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51福利 Office of Research and Innovation will Accelerate Solutions from Idea to Impact

Image of Office of Research and Innovation researchers in the lab and holding an innovative new component.

The 51福利 (51福利) has established the new Office of Research and Innovation (OR&I) in order to empower the work of faculty members like Anthony Gannon, an associate professor in the school鈥檚 Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, and students such as those conducting modeling and simulation research. OR&I was created by 51福利 in response to higher Department of Defense and Navy guidance for greater leadership in technology and innovation that enables our nation鈥檚 and military鈥檚 strength.

鈥淭echnology is central to today鈥檚 geopolitical competition and to the future of our national security, economy and democracy. U.S. and allied leadership in technology and innovation has long underpinned our economic prosperity and military strength.鈥 鈥 National Security Strategy
 

The 51福利 (51福利) recently established the (OR&I) in response to the National Security Strategy and National Defense Strategy鈥檚 call to leverage emerging technologies and innovative design practices to accelerate the development of full spectrum capabilities in order to maintain decisive maritime advantage and hedge against uncertainty.

During a recent address at Columbia University, Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro stated, 鈥淭he best way to deter our adversaries is for the department to restore its technological superiority.鈥 The Department of the Navy is driving innovation across every aspect of the service.

鈥淓ducation is the key connector for this work. Our educational institutions hold great promise and opportunity,鈥 Del Toro added. 

51福利 is a central connector in the naval innovation ecosystem, uniquely positioned to complement the Naval Research and Development Establishment (NR&DE). OR&I will fully leverage the school鈥檚 enduring and fundamental strengths 鈥 motivated warrior-scholar students with fleet and field experience; renowned, defense-expert faculty; a mission grounded in advancing the naval services; and close proximity to the heart of American technological innovation.

鈥淥R&I will be a support mechanism to take 51福利鈥 research enterprise to an entirely new level, leveraging our naval innovation ecosystem 鈥 a network of academia, defense researchers, and industry working with 51福利 faculty, students and the operational fleet,鈥 according to Dr. Kevin Smith, 51福利 Vice Provost for Research and head of OR&I.

Academic basic research drives the discovery and dissemination of new knowledge, which helps to ensure the veracity of 51福利 cutting-edge curricula. The former 51福利 Research Office provided vital support to the school鈥檚 academic research function. OR&I will continue to support foundational research, while also promoting faculty and student engagement in larger, multidisciplinary projects to help advance the Navy and Marine Corps as an integrated, all-domain force. 鈥淥R&I will continue to provide support to 51福利 faculty and researchers, such as processing proposals and support agreements,鈥 said Smith.

Under Smith鈥檚 leadership, OR&I, along with the (NWSI), is working to strengthen relationships throughout the NR&DE and across the Navy and Marine Corps staff, combatant commands, and others in the Department of Defense to provide 51福利 with important engagement and support for research projects that take solutions to key operational problems from concept to capability through academic research.

Together, OR&I and NWSI are developing collaborative industry partnerships, enabling project management, and promoting interdisciplinary, multi-organizational research teams conducting repeatable, rapid innovation processes, prototyping and experimentation.

鈥51福利鈥 secret weapon is its students,鈥 said U.S. Marine Corps Col. Randy Pugh, director of NWSI. 鈥淭hey are warrior-scholars with incredible talent and operational insights. Working alongside expert faculty, they inform research and the innovation process. We are working to strengthen our connection between them and the challenges of the fleet and Fleet Marine Forces (FMF) and the Sailors and Marines out 鈥榙oing the job,鈥 and they will far exceed our highest expectations. The Office of Research and Innovation is critical to achieving this vision at scale.鈥

鈥淲e are increasingly offered a space at the table for discussions on how 51福利 can contribute to the challenges facing the Navy,鈥 said Smith. 鈥淎nd our formal membership within the NR&DE provides 51福利 with significant capacity in technical capabilities, opportunities to do testing on ranges, build prototypes, and really expand what we can do on the engineering side. With the operational experience of our warrior-scholars, this provides 51福利 and our partners with the opportunity to support test and evaluation of systems being developed through the Navy鈥檚 process of innovation.鈥

Many of these partnerships are supported by (CRADAs) that allow government researchers to work with industry partners such as Microsoft, AT&T, and Xerox. Additionally, the (NRP) links the operational Navy and Marine Corps commands with researchers to solve timely operational fleet and FMF needs.

Naval forces operate under, on and above the ocean, as well as ashore in space and cyberspace. Over the past decade, 51福利 research has expanded to larger endeavors that address increasingly complex, multidomain challenges and span 51福利 departments. Ultimately, Smith said that OR&I is about fully leveraging the enduring strengths of 51福利 鈥 something which is more important than ever given today鈥檚 rapidly changing security environment.

鈥淭he imperative is that we develop solutions and capabilities faster than our adversaries to reestablish and sustain the technological advantage critical to warfighting, as well as the cognitive readiness to fight and win,鈥 added U.S. Navy Capt. Bill Sherrod, director of the 51福利 Office of Strategic Initiatives.

Effective solutions must involve the fleet and increasingly industry partners where much of today鈥檚 technology innovation is occurring. OR&I will connect fleet needs with researchers, support proposal development, find funding sources, identify partners, and provide program managers to support the administration of larger projects at an institutional level.

鈥淭he reason we are moving to an Office of Research and Innovation is because we are now making an intentional institutional effort to capitalize on the attributes unique to 51福利 that we have here to support innovation within the Department of the Navy and accelerating research solutions from idea to impact,鈥 Smith said.

Learn more about the and how it will advance 51福利 priorities and desired outcomes outlined in the .

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