ARLINGTON, Va. –
Chief of Naval Research Rear Adm. Mathias W. Winter presented
the 2014 Vice Adm. Harold G. Bowen Award for
Patented Inventions to two U.S.
Navy researchers in a
ceremony at the Office of Naval Research (ONR) Wednesday,
Aug. 26.
The
two researchers, Philip Dudt, a scientist at Naval Surface Warfare Center
Carderock Division (NSWCCD) in West Bethesda, Maryland, and Dr. Roshdy
Barsoum, a scientist assigned to ONR, received the award, which recognizes the patented inventions of
present or past Navy
employees, civilian and military,
that are of greatest benefit
to the Navy, for their contributions as inventors to the patent “Armor Including a
Strain Rate Hardening Elastomer,” a lightweight alternative to armor for ships and ground vehicles. Both
men are officially named as inventors on the final patent, U.S. 7,300,893 B2,
granted Nov. 27, 2007, while the United
States of America, as represented by the Secretary of the Navy, is the final patent
holder. The award marks the eighth time NSWCCD has earned the Bowen award.
According to the Office of Naval Research, the men were
recognized for their contributions by leading the effort to expeditiously
identify, test and exploit an explosive resistant coating that provided a
lightweight alternative to armor for ships and vehicles. According
to ONR, the increased platform survivability and personnel protection
associated with this class of materials provided the operational commander with the potential to
reduce personnel casualties and expanded the operational envelope available during combat and peacekeeping operations.
“Without Phil and Roshdy’s vision in elastomeric armor, we would
not have these solutions available to our military,” said Dr. Joseph Teter, NSWCCD’s director
of technology transfer.
The idea for the patent came during the review
of underwater explosion
experimental test results and ballistic test results of the explosion resistant
coating created at NSWCCD to mitigate future damages similar to those
suffered during the Oct. 12, 2000, USS Cole (DDG 67) disaster.
“The underwater shock performance of explosion resistant coating was found to
be highly capable in suppressing damage to close-in underwater threats,” said
Barsoum. Dudt thought if the coating from these tests could work underwater it could work well in other applications. “I’m
always willing to try things, you never know where a good idea will come from,” he said.
Dudt’s creativity is no
surprise to Alyssa Littlestone, deputy
director of technology transfer
at NSWCCD, who was mentored by
Dudt earlier in her career. “I learned a great
deal working with Phil,” she said. “Not only technically, but also in terms of creativity and
approach. As a mentor, Phil was supportive of out-of-the-box thinking and
accepting of failure, a combination which fosters innovation. I believe his combination of technical
knowledge and forward-thinking creativity is what has enabled Phil to become a
successful and prolific inventor.”
Dudt shared his idea of applying the elastomer polyurea on metallic
surfaces for bulk explosive and ballistic protection with Barsoum, his
co-inventor on the patent, who developed the concept to sandwich front and back
applications of the elastomer to the armor for blast and ballistic protection. “The amazing property of the explosive resistant coating material is, as
the threat increases in severity, the efficiency of the material to resist
assault increases,” said Barsoum. Dudt and Barsoum continued to
explore the idea, sponsored by ONR, taking the elastomer to the U. S. Army’s Aberdeen Proving Grounds for ballistic
testing which showed promise. According to
Barsoum, based on these successful, initial tests, a spray up armor was rapidly
deployed for the Iraq theater for U.S. Marine Corps vehicles.
Research with the elastomer continues
today with global participation inspired by the patent. “This patent was one of the first stepping stones for other people to take this technology further,” said Dudt.
According
to Teter, the use of the elastomer led to significant cost savings estimated at $7.8
million in the first year of up-armor production.
Additionally, Teter noted the elastomeric up-armor was lighter than the
equivalent amount of steel add-on armor, saving 2,000 pounds per vehicle, which
put less stress on the
vehicle power plant and drivetrain
increasing vehicle service life.
“While this invention helped the
military to save cost and increase our military capability in terms of vehicle life, and
operational envelopes, this innovation most critically helped to increase the
protection of America’s warfighters in theater ultimately
mitigating and preventing their injuries,”
said Teter.
NSWCCD, a field activity of the Naval Sea Systems Command, leads the Navy
in hull, mechanical and electrical engineering. Headquartered in West Bethesda,
Maryland, NSWCCD employs approximately 3,600 scientists, engineers, technicians
and support personnel and includes the Ship Systems Engineering Station located
in Philadelphia, as well as detachments in Norfolk, Virginia; Cape Canaveral,
Florida; Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Memphis, Tennessee; Bangor, Washington;
Ketchikan, Alaska; and Bayview, Idaho.