News Release
Department of Defense Awards Ten Grants to UC San Diego Researchers to Develop Instrumentation
San Diego, Calif., May 21, 2018 -- The Department of Defense announced 10 awards to researchers at the University of California San Diego that will help scientists reproduce the extreme conditions of matter that exist in planets, characterize waves, improve ocean weather and climate prediction, and analyze acoustics in the deep ocean.
The Defense University Research Instrumentation Program (DURIP) grants support the development of instruments that have a wide range of military applications. Two researchers from the Jacobs School of Engineering received grants: Farhat Beg and Drew Hall in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.
In addition, seven awards were granted to researchers at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego. Chemistry professor Wei Xiong also received an award.
“Congratulations to the annual DURIP award recipients,” said U.S. 53rd District Rep. Susan Davis. “I am impressed by all of the accomplishments of Scripps and other UC San Diego scientists. Your accomplishments have been pivotal to the innovative technologies and cutting-edge science that helps the Navy keep its edge. This federal funding will continue the great work of these scientists and will advance our national security.”
“These awards will enable significant advancements that have immediate importance to military applications and long-term societal benefits,” said UC San Diego Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla. “This underscores the significance of our work, as well as the positive impact and return on investment that our campus provides.”
The awards to Scripps Institution of Oceanography, administered through the Office of Naval Research (ONR), continue a history of collaboration between the institution and the U.S. Navy that dates back to the years immediately prior to World War II, when the Navy would charter Scripps’ sole research vessel, E.W. Scripps, for research. In recognition of the 70th anniversary of the D-Day invasion, the Navy acknowledged the role played by Scripps researchers in developing ways to time amphibious assaults on Nazi positions using wind forecasts to select periods with favorable surf and swell conditions.
“UC San Diego’s top researchers make our region a global leader in defense technology innovation that is key to creating the 21st century military our nation needs. This year’s award will help them continue their state-of-the-art development and testing,” said Rep. Scott Peters. “San Diego’s research institutions are second to none and ready to compete against the best for this valuable research funding.”
Below are in-depth descriptions of the grants awarded to Jacobs School researchers:
- Farhat Beg, a professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and the director of the Center for Energy Research at UC San Diego, received an award from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research to build a linear transformer driver, an instrument that can fire extremely fast, high-power pulses up to 800,000 amps in 200 nanoseconds. The instrument will enable researchers to reproduce the extreme conditions of matter that exist in planets and stars to test theories and models.
- Drew Hall, a professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, received an award to purchase a multichannel arbitrary waveform generator. The equipment will allow researchers to test new ultra-low power wireless Internet-of-Things devices and evaluate how they perform in complex environments that mimic real-world deployment scenarios.
Scripps scientists who received awards are Bruce Applegate, Peter Gerstoft, Mark Wagner, Ken Melville, Uwe Send, Eric Terrill, Sophia Merrifield and Peter Worcester. Details on their projects can be found here.
Media Contacts
Liezel Labios
Jacobs School of Engineering
858-246-1124
llabios@ucsd.edu