{"73192":{"#nid":"73192","#data":{"type":"news","title":"SENSIAC Center Helps Advance Military Sensing","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EIn the past, military sensing technologies have focused on observing and targeting the enemy from a distance. But with the new emphasis on homeland security, sensors must get up close and personal.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022We now face a new concept of war where instead of being miles away, the enemy may be in the same building or just a few feet away,\u0022 said David Shumaker, director of SENSIAC, the military\u0027s sensing information analysis center. \u0022That means a paradigm shift in the design of sensors. In many applications today we need technologies for situational awareness, where long range may be a secondary consideration.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EHoused within the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI), SENSIAC is one of the newest information analysis centers (IACs) serving the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). It replaces IRIA, a center that was initially founded at the University of Michigan\u0027s Willow Run Laboratories and operated there under various ownership for nearly 50 years until Georgia Tech won the contract in December 2004.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Although IRIA focused primarily on infrared technologies, SENSIAC has a much broader mission and scope,\u0022 said Ann Batchelor, SENSIAC\u0027s deputy director. \u0022We provide information on all sensing-based technologies related to defense activities, including infrared, laser, radar, acoustic, electro-optical, aroma, chemical and many other sensors.\u0022  \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn addition to being a clearinghouse for information, SENSIAC conducts research projects and educational programs. The center draws upon experts across the Georgia Tech campus, as well as seven other universities that serve as SENSIAC team members. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWinning the DoD contract gives Georgia Tech national recognition in the military sensing arena, Shumaker said: \u0022This places us in the center of the military sensing community. We touch everyone in one way or another.\u0022 \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIndeed, SENSIAC supports the defense department and other government branches, including intelligence agencies like the FBI and CIA. In addition, the center helps government contractors and university researchers engaged in activities for national defense or homeland security.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022SENSIAC has a very broad audience,\u0022 Shumaker said. \u0022We serve everyone from university researchers to soldiers who are firing rifles.\u0022 \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EExamples include:\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E* Warfighters who need to know the limitations of a particular sensor or  training in how to use it. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E* DoD program managers who need an independent party to evaluate competing technologies.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E* Contractors who need help testing new sensing equipment or simulating how well it will perform.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022To get help from SENSIAC, anyone in the military sensing community need only call or e-mail us with a problem,\u0022 said Shumaker. \u0022SENSIAC puts an expert on problems immediately, and best of all, it costs the user nothing. It is a free service of the IAC. We have answered questions from \u0027can you give me an expert in binary gas Joule-Thompson coolers\u0027 to \u0027how do I tune my missile warning receiver.\u0027 Inevitably, if the task requires extensive research, we have to charge the user.\u0022  \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EEducation is an important part of the center\u0027s mission. Between the end of the Cold War and the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, there was little hiring of sensing specialists in both government and industry circles. And now that a number of senior engineers are retiring, there is a lack of mentors for newcomers. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ETo help bridge this experience gap, SENSIAC offers continuing education classes for DoD, intelligence and homeland security agencies, as well as their contractors. Seven courses were available this fall, including classes on hyper-spectral imaging, target acquisition modeling and military laser principles. During the next few months, the curriculum will be expanded rapidly to more than 40 courses.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022SENSIAC really raises Georgia Tech\u0027s profile in defense sensing,\u0022 said David Schmieder, the center\u0027s Coordinator for Electro-Optics Education and Technical Inquiries. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022We\u0027ve always been an educational leader in this area, providing specialty training that wasn\u0027t available anywhere else, but it was hard to get the word out,\u0022 Schmieder explained. \u0022Now SENSIAC gives Georgia Tech a formal path to make agencies aware that these programs exist, and it gives the military a formal path to request specific educational programs it may need.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESENSIAC also manages the defense department\u0027s Military Sensing Symposia (MSS). These eleven annual conferences, which began in 1956, enable government and industry experts to gather and share best practices about classified projects in a protected environment. Proceedings of the meetings are archived and made available to those with appropriate security clearance.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBecause of a unique contract provision, SENSIAC can conduct research on an expedited basis for government agencies and contractors. \u0022As long as the research is related to military sensing in some way, a project can get a green light in as quickly as two weeks, as opposed to waiting six to eight months under alternative contracting methods,\u0022 Schmieder said.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe center is also launching a technology transfer program, which will be led by Edward Reedy, GTRI\u0027s retired director. The idea is to move emerging technology out of universities and into military sensing applications more quickly, Shumaker explains.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022SENSIAC is an enabler of military sensing technology,\u0022 Shumaker added. \u0022We exist to help others do their jobs faster, cheaper and more efficiently.\u0022  \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResearch News \u0026amp; Publications Office\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n75 Fifth Street, N.W., Suite 100\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nAtlanta, Georgia 30308 USA\u003C\/strong\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMedia Relations Contacts\u003C\/strong\u003E: John Toon (404-894-6986); E-mail: (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E) or Kirk Englehardt (404-385-0280); E-mail: (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:kirk.englehardt@gtri.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ekirk.englehardt@gtri.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E).\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETechnical Contacts\u003C\/strong\u003E: David Shumaker (404-385-7370); E-mail: (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:david.shumaker@gtri.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Edavid.shumaker@gtri.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E) or Ann Batchelor (404-385-4032); E-mail: (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:ann.batchelor@gtri.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Eann.batchelor@gtri.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E) or David Schmieder (404-894-1051); E-mail: (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:david.schmieder@gtri.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Edavid.schmieder@gtri.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E).\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter\u003C\/strong\u003E: T.J. Becker\n\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Georgia Tech hosts information and education effort for defense sensors"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"Housed within the Georgia Tech Research Institute, SENSIAC is one of the newest information analysis centers serving the U.S. Department of Defense with information and education programs.","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"A new center is helping advance military sensing"}],"uid":"27303","created_gmt":"2006-03-06 01:00:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:03:34","author":"John Toon","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2006-03-06T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2006-03-06T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"73193":{"id":"73193","type":"image","title":"SENSIAC officials","body":null,"created":"1449177990","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:26:30","changed":"1475894673","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:44:33"}},"media_ids":["73193"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.sensiac.gatech.edu\/external\/index.jsf","title":"SENSIAC Web Site"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.gtri.gatech.edu\/","title":"Georgia Tech Research Institute"}],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cstrong\u003EJohn Toon\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EResearch News \u0026amp; Publications Office\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.gatech.edu\/contact\/index.html?id=jt7\u0022\u003EContact John Toon\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E404-894-6986\u003C\/strong\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jtoon@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}