A NEW ARMY ENTERPRISE In 2012, the U.S. Army Research Labora- tory (ARL) will institute a new Enterprise for Multiscale Research of Materials (EMRM) to invest in opportunities that will revolutionize Army operations and doctrine through material discoveries and innovations. Its unique calling card is its holistic perspective of materials, from atoms to applications. Focusing the developments on materials for elec- tronics and protection systems positions these investments to reveal fundamental force multipliers that will impact the entire chain—from the tip of the spear on back.
Partnership and collaboration are keys to exploring and developing this techni- cal vision. The funding instrument is a cooperative agreement under which a collaborative research environment will be created to support contributors from academia, industry, and government. The award will be made competitively to a university-led alliance that will collaborate with ARL on computational and experi- mental research with a keen focus on demonstrating, validating, and improving design capabilities for new materials.
Implicitly, this requires diverse transdis- ciplinary teams to address the primary challenges and opportunities. Among the many program evaluation factors is the quality of collaboration.
In terms of programmatics, the timing is right. Emergent experimental instru- ments, high-performance computers, and data analytics can now be used to catalyze new developments. And ARL’s historical excellence in research on protection and electronic materials, com- putational sciences, and information sciences provides the necessary experience and mission focus to ensure discovery and innovation.
The challenges to starting and managing a program like EMRM are formidable. First, some of the most daunting techni- cal problems require entirely new types of materials development tools: predictive physics-based computational codes and software; experimental methodologies for synthesis, processing, characterization, and measurement; and digital data tools for informatics, analytics, database main- tenance, and data sharing. Creating the tools for materials development will be as much a part of EMRM as discovering and developing new materials.
Second, success will require a constantly evolving dynamic balance between long- and short-term goals. EMRM may endure for 10 years, and robust validated tools may take that long to emerge, if not longer. Useful tools are materials-agnostic but also materials- specific—general enough to apply to many different materials, but still capable of yield- ing new insights for each material. Yet the evidence of program success must be apparent early and often to support a sus- tained program vision. And at every interval, the science needs valida- tion, which requires building confidence and credibility.
NATIONAL NEEDS
ARL is not alone in recognizing the need for tools that enable greater materials development. In June 2011, Presi- dent Barack Obama announced the Materials Genome Initiative (MGI). At its heart, MGI seeks to double the speed at which the United States discovers, develops, and
manufactures new materials. It describes how solutions to profound materials chal- lenges in national security, human welfare, clean energy, and the next-generation workforce will come from the creation of a Materials Innovation Infrastructure composed of computational, experimen- tal, and digital data tools.
MGI will force discussion about how such tools originate and who should take responsibility to develop and maintain them for a greater good.
Along with ARL, other U.S. govern- ment agencies are aligned with the MGI vision. The National Science Founda- tion, the U.S. Department of Energy, the Air Force Research Laboratory, and the Office of Naval Research have issued pro- gram announcements.
ARL’s long-term vision for EMRM is to pursue a balanced approach to the dis- covery and design of new materials that includes the development and use of
BUILDING A BETTER HELMET
The Enhanced Combat Helmet (pictured) and the next generation Future Assault Shell Technology Helment are made possible by discoveries in materials that were successfully commercialized. (Image cour- tesy of Drs. Shawn Walsh and Robert J. Dowding, U.S. Army Research Laboratory.)
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