Gordon Marks 50 Years of Defense Innovation, Calls for Similar Dedication to Energy Advancement
(Washington, DC) This year marks the 50th Anniversary of a small federal research program with a long list of blockbuster technologies to its credit. This week that golden anniversary is being marked in ceremonies in Washington, DC.
The results of research conducted by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, better known as DARPA, can be seen in everything from stealth technology for warplanes to Global Positioning Systems in vehicles, body armor for soldiers to semiconductors and even the mouse for household computers.
However, DARPA may be best known for development of a computing network called ARPAnet, the precursor to today’s Internet. With such well-known technological successes under its belt, House Committee on Science and Technology Chairman Bart Gordon (D-TN) today remarked that Congress looked to DARPA as a model for research in other areas, most notably in the field of energy research with the recent authorization of an ARPA for energy, or "ARPA-E".
"I want to congratulate the men and women of DARPA who have been on the vanguard of our nation’s technological superiority for a half century. Historically, DARPA defied conventional thinking and pursued cutting-edge and, some might say, ‘far out’ research for the Department of Defense which resulted in some of the most transformational technologies of our time," said Gordon. "It is the culture of innovation at DARPA that has made it so successful and unique, and the talented and passionate staff is the heart of that culture. It’s time we take the DARPA model and apply it to the most pressing challenge we face today – energy. With adequate funding and forward-thinking leadership, ARPA-E might be celebrating the same level of revolutionary results 50 years from now."
In response to the Soviet launch of the Sputnik satellite in 1957, President Eisenhower called for the establishment of DARPA to assure U.S. leadership in defense and aerospace technologies, and prevent future technological surprises from our enemies. Early program successes, such as advanced radar systems and the Saturn rocket that put a man on the moon propelled the U.S. past the Soviet Union in the technology race. By its own description, DARPA was designed to be "an anathema to the conventional military R&D structure and a deliberate counterpoint to traditional thinking and approaches."
"I remember as a child looking on in both fear and wonder at the blinking red light of Sputnik as it flew overhead. Everyone knew then that the U.S. was on the cusp of a new era, and we wasted no time building up our technological defenses with such groundbreaking programs as DARPA," added Gordon. "While the adversary may have changed over 50 years, the imperative to constantly evolve the U.S. science and technology enterprise has not. Given the geopolitical instabilities that threaten global energy supplies, the skyrocketing costs of energy to consumers, the looming threat of global climate change, and the resulting costs from the likely regulation of carbon dioxide emissions, there is a critical need for ground-breaking science-based energy solutions that can be deployed in the marketplace. The status quo in energy is simply unsustainable. I believe that to move away from the status quo, we must rethink the federal government’s approach to energy technology development and establish an ARPA-E."
In response to a growing public concern that the U.S. was falling behind in both its global leadership in technology development and its ability to sustain its economic growth, Chairman Gordon, former Rep. Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY), Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) requested a report from the National Academies in 2005 regarding the status of U.S. global competitiveness. That report found that the U.S. could stand to lose its competitive edge over other nations unless action was taken.
Chairman Gordon authored the COMPETES Act as a result which followed on the National Academies’ direct recommendations in that report entitled "Rising Above the Gathering Storm." One of those recommendations was to establish a small and agile energy research agency with the some of the same program elements that made DARPA a success, to be known as the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Energy, or ARPA-E. With a very minimal reporting structure free from layers of bureaucracy, ARPA-E Program Managers would lead hybrid teams from industry and academia in projects to quickly transform ground-breaking laboratory discoveries into market-ready technologies. If a project does not appear fruitful, Program Managers can just as quickly change course or shut down a project altogether.
"One thing that makes the DARPA approach so unique in the government research enterprise is their willingness to take big chances on untested technological hunches with potentially huge impacts. Because of this tolerance of failure DARPA undoubtedly had more misfires than sure-shots. But such risks were justifiable even if just a small percentage of projects proved viable. That is where I feel we are with energy."
"With scale and complexity of the energy challenge, just one ARPA-E discovery deployed in the energy marketplace could make the whole program worthwhile. It is DARPA’s powerful combination of a spirit of innovation mixed with a solid marketplace understanding that I hoped to capture in establishing ARPA-E. Nothing like this currently exists within the Department of Energy, nor is the existing organizational structure at the Department conducive to this sort of cross-cutting, multi-disciplinary research approach to energy systems. This is a bold step, but that is what it will take to surmount our greatest energy challenges," concluded Gordon.
Gordon continues to lead the charge in Congress for full funding of the COMPETES Act provisions, including ARPA-E.
For more information on the COMPETES Act and ARPA-E, visit the Committee’s website at www.house.gov/science.
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