SDL project has $26 million potential
The Naval Research Laboratory, based in Washington, D.C., has guaranteed up to $26 million for a task order at Utah State University’s Space Dynamics Laboratory.
The task order is the sixth that IS&R (intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance) division of SDL has received from this contractor and is expected to be completed in 2007, Neil Holt, IS&R division director,said.
Amy Seacrist, financial cost analyst at SDL, said the project will develop technologies for rapid prototyping hardware and real-time reconnaissance.
“Basically, this is cutting edge technology,” Secrist said. “It’s what’s the next best thing for reconnaissance.”
The ultimate goal is to decrease the time of information relay and increase the safety of soldiers, Holt said.
“This is work that can potentially contribute to the success of military personnel wherever they may be,” said Randy Jost, a Utah State University professor who has worked with IS&R.
Holt said while the task order has the potential to be valued at $26,249,456, only $200,000 has been currently secured and more will be given only as needed.
“As they [Naval Research Laboratory] identify work that fits the statement of work and funding, then they will continue to incrementally fund the task,” Holt said.
Funding of the $200,000 is expected to be received soon, Holt said, and work on the project will begin as soon as the funding is in place.
“The worst case scenario would be SDL is not given any more money or work for this task and the contract expires,” Holt said. “The best case would be to receive more projects and be awarded the entire amount – we will hope for the latter.”
The previous five task orders have been valued near $49.9 million, Secrist said, and Holt said work is still being done on task order 005.
Secrist said IS&R has been working with the Navy for six to seven years and feels the two groups work well as a team.
“I think it’s a great working relationship. It’s a great opportunity to work together and to accomplish a common goal,” she said.
Secrist said SDL is in charge of the design and development phase of the project, and once the U.S. Navy has found the work acceptable, the technology will be passed on to larger companies who will manufacture it.
“What they’re doing is cutting edge stuff. I think there’s a lot of potential benefit both for the military and commercially,” Jost, also an active Air Force reserve officer, said.
Jost is the only professor working on the task orders, Secrist said, so most of the work is being done by professional engineers.
However, Jost said, some very limited work has been done by USU students.
“I have had some students do various pieces that I’ve integrated. Because of the nature of the project, though, not too many or too extensively,” he said.
Jost said hands-on experience through projects at SDL are important for students.
“Working with them [Navy] is what we train our students to do – why we like to get them involved in SDL projects,” he said. “It’s an opportunity for them to see what they’ll be working on down the line after graduation.”
-bnelson@cc.usu.edu