Assessing the Health of Army Laboratories. Funding for Basic Research and Laboratory Capital Equipment
Abstract
In 1991 a Federal Commission appointed by the Secretary of Defense listed some characteristics of an effective laboratory: Clear and stable mission, Highly competent and dedicated workforce, Highly qualified and empowered leadership, State-of-the-art equipment and facilities, Close relations with the user/customer, Strong basic research component, Budget stability, Champion in senior management above the laboratory, Strong ties to other laboratories inside and outside the government. The authors have been studying the Army Science and Technology Laboratories for several years to see what might be done to strengthen them. In this paper we respond to requests from the office of the Army S&T Executive to address the adequacy of the funding provided to two of the above characteristics: equipment and basic research. The equipment issue is one of providing high quality research tools that enable the research staff to work at the frontiers; the funding of basic research concerns providing a strong program of fundamental and exploratory work. Having both excellent equipment and a foundation in basic research will help to ensure the technical quality of the products from the Army laboratories. With the above in mind, this paper is divided into three sections, one for each topic of focus and a third for overall recommendations.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 2010
- Accession Number
- ADA528880
Entities
People
- John W. Lyons
- Richard Chait
Organizations
- National Defense University