(Press-News.org) WASHINGTON — Cmdr. J. Aaron Roberts relinquished command of the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory’s (NRL) Scientific Development Squadron (VXS) 1, the Warlocks, to Cmdr. Luis A. Levine, the new Commanding Officer (CO), during a change of command and retirement ceremony Nov. 14 at Naval Air Station (NAS) Patuxent River, Maryland.
NRL’s CO Capt. Jesse Black presented Roberts with the Meritorious Service Medal. Roberts served as the VXS-1 CO from May 2023 to November 2024 and the U.S. Navy for 21 years. Black said Roberts’ distinguished leadership was instrumental to the squadron’s continued record of exceptional support to NRL’s airborne mission.
Rear Adm. Kurt Rothenhaus, the Chief of Naval Research, presided over the ceremony and took the opportunity to praise Roberts on a successful tour marked by world-wide deployments that advanced vital science and technology to the fleet.
“This is a truly important day. On this day, the United States Navy continues a long and storied tradition of the transfer of command from one outstanding officer to another,” Rothenhaus said. “That tradition is part of the very fabric of our Naval Service, and hence, it is part of the very fabric of our Nation.”
Under Roberts’ command this past year, VXS-1 successfully executed over 1,500 mishap-free flight hours and 18 detachments in support of 19 vital science and technology development projects. These projects advanced under-sea and over-the-horizon threat detection, line-of-sight data dissemination, hurricane coastal impacts, and congressionally mandated coastal mapping of national shorelines.
“Cmdr. Roberts has led the Warlocks to some incredible accomplishments and research flights that have made this Nation safer, stronger and better positioned for the future,” Rothenhaus continued.
In his remarks, Roberts thanked VXS-1 personnel who remained steadfast in their commitment to supporting the Naval Research Enterprise airborne research missions.
“I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to each and every one of you for being a part of this squadron and having me as your Commanding Officer. It has been an honor to serve alongside such an outstanding team,” Roberts said. “Your hard work, dedication, and unwavering commitment have been the cornerstone of our success and allowed the Naval Research Enterprise to conduct multiple projects across the spectrum of airborne research, advancing new technologies to the fleet.”
As the new head of VXS-1, Levine will carry on the tradition of premier airborne science and technology support.
Levine, a native of Stafford, Virginia, graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 2006 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Systems Engineering and received his Master of Arts in National Security and Strategic Studies from the U.S. Naval War College.
“I am truly honored and excited to have the opportunity to serve alongside you as this squadron’s 17th Commanding Officer,” Levine said. “Our mission remains imperative to deliver essential scientific solutions to the warfighter. As the Navy, Marine Corps, and Department of Defense modernize and propel the rapid advances in technology that we see today, VXS-1 provides the ability to test, integrate, and field new systems to win the fight. From our past accomplishments to the challenges we will undoubtedly face, it is your commitment, professionalism, and camaraderie that make this unit truly exceptional.”
VXS-1 operates and maintains two uniquely modified NP-3C Orions, one RC-12M Huron, one UV-18A Twin Otter aircraft, and is the reporting custodian for numerous Tiger Shark Unmanned Aerial Vehicles used as airborne research platforms.
VXS-1's aircraft operate worldwide on extended detachments and annually log more than 800 flight hours. These aircraft are the sole airborne platforms for numerous projects such as bathymetry, electronic countermeasures, gravity mapping, line-of-sight data dissemination, radio detection and ranging developmental research and tropical storm impact modeling.
The squadron has a flawless safety record, having amassed more than 79,000 hours of accident-free flying since 1963.
About the Scientific Development Squadron
VXS-1 conducts airborne scientific experimentation and advanced technology development in worldwide operations supporting U.S. Navy and national science and technology (S&T) priorities and war fighting goals. Supporting broadly based, multidisciplinary programs across the full spectrum of scientific research and applied technologies, our focus is toward the maritime application of new and improved airborne data collection techniques, experimental equipment, and system demonstration. While directly supporting scientific programs across the globe, we ensure that our work environment provides for the learning, personal growth, and respect of all our men and women and their families.
About the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory
NRL is a scientific and engineering command dedicated to research that drives innovative advances for the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps from the seafloor to space and in the information domain. NRL is located in Washington, D.C. with major field sites in Stennis Space Center, Mississippi; Key West, Florida; Monterey, California, and employs approximately 3,000 civilian scientists, engineers and support personnel.
For more information, contact NRL Corporate Communications at (202) 480-3746 or nrlpao@nrl.navy.mil. Please reference package number at top of press release.
###
END
PHILADELPHIA, PA – November 18, 2024 – Opertech Bio, Inc., a leading innovator in taste assessment, today announced the publication of a research article in which the TāStation® rapid throughput taste evaluation system was used to resolve a central question about sweet taste perception.
It has been well established that sweeteners impart their taste by activating the TAS1R2/TAS1R3 “sweet taste receptor” in the tongue. A second signaling pathway involving the activity of glucose transporters, operating independently of the receptor, recently has been proposed for metabolizable caloric sweeteners. In a powerful demonstration of the analytical ...
Southwest Research Institute has won a $60 million contract to build three coronagraphs for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). SwRI’s novel Space Weather Solar Coronagraph (SwSCOR) is NOAA’s next-generation instrument to provide early detection and characterization of Earth-directed coronal mass ejections (CMEs).
CMEs are huge bursts of coronal plasma threaded with intense magnetic fields ejected from the Sun over the course of several hours. CMEs arriving at Earth can generate geomagnetic storms, which can cause anomalies in and disruptions ...
Between 2019 and 2023, antibiotic consumption in the EU increased by 1%, moving further away from the 2030 target of a 20% reduction recommended by the Council of the European Union.
Although there have been significant reductions in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream infections during the same period, the situation in other critical areas, such as carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae bloodstream infections, has worsened, with an increase in incidence by almost 60% between 2019 and 2023. This represents a growing threat to patients in hospitals across the EU, particularly since very few therapeutic options remain available to treat patients infected with ...
So maybe the naysayers and detractors of online gaming and its ill effects on youth need to stand down. That’s what science is telling us in a new report in the journal Human Resource Development International from Melika Shirmohammadi, assistant professor at the UH College of Technology.
The article reports that - contrary to popular belief - massive multiplayer online gamers learn by gaming and their skills in the workplace are enriched by those seemingly endless hours previously thought of as frittering away time.
"Online gaming often ...
About The Study: In this study of discharge prescription of a sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitor (SGLT2i) among patients hospitalized for heart failure, prescription rates increased substantially within 2 years after publication of clinical trial evidence documenting benefit, although considerable variation in rates was found, highlighting the need to understand strategies used by higher prescribing centers to increase SGLT2i adoption.
Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, ...
A new study by researchers at Intermountain Health in Salt Lake City finds that 40 percent of newly diagnosed heart failure patients also have atrial fibrillation – a combination of cardiac disorders that researchers found results in significantly poorer outcomes for patients.
Findings from the Intermountain Health study demonstrate the need for physicians to screen newly diagnosed heart failure patients for atrial fibrillation to ensure patients are getting the best care possible, researchers said.
“Atrial fibrillation can make heart failure much more problematic, and more complex to treat,” said Heidi T. May, PhD, principal investigator of the study and cardiovascular ...
Parag Chitnis, Associate Professor, Bioengineering, College of Engineering and Computing (CEC), received funding for the project: “MTEC-23-06-USAMRDC-MultiTopic-105; Tendon and Joint Injury Prevention and Reduction using Wearable Ultrasound Systems.”
He leads a multi-disciplinary team that aims to produce a new class of wearable hands-free ultrasound systems. Specifically, this system builds on patented technology to provide structural and functional measures for assessing muscle-tendon interactions for preventing tendon overuse injury and assessing joint function, injury, and recovery.
Chitnis received $1,856,023 from Advanced Technology ...
David Weisburd, Distinguished Professor, Criminology, Law and Society, College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHSS); Executive Director, Center for Evidence-Based Crime Policy (CEBCP), received funding for: “Safer Stronger Together (SST) Initiative: An evaluation of the impact of a place-based social intervention on youth and their families.”
Weisburd will evaluate baseline behaviors and attitudes of clients in the recently launched Safer Stronger Together (SST) Initiative in Maryland. A future proposal will be geared toward gaining outcome data.
He ...
Erdogan Kaya, Assistant Professor, College of Education and Human Development (CEHD), received funding for the project: “EducateAI DCL: Cultivating Artificial Intelligence Literacy through Linguistically Inclusive Integrated Elementary Curriculum via Educational Robotics.”
He and his colleagues aim to develop a linguistically inclusive integrated Artificial Intelligence (AI) curriculum that specifically supports emergent multilingual learners (EMLs), using educational robotics to teach ...
Dongqing Wang, Assistant Professor, Global and Community Health, College of Public Health, received funding for the project: “Effects of micronutrient supplementation on maternal and infant micronutrient status: a secondary analysis for Tanzania, and a systematic review and meta-analysis for low- and middle-income countries.”
Wang will lead the secondary analysis using existing data from a randomized controlled trial in Tanzania.
He aims to investigate the effect of multiple micronutrient ...
