Marshall Swearingen, MSU News Service
BOZEMAN — Under a $10.5 million Air Force contract awarded in September and made possible by a new Montana State University research facility, MSU researchers will assist local high-tech company S2 Corp. with developing next-generation optics technology.
Much of the technical effort involved in the partnership between MSU and S2 Corp. will take place in the Applied Research Lab and other research centers on campus. The 20,000-square-foot ARL building, expected to be completed in January, will allow university faculty, students, and industry partners to work on energy- and defense-related research projects previously out of reach due to the lack of a secure facility.
MSU project leader Joe Shaw, professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering in MSU's Norm Asbjornson College of Engineering, said the new contract is an example of the opportunities now available to MSU because of the new building, which meets security requirements for classified research.
"This is a very cutting-edge technology," said Shaw, Director of MSU's Optical Technology Center. The three-year project involves integrating sophisticated signal-processing techniques developed by S2 Corp. with new components for flight testing a technology for detecting an exceptionally wide range of radio frequencies, and also applications of lidar, in which laser beams are used like radar to detect and map objects. MSU's OpTec, as well as MSU’s Spectrum Lab directed by professor Randy Babbitt, and the Montana Microfabrication Facility directed by professor David Dickensheets are partners on the contract.
The project builds on a long history of MSU working with the local optics company, according to S2 Corp. CEO and President Kris Merkel. The new building streamlines the process and opens doors for new projects while allowing MSU to be more integral in the classified portions of research, he said.
"It's very promising," Merkel said of the new contract. "We'll be working hard on this effort as a team, and proposing new efforts like this where we can continue collaborative research, development test and evaluation with MSU and other partners."
According Babbitt, professor in the Department of Physics in MSU's College of Letters and Science, the new facility "means we can go after more ambitious projects that are multi-tiered in terms of research, development, and application. It's a great opportunity for students to see how technology transitions from the fundamental to the applied."
Both MSU undergraduate and graduate students will contribute to the project, and some will gain security clearances that will be an asset to them if they pursue careers in photonics, aerospace, or energy, Shaw noted. "There's a huge demand out there for students with clearances," he said.
Montana’s U.S. Sens. Steve Daines and Jon Tester helped secure Department of Defense funding that led to the $10.5 million contract. The MSU portion of the funding is $4.7 million.
"I’m glad that Montana is home to the S2 Corporation and several other companies that are global leaders in photonics and sensor technology," Daines said. "MSU’s research in photonics played a big part in growing this important industry in Montana, and I’m pleased to support research that continues this close and important industry-academia collaboration."
Tester said, "Ensuring our military has top-of-the line technology is critical for our national security and starts with smart investments. S2 Corporation and MSU are doing exactly that — partnering together to provide cutting-edge research capabilities that drive innovation into the future, while boosting jobs for folks in our state."
S2 Corp. was formed in 2005 and has supported, prior to this award, over $7 million in fundamental and applied research efforts at MSU.
The Applied Research Laboratory was approved by the Montana University System Board of Regents in 2016 and groundbreaking took place in Feb. 2018 for the facility on the MSU Innovation Campus, which is west of South 19th Avenue between College and Garfield streets. The nearest similar facility is the Space Dynamics Lab in Utah.
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