Armed with Science | Tag Archive

Army Releases Net Zero Progress Report

Filed under Education & Culture, Energy by jtozer on June 9, 2013 at 7:09 am {no comments}

The Army has released the Net Zero Pilot Installation Initiative Progress Report for 2012, containing information useful to implementing Net Zero. The Army now plans to issue a policy this year that will expand the Net Zero Initiative to all permanent Army installations.

The Net Zero 2012 report details the existing Net Zero implementation strategy refinement into subordinate hierarchies and describes the interrelated steps needed to be integrated into the installation’s long-term planning efforts in order to achieve the Net Zero goal. (Graphic illustration provided by Army.mil)

The Army’s Net Zero Initiative is a holistic strategy that builds upon long-standing sustainable practices and incorporates emerging best practices in building an Army-wide community to manage energy, water, and waste at Army installations.

The Net Zero Initiative is recognized as a force multiplier enabling the Army to appropriately steward available resources, manage costs, and provide soldiers, families and civilians with a sustainable future.

The report details the new Net Zero hierarchies and implementation strategies. It also contains information about installation collaboration, outreach and behavior and awareness campaigns that are being conducted. Specific pilot installation activities are detailed to assist with technology solution development and implementation.

For instance, energy efficient upgrade projects at specific installations are provided including funding sources and expected outcomes.

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Finding Solutions To Service Member Hearing Loss

Filed under Featured, Life Sciences by jtozer on June 5, 2013 at 7:33 am {no comments}

(graphic illustration by Jessica L. Tozer)

As more military service members report hearing loss, the Office of Naval Research (ONR) is hosting nationwide experts on how to combat the issue.

Sponsored by ONR’s Warfighter Performance Department, and coinciding with Better Hearing and Speech Month, the meeting will feature academic and military health professionals dedicated to finding solutions to this most common disability among veterans.

“Hearing preservation is not just about ear plugs,” said Kurt Yankaskas, ONR Noise-Induced Hearing Loss program manager.

“We’re looking at everything from making stuff quieter to better operational hearing protection as we go forward in understanding this complex issue.”

Daily, sailors and Marines work on aircraft carriers or in cockpits, engine rooms and other locations where noise levels are in excess of the effectiveness of current hearing protection devices. Similar situations have contributed to an increase in auditory problems across the military.

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Know Your Brain

Filed under Education & Culture, Life Sciences by jtozer on May 22, 2013 at 7:15 am {no comments}

(Photo provided by the Military Health System)

If you ask random strangers, “What is the most important organ in the human body?” many people would say the heart and lungs, but most probably would say the brain. The brain’s role is central in our lives, but it is often overlooked or taken for granted – that is, until it is impacted by illness or injury.

Like any other organ, it is important to understand underlying problems in the brain in order to effectively treat it. This is particularly true with post-traumatic stress disorder.

You need to know the science.

There are three brain structures that play a key role in the science behind PTSD: the amygdala, hippocampus and prefrontal cortex.

The amygdala is the stress evaluator.

It continuously monitors all situations for danger and decides when to react. The sights, sounds and smells of frightening and dangerous memories are stored there. When the brain recognizes similar situations, the amygdala sends out danger signals and gets the body ready for a flight or fight response.

The hippocampus stores and retrieves memories — everything from where you attended second grade to where you parked your car three hours ago. If your brain is a computer, the hippocampus is the hard drive.

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The BRAIN Initiative

Filed under Videos by jtozer on April 14, 2013 at 7:10 am {no comments}

President Barack Obama has announced a new research initiative to prevent, treat and cure brain injuries. The “BRAIN Initiative” gives scientists the tools they need to get a better picture of how the brain functions.

In his upcoming budget, the President plans to propose $100 million in 2014 –or what he calls a “significant investment” in the project– by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation to start the BRAIN Initiative.

The goal is to better understand how brain cells interact to help crack the code of brain injury and disease.

Specifically, DARPA plans to explore new tools to measure and analyze electrical signals to the brain, as well as, researching the vast spectrum of the brain’s functionality.

To learn more about traumatic brain injury awareness, visit Health.mil.

Story and information provided by Health.mil

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Teaching An Old Water Canteen New Tricks

Filed under Life Sciences, Technology by jtozer on March 17, 2013 at 7:28 am {no comments}

Shubham Chandra (left) and Ben Williams of the Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center’s Systems Equipment and Engineering Team, Department of Defense Combat Feeding Directorate, have developed a system to provide cold and hot water to soldiers in the field and keep it that way for days. (By David Kamm, NSRDEC Photographer)

A system developed by researchers at the Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center, Department of Defense Combat Feeding Directorate, would help bring water to soldiers in the field, either cool or heat it, and then keep it that way for days at a time.

The system revolves around a high-stress collapsible water bag, a beverage cooling unit, and an insulated bag that holds the standard five-gallon water can or the collapsible water bag.

“Everything works together,” said Ben Williams, with Combat Feeding’s Systems Equipment and Engineering Team, or SEET. “You don’t need to use everything together, but you can.”

The system resulted from an effort to improve the standard five-gallon water can by giving it more capability.

“We didn’t have a lot of money,” said Shubham Chandra, who works with Williams at SEET. “We started working with what was out there.”

As Williams pointed out, getting soldiers to hydrate sufficiently in extreme temperatures, such as those encountered in Afghanistan, has always been a challenge.

“People aren’t drinking enough because their water is 100 degrees,” Williams said. “It’s not pleasurable. But if it was 40-degree water, of course you’d drink more. Your stamina also increases.”

The water bag was developed after a request from the theater to replace the standard water can.

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The NOAA Corps: Service, Science, Adventure

Filed under Videos by jtozer on January 15, 2013 at 7:43 am {no comments}

Science-minded students and active duty service members who seek adventure and travel have opportunities to serve their country in an exciting, flexible and diverse career, operating and commanding NOAA‘s fleet of scientific ships and aircraft.

Through narratives, on-location operations and testimonials by junior and senior officers, this video highlights the origin, role, mission and benefits of NOAA’s Commissioned Corps.

Video provided by the NOAA YouTube channel

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Hybrid Fuels & The Military

Filed under Energy, Videos by jtozer on November 2, 2012 at 7:02 am {no comments}

A summary of Office of Naval Research (ONR) on-going development of solar/fuel hybridization technologies that dramatically reduce fuel required for tactical Marine Corps operations. This video highlights the efforts of three key performers.

Video provided by the Office of Naval Research

3D Printers & The Military

Filed under Featured, Videos by jtozer on October 29, 2012 at 7:14 am {one comment}

The U.S. Army uses cutting edge 3D printers to develop solutions for America’s soldiers. Researchers at the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command‘s chemical and biological center at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland use computers, lasers and 3D printers every day.

If I had a 3D printer, could I use it to make other 3D printers? One wonders/plots…