The Office of Naval Research (ONR) is an organization within the

United States Department of the Navy The United States Department of the Navy (DoN) is one of the three military departments within the Department of Defense of the United States of America. It was established by an Act of Congress on 30 April 1798, at the urging of Secretary o ...

responsible for the science and technology programs of the U.S. Navy and

Marine Corps Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refl ...

. Established by Congress in 1946, its mission is to plan, foster, and encourage scientific research to maintain future naval power and preserve national security. It carries this out through funding and collaboration with schools, universities, government laboratories, nonprofit organizations, and for-profit organizations, and overseeing the

Naval Research Laboratory The United States Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) is the corporate research laboratory for the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps. It was founded in 1923 and conducts basic scientific research, applied research, technological ...

, the corporate research laboratory for the Navy and Marine Corps. NRL conducts a broad program of scientific research, technology and advanced development. ONR Headquarters is in the Ballston neighborhood of

Arlington, Virginia Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the District of Columbia, of which it was once a part. The county is ...

. ONR Global has offices overseas in

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...

Sao Paulo SAO or Sao may refer to: Places * Sao civilisation, in Middle Africa from 6th century BC to 16th century AD * Sao, a town in Boussé Department, Burkina Faso * Saco Transportation Center (station code SAO), a train station in Saco, Maine, U ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

, and

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

Overview

ONR was authorized by an Act of Congress, Public Law 588, and subsequently approved by President

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...

on August 1, 1946. Its stated mission is "planning, fostering, and encouraging scientific research in recognition of its paramount importance as related to the maintenance of future naval power and the preservation of national security." Today, ONR carries this out through funding with grants and contracts scientists and engineers who perform basic research, technology development, and advanced technology demonstrations ONR's Science and Technology Portfolio is allocated as follows: "10% Quick Reaction & Other S&T, 30% Acquisition Enablers, 10% Leap Ahead Innovations, 40% Discovery & Invention (Basic and Applied Science), 10% Other."

Organization

ONR reports to the U.S. Secretary of the Navy through the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition. The

Chief of Naval Research The Chief of Naval Research is the senior military officer in charge of scientific research in the United States Navy. The Chief of Naval Research has a rank of Rear Admiral, and is in charge of the Office of Naval Research. The Chief of Naval ...

is Rear Admiral Lorin C. Selby and the Vice Chief of Naval Research is

Brigadier General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

Benjamin T. Watson, United States Marine Corps, who also serves as Director of

United States Marine Corps Futures Directorate United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two fi ...

and Commanding General of the

United States Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory The United States Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory (MCWL) was established in 1995, at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia. The organization was originally known as the Commandant's Warfighting Laboratory. The battle lab is part of Combat Dev ...

. ONR executes its mission through science and technology departments, corporate programs, the

(NRL), and the ONR Global office.

Science and Technology Departments

ONR has six science and technology departments that support a broad range of subjects, which span such efforts as combating terrorism, oceanography, sea warfare, and life sciences. These fund basic research programs, primarily through U.S. universities; technology research programs, primarily through government and nongovernment laboratories; and advanced technology demonstration programs, primarily through U.S. industry and companies. Additionally, ONR has an Office of Transition that supports technology transitions to the Navy and Marine Corps; a Small Business Innovative Research Office that encourages small businesses to develop and commercialize products in support of ONR’s mission; a Future Naval Capabilities Program that works to provide technologies to close warfighting gaps; and a Corporate Programs Office that supports cross-disciplinary research and education programs. As of February, 2020, ONR oversees NavalX, the US Navy Agility Cell founded by James “Hondo” Geurts in 2018. Office of Naval Research recruitment

ONR Corporate Programs: Research & Education

ONR supports many corporate research and education programs, including: * Naval Research Enterprise Intern Program ( NREIP) * Multidisciplinary Research Program of the URI ( MURI) * Defense University Research Instrumentation Program ( DURIP) of the URI * DoD Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research ( DEPSCOR) * Young Investigator Program * DoD National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (

NDSEG The Department of Defense National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship (DoD NDSEG) is a prestigious fellowship awarded annually to U.S. citizens pursuing doctoral degrees in science and engineering disciplines. The highly competiti ...

) Fellowship Program of the URI * Summer Faculty Research Program * Faculty Sabbatical Leave Program * Naval High School Science Awards Program * HBCU (Historically Black Colleges/Universities) Future Engineering Faculty Fellowship Program *HBCU/Minority Institutions Program * Science and

Engineering Apprentice An engineering apprenticeship in the United Kingdom is an apprenticeship in mechanical engineering or electrical engineering or aeronautical engineering to train craftsmen, technicians, senior technicians, Incorporated Engineers and Chartered Engin ...

Program (SEAP) (Run by ONR, funded by the American Society for Engineering Education) *

Science, Mathematics, And Research For Transformation (SMART) Defense Scholarship Program The Science, Mathematics, And Research For Transformation (SMART) Defense Scholarship Program was tested as a program in 2005 under the Air Force Office of Scientific Research. SMART was fully established by the National Defense Authorization Act ...

Naval Research Laboratory

The Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) was founded in 1923 and today employs over 2,500 scientists and engineers. NRL is the corporate research laboratory for the Navy and Marine Corps and conducts a broad program of scientific research, technology and advanced development. It has a prestigious history, including the development of the first U.S.

radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, we ...

system,

synthetic lubricants Synthetic oil is a lubricant consisting of chemical compounds that are artificially modified or synthesised. Synthetic lubricants can be manufactured using chemically modified petroleum components rather than whole crude oil, but can also be syn ...

(for modern

gas turbine A gas turbine, also called a combustion turbine, is a type of continuous flow internal combustion engine. The main parts common to all gas turbine engines form the power-producing part (known as the gas generator or core) and are, in the directio ...

engines),

over-the-horizon radar Over-the-horizon radar (OTH), sometimes called beyond the horizon radar (BTH), is a type of radar system with the ability to detect targets at very long ranges, typically hundreds to thousands of kilometres, beyond the radar horizon, which is ...

, the first U.S.

surveillance satellite A reconnaissance satellite or intelligence satellite (commonly, although unofficially, referred to as a spy satellite) is an Earth observation satellite or communications satellite deployed for military or intelligence applications. The ...

, and the Clementine space mission. A few of the Laboratory's current specialties include

plasma physics Plasma ()πλάσμα
, Henry George Liddell, R ...

, space physics, materials science, and tactical electronic warfare.

ONR Global

ONR Global regional offices are located in: *

RAF Blenheim Crescent Royal Air Force Blenheim Crescent (RAF Blenheim Crescent) is a non-flying Royal Air Force Royal Air Force station, station, in Ruislip, in Greater London, England, presently used by the United States military for administration. Units The site ...

, London, U.K. (Europe) * Santiago, Chile (Latin America) * Tokyo, Japan (Asia/Pacific) * Australia (Asia/Pacific) * Singapore (South Asia/Singapore) * Prague, Czech Republic (Europe) ONR Global is a supporter of the

Global Security Challenge The Global Security Challenge runs international business plan competitions to find and select the most promising security technology startups in the world. The GSC holds regional selection events and a Security Summit in London to bring together ...

at the

London Business School London Business School (LBS) is a business school and a constituent college of the federal University of London. LBS was founded in 1964 and awards post-graduate degrees (Master's degrees in management and finance, MBA and PhD). Its motto is " ...

Research

ONR's investments have enabled many firsts, including the launch of the first U.S. intel satellite; the development of

SEALAB SEALAB I, II, and III were experimental underwater habitats developed by the United States Navy in the 1960s to prove the viability of saturation diving and humans living in isolation for extended periods of time. The knowledge gained from the ...

I/II; the validation of the GPS concept and launch of the first GPS satellite; the first global atmospheric prediction model; GWOT support through various quick response programs; and, most recently, the electromagnetic

railgun A railgun or rail gun is a linear motor device, typically designed as a weapon, that uses electromagnetic force to launch high velocity projectiles. The projectile normally does not contain explosives, instead relying on the projectile's high ...

, the Infantry Immersive Trainer, and super-conducting motors. Others include: *

Combat Tactical Vehicle (Technology Demonstrator) The Combat Tactical Vehicle (Technology Demonstrator) was a testbed vehicle built by the Nevada Automotive Test Center (NATC), for the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle's Combat Tactical Vehicle (CTV), under contract for the Office of Naval Research (O ...

ULTRA AP The ULTRA AP (Armored Patrol) is a concept combat vehicle that was unveiled in September 2005 by the Georgia Tech Research Institute, the applied research arm of the Georgia Institute of Technology, under contract from the Office of Naval Rese ...

* Shadow RST-V * Sea Fighter * Quiet Electric Drive * R/P FLIP *

CALDIC CALDIC (the California Digital Computer) was an electronic digital computer built with the assistance of the Office of Naval Research at the University of California, Berkeley between 1951 and 1955 to assist and enhance research being conducted at ...

(California Digital Computer) – from 1951 to 1955 * Biomimetic anti-fouling ship coatings *

Ocean thermal energy conversion Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) uses the ocean thermal gradient between cooler deep and warmer shallow or surface seawaters to run a heat engine and produce useful work, usually in the form of electricity. OTEC can operate with a very hi ...

(OTEC or OTE) * Large Vessel Interface Lift-on/Lift-off The ONR has also sponsored symposia such as the

Symposium on Principles of Self-Organization The Symposium on Principles of Self-Organization was held at Allerton House on 8–9 June 1960. It was a key conference in the development of cybernetics and was in many ways a continuation of the Macy Conferences. it was organised by Heinz von Fo ...

at Allerton Park in 1960.

ONR projects and programs

BGM-109 Tomahawk The Tomahawk () Land Attack Missile (TLAM) is a long-range, all-weather, jet-powered, subsonic cruise missile that is primarily used by the United States Navy and Royal Navy in ship and submarine-based land-attack operations. Under contract f ...

Infantry Immersion Trainer The Infantry Immersion Trainer (IIT) is a mixed reality training facility prototype for small unit Infantry located in a former tomato packing plant in Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California. It has been in operation since November 2007. The ...

Interactive Scenario Builder Interactive Scenario Builder (Builder) is a modeling and simulation, three-dimensional application developed by the Advanced Tactical Environmental Simulation Team (ATEST) at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) that aids in understanding radio fre ...

(Tactical Environmental Simulation) * High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program * HMMWV replacement process *

Massive Multiplayer Online Wargame Leveraging the Internet Massive Multiplayer Online Wargame Leveraging the Internet (MMOWGLI) is an online multiplayer game used by the US Navy Office of Naval Research and other U.S. government agencies to perform online wargames in order to study various problems and ...

SIMDIS SIMDIS is a software toolset developed by Code 5770 at the US Naval Research Laboratory (NRL). The software provides 2D and 3D interactive graphical and video displays of live and postprocessed simulation, test, and operational data. SIMDIS is ...

Alleged

Philadelphia Experiment The Philadelphia Experiment was an alleged event claimed to have been witnessed by an ex- merchant mariner named Carl M. Allen at the United States Navy's Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, sometime around ...

: Said to have been conducted in 1943, three years prior to the establishment of ONR.

References

External links

Office of Naval Research Homepage Naval Research Laboratory Homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Office Of Naval Research Office of the Secretary of the Navy Science and technology in Virginia Military in Virginia Military units and formations established in 1946 Research in the United States Arlington County, Virginia Military research of the United States