Contact: Bob Ratliff
Mississippi State's largest continuing research program funded by the federal government now is assisting a team developing new night-vision technology for the U.S. Army.
The university's Diagnostic Instrumentation and Analysis Laboratory is providing prototype fabrication, field-testing, data collection, and other research and development support for a six-year, $400 million project. The project team is led by E-OIR Measurements Inc., a Spotsylvania, Va.-based defense contractor.
DIAL, as it's usually called, began at MSU in 1980 with a major United States Department of Energy research contract. Since then, its highly specialized scientific investigations have expanded to serve other government and private industry customers.
"The addition of DIAL to our team offers several new avenues of research to the Night Vision Laboratory," said Larry Bramlette, E-OIR program manager for the Night Vision and Electronic Sensor Directorate contract.
Bramlette said the U.S. Army established its ongoing night vision and electronic sensor program in the early 1990s during the Persian Gulf War in Kuwait and Iraq. The technology currently is incorporated into gun sights, goggles, infrared trackers, and other equipment used by troops in the field.
"DIAL's laser-based measurement capabilities include state-of-the-art optical testing techniques," said Bob Kirkland, DIAL marketing development officer. "They are designed for use in rugged real-world conditions, including high temperatures."
In addition to the MSU lab, E-OIR's project team includes 16 corporate partners.
"Working with such a well-respected contractor as E-OIR is providing a number of new areas in which to apply our expertise and broaden our Department of Defense customer base," Kirkland said.