Mission Statement
NRL's published mission statement is:- NRL operates as the Navy's full-spectrum corporate laboratory, conducting a broadly based multidisciplinary program of scientific research and advanced technological development directed toward maritime applications of new and improved materials, techniques, equipment, systems and ocean, atmospheric, and space sciences and related technologies.
Research
NRL's accomplishments range from the development of gamma-ray radiography and radar to the Large Angle and Spectrometric Coronagraph Experiment (LASCO) and Dragon Eye, a robotic airborne sensor system. The laboratory first proposed a nuclear submarine in 1939, and developed over-the-horizon radar in the late 1950s. The details of GRAB 1, deployed by NRL as the nation's first intelligence satellite, were recently declassified. The laboratory is responsible for the identification, friend or foe (IFF) system. In 1985, two scientists at the laboratory, Herbert A. Hauptman and Jerome Karle, won the Nobel Prize for work in molecular structure analysis. The projects developed by the laboratory often become mainstream applications without public awareness of the developer; an example in computer science is onion routing. The Timation system, developed at NRL, provided the basis for the Global Positioning System .A few of the laboratory's many current specialties include plasma physics, space physics, materials science, and tactical electronic warfare.
Directorates and Divisions
The laboratory is divided into four research directorates, one funding directorate, and one executive directorate.Executive Directorate
- Washington, D.C.
- Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Patuxent River, Maryland
Institute for Nanoscience
In April 2001, NRL established an Institute for Nanoscience to conduct multidisciplinary research at the intersections of the fields of materials, electronics and biology. The Institute is one of only two units run directly through the Executive Directorate.Scientific Development Squadron One (VXS-1)
The Scientific Development Squadron provides airborne research facilities to NRL and other agencies of the US Government.Business Operations Directorate
- Washington, D.C.
- Chesapeake Bay Detachment, Chesapeake Beach, Maryland
The Business Operations Directorate provides program management for the business programs which support the scientific directorates of NRL. It provides contracting, financial management and supply expertise to the scientific projects.
Systems Directorate
- Washington, D.C.
- Chesapeake Bay Detachment, Chesapeake Beach, Maryland
- Tilghman Island, Maryland
- Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Patuxent River, Maryland
The Systems Directorate is responsible for performing a range of activities from basic research through engineering development to expand the operational capabilities of the US Navy. There are four research divisions: Radar, Information Technology, Optical Sciences, and Tactical Electronic Warfare.
Materials Science and Component Technology Directorate
- Washington, D.C.
- Naval Air Station Key West, Key West, Florida
- National Synchrotron Light Source, Long Island, New York
- USS Shadwell, Little Sands Island, Mobile Bay, Alabama
- Chesapeake Bay Detachment, Chesapeake Beach, Maryland
The Materials Science and Component Technology Directorate carries out a range of materials research with the aim of better understanding of the materials in order to develop improved and advanced materials for use by the US Navy. There are seven research divisions: Laboratory for the Structure of Matter, Chemistry, Material Science & Technology, Laboratory for Computational Physics and Fluid Dynamics, Plasma Physics, Electronics Science & Technology, and the Center for Biomolecular Science & Engineering.
Ocean and Atmospheric Science and Technology Directorate
- Washington, D.C.
- Chesapeake Bay Detachment, Chesapeake Beach, Maryland
- NASA Stennis Space Center, Mississippi
- Monterey, California
- Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York
The Ocean and Atmospheric Science and Technology Directorate performs research in the fields of acoustics, remote sensing, oceanography, marine geosciences, marine meteorology, and space science. There are six research divisions: Acoustics, Remote Sensing, Oceanography, Marine Geosciences, Marine Meteorology, and Space Science.
Naval Center for Space Technology
- Washington, D.C.
- Pomonkey, Maryland
- Blossom Point, Maryland
- Midway Research Center, Stafford, Virginia
The mission of the Center for Space Technology is "to preserve and enhance a strong space technology base and provide expert assistance in the development and acquisition of space systems for naval missions. There are two research divisions: Space Systems Development and Spacecraft Engineering.
See also
- History of radar
- Nike laser
- Interactive Scenario Builder
- NRLMSISE-00
- SIMDIS
- Clementine spacecraft
- National research libraries alliance
References
External links
- U.S. Naval Research Laboratory
- The Little Book of Big Achievements (PDF)
- Pushing the Horizon: 75 years of High Stakes Science and Technology at the Naval Research Laboratory (PDF)
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Last updated on Monday July 21, 2008 at 22:27:07 PDT (GMT -0700)
View this article at Wikipedia.org - Edit this article at Wikipedia.org - Donate to the Wikimedia Foundation
Copyright © 2008, Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.