our students to be involved in research and the opportunity for faculty exchange, bringing new minds to our campus and to continue to elevate our program.”
Editor’s note: This story originally stated that Dillard is the second-highest producer of African Americans who earn Ph.Ds in physics. The story has been updated with a correction.
This article originally published in the June 6, 2016 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
