The scientists at UC San Diego were jubilant, as jubilant as scientists could be when awarded 10 Defense University Research Instrumentation Program (DURIP) grants by the Department of Defense.
Nine of these lucky researchers hailed from Scripps Institution of Oceanography, a place where the ocean was studied with the same reverence one might give to a long and difficult novel. It was the second year in a row the university had secured 10 awards, which made it a tradition, and traditions, they all agreed, were very important.
The Department of Defense, meanwhile, was distributing $43 million like a magnanimous deity scattering blessings across 64 universities. “Here,” the deity said, “have some equipment, build something innovative, and don’t ask too many questions about why.” At UC San Diego, the funds would pay for underwater gliders, submarine navigation systems, and studying the impact of noise on whales. The whales, of course, had not been consulted about the noise or the research, which was standard practice.
“UC San Diego is proud to lead the nation in DURIP grants,” proclaimed Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla, beaming with the confidence of a man whose $1.73 billion in sponsored research could buy a small country. “This investment is a testament to our innovative technologies and our ability to stay one step ahead of anyone who might be paying attention.”
The DURIP program itself was a bureaucratic marvel, jointly managed by three branches of the military, each ensuring the other didn’t do anything too rash or revolutionary. The awards went to university scientists conducting basic and applied research, though what was “basic” or “applied” often depended on who was asking and why.
Rep. Sara Jacobs, proud and appropriately patriotic, declared that UC San Diego’s work was unparalleled. “They’re strengthening national security, advancing STEM, and doing all sorts of things we can barely pronounce,” she said, “and they’ve earned these 10 awards fair and square, which is remarkable given how many universities were also trying to earn them.”
Dr. Bindu Nair of the Basic Research Office agreed. “These awards are vital for maintaining our technological edge,” she said, as though the edge were a tangible thing, like a blade that might dull if not sharpened regularly with millions of dollars.
The researchers, meanwhile, busied themselves preparing for a future they could barely imagine but were determined to help shape. Bruce Appelgate at Scripps ordered CNC lathes to craft precision instruments for understanding the ocean’s mysteries, mysteries that might not want to be understood. Simone Baumann-Pickering planned to measure the impacts of naval noise on whales, who, if they could, might have told her it wasn’t necessary—they already hated the noise.
Elsewhere, William Hodgkiss designed a buoy to measure ocean currents and marine life, and Shaun Johnston upgraded gliders to follow density layers in the water, which sounded as technical as it was. Ying-Tsong Lin, ever resourceful, created sound-sending and receiving devices, while Drew Lucas engineered a wave-powered deep-ocean mooring system that harnessed the kind of energy only bureaucracies could dream of.
There were sonar sensors, radio-frequency equipment, and acoustic recorders, each project a testament to human ingenuity and a reminder that the ocean was big, deep, and more than a little indifferent to it all.
But the researchers persisted, buoyed by the hope that their work would someday lead to breakthroughs, if not in science, then at least in funding. And the whales, somewhere in the distance, swam on, blissfully unaware of the noise, the gliders, and the absurdities of it all.
UC San Diego’s 2024 DURIP awardees:
Bruce Appelgate, Associate Director at Scripps and head of Ship Operations and Marine Technical Support
Funds will be used to upgrade the Scripps Marine Science Development Center with two advanced Computer Numerical Control (CNC) lathes to enhance the facility’s ability to create precision oceanographic instruments. These high-tech machines will allow researchers to manufacture more sophisticated and accurate scientific sensors. The improved instruments will help scientists better study Earth’s ocean, atmospheric, and biological systems, ultimately advancing our understanding of the planet and the natural systems that support human life.
Simone Baumann-Pickering, Professor of Biological Oceanography at Scripps Oceanography
Funds will support the purchase of underwater instruments to better document and understand the impacts of ocean noise from the U.S. Navy activities on marine mammals, especially beaked whales. The instruments include acoustic sensors, cameras and other technologies that will form an advanced underwater monitoring system to observe how these whales behave and feed. This integrated system will help determine if underwater noise disrupts the whales’ natural foraging patterns and behaviors over time.
William Hodgkiss, Professor of Applied Ocean Science and Deputy Director of the Marine Physical Laboratory
Funds will support the creation of a specialized underwater system to measure ocean currents and detect marine life using sound waves. The system combines a current-measuring device with sonar technology, all mounted on a buoy that can be anchored to the seafloor. This equipment will help researchers better understand how sound travels through the ocean and interacts with the surface and seafloor while monitoring the surrounding marine environment.
Shaun Johnston, Researcher in Physical Oceanography at Scripps Oceanography
Funds will support upgrades to underwater gliders and floats used to precisely track underwater currents that flow along layers of constant water density in the ocean. The grant will also support development of a miniature buoyancy control system that will allow the gliders and floats, which normally don’t have precise buoyancy control, to follow these density layers with greater precision. This technology will help researchers better understand water circulation in the ocean’s interior.
Ying-Tsong Lin, Acting Professor, Marine Physical Laboratory at Scripps Oceanography
Funds will support the creation of new autonomous underwater devices that can both send and receive sound signals in the ocean. These systems are designed to be flexible, with a main control unit that manages both the sending and receiving of acoustic signals. The equipment can be attached to different types of autonomous underwater vehicles, making it easier for researchers to study how sound travels through complex ocean environments.
Kenneth Loh, Jacobs School of Engineering, Professor of Structural Engineering and Director of the Active, Responsive, Multifunctional, and Ordered-materials Research Laboratory
Funds will support the acquisition of a portable motion capture system that doesn’t require physical markers to be placed on a subject’s body. The system will allow Loh and his lab to better capture and analyze human performance in real time and in diverse environments, including outdoors.
Drew Lucas, Associate Professor at Scripps Oceanography and the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Funds will support the creation of an innovative deep-ocean mooring system that harnesses wave power to collect real-time data throughout the entire water column, from surface to seafloor. Specifically, the grant will upgrade this system to also measure ocean turbulence and mixing, which will help researchers better understand how energy moves through the ocean. This improved system will help validate satellite measurements and enhance the ability to forecast ocean conditions by making computer models more accurate.
Florian Meyer, Assistant Professor at Scripps Oceanography and the Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Funds will support the creation of a sonar sensor that enables autonomous underwater vehicles to map the seafloor and improve their navigation.
Eric Terrill, Director of the Marine Physical Laboratory at Scripps Oceanography
The funds will support the fabrication of specialized radio frequency equipment that can measure the travel time and path loss of signals moving through the atmosphere just above the sea. Taking systematic measurements with the new devices will provide integrated measurements of the ocean waves and overlying atmosphere.
Aaron Thode, Researcher in Applied Ocean Science at Scripps Oceanography
Funds will be used to expand the capability of several autonomous acoustic vector sensor recorders. These recorders measure the direction a sound is coming from, and the grant funding will support researchers as they attempt to enhance the time-synchronization of data between individual recorders placed on autonomous vehicles.
Be the first to comment on "UC San Diego rides wave of innovation with DOD grants"