2022 Assessment of the DEVCOM Army
Research Laboratory

______

Army Research Laboratory Technical Assessment
Board

Laboratory Assessments Board

Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences

Consensus Study Report

NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS 500 Fifth Street, NW Washington, DC 20001

This activity was supported by a contract between the National Academy of Sciences and the DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of any organization or agency that provided support for the project.

International Standard Book Number-13: 978-0-309-70157-0
International Standard Book Number-10: 0-309-70157-0
Digital Object Identifier: https://doi.org/10.17226/26931

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Suggested citation: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2024. 2022 Assessment of the DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/26931.

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ARMY RESEARCH LABORATORY TECHNICAL ASSESSMENT BOARD

PRABHAT HAJELA, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Chair

MARK E. EBERHART, Colorado School of Mines

GEORGE (RUSTY) T. GRAY III (NAE), Los Alamos National Laboratory

WILLIAM B. ROUSE (NAE), Georgetown University

NADINE B. SARTER, University of Michigan

WILLIAM A. SIRIGNANO (NAE), University of California, Irvine

JILL H. SMITH, JHS Enterprises, LLC

LESLIE E. SMITH, National Institute of Standards and Technology

PANEL ON ASSESSMENT OF HUMANS IN COMPLEX SYSTEMS

WILLIAM B. ROUSE (NAE), Georgetown University, Chair

DENNIS K. MCBRIDE, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense, Acquisition and Sustainment

AMY L. ORSBORN, University of Washington

MANISH SAGGAR, Stanford University

GREGORY SAWICKI, Georgia Institute of Technology

NITA LEWIS SHATTUCK, Naval Postgraduate School

ROBERT F. SHEPHERD, Cornell University

GILLIAN SMITH, Worcester Polytechnic Institute

ERIN SOLOVEY, Worcester Polytechnic Institute

LAP-FAI (CRAIG) YU, George Mason University

PANEL ON ASSESSMENT OF TERMINAL EFFECTS

GEORGE (RUSTY) T. GRAY III (NAE), Los Alamos National Laboratory, Chair

ELLEN M. ARRUDA (NAE), University of Michigan

SARAH BENTIL, Iowa State University

JUSTIN L. BROWN, Sandia National Laboratories

NAMAS CHANDRA, New Jersey Institute of Technology

B. REEJA JAYAN, Carnegie Mellon University

MUKUL KUMAR, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

VIKAS PRAKASH, Washington State University

PAUL YARRINGTON, Applied Research Associates, Inc.

PANEL ON ASSESSMENT OF WEAPONS SCIENCES

WILLIAM A. SIRIGNANO (NAE), University of California, Irvine, Chair

PENINA AXELRAD (NAE), University of Colorado Boulder

ELIZABETH DONLEY, National Institute of Standards and Technology

SCOTT I. JACKSON, Texas A&M University

ANTONY JAMESON (NAE), Texas A&M University

S. KIA, University of California, Irvine

RICHARD BRYANT MILES (NAE), Princeton University

MARCO PANESI, University of Illinois System

JILL H. SMITH, JHS Enterprises, LLC

Study Staff

KATIE BRATLIE, Director, Laboratory Assessments Board

LIZA HAMILTON, Senior Program Officer, Laboratory Assessments Board

AZEB GETACHEW, Administrative Assistant, Laboratory Assessments Board

LABORATORY ASSESSMENTS BOARD

TJ GLAUTHIER, TJG Energy Associates, LLC, Chair

ILHAN A. AKSAY (NAE), Princeton University

ROBERT D. BRAUN (NAE), Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory

DAVID S. C. CHU, Institute for Defense Analyses

DONA L. CRAWFORD, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (retired)

THOMAS R. KURFESS, Georgia Institute of Technology

JUAN DE PABLO (NAS/NAE), The University of Chicago

CAROL SCHUTTE, Air Force Office of Scientific Research (retired)

Staff

KATIE BRATLIE, Director, Laboratory Assessments Board

AZEB GETACHEW, Administrative Assistant

LIZA RENEE HAMILTON, Senior Program Officer

JAMES MYSKA, Senior Program Officer

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Reviewers

This Consensus Study Report was reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in making each published report as sound as possible and to ensure that it meets the institutional standards for quality, objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process.

We thank the following individuals for their review of this report:

Although the reviewers listed above provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations of this report nor did they see the final draft before its release. The review of this report was overseen by DAVID E. CROW (NAE), University of Connecticut, and STEVEN J. WALLACH (NAE), Los Alamos National Laboratory. They were responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with the standards of the National Academies and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content rests entirely with the authoring committee and the National Academies.

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Contents

SUMMARY

1 INTRODUCTION

Preparation of This Report

Assessment Criteria

Approach Taken During Report Preparation

Report Content

2 HUMANS IN COMPLEX SYSTEMS

Introduction

Technical Quality of the Core Competency Research

Competency Portfolio of Scientific Expertise

Competency Facilities and Resources

Overall Scientific Quality of the Competency

3 TERMINAL EFFECTS

Introduction

Technical Quality of the Core Competency Research

Competency Portfolio of Scientific Expertise

Competency Facilities and Resources

Overall Scientific Quality of the Competency

4 WEAPONS SCIENCES

Introduction

Technical Quality of the Core Competency Research

Competency Portfolio of Scientific Expertise

Competency Facilities and Resources

Overall Scientific Quality of the Competency

5 COMPETENCY CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS AND CROSSCUTTING CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Humans in Complex Systems Conclusions and Recommendations

Terminal Effects Conclusions and Recommendations

Weapons Sciences Conclusions and Recommendations

Crosscutting Conclusions and Recommendations

APPENDIXES

A Army Research Laboratory Technical Assessment Board Biographical Information

B The U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Army Research Laboratory’s 11 Competencies

C 2022 Assessment Criteria

D Acronyms and Abbreviations