"When you start dealing with a senior bunch of scientists trained in conventional physics and they see a young upstart with a miracle material, most say 'no, ' and they say it rather vehemently, " says James Collis , who evaluates technology for the logistics division of the Naval Air Systems Command and who has closely followed Branagan's work.

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In 2001, for example, it canceled a naval program and ended up delaying by several years a technology that was proved effective in tests two years ago.

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Putting even the highest-resolution bacteria-based cam to shame, the new 4-inch-square CCD features an array of 10, 560 x 10, 560 pixels, and was developed in conjunction with Semiconductor Technology Associates to aid the U.S. Naval Observatory's Astrometry Department in precisely determining the position and motion of celestial objects.

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George Carruthers. 2011 National Medal of Technology and Innovation to George Carruthers, U.S. Naval Research Lab.

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The fuel cell technology, which is being developed with support of the U.S. Office of Naval Research, will be tailored to integrate with solar PV panels, which will reduce the amount of fuel needed to support forward operating military bases.

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