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NEWS | May 14, 2020

Carderock Supports Capital and Mid-Atlantic Tech Bridges

By NSWC Carderock Division Corporate Communications

WEST BETHESDA, MARYLAND – Assistant Secretary of the Navy (ASN) for Research, Development and Acquisition (RDA) James Geurts announced the creation of six more Tech Bridges nationwide during a virtual press conference on May 12.

Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock Division is involved in two of these new bridges, leading the Capital Tech Bridge in the National Capital region, and supporting the Mid-Atlantic Tech Bridge in the Hampton Roads region.

Established under the Naval Agility Office (NavalX), Tech Bridges connect, reinforce, and sustain acceleration ecosystems in off-base locations to lower the barriers to entry and to enable greater collaboration with non-traditional partners. Tech Bridges partner with start-ups, academia, corporations, small businesses, non-profits, and private capital. Additionally, Tech Bridges serve within the growing ecosystem of Department of Defense innovation groups, providing greater collaboration.

“Today, we’re doubling the size of the Tech Bridge network with six additional sites,” said Geurts. “There’s lots of great activity going on across the Navy and Marine Corps team. Tech Bridges give us an easy way to connect and accelerate our learning. We’re able to connect folks with great ideas for solutions with folks that could put those into use. A Tech Bridge is not an activity unto itself, as much as connecting everyone together so we can speed discovery across the lifecycle – focusing on all phases of deployment all the way through sustainment. We need to act at the pace of relevance to be able to compete on a global scale. We need to incorporate design thinking to solve timely problems and enable naval labs to leverage the collision of ideas which leads to strength as a nation.”

The Capital Tech Bridge partners currently include NSWC Carderock Division, NSWC Dahlgren Division, NSWC Indian Head EOD Technology Division and Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory.

During the event, Dr. Krista Michalis, NSWC Carderock Division’s Naval Innovative Science and Engineering (NISE) director and Capital Tech Bridge lead, discussed the initial areas of their team’s focus.

“Digital Engineering is the first technical focus of the Capital Tech Bridge, as data-driven decision making is the future,” said Michalis. “We are looking to leverage digital models and tools throughout the lifecycle of a naval platform and gain additional insights into performance. We’re interested in teaming with partners in all aspects of the digital thread continuum: digital design, digital manufacturing, application of digital twin concepts, big data analytics, machine learning, and high-performance computing – just to name a few. These areas are rich with insights from folks across government, industry and academia. Working together, we can move the needle forward for the warfighter.”

The Mid-Atlantic Tech Bridge, or MATB, is a partnership between the U.S. Navy’s Second Fleet and three Naval Warfare Centers in the region — NSWC Carderock Division’s Norfolk Detachment, NSWC Dahlgren Division’s Dam Neck Activity and Naval Information Warfare Center (NIWC) Atlantic Hampton Roads Detachment.

“Building this Hampton Roads regional Tech Bridge will enable us to leverage feedback from Sailors and Marines as well as engage with the lead scientists and engineers from these regional Naval Commands,” said Dr. Julie Stark, NSWC Carderock representative for the MATB, following the event. “This will help us to identify warfighter technology gaps and needs, and help focus how we collaborate with the regional technology ecosystem.”

NSWC Carderock Division Technical Director Larry Tarasek shared the group’s enthusiasm for the increased opportunities for partnership.

“As a NAVSEA Warfare Center, we’re always looking for ways we can expand the advantage and accelerate delivery of solutions to Navy and Marine Corps challenges. I’m very excited to see Carderock supporting multiple Tech Bridges. This is absolutely a win all around,” said Tarasek.

Capt. Cedric McNeal, commanding officer for NSWC Carderock Division, said one of the command’s focus areas for fiscal year 2020 was to expand partnerships with industry and academia.

“The Tech Bridge launch will accomplish that and more than what we would have ever imagined,” said McNeal. “We’re beyond excited at the opportunities presented here as we look to further advance our capabilities in support of our nation’s defense.” 

Following Geurts’ announcement, each individual Tech Bridge will be hosting follow-on events in their regional areas to provide more information on how to engage for local opportunities.

To watch the announcement video, visit www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwRV3b2TXg0

For more information, and a full list of all the Tech Bridge, visit:

www.secnav.navy.mil/agility/Pages/techbridges.aspx

Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock Division – an activity of the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) – is the Navy’s center of excellence for ships, submarines and their supporting systems. For more than 100 years, the U.S. Navy and maritime communities have come to depend on our expertise and innovative spirit. Through research and development, test and evaluation, engineering, and other support, Carderock Division continues to solve challenging problems to meet our Fleet’s needs.