Armed with Science | Providing You Information on Military Science and Technology

Diffusing The Threat Of Ionizing Radiation

Filed under Physical Sciences by jtozer on March 25, 2013 at 7:08 am {no comments}

Ionizing radiation can be a silent killer.

Graphic provided by DARPA

While scientists have made some strides in preventing immediate death from exposure, there are currently few intervention technologies to protect against long-term morbidity and mortality.

In light of the diverse, persistent and substantial threat posed by ionizing radiation, the Department of Defense seeks new ways to protect military and civilian personnel against the immediate and longer-term effects of acute exposure.

Exposure to ionizing radiation would be a particular concern in the aftermath of a large-scale release of nuclear material, such as might occur following either a natural disaster or a deliberate attack. The damage to Japan’s Fukushima nuclear reactor after the 2011 Tohoku earthquake raised concerns regarding U.S. preparedness to treat large-scale human exposure to ionizing radiation. Additionally, the immediate destructive potential of nuclear and radiological weapons, as well as their long-term health and economic impacts, continue to be of concern to DoD.

DARPA seeks to gain a better understanding of the biophysical effects of acute exposure to ionizing radiation in humans and develop mitigating technologies to enable immediate and long-term survival.

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Into The Wild Blue Yonder Of Tomorrow

Filed under Scientific Military History, Videos by jtozer on March 24, 2013 at 7:22 am {no comments}

Introduced in 1978 as a multi-mission aircraft, the F/A-18 Hornet was designed to be affordable in development and production, and even more importantly, affordable in life-cycle costs, where the key to success is improved reliability and maintainability.

These goals have been achieved by this proven platform that will serve our nation well into the 21st century.

Video provided by Naval Air Systems Command YouTube Channel

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Saturday Space Sight: Hubble Sees ‘Space Invader’ Image

Filed under Photos, Space by jtozer on March 23, 2013 at 7:51 am {no comments}

The gravitational field surrounding this massive cluster of galaxies, Abell 68, acts as a natural lens in space to brighten and magnify the light coming from very distant background galaxies.

In this photo, the image of a spiral galaxy at upper left has been stretched and mirrored into a shape similar to that of a simulated alien from the classic 1970s computer game “Space Invaders!” A second, less distorted image of the same galaxy appears to the left of the large, bright elliptical galaxy.

This image was taken in infrared light by Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3, and combined with near-infrared observations from Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys. It is based in part on data spotted by Nick Rose in the Hubble’s Hidden Treasures image processing competition.

Image Credit: NASA/ESA
Acknowledgement: N. Rose

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Can Your Phone Do This?

Filed under Technology by jtozer on March 22, 2013 at 7:43 am {no comments}

Ask anyone with a smartphone, and they will tell you that they can do pretty much anything with it.

You can manage your stocks and use your phone as a flashlight. You can even take a picture of a check and send it to your bank for a direct deposit, right from your phone.

But the latest applications for smartphones go beyond the conveniences of modern society – they are actually saving lives. The U.S. Army Edgewood Chemical Biological Center (ECBC) is developing cellphone-based wide-field fluorescent imaging of microbeads for pathogen detection.

In simpler terms, developing technology to collect a sample, analyze the results, geotag the location of the sample on Google Maps, and send the results to a laboratory for further review—all from the same smartphone used to play video games.

Scientists at ECBC worked with a team at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), to adapt its prototype of a plastic, clip-on “microscope” to fit an Android phone, commonly used by the Army. This device clips directly over the camera of the smartphone and operates just like a microscope.

The user collects a sample, slides it into the device, and snaps a picture using the camera in the cell phone.

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STEM Technovation For Women

Filed under STEM by jtozer on March 21, 2013 at 7:27 am {no comments}

Women’s History Month is in full swing, and the Office of Naval Research (ONR) is helping to meet the challenge of encouraging young women to become scientists.

The Technovation Challenge — funded by ONR to introduce girls to science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) careers — provides an opportunity for girls from around the country to design and pitch mobile phone apps to leaders in computer science and business.

The challenge spans 12 weeks and ends May 1 at the World Pitch event in San Francisco. During the challenge, teams of high school girls are mentored in design, computer coding and business; nearly every mentor is female.

“ONR is helping girls develop into future technology leaders,” said Cmdr. Joseph Cohn, deputy director of research for Navy STEM. “We understand the importance of recognizing the historic technological contributions women have made. We also need to celebrate the efforts girls and young women—tomorrow’s leaders—are making today.”

ONR’s support has helped the Technovation Challenge transition from a pilot program for 45 girls in a single location to a nationwide program. It has since expanded to 18 countries.

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Cyber Command Adapts to Understand Cyber Battlespace

Filed under Cyber Security by jtozer on March 20, 2013 at 7:08 am {no comments}

U.S. sailors assigned to Navy Cyber Defense Operations Command man their stations at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story, Va., Aug. 4, 2010. NCDOC sailors monitor, analyze, detect and respond to unauthorized activity within U.S. Navy information systems and computer networks. (U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Joshua J. Wahl)

Since the Defense Department officially made cyberspace a new domain of warfare in 2011, experts in the public and private sectors have been working to make that inherently collaborative, adaptable environment a suitable place for military command and control.

In July of that year, the first initiative of the first DOD Strategy for Operating in Cyberspace called for treating cyberspace as an operational domain — no different from air, land, sea or space — to organize, train and equip so the department could take full advantage of cyber potential.

Cyberspace is defined as a collection of computer networks that use a variety of wired and wireless connections, a multitude of protocols, and devices ranging from supercomputers to laptops to embedded computer systems designed for specific control functions in larger systems.

At the 4th Annual Cyber Security Conference, Air Force Maj. Gen. Brett T. Williams, director of operations at U.S. Cyber Command, described how Cybercom is using the Internet and other aspects of the cyber environment to execute its mission.

“The challenge we have is that the Internet was never designed for military command and control, … yet we’ve adapted it to do that,” he said.

In the process, the general added, officials have tried to define the Cybercom mission more clearly over the last few months.

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Missile, Space Intelligence Center Saves Warfighter Lives

Filed under Featured, Technology by jtozer on March 19, 2013 at 7:42 am {no comments}

GTR-18 surface-to-air missile simulators are fired at incoming aircraft during nighttime warfare training at the Yodaville close air support range near Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Ariz. The Defense Intelligence Agency’s Missile and Space Intelligence Center helps to protect U.S. forces from similar real weapons. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Benjamin R. Reynolds)

Engineers, scientists and analysts of the Defense Intelligence Agency’s Missile and Space Intelligence Center provide high-confidence assessments of foreign missile and space systems and other critical intelligence products that help to keep warfighters from harm.

Spread out over some of the 38,000 acres of the Army’s Redstone Arsenal in the Appalachian highlands of northern Alabama are the laboratories, high-performance computing operations, test areas and hardware storage spaces that make up MSIC’s vast engineering complex.

“The work itself is pretty detailed and geeky,” MSIC Director Pamela McCue explained during an interview with American Forces Press Service. “We’re a bunch of engineers and scientists, and by nature we love to figure out how things work.”

McCue, an electrical engineer, said the work involves looking at all sources of intelligence and figuring out the characteristics, performance and operations of threat weapons, including surface-to-air missiles, anti-tank guided missiles, ground-based anti-satellite systems and short-range ballistic missiles.

Service members who conduct operations anywhere in the world are likely to encounter a variety of weapons, McCue said.

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The New Email

Filed under Cyber Security, Featured by jtozer on March 18, 2013 at 7:21 am {no comments}

Let’s talk about email. Specifically, email for people with government accounts. For all of us who work for the DoD or are in the military, we’ve all got one. Whether we want it or not.

So, to all of you who have one of those official government-type emails, how do you like it? Because I’ll tell you something, I think it’s [SECTION REDACTED].

Wa—Hey!

Okay fine.

I guess I can say that there are some things that could stand to be improved. *cringes for reaction*

Well it’s true, and I think it’s safe to say I’m not alone on this one.

But hark, who goes there? Is that the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) with an alternative? An Enterprise-level, DoD-wide alternative that could streamline a lot of things for all us living in the government emailverse?

Oh, no. Actually that’s a plane. I may have had too much coffee today.

Seriously, though, DISA’s got a one-stop-shop solution to all those .mil, .army, .navy, .extraterrestrial email addresses we have.

It’s called the DoD Enterprise Email, and for some it’s the .mail you’ve been waiting for. It’s a global, holistic email system designed exclusively for the Department of Defense. Originally created in 2007, the DoD Enterprise Email is starting to take shape in an over-a-million-users type of way.

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