ARL/PSU Strong

Led by world-class scientists and technicians working in state-of-the-art facilities, ARL's research capabilities are distributed among the Advanced Technology Office (ATO), the Communicartion & Navigation Office (C&NO), the Fluids & Structural Mechanics Office (F&SMO), the Materials & Manufacturing Office (MMO), the Research & Academic Programs Office (RAPO), and the Undersea Weapons Office (UWO). Augmenting these capabilities are the Centers & Institutes located at ARL.

Click on the tabs above for more information about each office.

advanced technology office (ato)

The Advanced Technology Office (ATO) provides technological advancements for undersea systems and complementary applications by providing overall Laboratory capability and leadership.

Advanced Technology includes:

• Autonomous Control & Intelligent Systems
• Energy Science & Power Systems
• Systems and Unmanned Vehicle

communication & navigation office (cno)

Communication & Navigation research efforts include:

• Antennas & Electronic Systems
• Communication Systems
• Geospatial, Imaging &Tactical Systems
• Navigation Research & Development
• Synthetic Environment Applications Laboratory

• Performs basic and applied research, exploratory development, and advanced development in support of program sponsors
• Champions the transfer of advanced technologies to naval acquisition programs and fleet operations as well as to other government agencies and the private sector

fluids and structural mechanics office (fsmo)

The design and analysis of underwater propulsors forms a core area of research and development at ARL Penn State. With its excellent test facilities, ARL Penn State has traditionally focused on experimental fluid dynamics, where fundamental and exploratory research is conducted into the physical phenomena governing boundary layer flows, cavitation, flow control, and the hydrodynamics of marine vehicles.

In conjunction with research in experimental fluid dynamics, ARL Penn State works to develop a technology base for the design and analysis of marine vehicles integrated with their control systems and propulsors. This technology is applied in the development and demonstration of advanced concepts, with a focus on propulsor and turbomachinery design. This design work concurrently incorporates technology developed in other research areas at ARL Penn State, namely, flow and structural acoustics, computational mechanics, materials science, and manufacturing science.

Fluid and Structural Mechanics includes:

• Computational Mechanics
• Fluid Dynamics
• Noise Control & Hydroacoustics
• Research Facilities

materials & manufacturing office (mmo)

The mission of the Materials & Manufacturing Office (MMO) is to advance the state-of-the art in materials and manufacturing processing technology. To that end, we address issues related to materials design, materials processing, component design, manufacturing systems, repair and sustainment.

Our technologies are enabling in that success for us entails design and fabrication of lighter, cheaper structural components for ships, subs, aircraft, or vehicles, more cost effective manufacturing processes for fabrication or repair of components of platforms, or design and integration of sensor systems for health or environmental monitoring of systems.These technologies are relevant to all platforms of interest within the DoD and consequently, we support a wide range of customers within the Navy and the DoD.

Materials & Manufacturing includes:

• Composite Materials
• Drivetrain Technology Center (DTC)
• Gear Research Institute (GRI)
• Laser Processing
• Institute for Manufacturing & Sustainment Technologies (iMAST)
  - sponsored by the MANTECH Navy program
• Materials Processing
• Manufacturing Systems
• Repair Technologies (REPTECH)
• Systems & Operations Automation
• Vehicle Dynamics & Simulation Research (VDSR)

Off Site References

• Reliability Information Analysis Center (RIAC) : A Government and Industry focal point for Reliability, Maintainability, Quality, Supportability, and Interoperability related Engineering, Data, Software, Information, Training and Technical Assistance.

research & academic programs office (rapo)

This research area includes a full-spectrum acoustics program that ranges
from basic research to practical applications, an innovative research program
in distributed and intelligent dynamic systems, and a state-of-the-art
exploratory and foundational research program.

Research & Academic Programs include:

• Acoustics
• Exploratory & Foundational Programs
• Information Science & Technology
  
  
  
  

undersea weapons office (uwo)

The Undersea Weapons Office supports the U.S. Navy in its efforts to defend surface ship’s and submarines against torpedo attack. Utilizing the rich array of academic and research assets that ARL has available, the office develops capabilities for the detection and defensive engagement of threat torpedoes. Building on the Laboratory’s experience in undersea weapons, acoustics, signal processing, modeling and simulation, energy and power systems, systems engineering and hydrodynamics, Torpedo Defense has been an important core competency of ARL for more than a decade.

For more information, please follow the links listed below:

• Undersea Weapons Office
• Systems Analysis & Simulation
  
  
  
  
  

centers & institutes

ARL administrated Centers & Institutes are important cross-disciplinary efforts that address research and manufacturing challenges too complex for single-investor programs. These Centers & Institutes provide focal points for the development and transfer of new technologies, processes and equipment in a cooperative environment with industry, academia, and the U. S. military.

• Drive Train Center (DTC) - sponsored by the
  Navy Manufacturing Technology (MANTECH) Program
• Gear Research Institute (GRI) - operated by the DTC and affiliated with:
  • the The American Society of Mechanical Engineers ( ASME)
  • the American Gear Manufacturers Association (AGMA)
• Institute for Manufacturing & Sustainment Technologies (iMAST) - a part of ARL and one of nine U.S. Navy MANTECH Centers of Excellence managed by the Office of Naval Research
• Institute for Non-Lethal Defense Technologies (INLDT) - established by Penn State and adminstrated by ARL
• Navigation Research and Development Center (NRDC) - has over 40 years of navigation research and development experience related to ship, submarine, aircraft, and land vehicle applications.
• Vehicle Dynamics & Simulation Research Center (VDSR) - established by the PA Transportation Institute (PTI) and is a research capability of ARL's Material & Manufacturing Office.