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DoD at the USA Science and Engineering Festival Expo [PHOTOS]

Filed under Education & Culture by John Ohab on November 2, 2010 at 4:22 pm {3 comments}

Expo visitors test out the SeaPerch – A remotely-operated underwater vehicle – to learn concepts such as propulsion, weight, and buoyancy. The booth was sponsored by the Office of Naval Research / Society of Naval Architects & Marine Engineers and US Naval Academy. (Photo: DoD)

Expo visitors test out the SeaPerch – A remotely-operated underwater vehicle – to learn concepts such as propulsion, weight, and buoyancy (Photo: DoD)

“Wow,” “Awesome,” and “I did it!,” were among the many expressions heard in and around the Defense Department’s (D0D) exhibits at the USA Science & Engineering Festival Expo this past weekend, October 23 and 24. The Expo was the culminating event of a two-week celebration of science and engineering in our Nation’s capitol.

Under sunny skies, youth and adults packed five and six rows deep crowded 23 DoD booths displaying hands-on technologies used by military service members in the field and demonstrations of scientific and engineering concepts. DoD’s participation was part of more than 500 exhibits and a full two-day schedule of stage shows and lectures on the National Mall and Freedom Plaza.

Technologies present included flexible and protective materials used in uniforms and vehicles, digital computer displays used in battlefield planning, three-dimensional air defense systems, the manipulation of robots via wireless sensors, and gloveboxes used to recreate construction and repair work done by astronauts in zero gravity.

Concepts taught included magnetic and acoustic resonance, conservation and environmental clean-up, propulsion, buoyancy, aircraft and boat design, genetics, and physics.

Several exhibits also demonstrated robotics through the popular remotely-operated vehicle, SeaPerch. Click here for a full list of DoD’s exhibits.

A big thank to you DoD leadership for their support of the Festival Expo and to the many DoD participants who worked tirelessly to inspire youth and encouraging adults as educational partners. You can see a full gallery of images below or on the Armed with Science Facebook Page.
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Where to Find DoD at the USA Science & Engineering Festival!

Filed under Education & Culture by John Ohab on October 21, 2010 at 8:21 am {3 comments}

The Inaugural USA Science & Engineering Festival is the country’s first national science festival and descends on the Washington, D.C. area in October 2010.

The Inaugural USA Science & Engineering Festival Expo takes place October 23 & 24, 10 a.m. - 5:30 p.m., in Washington, D.C.

The USA Science and Engineering Festival kicked-off on October 10^th in Washington, D.C. It enables greater awareness and recognition of the role of science and technology in our lives and society in so many ways.

The Department of Defense (DoD) is heavily involved in the Festival, as science and technology are of utmost importance to our mission. DoD is one of the top employers of scientists and engineers (100,000) of any federal agency, and relies on their expertise for National security. Additionally, DoD research sometimes results in products used in business, education, and by consumers, enabling our Nation’s economic potential.

DoD’s own involvement in the Festival started on October 5^th. Nominated as one of the Nation’s top 50 scientific minds (“Nifty Fifty”), Mr. Zachary Lemnios, the Director, Defense Research and Engineering, visited Wheaton High School in Silver Spring, Md. He spoke with students about the necessity of science in our society, and the benefits of careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

The Department will also be among more than 1,500 exhibits at the Festival Expo on the National Mall near the Smithsonian on October 23 and 24. The Festival will give kids and adults the opportunity to try hands-on experiments and technology. Be sure to join us this weekend to learn more about STEM careers, whiz-bang technologies, and how DoD is using science to make life better for all of us.

Best of all, the festival is free, open to all ages, and requires no pre-registration.

Below, you’ll find in no particular order (except from top to bottom) the various DoD groups that you can visit at the festival. Don’t miss out on this chance to get SCIENCED!

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Wet ’n’ Wild Fun with SeaPerch

Filed under Education & Culture by Armed with Science on October 18, 2010 at 1:41 pm {3 comments}

SeaPerch trains teachers to teach their students how to build an underwater Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) (Photo: SeaPerch.org)

By Susan Nelson
Office of Naval Research / Society of Naval Architects & Marine Engineers

Some people find it amazing that PVC pipes and joints, wire, wax, film canisters, polyethylene mesh, football-shaped foam, a couple of plastic propellers, and some small motors and switches can become an underwater robot that you can drive with a handheld control box.

I was pretty amazed when I saw my first SeaPerch diving to the bottom of a pool and voyaging through an obstacle course in six feet of water. It was a SeaPerch Challenge, and the kids at the controls were middle school and high school students who had built the kits in school. The Challenge at the end of the school year let them show their skills in a district-wide competition.

It was really an exciting day for the kids and for me. I couldn’t wait to go out and talk about SeaPerch. It’s now in schools in more than 30 states. About 18,000 kids have built a SeaPerch, and every day a few more are discovering science and engineering concepts by means of this device, only about the size of a toaster.

Maybe it’s because I’m not too technical that I love introducing people to SeaPerch. It helps kids learn about underwater remotely operated vehicles (ROV) and robotics, and it helps them explore buoyancy, marine environments, water sampling, depth measurement, and concepts like vectors and attenuation of light.

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Robot Birds: Designing Micro Spy Vehicles [VIDEO]

Filed under Education & Culture, Life Sciences, Physical Sciences, Technology, Videos by John Ohab on August 9, 2010 at 12:45 pm {no comments}

Dr. John Ohab is a new technology strategist at the Department of Defense Public Web Program.

From his upturned palm, aeronautical engineer Ryan Carr launches then expertly flies what appears to be a remote-controlled bird. Scientist Joseph McDermott works at the Air Force Research Lab (AFRL) in Dayton, Ohio, with materials so tiny the width of a human hair is huge by comparison.

Welcome to the world of micro air vehicles (MAVs) at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Here, hobby-store aircraft are helping scientists design a futuristic line of miniature flying spy vehicles.

“We take the technology that we have and we try to design something that does the same thing as a hummingbird or dragonfly does,” explains Carr.

For more MAV-related awesomeness, visit AFRL’s Micro Air Vehicle Integration & Application Research Institute, which brings together scientists and engineers, along with world-class experimental facilities, for the research, design, fabrication, and testing of MAVs. The Institute is comprised of four experimental labortories: the Unsteady Aerodynamics Laboratory, MAV Fabrication Laboratory, Flapping Wing Bench Test Laboratory, and MAV Indoor Flight Test Laboratory.

The Indoor Flight Test Laboratory, the cornerstone of the institute, allows researchers to simulate an urban environment by removing or controlling environmental effects such as temperature and wind. It also provides a contained test volume that can be highly instrumented, while minimizing interference and risk to people and property.

Special thanks to the National Defense Education Program for providing this insider’s view of every day work undertaken by Defense Department scientists and engineers. Check out LabTV for more great videos!

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The Bat Hook: Harvesting Energy from Power Lines [LABTV]

Filed under Physical Sciences, Technology, Videos by John Ohab on June 29, 2010 at 1:20 pm {16 comments}

Power lines crisscross the skies, delivering electricity with the flip of a switch. But what happens when a soldier is outside, away from an electrical outlet, and unable to access electricity to power equipment or recharge batteries?

An engineer at an Air Force research lab in Dayton, Ohio, has figured out how to harness electricity from power lines via a system called RAPS. RAPS is a connecting device that’s attached to the end of a long cable. When the device is thrown over a power line, a blade at the end pierces the power line and completes the circuit that brings electricity down to the soldier. And that can mean a lot in the desert or jungle.

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Laser Creates a Universal Stop Sign [VIDEO]

Filed under Physical Sciences, Technology, Videos by John Ohab on May 24, 2010 at 12:23 pm {2 comments}

A laser that stops traffic? Yes, a new light tool called “driver defeat” will help soldiers slow approaching cars from a distance so they can determine if the driver is friend or foe.

It works like this: When a laser is pointed at the eye, the flashes create an “afterimage,” an optical illusion that limits a person’s sight for a very short time. It’s a little like driving into the sun, says Gordon Hengst, a research physicist at Brooks City Air Force Research Lab.

So, “if somebody’s driving a vehicle the natural reaction is to either slow down or stop,” giving soldiers that extra moment they need. Scientists are experimenting with the color, power and timing of flashes to make the laser a safe — as well as effective — universal stop sign.

Special thanks to the National Defense Education Program for providing this insider’s view of every day work undertaken by Defense Department scientists and engineers. For more awesome science, check out the LabTV website, or visit Lab TV on Facebook and Twitter! (more…)

Printing New Skin: Saving Lives with Ink Jet Printers [VIDEO]

Filed under Life Sciences, Videos by John Ohab on April 19, 2010 at 8:47 am {9 comments}

By modifying an ink jet printer and growing skin cells from a patient’s body, an Army research lab has developed an amazing treatment for severe burns: printing new skin.

Once the patient’s skin cells are in a sterile ink cartridge, a computer uses a three dimensional map of the wound to guide the printing.

“The bio-printer drops each type of cell precisely where it needs to go,” explains Kyle Binder, a biomedical scientist at the Armed Forces Institute of Regenerative Medicine‘s Wake Forest lab. “The wound gets filled in and then those cells become new skin.”

Navy Scientists Keep Radiation in It’s Place [LAB TV]

Filed under Physical Sciences, Videos by John Ohab on March 18, 2010 at 11:18 pm {no comments}

If you’re anything like me, the word “radiation” kind of makes you squirm. Well, it turns out that we actually have naturally occuring radiation all around us!

There are two types of radiation: non-ionizing radiation, from sources such as visible light and radio waves, and ionizing radiation, from radioactive materials or x-ray equipment. Ionizing radiation can be harmful to humans — but it can also be useful. (more…)