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AFRL welcomes new commander

From left: Gen. Duke Z. Richardson, commander, Air Force Materiel Command; Chief Master Sgt. Bill Fitch, Air Force Research Laboratory command chief; Maj. Gen. Heather L. Pringle, outgoing AFRL commander; and Brig. Gen. Scott A. Cain, AFRL commander, stand before the audience during a change of command ceremony for AFRL at the National Museum of the U.S Air Force, June 5, 2023. Cain was chosen to be the 13th commander of AFRL and said he looks forward to the new position. He previously served as director of Air, Space and Cyberspace Operations at Headquarters, Air Force Materiel Command. (U.S. Air Force photo / Keith Lewis)

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AFRL helps NASA test equipment for Artemis II mission

The Air Force Research Laboratory, or AFRL, and NASA staff adjust Campos, a fire and rescue training manikin, in the seat at the sled test facility at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, April 17, 2023. AFRL and NASA, along with other industry partners, such as Lockheed Martin, tested the most current iteration of an astronaut crew seat and flight suit that will be used on the Orion spacecraft during the next mission to the moon under the Artemis Program. The manikin used in the testing was Campos, named after the legendary Arturo Campos, an electrical engineer who was instrumental to saving the Apollo 13 crew. Campos is accurately weighed and has the appropriate density of a human for testing. (U.S. Air Force photo / Rick Eldridge)

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AFRL helps NASA test equipment for Artemis II mission

Campos, a fire and rescue training manikin, at the sled test facility at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, April 17, 2023, where Air Force Research Laboratory, or AFRL, and NASA staff test the seat and flight suit for safety measures. AFRL and NASA, along with other industry partners, such as Lockheed Martin, tested the most current iteration of an astronaut crew seat and flight suit that will be used on the Orion spacecraft during the next mission to the moon under the Artemis Program. The manikin used in the testing was Campos, named after the legendary Arturo Campos, an electrical engineer who was instrumental to saving the Apollo 13 crew. Campos is accurately weighed and has the appropriate density of a human for testing. (U.S. Air Force photo / Rick Eldridge)

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AFRL helps NASA test equipment for Artemis II mission

The Air Force Research Laboratory, or AFRL, and NASA staff prepare Campos, a fire and rescue training manikin, in the seat at the sled test facility at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, April 17, 2023. AFRL and NASA, along with other industry partners, such as Lockheed Martin, tested the most current iteration of an astronaut crew seat and flight suit that will be used on the Orion spacecraft during the next mission to the moon under the Artemis Program. The manikin used in the testing was Campos, named after the legendary Arturo Campos, an electrical engineer who was instrumental to saving the Apollo 13 crew. Campos is accurately weighed and has the appropriate density of a human for testing. (U.S. Air Force photo / Rick Eldridge)

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AFRL helps NASA test equipment for Artemis II mission

The Air Force Research Laboratory, or AFRL, and NASA staff adjust Campos, a fire and rescue training manikin, in the seat at the sled test facility at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, April 17, 2023. AFRL and NASA, along with other industry partners, such as Lockheed Martin, tested the most current iteration of an astronaut crew seat and flight suit that will be used on the Orion spacecraft during the next mission to the moon under the Artemis Program. The manikin used in the testing was Campos, named after the legendary Arturo Campos, an electrical engineer who was instrumental to saving the Apollo 13 crew. Campos is accurately weighed and has the appropriate density of a human for testing. (U.S. Air Force photo / Rick Eldridge)

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AFRL helps NASA test equipment for Artemis II mission

The Air Force Research Laboratory, or AFRL, and NASA staff hoist Campos, a fire and rescue training manikin, into the seat at the sled test facility at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, April 17, 2023. AFRL and NASA, along with other industry partners, such as Lockheed Martin, tested the most current iteration of an astronaut crew seat and flight suit that will be used on the Orion space capsule during the next mission to the moon under the Artemis Program. The manikin used in the testing was Campos, named after the legendary Arturo Campos, an electrical engineer who was instrumental to saving the Apollo 13 crew. Campos is accurately weighed and has the appropriate density of a human for testing. (U.S. Air Force photo / Rick Eldridge)

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AFRL helps NASA test equipment for Artemis II mission

The Air Force Research Laboratory, or AFRL, and NASA work together at the sled test facility at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, April 17, 2023, along with other industry partners, such as Lockheed Martin, to test the next replica of a seat and flight suit that will be used on the Orion space capsule during the next mission to the moon. (U.S. Air Force photo / Rick Eldridge)

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AFRL, NASA partner with 8 universities for new Mission Concept Program

University Nanosat Program students present their work to reviewers from the Air Force Research Laboratory, NASA, Missile Defense Agency, and Space Dynamics Lab in Albuquerque, N.M., Aug. 15, 2021. AFRL and NASA announced a collaboration with eight universities for a new Mission Concept Program from Jan. 5 to Feb. 3, 2023. The program, sponsored by AFRL's Space Vehicles Directorate, is held under the University Nanosatellite Program, or UNP, which started in 1999 and has collaborated with over 40 universities since its inception. (U.S. Air Force photo / Jesse Olson)

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AFRL successfully field-tests AI robot to improve DAF manufacturing capability

A multidisciplinary development team, comprised of Air Force Research Laboratory, or AFRL, depot, industry and academia representatives, observes the successful first demonstration of an autonomous robotic incremental metal forming prototype, nicknamed AI-FORGE, at Warner-Robins Air Logistics Complex, Georgia, in late January 2023. Personnel from AFRL’s Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, Ohio State University, the Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing Institute, Yaskawa Motoman, and CapSen Robotics collaborated to develop the robotic blacksmithing system, which uses incremental forming, a heat-assisted metalworking process that permits users to manufacture small lots of customized manufactured parts for military aircraft. During its initial test run, the artificially intelligent system operated autonomously without human interruption for over six hours.

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AFWERX

As the innovation arm of the Department of the Air Force and powered by the Air Force Research Laboratory, AFWERX accelerates agile and affordable capability transitions by teaming innovative technology developers with Airman and Guardian talent.

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AFRL re-ups affiliation with longtime liquid crystal industry partner to meet DOD needs

The image depicts AlphaMicron Inc., or AMI’s prototype progression over the course of 20 years. AMI’s first dimming proof of principle prototype from 1997 was eventually integrated into a Full Complex Curvature Helmet F-35 Visor prototype for the U.S. Department of the Air Force in 2017 to help mitigate pilots’ difficulties managing light transmission during flight. The initial collaboration between AFRL and AMI resulted in the creation of e-Tint, an electronic tint-on-demand liquid crystal technology that can be applied to flexible plastic substrates, such as pilot visors, instead of traditional glass. e-Tint switches from clear to dark faster than an eye can blink — about 0.1 of a second— and is fail-safe in a power outage. This technology was used to create the world's first electronic switchable eyewear which was field tested by the U.S. Army and is now being issued to soldiers through the Approved Protective Eyewear List.  In addition to current applications, the technology is being developed for augmented reality applications and see-through displays, where simultaneously controlling ambient and display light is important, said AMI’s Chief Technology Officer and Chief Executive Officer Dr. Bahman Taheri.(U.S. Air Force photo)

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AFRL re-ups affiliation with longtime liquid crystal industry partner to meet DOD needs

The graphic illustrates how reorienting liquid crystal (yellow) causes dichroic dye (red) to reorient along with it, which changes the transmission of light. In 1997, the U.S. Department of the Air Force identified a need for controlling visor tint in pilot eyewear. Visor tint was affected by light transmission when pilots would go above or below the clouds, as sudden washes of intense sunlight mid-flight impacted their ability to read and track the data on their aircraft-mounted and head-mounted displays. To address this safety issue, AFRL partnered with Kent State University-based AlphaMicron Inc., or AMI, a global leader in liquid crystal technology, to find a solution based on AMI’s proprietary polarizer-free, guest-host liquid crystal system known as e-Tint. AMI’s Chief Technology Officer and Chief Executive Officer Dr. Bahman Taheri likens this system to a molecular version of a Venetian blind. (Courtesy photo / AlphaMicron Inc.)

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State-of-the-art terahertz

Left: State-of-the-art terahertz, or THz, communications transceiver system was placed on an aircraft test AFRL’s Terahertz Communications program which aims to determine the viability of using terahertz band frequencies to service future Department of the Air Force communication needs. Right: The transceiver installation on the aircraft is pointed toward a window where standard glass was replaced with THz transparent material to facilitate communications with another aircraft. (Courtesy photo)

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Robotics competition teaches kids teamwork, STEM

Brenda Ronnebaum, project manager, robotics education, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base Educational Outreach Office, speaks about the benefits of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, programs such as the For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology, or FIRST Tech Challenge March 11, 2023, at Hobart Arena in Troy, Ohio. Programs like the FIRST Tech Challenge introduce students to STEM fields while teaching life skills of communication, problem solving and teamwork. (U.S. Air Force photo / Jeremy Dunn)

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Robotics competition teaches kids teamwork, STEM

Robots designed and programed by Ohio middle and high school students compete during the For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology, or FIRST, Tech Challenge Ohio State Championship March 11, 2023, at Hobart Arena in Troy, Ohio. Senior Air Force Research Laboratory leaders joined students as they competed in the FIRST event, which encouraged students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math. (U.S. Air Force photo / Jeremy Dunn)

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Robotics competition teaches kids teamwork, STEM

Robots designed and programed by Ohio middle and high school students compete during the For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology, or FIRST, Tech Challenge Ohio State Championship March 11, 2023, at Hobart Arena in Troy, Ohio. Senior Air Force Research Laboratory leaders joined students as they competed in the FIRST event, which encouraged students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math. (U.S. Air Force photo / Jeremy Dunn)

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Robotics competition teaches kids teamwork, STEM

Teams prepare their robots for competition in the pit area of the For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology, or FIRST, Tech Challenge Ohio State Championship March 11, 2023, at Hobart Arena in Troy, Ohio. Senior Air Force Research Laboratory leaders joined middle and high school students as they competed in the FIRST event, which encouraged students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math. (U.S. Air Force photo / Jeremy Dunn)

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Robotics competition teaches kids teamwork, STEM

The competition area inside the Hobart Arena in Troy, Ohio, with competitors preparing for the For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology, or FIRST, Tech Challenge Ohio State Championship March 11, 2023. Senior Air Force Research Laboratory leaders joined middle and high school students as they competed in the FIRST event, which encouraged students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math. (U.S. Air Force photo / Jeremy Dunn)

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Robotics competition teaches kids teamwork, STEM

Hobart Arena in Troy, Ohio, hosts the For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology, or FIRST, Tech Challenge Ohio State Championship, March 11, 2023. Senior Air Force Research Laboratory leaders joined middle and high school students as they competed in the FIRST event, which encouraged students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math. (U.S. Air Force photo / Jeremy Dunn)

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AFRL researchers contribute to prestigious scientific journal ACS Nano

The graphic illustrates how the high-energy electron beam from a scanning electron microscope is used to functionalize transition metal dichalcogenides, or TMDs. Air Force Research Laboratory, or AFRL, researchers from the Materials and Manufacturing Directorate contributed this work to the February 2023 ACS Nano publication “Precision Modification of Monolayer Transition Metal Dichalcogenides via Environmental E‑Beam Patterning.” TMDs are a specific class of two-dimensional layered materials essential for the development of emerging sensing and electronic technologies for the Department of the Air Force and commercial market. The example shows hydrogen (H) and oxygen (O) atoms as they are added to TMD atomic layers consisting of sulfur (S), selenium (Se), Molybdenum (Mo) and tungsten (W) to functionalize them. The electron beam removes atoms from the TMD, causing a chemical reaction that emits light and heat which can be harnessed for use in sensing and other technologies. (U.S. Air Force graphic)

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