National security at heart of reactive materials research
A team of scientists at Washington State University’s Applied Sciences Laboratory (ASL) has been awarded an $8.5 million research contract to develop and demonstrate reactive materials to be used in a new generation of national security applications.
“We’ve been asked to make a material that is mechanically as good as steel, and yet can release chemical energy on demand,” said Yogendra M. Gupta, who is director of WSU’s Institute of Shock Physics and one of five principal investigators on the project.
ASL focuses on applied research
ASL, which was founded by Dr. Gupta, is the applied research component of the Institute for Shock Physics. Located on the WSU Spokane campus, ASL undertakes a broad range of applied research projects for government agencies and private corporations.
The contract was awarded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) of the U.S. Department of Defense. Of the $8.5 million total, $6.4 million will be directed to WSU. The remainder will be shared by collaborators at the Southwest Research Institute headquartered in San Antonio, and SRI International, a California-based independent research institute.
Reactive materials are a relatively new class of materials comprised of two or more substances, such as a metal and a synthetic polymer. Items made of reactive materials can be safely moved, thrown, and even burned—an advantage over conventional materials that are subject to explosion under similar conditions.
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