News Release: DARPA Contractors, Staff Receive Awards for Excellence in Performance

Director’s Award for Outstanding Personal Accomplishment
Dr. Robert A. Hummel

Dr. Robert A. Hummel has developed imagery exploitation technologies that have transformed our nation’s capabilities to detect elusive adversaries. His personal efforts directly led to several significant technical breakthroughs in automatic target recognition, 3D data exploitation, and improvised explosive device detection.

Dr. Hummel supported U.S. forces in combat operations by spearheading the rapid transition of DARPA-developed imagery exploitation capabilities to the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. Senior Department of Defense leaders described his efforts as providing “tremendous national tactical intelligence support” to our warfighters during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Dr. Hummel is powered by ideas. He is energized—and energizes others—in the pursuit of ideas to ensure America’s Armed Forces have the world’s best warfighting capabilities.

Significant Technical Achievement
BBN Technologies

BBN Technologies developed Boomerang, an effective and innovative acoustic shot-detection system that improves the force protection capabilities of American units serving in Iraq.

The Boomerang system detects shots fired at an American vehicle or position, determines the direction from where the shot was fired, and displays this information to our forces. The Boomerang technology is effective and reliable, and its performance is comparable to similar systems—at nearly an order of magnitude less cost.

BBN met demanding development and deployment deadlines, with its personnel working long hours and weekends to get the job done. BBN completed a prototype of the Boomerang system 30 days after contract award, and delivered 50 systems to U.S. Marine Corps units deploying to Iraq within 60 days of contract award—a remarkable achievement by any standard.

Significant Technical Achievement
Dr. W. Lewis Johnson

Dr. W. Lewis Johnson, Director of the Center for Advanced Research in Technology for Education at the University of Southern California, Information Sciences Institute, developed the Tactical Language Training System (TLTS), an innovative technology program that expertly trains U.S. forces in foreign language and cultures.

Dr. Johnson’s novel idea of incorporating nonverbal gestures, such as cultural norms of etiquette and politeness, into TLTS helps our troops develop the important skills necessary to communicate and establish rapport with the local populace in overseas operations.

The U.S. Army and Marine Corps adopted Dr. Johnson’s program and use it today to prepare troops for duty in Iraq. The program’s success is best summarized by one soldier’s words, “I learned more in 1 day with this than I learned in my whole tour in Iraq.”

Small Business Innovation Research
Dot Metrics Technologies Corporation

The Dot Metrics Technologies Corporation team convincingly demonstrated the feasibility of a new method for introducing deep-green luminescent nanostructures into semiconductor materials for LED applications. Dot Metrics achieved this breakthrough via a proprietary process sequence that produces a higher efficiency electroluminescent output, tunable to the deep-green portion of the visible spectrum.

The breakthrough technology achieved by Dot Metrics in filling the “green gap” will directly translate into more weight- and power-efficient solid-state lighting devices in applications ranging from displays to general lighting. The technology will be part of a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) program to install innovative lighting systems on U.S. Navy vessels.

Sustained Excellence by a Government Agent
Michael Blackstone

Michael Blackstone, of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Contracts Management Office, demonstrated outstanding performance supporting DARPA’s Command Post of the Future (CPOF) program and DARPA in general.

He reorganized the many CPOF performers and contracts into a single team with a prime contractor and key subcontractors to better support important mission requirements. Mr. Blackstone completed the many contracts in record time and enabled the new CPOF team to accelerate research to support U.S. Joint Forces in Iraq.

Mr. Blackstone reduced the time required to finalize DARPA program contracts, saved thousands of dollars by implementing processes to avoid cost overruns in program contracts, and helped establish an advanced electronic tool to issue broad agency announcements. His ability to quickly adapt to challenging circumstances directly led to the success of many DARPA programs.

Sustained Excellence by a Performer
AeroVironment, Inc.

AeroVironment, Inc., displayed outstanding dedication to the joint warfighter needs by developing the WASP Micro Air Vehicle (MAV). The WASP vehicle provides America’s forces with a new, effective capability for communications, area surveillance, and target tracking.

AeroVironment used innovative multifunctional materials concepts in designing the WASP. The design uses a main battery as the wing structure that keeps the vehicle remarkably small and lightweight, while maintaining the capability to provide real-time images and data via a miniature camera. The WASP has exceptional flight stability, autonomy, and durability and set an endurance record for MAVs that is three times longer than any comparably equipped and sized air vehicle.

AeroVironment worked with the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps personnel to ensure the WASP was designed to be useful for real-world operational missions. As a result of AeroVironment’s tireless dedication and efforts, the WASP has demonstrated the significant utility of a micro air vehicle to military operations.

Sustained Excellence by a Performer
Command Post of the Future Front-Line Team

The Command Post of the Future (CPOF) continues to advance as a revolutionary command and control (C2) technology since delivery of the program 2 years ago to U.S. Army units in Iraq.

The CPOF Front-Line Team— Global Infotek, Inc.; ISX Corporation; Oculus Info, Inc.; SYS Technologies, Inc.; and Viz (GDC4S)—led the complicated, simultaneous deployment and maintenance of CPOF systems to military units preparing for deployment to and performing missions in Iraq.

Over the past 2 years, the CPOF technology has impressed our front-line warriors. Field commanders repeatedly state that CPOF saves soldiers’ lives by enabling units to effectively coordinate operations from scattered locations. CPOF has emerged as the primary C2 system for a U.S. Army division of 30,000 soldiers engaged in stability operations.

The CPOF Front-Line Team is a model of how expertise from diverse companies and organizations can collaborate to create a highly efficient and effective program. The Front-Line Team hosts an on-site team in Iraq and a stateside team, both available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to solve system problems and immediately make system enhancements based on lessons learned.

As a result of CPOF’s proven performance, the U.S. Army started an acquisition program to equip all Army units with CPOF.