Major Transitions

The ISN may be best known for performing groundbreaking fundamental research, but another vital part of our mandate is to transition promising results of that research to higher levels of development. The ultimate goal is to enable products valuable to the US military services and other government agencies.

The ISN has more than two dozen "major transitions," cases in which unique ISN basic research discoveries have been transitioned to companies or other organizations and have resulted in products or products in development. The cases below are just a few key examples.
A sensor film made of a novel semiconducting organic polymer undergoes a lasing process when exposed to ultraviolet light.

Ultrasensitive Explosives Detection

The Fido explosives detector, originally transitioned to startup Nomadics and now manufactured and sold by Teledyne FLIR, has been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, and is used at US Airports.
In the center of a black field are several concentric rings. The innermost ring holds a circle that is bright yellow in the center and fades to a deep red toward the outer edge. The next ring out contains a faint gradient of dark red fading into black.

Hollow Photonic Crystal Fibers As Laser Waveguides

The BeamPath endoscopic scalpel, developed and manufactured by spinout OmniGuide, has been used in 500,000+ procedures at 1000+ VA and civilian hospitals across the US.
The wireless power transmission research team standing in a lab between two styrofoam frames wrapped in copper wire. From the right frame and coil hangs a shining lightbulb.

Efficient, Wireless, Non-radiative Power Transfer

Startup WiTricity is developing wireless charging solutions for automobiles, medical implants, electronic devices, and Soldier applications.
A blue cube representing a bulk metal with a network of red representing a secondary metal to stabilize the grain boundaries of the bulk metal.

Grain Boundary-Engineered Nanocrystalline Metal Alloys

Nanostructured alloys from startup Xtalic can be tailored to provide an array of capabilities to military and civilian customers, ranging from durable, corrosion-resistant electronic interconnects to structural and protective materials that combine the strength of steel with the weight of aluminum.
A variety of optoelectronic fiber device preforms that have been partially drawn already into fibers.

Development and Drawing of Multifunctional, Multimaterial Fiber Devices

ISN research in optoelectronic fiber devices provides the foundation for Advanced Functional Fabrics of America (AFFOA). A related transition is the Defense Fabric Discovery Center (DFDC) — founded as a collaboration between AFFOA, MIT Lincoln Lab,  the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and DEVCOM SC — which features equipment and personnel devoted to the advancement of fiber and fabric technology for defense applications.
A variety of photonic crystal-enabled micro-burners.

Photonic Crystals to Control Light Radiation

Enabling efficient, portable thermophotovoltaic (TPV) energy sources for the warfighter, startup Mesodyne’s novel ultrahigh energy density compact power generators yield stable, portable power with significantly reduced weight when compared to current battery solutions.
An array of blue batteries clustered together shown from the front and above

Purely Organic Conducting Polymers for Energy Storage

Startup PolyJoule has developed a safe, non-lithium-based energy storage system designed specifically for the electrical grid and that is capable of providing flexible, safe power assets that handle peak loads and time shift. PolyJoule Power Cells can respond to both base loads and peak loads in microseconds, allowing the same battery system to potentially participate in multiple power markets and deployment use cases.