When Dr. Alison Smith was working toward her master’s degree at the University of Florida and began to explore the job market, she had a hard time finding a place that could offer both a superior working environment and the small-town feel she’d grown to love.
One of Smith’s friends, who was working at an arsenal in Pine Bluff, Ark. at the time, recommended she look at jobs within the Department of Defense.
That’s how Smith found out about Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division (NSWC Crane), and once she did, she knew she had found her new home.
“When I came out to visit, I was like, ‘Wow. This place is in the middle of Indiana, it’s pretty fantastic,’” Smith said.
Smith earned her Bachelor of Science in Chemistry and Mathematics from Southeastern Louisiana University, her Master of Education in Secondary Science Education from Louisiana State University, and her Master of Science in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Florida. Smith served as NSWC Crane’s first Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) coordinator beginning in 2008. After several years in that role, Smith learned of Crane’s Ph.D. fellowship program and decided to take advantage of the opportunity.
NSWC Crane’s fellowship program allowed Smith to pursue her doctorate at Indiana University (IU) while continuing to do the research she’d dedicated her career to doing.
“I thought it would be a great idea because I’ve had a whole career based on research,” Smith said. “What a wonderful opportunity to be able to continue research and really focus it toward naval applications, and more specifically, our technical capabilities here at Crane.”
Since graduating from IU, Smith now works on a regular rotation of two weeks at NSWC Crane followed by one week in the lab at IU. Her research is focused on nanomaterial design for anti-counterfeit and structural health monitoring applications.
IU’s Skrabalak Research Group – led by Dr. Sara Skrabalak – is internationally recognized for its work on nanomaterials synthesis.
“It seemed like a perfect fit, and I can tell you now that it was,” Smith said. “It’s a perfect collaboration opportunity where we can now think about engineering these nanomaterials specifically to applications that we care about.
“It’s just instrumental. I couldn’t have done any of this without that program. They funded a full-time study toward these materials. They know what is possible to make and how to push the bounds on what is currently impossible. None of that research would have been possible without me being there immersed in that program.”
In essence, Smith’s work is about designing nanomaterials that have properties for a specific application. Materials exhibit different properties on the nanoscale than they do in bulk. Scientists, like Smith, can exploit those properties by projecting them into device scale constituents without influencing the host material. The new properties can open doors to entirely new applications.
Thus far, Smith and her colleagues have been focused on structural health monitoring. They are currently trying to develop nanomaterials that will change color in different refractive index environments to indicate the degradation of certain materials.
“The focus of my work isn’t on any single application – I really want to get that across,” Smith said. “These types of particles could have applications across all three focus areas we have at NSWC Crane. We’re always going to have problems that we need new materials to solve.”
During her time at IU alone, Smith and her colleagues have produced seven publications, resulting in three cover features. Smith’s cutting-edge work also led to a cover feature in the Office of Naval Research’s (ONR) “Future Force” magazine.
“It really demonstrates the impact our research is having in these areas,” Smith said. “That is why this is so important. This is so much less about me and so much more about getting people to realize, ‘This is what Crane is doing.’”
While at NSWC Crane, Smith serves on the Strategic Systems Hardware Working Group and the Navy Materials Community of Interests.
“Alison's work has broad applicability across the set of issues that engineers at NSWC Crane deal with every day,” said Brad Secrest, Chief Strategist for Strategic Missions at NSWC Crane. “From extending the service life of military systems in harsh environments to protecting the supply chain for microelectronics devices, her work could lead to innovations that change the way we support the Warfighter.”
Smith’s research in structural health monitoring is currently made possible by a Naval Innovative Science and Engineering (NISE) 219 award, which allows warfare centers and research labs to take money that’s invested in their organizations and apply it to research, engineering and technology. Smith said she plans to continue working at NSWC Crane for the foreseeable future.
“When you look at all the emerging research areas to provide solutions for some of our current naval problems, every single one of them includes engineered nanomaterials,” Smith said. “This is not something that’s going to go away. It will carry me over the remainder of my 20-year career. I think we’ll see it even in 60 years – I don’t think that cycle will ever stop.”
NSWC Crane is a naval laboratory and a field activity of Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) with focus areas in Expeditionary Warfare, Strategic Missions and Electronic Warfare. The warfare center is responsible for multi-domain, multi- spectral, full life cycle support of technologies and systems enhancing capability to today’s warfighter.