2015-2016 Assessment of the Army Research Laboratory

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine's Army Research Laboratory Technical Assessment Board (ARLTAB) provides biennial assessments of the scientific and technical quality of the research, development, and analysis programs at the Army Research Laboratory (ARL), focusing on ballistics sciences, human sciences, information sciences, materials sciences, and mechanical sciences. This interim report summarizes the findings of the Board for the first year of this biennial assessment; the current report addresses approximately half the portfolio for each campaign; the remainder will be assessed in 2016. During the first year the Board examined the following elements within the ARL's science and technology campaigns: biological and bioinspired materials, energy and power materials, and engineered photonics materials; battlefield injury mechanisms, directed energy, and armor and adaptive protection; sensing and effecting, and system intelligence and intelligent systems; advanced computing architectures, computing sciences, data-intensive sciences, and predictive simulation sciences; human-machine interaction, intelligence and control, and perception; humans in multiagent systems, real-world behavior, and toward human variability; and mission capability of systems. A second, final report will subsume the findings of this interim report and add the findings from the second year of the review. Table of Contents Front Matter Summary 1 Introduction 2 Materials Research 3 Sciences for Lethality and Protection 4 Information Sciences 5 Computational Sciences 6 Sciences for Maneuver 7 Human Sciences 8 Crosscutting Conclusions and Recommendations and Exceptional Accomplishments Appendix A: Army Research Laboratory Organization and Science and Technology Campaign Framework Appendix B: Biographical Sketches of Army Research LaboratoryTechnical Assessment Board Members and Staff Appendix C: Assessment Criteria Appendix D: Acronyms