UpDate - Vol. 11, No. 32, Page 1
May 21, 1992
DARPA awards $5 million to composites consortium

     A consortium established by the Institute for Applied Composites
Technology (IACT) at the Delaware Technology Park in Newark has been
awarded a total of $5 million from the Defense Advanced Research
Projects Agency (DARPA).
     Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr., who was instrumental in securing
funding for the project, May 18 announced the grant and presented a
check to University of Delaware President David P. Roselle, at a
ceremony in the Composites Manufacturing Science Laboratory on the
Newark campus.
     "Delaware has moved to the forefront of composite materials
research, development and manufacturing, and the research grant
secures that position," Biden said. "Not only will Delaware benefit
from the jobs and manufacturing that composites provide, but our
nation's industrial base will be strengthened through pioneering this
exciting new technology."
     "The grant will help the University of Delaware remain in the
forefront of research into advanced materials and...it will help the
state build jobs for the future....This is designed to provide a
magnet to bring brainpower to one spot, one place, one position, in
order to allow us to be able to grow in a way that we're going to need
to do," Biden said.
     Biden added a provision to the Fiscal Year 1991 defense
appropriations bill that expanded the number of participants approved
for advanced composites research, enabling the consortium to
participate. Biden also pursued the grant with the Defense Department
after the bill passed.
     The agreement, part of the Pre-Competitive Technology Development
Program, brings DARPA together with three U.S. industry leaders in the
manufacture of advanced composites-the Du Pont Co., Hercules Inc. and
the Lanxide Corp.-and the University of Delaware's Center for
Composite Materials. A subcontract with the University of Texas is
anticipated for one of the two program areas covered by the grant.
     Delaware Gov. Michael N. Castle said, "The cooperation with the
people from the University of Delaware and the people in the private
sector, particularly the high tech companies...and the governmental
factors, particularly the state government in this case and the
federal government, have just been extraordinary. And, quite frankly,
I don't know of teamwork like this any place else in the United States
of America, and I think it's the reason we are very fortunate to be
here today.
     "Today's ceremony marks an important milestone in the state's
overall efforts to strengthen Delaware's leadership in the composites
and high technology industries. Securing federal funds, particularly
in tough economic times, is no easy task, and I commend Sen. Biden for
taking a leadership role in making this a reality.
     "These funds, coupled with the work of the Institute for Applied
Composites Technology, the Delaware Technology Park and the University
of Delaware, will help create many new jobs and provide unlimited
growth potential for Delaware's high technology industry leaders,"
Castle said.
     The mission of the Institute for Applied Composites Technology is
to be a U.S. center of excellence in the application of advanced
composites technology, and the institute will focus on developing
pre-competitive, enabling technologies. Financial support for the
venture, which was initiated late in 1990 as the result of
recommendations made by the Governor's High-Technology Task Force, is
being provided by the Delaware Development Office. The park is located
on land owned by the University.
     "This program combines world class technologies from U.S.
industry in a partnership with academia and government-both state and
federal- focused on making products for market, not just inventing in
a laboratory," said J. Michael Bowman, chair of the board of the
Delaware Technology Park and vice president and general manager for Du
Pont's Advanced Materials Systems.
     "We think it is a model for the cooperative interaction needed to
keep America in the forefront of advanced materials," Bowman said,
"and we applaud the foresight of Sen. Biden, Gov. Castle and DARPA for
their initiative."
     President Roselle said the DARPA support will help "industry and
University researchers work together on projects of importance and
interest, making practical application of the results of basic
research in high-technology areas.
     "The University of Delaware enjoys a strong leadership position
in advanced materials research, and we are most appreciative of Sen.
Biden's special efforts on behalf of this new initiative, which holds
promise for economic growth in our state," Roselle said.
     According to Dick J. Wilkins, IACT executive director and
president of the Delaware Technology Park, the IACT consortium has
selected two of its highest-priority areas to initially demonstrate
the feasibility of achieving breakthrough, rapid manufacturing
technologies-hence, the name RAPTECH-in intermediate and
high-temperature composites.
     The DARPA funding will support work in these two areas-Rapid
Placement Technology for Polymer-Matrix Composites (RAPTECH-PMC) and
Rapid Preforming Technology for Ceramic-Matrix Composites
(RAPTECH-CMC).
     "The goal of both programs is to achieve productive manufacturing
processes characterized by lower cycle times, higher quality, less
complexity and lower capital and operating costs," Wilkins explained.
     "Both efforts build on extensive team facilities, expertise and
demonstrated capabilities. The programs emphasize cost reduction via
process modeling, sensor and computing technology and intelligent
process controls," he said.
     "These processes are directly aimed at achieving substantial
advances in technologies critical to both national defense and
national commercial competitiveness," Wilkins said.
     High-tech structural materials that can be lighter than aluminum
and stronger than steel, composites are increasingly being used to
replace metal in key industrial applications.