Armed with Science  

Hardening Army base camps from explosions and projectiles would be much simpler if we had super materials to work with, say materials with 10 times the strength of steel or twice that of Kevlar. We’ve known for years that materials are very strong at the molecular level. The reason why this strength doesn’t exist in everyday materials is because of molecular defects and poor connections between molecules. Dr. Bob Welch discusses the work of a team of researchers at the US Army Engineer Research and Development Center that are overcoming these obstacles by using the world’s strongest molecules, carbon nanotubes, and by using super computers to help design the material’s molecular bonds and arrangement. Their goal is to build sample fibers and membranes with 1-million pounds per square inch tensile strength. They recently achieved carbon nanotube fibers that have over 200,000 pounds per square inch strength, and they are working the rest of the problem.

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Carbon Nanotube Fact Sheet
Article on Dr. Welch’s team research on carbon nanotubes
Soldiers Radio and Television video clip on Dr. Welch and carbon nanotubes
US Army Engineer Research and Development Center
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Dr. Barbara Rothbaum, director of the Trauma and Anxiety Recovery Program at the Emory University School of Medicine, will discuss research investigating Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy as a treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in Iraq service members. This therapy involves recounting the experience out loud while the therapist attempts to match the virtual reality environment to the description. Through repetition, the memory becomes less painful and causes less disruption in daily activities and sleep. Lt. Col. Timothy Lacy, chief of Telehealth and Enterprise Imaging for the U.S. Air Force Medical Service, will discuss how this therapy is being utilized by Air Force mental health professionals.

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Trauma and Anxiety Recovery Program, Emory University School of Medicine
Telemental Health VR Project
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Military personnel can't shop at several different stores until they find clothing & equipment that's just the right fit for their body type, and the consequences of ill fitting equipment on the battlefield go far beyond crimes of fashion. So to optimize the safety and performance of Soldiers, US Army anthropologists do research on human body size and shape variation (anthropometry) that influences the design and sizing of everything a Soldier wears, carries, flies, drives, works at or lives in. Dr. Claire Gordon, Senior Scientist in Biological Anthropology at the US Army Natick Soldier Research, Development, & Engineering Center (NSRDEC) discusses the scientific and engineering challenges of fitting the wide variety of body sizes and shapes present in today's Army, and the technology transfer of anthropometric data and methods to civilian first responders and American Industry.

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US Army Natick Soldier RD&E Center
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