Georgia Tech Research Institute

AFRL ML-RCP Partner Institution Capabilities Assessment

Contact Information

Name: Thomas Martin

Title: Chief Scientist

Email: thomas.martin@gtri.gatech.edu

Research

1. Please select the research areas in which your institution currently engages.

• Structural materials – Jason Nadler jason.nadler@gtri.gatech.edu

• Support for operations – T.D. Wallace thomas.wallace@gtri.gatech.edu

• Radio frequency sensing – Vince Camp vince.camp@gtri.gatech.edu

• Spectrum warfare – Phil West phil.west@gtri.gatech.edu

• High speed systems – Krish Ahuja  krish.ahuja@gtri.gatech.edu

• Rocket propulsion – Aimee Williams aimeeilliams@gtri.gatech.edu

• Aerospace vehicles – Charles Pippin charles.pippin@gtri.gatech.edu

• Bio effects – Mike Farrell mike.l.farrell@gtri.gatech.edu

• Functional materials & applications – Jud Ready jud.ready@gtri.gatech.edu

• Manufacturing technology – Stephen Balakirsky stephen.balakirsky@gtri.gatech.edu

• Electro-optical sensing – Chris Valenta chris.valenta@gtri.gatech.edu

• Layered sending exploitation & enabling sensor devices/components – Chris James chris.james@gtri.gatech.edu

• Control, power, & thermal management systems – Comas Haynes Comas.Haynes@gtri.gatech.edu

• Turbine engines – Krish Ahuja  krish.ahuja@gtri.gatech.edu

• Human centered intelligence surveillance & reconnaissance – Teresa Selee teresa.selee@gtri.gatech.edu

• Training & decision making – Patrick Dowdy patrick.dowdy@gtri.gatech.edu

2. Please note, in detail, any research areas of strength not listed above. This may include fundamental sciences (e.g., math, physics, biology, etc.).

While the GTRI core capabilities are largely identified above, what is new and emerging at GTRI is the emphasis placed on integrating across our core capabilities in key areas to amplify our impact as part of our strategic technology portfolio. 

GTRI has identified 5 Strategic Pursuits as a focus of integration across our core to advance basic and applied research across the full breadth of Georgia Tech to meet national security challenges:

• Trusted and Resilient Cyber-Physical Systems

•  Agile, Evolving EM Spectrum Operations

• Decision Superiority at the Contested Edge

• Trusted AI for National Security

• Accelerated Georgia Innovations in Equity

Since GTRI is a research unit within the Georgia Institute of Technology, there is collaborative research efforts with the resident instruction side. The resident instruction side is comprised of 29 schools within 6 colleges (engineering, computing, sciences, design, liberal arts, and business).

Specific schools to highlight in the college of engineering would be: Aerospace, Biomedical, Chemical, Electrical and Computer, Industrial and Systems, Materials Science, and Mechanical.

Specific schools to highlight in the college of computing would be: Computational Science, Computer Science, Cybersecurity, and Interactive Computing.

Specific schools to highlight in the college of sciences would be: Biology, Chemistry, Earth and Atmospheric, Mathematics, and Physics.

3. Are there any emerging areas of research your institution is actively seeking to develop?

GTRI has prioritized two emerging areas of research:

• space initiatives with an emerging focus on cislunar space domain awareness and systems

• exploring the intersections of biology and engineering

4. Does your institution have any internal research centers or participate in any research consortia?

As part of the Georgia Institute of Technology, GT/GTRI has multiple internal research centers and participates in numerous research consortia.

As one example of many: GT/GTRI implements an interdisciplinary research program with 10 focus areas – specifically: Bioengineering / Bioscience, People and Technology, Sustainable Systems, Energy, Renewable Bioproducts, Manufacturing, Materials, Electronics and Nanotechnology, Robotics, and Data Engineering / Science.

https://research.gatech.edu/interdisciplinary-research

         Additional examples can be provided if requested.

5. Please provide a list of relevant facilities and equipment.

GTRI has numerous facilities and associated equipment to support the areas of research identified in question 1 of this document. GTRI shall endeavor to update this list on a continuous basis and specific examples can be provided if requested. Several key examples of GTRI facilities in the following:

The Institute for Electronics and Nanotechnology (IEN) operates state-of-the-art electronics and nanotechnology core facilities at Georgia Tech, offering a broad range of fabrication and characterization capabilities for activities from basic discovery to prototype realization. Specific facilities include: fabrication cleanroom, bio cleanroom, materials cleanroom, assembly & environmental testing, and high frequency testing. More detail provided in the following URL: https://research.gatech.edu/nano/core.

GTRI also has separate clean rooms in order to conduct classified research with respect to fabrication, materials analysis, and failure analysis.  

GTRI has several high-performance computing (HPC) clusters to support both classified and unclassified modeling and simulation efforts with respect to radio frequency sensing, spectrum warfare, and electro-optical sensing.

6. Does your institution have a relationship with any other academic institution or research organization(s) that enables your access to their facilities and equipment?

• Yes, Georgia Institute of Technology, GTRI is the applied research arm of the Georgia Institute of Technology

7. Has your institution collaborated with the Department of Defense in the past?

• Yes

8. Is your institution involved in any federal STEM funding efforts?

• Yes

9. This program requires documentation (i.e., theses, dissertation, presentations, etc.) to go through the AFRL public affairs review process. Would this present a challenge for your institution?

• No 

Research Administration and Compliance

10. Does your institution have an office of sponsored programs?

• Yes

11. Does your institution have an approval process for seeking extramural funding?

• Yes

12. Does your institution accept federal award dollars and manage standard fiscal reporting, and compliance requirements?

• Yes

13. Does your institution provide guidance to PIs for budget development?

• Yes

14. Does your institution offer proposal development services?

• Yes

15. Does your institution offer research development services, e.g., assistance with finding research funding, proposal management, team formation/development, etc.?

• Yes

16. Does you institution offer research compliance training and education, i.e., roles and responsibilities of principal investigators?

• Yes

17. Does your institution have a designated Export Control Officer?

• Yes

18. Is your institution registered with the US State Department Directorate of Defense Trade Controls?

• Yes

19. Does your institution currently perform Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI/ NIST 800-171 compliant) research?

• Yes

20. Does your institution currently perform research subject to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations?

• Yes

21. Does your institution have a DoD Facility Security Clearance (FCL)?  If Yes:

a.    What is the FCL’s classification level? Top Secret

b.    What is the FCL’s authorized safeguarding level? Top Secret

c.     How many safeguarding-approved spaces do you manage? 

• Approximately 30, more detail can be provided if deemed necessary

d.    What is your facility’s CAGE Code(s)? 

• Georgia Institute of Technology, ØKC83

ML-RCP Program Expectations

22. The objective of the AFRL ML-RCP is to enable and enhance the research capabilities of the HBCU’s/MSIs through collaborative research efforts with AFRL. What would be necessary for you to receive to meet this objective? 

If AFRL is content with HBCUs/HSIs performing only fundamental research, then the path is straightforward. However, if AFRL plans for the HBCUs/MSIs to eventually conduct research that is Classified or Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI), then it would be helpful for AFRL to share their plan to facilitate this effort.

Does AFRL have a tool to match researchers between HBCUs/MSIs and institutions that have historically performed research with AFRL? GTRI/Georgia Institute of Technology has been internally developing a tool to support this endeavor for the past two years, but the tool is not yet complete. 

Can AFRL provide their Minority Leaders Research Collaboration Program (AFRL ML-RCP) process from solicitation to award?