Scientific researchers review molecular dynamics

  • Published
  • By William J. Sharp
  • Air Force Office of Scientific Research Public Affairs
ARLINGTON, Va. (AFPN) --  The Air Force Office of Scientific Research here completed a periodic review of its molecular dynamics research program during an annual conference last week.

More than 90 researchers and scientists attended the 2006 Contractors Meeting in Molecular Dynamics. Organizations represented included the Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio; National Science Foundation and the Office of Naval Research, Arlington, Va.; and BioTools, Inc. Dozens of researchers from universities worldwide, including Princeton University, the Universität Göttingen in Germany and Brazil's University of Sao Paulo, also attended

Conferences such as this are crucial to the advancement of basic research, attendees said.

“(The) trading of ideas is essential,” said Dr. Wayne Solomon, a professor at the University of Illinois. “You can’t make progress if you don’t trade ideas. Certainly if I hadn’t had ideas from all over the country on how to make (our research) work, largely through AFOSR and other research institutions, our research would not have been so successful.”

Dr. Emily Carter, a professor at Princeton University, agreed.

“Program reviews are important because they give you the opportunity to share your results with your peers and get feedback on what you are doing,” she said. “(People attended) from the Air Force Research Laboratory, and so it is a great opportunity for them to hear what I’m doing, get some feedback and set up closer collaborations.”

Topics presented during the three-day conference included origins and failure in thermal barrier coatings, an update on plasma kinetics and new electric hybrid lasers.

The purpose of these program reviews is for program managers and senior leaders to receive progress reports on AFOSR-funded research. The reviews also allow managers to fine-tune the direction of research projects and help identify emerging areas of research.

“This conference provides a great opportunity for interactions and sharing of ideas. It stimulates many new collaborations and opportunities between university and Air Force scientists,” said Dr. Michael R. Berman, AFOSR’s program manager for molecular dynamics and theoretical chemistry.

“We are pleased that researchers from four different technology directorates of AFRL participated in this meeting, helping to build cross-disciplinary and cross-directorate ties,” Dr. Berman said.

The molecular dynamics program has produced many advances for the Air Force, including the chemical oxygen iodine laser and computer models that predict conditions and improve performance of vehicles in space. The program has also supported the research of several Nobel Prize-winning scientists.

The objectives of the molecular dynamics program are to understand, predict and control the reactivity and flow of energy in molecules. This knowledge will be used to improve detection and control of signatures in atmospheric chemistry; to develop new energetic materials for propellants and propulsion systems in high-energy-density matter research; to develop new high-energy laser systems in chemical laser research; and in other chemical systems in which predictive capabilities and control of chemical reactivity and energy flow at a detailed molecular level are important.