U.S. Senators Tim Johnson and John Thune recently announced that the Fiscal 2009 Defense Appropriations bill that passed recently in the Senate Defense Appropriation Subcommittee included more than $10.5 million in funding for projects associated with the School of Mines. These appropriations will be used to fund research projects designed to improve our nation's military. Currently, the bill is pending with the Senate. A similar Bill is working its way through the House and House Defense Appropriations subcommittee with support from Representative Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin. "We at the School of Mines truly appreciate all of the work of the South Dakota Congressional delegation. It is our Senators' and Congresswoman's continued support that allows our researchers to undertake projects which contribute to the advancement of technology that improves safety for our troops," School of Mines President Robert A. Wharton, Ph.D., said. "We look forward to working with our partners in developing new, innovative technologies that keep our military at the forefront of defense."
Since 2001, The School of Mines has received more than $84 million in Congressional appropriations for projects and research. This funding has facilitated the application of new technologies, the transfer of technology to local businesses, and has enhanced regional economic development.
The 2009 Defense projects approved by the Senate Defense Appropriations Committee include:
$8 million: Multi-Utility Materials (MUM) for the Army Future Combat Systems
The School of Mines, Florida A&M University and Iowa State University are working with the Army to develop strong and lightweight vehicles made with multi-utility materials. With this request, the School of Mines will support a nationally competitive polymer and composites processing and prototyping laboratory in at the School of Mines, now known as the Composites and Polymer Engineering (CAPE) Laboratory. Of this $8 million, $2.5 million will fund research at the School of Mines.
$500,000: Control System for Laser Powder Deposition
The School of Mines and RPM & Associates are partnering to develop a control system for laser powder deposition (LPD), which is a relatively new technology to the industry. This technology has significant advantages over conventional manufacturing processes. LPD is rapidly becoming the process of choice for many military and commercial repair operations.
$500,000: Improvised Explosive Device (IED) Simulation in Different Soils
The School of Mines and RESPEC are partnering to develop a numerical modeling strategy that can serve as a starting point for the simulation of shallow buried explosive (SBE) blasts in loose, fully saturated, coarse-grained soils. An approach to study the physics of SBE blasts is to use a combination of experiments and numerical simulations. A key advantage of this strategy is that once a reliable numerical model is developed, it can be used for the design of equipment that will be exposed to the threat of SBEs and IEDs.
$400,000: Shielding Rocket Payloads
The School of Mines and Montana State University are working to reduce the sound pressure levels within space vehicles to avoid damage to delicate payloads during launch. Applications of this work will be ubiquitous. Successful implementation of this project will lead to improved protection for communication satellites and other important payloads launched for space observation.
$500,000: Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and Sensors
The School of Mines will develop small UAVs and associated sensor systems in order to provide a platform for battlefield reconnaissance and flight control systems to support Army field operations. The School of Mines will provide expertise in computer vision and image processing, sensors (including ground penetrating radar) and composite structures. The primary objective is to develop a vehicle that could be used to support current Army Research Lab (ARL) activities in the development of small military UAVs that could search buildings and caves with vision and ground penetrating radar.
$600,000: Novel Extremity Body Armor
The School of Mines will use existing technologies and a structured product development process to conceive and quickly implement innovative armor designs to protect the upper and lower extremities of soldiers. The phases of the product development process will include conceptual design, system level design, detail design, testing and refinement and building of product prototypes.
