The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory recently achieved 100 years of operation, reflecting its strong history of impactful scientific research for the military services.
Originally titled as the Naval Experimental and Research Laboratory, the organization was commissioned on July 2, 1923, the NRL announced from Washington, D.C. late last month.
Plans for the laboratory were largely driven by the events of World War I and a recommendation from Thomas Edison, who said that the U.S. government should invest in a “great research laboratory” in a 1915 New York Times article. Edison was then selected by former Navy Secretary Hon. Josephus Daniels to head the Naval Consulting Board, which played a leading role in the NRL’s establishment.
In its early years, the organization had two divisions, radio and sound, which conducted research on high-frequency radio and underwater sound propagation and developed multiple related technologies, most notably the first U.S.-built practical radar equipment. These advancements played a key role in numerous Naval victories during World War II.
Since then, the laboratory has widened the range of its activities across the earth, sea, sky, space and cyberspace environments. These developments dramatically expanded the spectrum of NRL’s projects, which grew to include programs to monitor the sun’s behavior, analyze marine atmospheric conditions and measure parameters of the deep oceans, among other initiatives.
Many issues, such as submarine habitability, lubricants, shipbuilding materials, firefighting and the study of sound in the sea, have been continuous concerns for the NRL. Recently, virtual reality, superconductivity, biotechnology and nanotechnology have also become major focus areas.
In the years following World War II, the organization was restructured to ensure that it was equipped to support long-term Navy demands. Now, the NRL prioritizes Navy strategic interests in the evolving 21st century warfighting environment. Current programs surround ongoing Naval needs as well as emerging technologies, including solar energy, hypersonics and quantum information science.