The Army Research Laboratory (ARL) is the U.S. Army’s corporate research laboratory. ARL is headquartered at the Adelphi Laboratory Center in Adelphi, Maryland and has several satellite lab locations across the United States. ARL conducts research in various scientific and engineering disciplines to provide innovative technologies and analytical support to the Army. Understanding where the main ARL facilities are located provides insight into the scope and focus of Army research.
Main ARL Locations
The Adelphi Laboratory Center (ALC) in Adelphi, MD is the largest ARL facility and headquarters. ALC houses over 1,700 employees and the main research facilities for computational sciences, materials research, and survivability and lethality analysis. Here are some key details about ALC:
Detail | Description |
---|---|
Location | Adelphi, MD (near Washington DC) |
Size | 1.2 million sq ft of building space on 72 acres |
Facilities | Office buildings, labs, test ranges, and pilot manufacturing facility |
Focus areas | Computational science, materials research, survivability/lethality analysis |
The Army Research Laboratory also has several other satellite locations:
Lab Name | Location | Focus Area |
---|---|---|
Aberdeen Proving Ground | Maryland | Weapons and materials research |
Adelphi Laboratory Center | Maryland | Computational, materials, and survivability research (see details above) |
Major Shared Resource Center | Maryland | Prototyping facility |
Orlando Site | Florida | Modeling, simulation, and training |
Research, Development and Engineering Center | New Jersey | Communications, electronics, and field experimentation |
Survivability/Lethality Analysis Directorate | Maryland | Ballistics research and analysis |
Vehicle Technology Directorate | Michigan | Vehicle and automotive research |
This network of laboratories allows ARL to conduct specialized research tailored to each location’s unique capabilities and facilities. The proximity of several labs to Army bases and proving grounds also facilitates technology demonstrations and experiments.
Brief History of ARL
To understand ARL’s purpose and mission, it helps to know a brief history of how the lab was formed:
Year | Event |
---|---|
1946 | Ballistics Research Laboratory established at Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD |
1952 | Army Research Office established to manage Army scientific research |
1958 | Human Engineering Lab and other assets consolidated to form Harry Diamond Laboratories |
1972 | Harry Diamond Labs renamed to Army Materials and Mechanics Research Center |
1992 | AMMRC, Ballistics Lab, and other assets merged into Army Research Laboratory |
From the earliest ballistics and materials testing labs in the 1940s, ARL has evolved into the centralized hub for Army research across a diverse range of scientific domains. Today ARL has expanded into research areas such as biotechnology, various electronic systems, human sciences, environmental sciences, manufacturing sciences, and ground and aerial vehicle technologies.
ARL Mission and Purpose
As the Army’s corporate research laboratory, ARL’s overarching mission is to:
Provide innovative science, technology, and analysis to enable full-spectrum operations
More specifically, ARL’s purpose is to:
- Conduct research and analysis to understand fundamental processes and uncover innovative discoveries
- Pursue knowledge and technology advancements that enable future Army capabilities
- Collaborate with Army, DoD, academic, and industry partners to transition technology into Army systems
- Apply expertise in analysis to inform Army acquisition processes and decisions
ARL employs approximately 2,700 scientists, engineers, researchers, and support personnel across its locations. The annual budget for ARL is around $1 billion, funded by the Research, Development, Test & Evaluation (RDT&E) Army budget.
Key Research Areas
To achieve its mission, ARL focuses research in the following key areas:
- Computational Sciences: High performance computing, modeling and simulation, artificial intelligence
- Human Sciences: Cognitive science, personnel performance, human-agent teaming
- Information Sciences: Communications, cybersecurity, autonomous systems behavior
- Materials Research: Advanced armor, functional materials, manufacturing processes
- Sciences for Lethality and Protection: Ballistics, survivability, explosives effects
- Vehicle and Ground Technologies: Propulsion, mobility, energy storage, robotics
ARL partners extensively with other Army research groups, government agencies, industry, and academia to advance its technical capabilities and transition research into real-world technologies.
Notable ARL Innovations
Over its 75+ year history, ARL has contributed many pivotal innovations that have improved Army capabilities and soldiers’ lives, including:
- Liquid body armor technology
- Environmentally friendly smoke grenade formulas
- High performance computing algorithms and architectures
- Revolutionary prosthetic limb technology
- Advanced battery designs for military vehicles and soldier power
- Lightweight composite vehicle and body armor
- Cutting-edge traumatic brain injury diagnostics
- Simulation and training technologies
- Sophisticated vehicle protection systems
ARL innovations are often born from the laboratory but transitioned into practical use through close collaboration with Army acquisition offices and industry partners. Technologies are tailored to meet real operational needs while advancing the Army’s capabilities overall.
ARL Organization and Leadership
ARL has a centralized administrative structure with specific research directorates aligned under the laboratory headquarters:
Directorate | Research Focus Area |
---|---|
Computational and Information Sciences Directorate | High performance computing, information processing |
Human Research and Engineering Directorate | Cognitive science, personnel performance |
Sensors and Electron Devices Directorate | Night vision, electro-optics, power sources |
Survivability/Lethality Analysis Directorate | Ballistics research and analysis |
Vehicle Technology Directorate | Automotive research |
Weapons and Materials Research Directorate | Weapons, armor, and materials |
Each research directorate is composed of specialized divisions and teams that focus on unique technological areas while coordinating across ARL.
The ARL leadership includes:
- Dr. Mark Tschopp – ARL Director
- Dr. Patrick Baker – Chief Scientist
- James Ross – Deputy Director of Operations
- Brian Sadler – Deputy Director of Research and Laboratory Management
- 7 Research Directorate Chiefs
This leadership team oversees ARL’s research portfolio, sets strategic direction, builds partnerships, and pursues the overall ARL mission.
Partnerships and Collaborations
Forming partnerships is a key aspect of how ARL conducts research and transitions technology. Some of ARL’s major partners include:
- Army Research Development and Engineering Command (RDECOM): ARL’s parent command that integrates technology initiatives across the Army
- Combat Capabilities Development Command (CCDC): Transitions ARL technologies into programs of record
- Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA): Collaborates with DARPA on advanced technology development
- University Affiliated Research Centers (UARCs): Partners with dozens of universities through regional UARCs
- Academic institutions: Collaborates with leading science and engineering universities across academia
- Companies: Partners with companies like Lockheed Martin, BAE Systems, General Motors, IBM, and hundreds more
- Department of Energy national laboratories: Collaboration with labs like Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
These partnerships allow ARL to stay connected to cutting-edge research across public, private, and academic sectors. ARL also partners with the UK and Australia on select defense research initiatives.
Regional Technology Transfer Offices
To help transition regional technology, ARL utilizes three regional Tech Transfer / Research, Development, and Engineering Center (RDECs) offices:
Region | Location |
---|---|
Mid Atlantic | Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD |
Southeast | Orlando, FL |
Northeast | Adelphi, MD |
The RDECs facilitate technology transfer between ARL and external partners in their regions. This helps put ARL technologies into the hands of organizations that can transition them into useful products to support the Army.
ARL Facilities and Scientific Infrastructure
Conducting research across a wide range of scientific domains requires extensive facilities and infrastructure. ARL maintains specialized labs and equipment across its sites including:
- Wind tunnels, shock tubes, and blast simulators
- Ballistics ranges and hypervelocity facilities
- Supercomputing data centers with advanced architectures
- Nanotechnology cleanrooms for materials fabrication
- Virtual reality and simulation facilities
- Prosthetics and biomechanics labs
- Electromagnetics measurement chambers
- Chemistry and explosives research laboratories
- Climatic test chambers simulating diverse environments
- Specialized vehicle dynamometers and test tracks
ARL also leverages facilities at partner organizations and builds collaborative networks of university and industry researchers across science and technology domains.
Some specific unique ARL facilities include:
Supercomputing Research Center
The ARL Supercomputing Research Center (SRC) provides high performance computing capabilities for Army research. The SRC houses supercomputers with hundreds of thousands of processing cores for advanced modeling, simulation, and big data analytics.
Tactical Power Sources Laboratories
These labs focus on designing advanced power and energy technologies like improved batteries, solar panels, and fuel cells for soldier and vehicle use.
Electronics and Sensors Laboratories
The ARL laboratories in Maryland and Texas perform research on topics like semiconductor materials, microelectronics fabrication, autonomous systems, and novel Army radio frequency and electromagnetic technologies.
Ballistics Facilities
The extensive ARL ballistics facilities include enclosed firing ranges, free jet launchers, and specialized diagnostics to analyze projectile aerodynamics, penetration, and terminal effects at high fidelity. These inform armor and projectile design.
Vehicle Climatic Wind Tunnel
This wind tunnel can simulate diverse environmental conditions to test vehicle components and subsystems. Tests help predict system reliability across arctic cold, desert heat, wind, sand, and rain conditions.
Maneuver and Mobility Laboratories
ARL studies vehicle mobility and power train technologies through modeling, simulation, dynamometer testing, and field experiments. Research improves off-road mobility and vehicle efficiency.
Survivability/Lethality Analysis Directorate Laboratories
Located at Aberdeen Proving Ground, these labs include ballistic ranges, blast simulation facilities, and thermal testing chambers used to analyze and improve vehicle and armor survivability.
Biotechnology Facilities
ARL leverages biotechnology to enhance soldier performance. The labs study areas like neuroscience, biosensors, field medical treatments, and performance optimization techniques.
Careers and Employment at ARL
ARL employs over 2,700 full-time technical experts across a wide range of science and engineering fields to execute its research mission. These include:
- Materials scientists
- Chemists
- Physicists
- Mechanical, electrical, and systems engineers
- Computer scientists and data analysts
- Mathematicians
- Psychologists and cognitive neuroscientists
- Technicians, modelers, and other support staff
ARL offers competitive pay, benefits, and opportunities for scientists and engineers to conduct groundbreaking Army research. Basic qualifications include a B.S., M.S., or Ph.D. in a relevant STEM or science field along with technical expertise, research experience, and U.S. citizenship. Security clearances are required for many positions.
Student and Fellow Programs
ARL sponsors research fellowships and postdoctoral programs in specialized fields of study. Programs like the National Research Council Fellowship engage promising scientists early in their careers to work on projects at ARL.
ARL also offers undergraduate and graduate student internships to gain practical experience while working with world-class Army researchers. International research interns are hosted through the National Academy of Engineering.
Conclusion
In summary, the Army Research Laboratory is a network of research sites located primarily in Maryland and across the continental United States. ARL functions as the U.S. Army’s corporate research laboratory for advancing fundamental science and technologies to empower Army capabilities. With a focus on collaboration and technology transfer, ARL conducts innovative research across a wide range of scientific and engineering disciplines in service of the Army mission. The laboratory’s specialized facilities, infrastructure, and expert workforce enable ARL to push the boundaries of Army science and deliver cutting-edge technologies to support national defense.