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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Hillary Theriault
(603) 479-4225
theriaulth@cbtc.com

Future Research Solutions for Defense Addressed in Energetics Symposium

La Plata, Maryland, November 1, 2011 – “There are emerging threats that need technical research solutions,” The White House’s Dr. Arun A. Seraphin, Deputy Director for Defense Programs in the Office of Science & Technology Policy. These include solutions for advanced missile technology, anti-access/denial and traumatic brain injury, as he also indicated, in his keynote address to the 2011 National Capital Region Energetics Symposium, 1 November 2011, at the College of Southern Maryland.

These and other areas requiring research solutions were the subjects of the two-day symposium on the research and development of energetics, encompassing explosives, propellants and pyrotechnics. It is an R&D field, impacting almost every aspect of defense, from developing smaller and lighter munitions with tailored effects, to detecting threat explosives, and understanding blast-induced, traumatic brain injury.

One key area addressed was unmanned systems, with Rear Admiral Millard Firebaugh USN (ret) calling for “weapon technology that is more optimal for these unmanned systems than the re-application of existing weapons from manned systems.” Notably, such munitions might have “warheads specialized for different targets so that a UAV can attack with whichever weapon is most appropriate to the specific target.”

The symposium also addressed energetic advances being made in other countries. “It is very big business in the country of China,” stated Dr. James Short of the Center for Energetics Concept Development. “My estimate is that the number of people doing energetics science and technology in China is at least two orders of magnitude larger than what we have in the United States… if there is going to be a revolutionary discovery made in the area of energetics, statistically speaking, they are more likely to make it than we are .”

The National Capital Region Energetics Symposium is annually conducted and sponsored by the Center for Energetics Concept Development, the University of Maryland, and the Energetics Technology Center in Waldorf, Maryland

For more information regarding the National Capital Region Energetics Symposium, please email ncres@etcmd.com or visit www.etcmd.com.

The Energetics Technology Center is a private, non-profit enterprise dedicated to growing science and technology in Southern Maryland. It focuses on workforce and economic development in the region and is a catalyst for energetics research and development. The Energetics Technology Center is currently based in Waldorf, Maryland.