The Defense Department has announced the academic institutions that are winners of its Fiscal 2010 contract awards for basic, multidisciplinary research. The total value of these 32 funded projects is pegged at $227 million. Ten of these projects will support the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, with topics ranging from energy-dense liquids to social networks. Similarly, 10 fall under the Army Research Office, and 12 are for the Office of Naval Research. Pentagon officials reviewed a total of 152 proposals. (DOD release and projects list)
The Air Force is moving forward with a new, algorithm-driven system to help U.S. Northern Command better detect airborne threats. NORTHCOM and the North American Aerospace Defense Command, which are tasked with protecting the homeland from attack, depend on a slew of radars and other data systems to monitor U.S.…