AFRL Regional Network – Mid-Atlantic Hosts 2024 Annual Meeting, Awards $1.3 Million in Project Funding
The meeting served as an inflection point for a rapidly growing Mid-Atlantic Network, featuring highly influential speakers and the most competitive funding cycle to date in the Network’s history.
New York, NY – November 15, 2024 – The AFRL Regional Network – Mid-Atlantic successfully convened its 2024 Annual Meeting on November 7th at the SUNY Global Center in New York City and awarded $1.3 million to 9 project teams – the most competitive funding cycle to date in the Network’s history with 60 proposal submissions during the Fall ‘24 cycle.
Networking sessions, panel discussions, and keynote speakers brought together leaders from academia, industry, and government to foster innovation, announce key initiatives, and celebrate outstanding projects.
The day opened with remarks from Emmanuel Giannelis and Patrick Govang, Co-Directors of the Network, and John Luginsland, Collaboration Director of the Network, who emphasized the importance of cross-sector collaboration and innovation in critical technologies.
The meeting also featured a fireside keynote discussion with Dr. Timothy J. Bunning, Chief Technology Officer of AFRL, and Doug Philippone, Founder and General Partner of Snowpoint Ventures and Senior Defense Advisor at Palantir Technologies.
Lieutenant General (Ret.) S. Clinton Hinote also delivered a keynote address on the critical role of technological innovation in advancing national security.
Presentations and workshops throughout the day covered critical themes associated with the Network’s previous funding cycles, such as complex systems, performance in extreme environments, and edge computing.
During the closing session, the Network announced funding awards for innovative projects submitted during the Fall ‘24 funding cycle.
Phase 1 awardees include:
Tam Nguyen, University of Maryland: Rapid Discovery of Cislunar Objects (Rapid DisCO) ($100,000)
Jared Maxson, Cornell University: Spectroscopy for Compact, Rugged Electron Linear Accelerators ($100,000)
Jon McCandless, Gallox Semiconductor: Packaging and Device Engineering of Ga203 Diodes and Transistors ($100,000)
Reeja Jayan, Carnegie Mellon University: Evaluating the Radiation Shielding Properties of MXenes Produced through a Low Carbon Process ($100,000)
Kwame Amponsah, Xallent Inc.: Non-Contact Micro-Resistivity Module for Wide Bandgap Material Characterization ($100,000)
Phase 2 and 3 awardees, selected on November 13, include:
Christopher Schauerman, Cellec Technologies: Resilient 0-Volt Batteries Using Semi-solid Technology (R0BUST) ($200,000)
Misty Blowers, Datalytica: Reverse Engineering & Vulnerability Elucidation of ALgorithms (REVEAL) ($200,000)
Jayson Boubin, Binghamton University: Autonomous UAVs for Real-Time Hyperspectral Phenomena Detection ($200,000)
Austin Hickman, Soctera: Package, Assembly, and Test of UltraHEMT Power Amplifiers ($200,000) (Phase 3)
“The awarded projects reflect the collective ingenuity and dedication of the Network’s partners,” said Giannelis. “We are proud to provide $1.3 million in funding to catalyze innovation that will shape future technological advancements and serve as a key differentiator in the market and for our nation’s defense capabilities.”
"The projects and discussions at this year’s meeting highlight the transformative impact of academic, industry, and government collaboration,” said Govang. Through these awards, we hope to reinforce our mission to create lasting connections and drive innovation in fields critical to national security and technological excellence.”
To see images from the 2024 Annual Meeting, please visit https://www.midatlantichub.afresearchlab.com/2024-annual-meeting-images.
For more information about upcoming proposal solicitations and events, membership, or to join the Mid-Atlantic Hub’s email distribution list, please visit https://www.midatlantichub.afresearchlab.com/.
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ABOUT THE AFRL REGIONAL HUB NETWORK – MID-ATLANTIC
The AFRL Regional Hub Network – Mid-Atlantic is a pilot network supported by the Air Force Research Lab and led by Cornell University. Founding member institutions include Binghamton University, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Columbia University, Griffiss Institute, Johns Hopkins University, Princeton University, SUNY Polytechnic Institute, and the SUNY Research Foundation. The Mid-Atlantic Hub aims to provide key connections between industry, academia, and the government to foster innovation of critical technologies. For more information about the Hub or inquire about becoming a member, visit https://midatlantichub.afresearchlab.com/.
ABOUT AFRL
The Air Force Research Laboratory, or AFRL, is the primary scientific research and development center for the Department of the Air Force. AFRL plays an integral role in leading the discovery, development, and integration of affordable warfighting technologies for our air, space and cyberspace force. With a workforce of more than 11,500 across nine technology areas and 40 other operations across the globe, AFRL provides a diverse portfolio of science and technology ranging from fundamental to advanced research and technology development. For more information, visit www.afresearchlab.com.
