Explosive research norm at University of R.I. center

COURTESY URI/ARUN SHUKLA
POWERFUL IDEAS: The durability of sandwiched composite materials is tested at the University of Rhode Island's Center of Excellence for Explosives Detection, Mitigation and Response.
COURTESY URI/ARUN SHUKLA POWERFUL IDEAS: The durability of sandwiched composite materials is tested at the University of Rhode Island's Center of Excellence for Explosives Detection, Mitigation and Response.

The Center of Excellence for Explosives Detection, Mitigation and Response, one of only 12 of its kind nationally, lies quietly but actively in the heart of the University of Rhode Island’s South Kingstown campus, thanks to federal funding that next year will be up for renewal.
On July 1, the university began its last year of a five-year, $5.15 million grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Co-Director Jimmie Oxley expects the URI center to be in the mix when the competitive grant process commences this fall. At stake is a multiyear, multimillion dollar grant that would fund the program for years to come.
The center’s supporters say it is one of the nation’s most important resources for research and training in combating terrorism. It has been a boon to the school, enabling students to study the finer details of potential threats, particularly involving the use of plastic explosives. Over the last few years, plastics have seemingly been terrorists’ weapon of choice, used in cases involving copy-machine toner cartridges and the “underwear bomber,” among others.
If the school can retain the center, it will enjoy the added bonus of a new home, thanks to an approved 2010 bond referendum for a $61 million chemistry building. The new facility will replace a smaller space in the 61-year-old Pastore Hall.
The new facility will be about 118,000 square feet, almost twice the size of Pastore. It is expected to triple the amount of space for teaching labs and nearly double the space for research labs. This will allow the chemistry department to increase lab seats by nearly 50 percent. It is expected to be completed in 2014.
The construction of a new facility with increased room for research labs would demonstrate URI’s commitment to the center and could increase the school’s chances for having its federal grant as a Center of Excellence renewed next year.
URI is partnered with the Center of Excellence for Awareness & Localization of Explosives-Related Threats (ALERT) – with Northeastern University. Together, the two research the detection and remediation of explosives. A total of 20 schools participate in the national program.
“URI handles characterization, mitigation of explosives and detection,” Oxley said. For example, department of mechanical-engineering professor Arun Shukla is investigating “sandwich composites” that alternate between hard and soft as a construction material for a wall, in order to minimize impact. “There are things that are being used now and more to be used in the future. The nature of the research is such that there are some goals that we have for 10 years in the future and others that are needed today,” Shukla said.
One company the school is working with is TPI Composites, Inc. of Warren. For the last few years they have tested layered-composite materials with the purpose of mitigating blast impacts.
The U.S. Department of Defense strongly supports this research. The Navy is interested in blast-resistant ships; the Air Force is looking for material to augment its space-accessing planes that travel at hypersonic velocities.
“We have about eight research grants right now from different government agencies,” Shukla said.
One of the problems investigated was the presence of glass and how to minimize its damage after an explosion. Working with XO Armor of Houston, they invented a process where glass was coated with a blast-preventing film. “That product is in use already. I believe they are marketing and selling it,” he said. The film is designed not to fracture, thereby increasing safety for people. Not fracturing also means an exterior explosion will not enter a building.
He said additional work has been experimented with at 3TEX, Inc., of Rutherfordton, N.C., concerning the use of explosion-resistant materials.
For the last several years, Shukla has specialized in blast-mitigation research for the U.S. Navy to help submarines and ships withstand explosions.
Another URI professor, Arjit Bose, is exploring a self-healing concrete, while a third (from Indiana University under the guidance of URI) focuses on self-healing polymers.
One of their showcase projects is developing a means to harden steel, a science that was already thought of as being thoroughly investigated. “The mitigation group has done amazing things. We have researchers from as far away as Cal Tech,” Oxley said. They have also developed a training program that is currently taught to members of the U.S. Transportation Security Administration. “That has been very successful and we would like to see that continue,” she said.
But survival hasn’t been easy. Despite corporate backing from companies like U.S. Steel and FM Global, funds have been tight and Oxley has already had to cut the administrative budget in order to fully fund research. There are 18 principal investigators at the URI Center of Excellence and approximately three times as many students who use it.
Oxley deems the program a rousing success, having made great strides in research and academics. “My last two graduating students each had three solid job offers, so [the students] do very well,” she said.
Michael Silevitch is co-director of ALERT at Northeastern University. “Our focus is in the area of screening technologies,” he said. “When you go into the airport they look at your luggage to see if you’re doing something normal or are a potential threat.”
His department investigates detection sciences and how to make them more effective. This includes exploring all options, including new technology, algorithms and sensors. From a solid bomb to plastic explosives, liquids and powders, their goal is to maximize public safety by means of improvements to screening wands and walk-through scanners.
“Video surveillance is also a very powerful technique used in a lot of places, like the airports,” he said. “We are looking into making it more effective for complicated surveillance.”
Silevitch admitted that although the department is investigating all explosives they have concentrated on plastics. Research thus far has led to the development of new technology and ultimately new products to be manufactured, some that can even be used on the battlefield. Airport full-body scanners require constant refinement to detect plastics, and screening rods can be made more sensitive. Like URI, Northeastern must reapply to the federal grant program.
So far, URI’s chances of renewal appear good. In March, URI President David M. Dooley joined a newly created academic panel to address national security issues called the Homeland Security Academic Advisory Council. The group will advise the DHS on the recruitment of domestic and international students and recent graduates; academic research; campus and community resiliency; and security and preparedness.
Dooley was selected by DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano because URI has provided support in explosives research to foreign governments and domestic agencies, such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.
Last April, URI’s expertise in cybersecurity earned the school a top designation from the federal government, certifying its course work and degree requirements meet the highest standards. •

No posts to display