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Knuckle Sensor

A soft ultrasonic patch that continuously measures blood pressure waveforms was a project previously developed by the Nano-Bio Materials Consortium, or NBMC, in collaboration with the University of California San Diego. The NBMC, led by the Air Force Research Laboratory, or AFRL, in partnership with primary contractor Semiconductor Equipment Materials International, or SEMI, has publicly released a request for proposals for dual-use projects designed to accelerate innovations in Smart MedTech, a field that encompasses human performance monitoring and augmentation. AFRL has provided approximately $4.5 million in primary funding for the 2023 call for proposals as part of its mission to address key capability and technology gaps in the Smart MedTech arena. (U.S. Air Force photo / Mary Pacinda)

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Upper Arm Sensor

Wearable bio-signal sensing for real-time cognitive, physical state monitoring and augmentation, and dermal, transdermal and subcutaneous sensing are just two of the smart medical technology fields that the Air Force Research Laboratory, or AFRL, seeks to accelerate in partnership with the Nano-Bio Materials Consortium, or NBMC, and Semiconductor Equipment Materials International, or SEMI, to improve human performance monitoring and performance augmentation. SEMI, the primary contractor for this effort, is currently accepting proposals for dual-use projects designed to accelerate innovations in smart medical technology, also known as Smart MedTech, from industry and academic investigators, manufacturers and developers in the Smart MedTech supply chain. (U.S. Air Force photo / Holly Jordan)

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Biomaterials Research Scientist

Bioinformatics Team Lead Dr. Blake Stamps pipettes biological samples for use in a DNA sequencer, an instrument that researchers in the Air Force Research Laboratory, or AFRL’s, Materials and Manufacturing Directorate use to read DNA samples and generate high-quality electronic data pertaining to the muskox genome, in the Synthetic Biology Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, May 10, 2023. Scientists are most interested in the genomic information most closely associated with the thinness of muskox wool fibers, as thinner fibers provide greater thermal insulating properties. (U.S. Air Force photo / Jonathan Taulbee)

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Biomaterials Research Scientist

Biomaterials Research Scientist Dr. Victor Roman examines the density of overnight saturated bacterial cultures in a small flask that was used to “seed” larger volumes of cultures in the Air Force Research Laboratory, or AFRL, Synthetic Biology Laboratory in AFRL’s Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, May 10, 2023. “Seeding” is the first step in prepping cultures for keratin expression, and the smaller flask contains a bacterial strain engineered to express a particular muskox keratin protein. Culture density is an indicator of healthy bacterial growth, Roman said. (U.S. Air Force photo / Jonathan Taulbee)

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Biomaterials Research Scientist

2nd Lt. Evon Delisle, a Biomaterials Research Scientist, prepares muskox guard hair samples to test their break force, or load that the material can sustain before breaking, in the Air Force Research Laboratory, or AFRL, Biomaterials Laboratory of the Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, May 12, 2023. Researchers involved in this facet of the muskox wool keratin fiber project seek correlations between animal age, fiber diameter and break force, and examine how those characteristics are associated with different keratin genes. (U.S. Air Force photo / Jonathan Taulbee)

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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 Quantum research advances capabilities for command, control and communication in future Air, Space and Cyber Force operations

Researchers at the Air Force Research Laboratory Information Directorate in Rome, N.Y. are advancing quantum technologies from the individual quantum bit or qubit, level to the system level, where different qubit types must interface for future capabilities for the US Air Force.

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AFRL, University of Arizona foster collaboration at tech collider event

Participants attend the University Tech Collider Working Group at the Rotunda at Science and Technology Park in Albuquerque, New Mexico, April 13, 2023. The event aimed to develop and improve knowledge of career opportunities for University of Arizona students, advance technological development in the state of Arizona and expand science, technology, engineering and math education outreach initiatives throughout the Arizona educational system. (U.S. Air Force photo)

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AFRL, University of Arizona foster collaboration at tech collider event

Participants attend the University Tech Collider Working Group at the Rotunda at Science and Technology Park in Albuquerque, New Mexico, April 13, 2023. The event aimed to develop and improve knowledge of career opportunities for University of Arizona students, advance technological development in the state of Arizona and expand science, technology, engineering and math education outreach initiatives throughout the Arizona educational system. (U.S. Air Force photo)

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AFRL eyes development of next-generation textile for DAF uniforms

A domesticated adult muskox rests in its pasture at the Palmer Muskox Farm in Palmer, Alaska. While materials such as merino wool and goose down have typically been used to insulate cold-weather garments, Air Force Research Laboratory, or AFRL, researchers have recently begun to explore muskox wool fibers as an alternative source for thermal-insulating textiles for military uniforms. However, a raw muskox wool supply chain will be difficult to come by, as the average Alaskan muskox typically only produces one offspring every one to three years. Because it is not practical to breed these animals solely for their wool, researchers in AFRL’s Materials and Manufacturing Directorate have set their sights on recreating muskox wool keratin fibers in the lab using synthetic biology to address theoretical supply chain needs, prioritize U.S.-based textile manufacturing and promote biotechnology research initiatives in the United States. (Courtesy photo / Cornell University)

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AFRL eyes development of next-generation textile for DAF uniforms

Dr. Heather Jay Huson, animal geneticist and associate professor at Cornell University, stands at pasture with two adult muskoxen at the Palmer Muskox Farm in Palmer, Alaska. Huson has humanely collected biological DNA samples from a herd of domesticated muskoxen housed at the farm for her own research purposes for more than 15 years. Through a contract with the Air Force Research Laboratory, or AFRL, Huson provided samples of raw muskox wool to researchers in AFRL’s Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, who tested the material to establish that its thermal insulating properties are comparable to merino wool. Researchers in AFRL’s Biomaterials branch and the 711th Human Performance Wing are currently testing a process known as electrospinning to blend synthetic muskox wool keratins with preexisting polymer materials, such as nylon, to create an alternative textile that is lighter, more breathable, and more environmentally sustainable for future use in U.S. Department of the Air Force uniforms. (Courtesy photo/ Cornell University)

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AFRL eyes development of next-generation textile for DAF uniforms

A trio of domesticated muskoxen stand at pasture at the Palmer Muskox Farm in Palmer, Alaska. DNA samples collected from muskoxen at the farm have been crucial to enabling research recently conducted in the Air Force Research Laboratory, or AFRL’s, Materials and Manufacturing Directorate and the 711th Human Performance Wing on the viability of raw muskox wool fiber and synthetic muskox wool keratins for use in cold-weather military-grade textiles. Initial research indicates that raw muskox wool fibers — a material also known by the indigenous term qiviut — are preferred for their ability to lend enhanced thermal insulating properties to clothing. Muskoxen are genetically similar to goats and are one of very few prehistoric animals still in existence today, though they became extirpated, or virtually extinct, in Alaska by 1920. Relocation efforts brought muskoxen herds back to Alaska in the 1930s. The species thrives in the extremely cold and dry climate of the high Arctic. (Courtesy photo / Cornell University)

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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, MDA, and Space Dynamics Lab in Albuquerque, N.M., Aug. 15, 2021. (U.S. Air Force photo by Jesse Olson)

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AFWERX and USAFA Spark partner to offer training and networking to innovators

Airmen, cadets and Department of Defense partners attending the AFWERX sponsored Innovation Week event at the U.S. Air Force Academy listen to a CyberWorx presentation during a tour of the Academy campus, in Colorado Springs, Colo., March 20, 2023. (U.S. Air Force photo by Kacey Napier)

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AFWERX and USAFA Spark partner to offer training and networking to innovators

Airmen, cadets and Department of Defense partners participate in innovation training and networking exercises during the AFWERX sponsored Innovation Week event at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., March 22, 2023. (U.S. Air Force photo by Kacey Napier)

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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 and USAFA Spark partner to offer training and networking to innovators

Airmen, cadets and Department of Defense partners participate in innovation training and networking exercises during the AFWERX sponsored Innovation Week event at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., March 22, 2023. (U.S. Air Force photo / Kacey Napier)

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220930-F-NI018-1254

Assorted mental health and caring agency promotional material rest on a tabletop. Air Force Materiel Command helping agencies are equipped to provide the support and care to individuals who seek help during times of need. (U.S. Air Force courtesy photo by Airman 1st Class William Pugh)

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Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for Regional Network Hub-Midwest

Monica Poelking, deputy chief technology officer at Air Force Research Laboratory, or AFRL, speaks during the kick off of the Regional Hub Network – Midwest opening ceremony April 21, 2023, at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. The opening ceremony signified the beginning of a partnership between AFRL and Purdue University to collaborate on new science and technology innovations that the warfighter can use faster to keep the country safe. (U.S. Air Force photo / Aleah M. Castrejon)

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Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for Regional Network Hub-Midwest

The Air Force Research Laboratory, or AFRL, partners with Purdue University to kick off the Regional Hub Network - Midwest opening ceremony April 21, 2023, at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, announcing the first three projects: Passive control of hypersonic boundary layer turbulence via porous carbon-matrix ceramics with the collaborative team: Hysonic, AFRL, University of Dayton, University of Dayton Research Institute, Raytheon Technologies, Elevate Ventures; Effect of thermal deformation on reattachment heating overshoot with collaborative team: University of Notre Dame, The Ohio State University, AFRL; and Development of solid-fueled rotating detonation engines with collaborative team: Purdue University, USSF, Spectral Energies, Adranos. (U.S. Air Force photo / Aleah M. Castrejon)

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