AUBURN, Ala., Feb. 27, 2025 -- Backed by a recent $11.4 million Department of Defense (DOD) contract through the Missile Defense Agency (MDA), Auburn University's Applied Research Institute (AUARI) in Huntsville, Alabama's Cummings Research Park is establishing a cutting-edge radiation hardening, or rad hardening, facility — the only university-led facility of its kind in the nation — to help ensure the reliability of military technology in the harsh radiation environments encountered in space.
That's good news for Auburn. That's good news for Huntsville. It's great news for the future of American military operations in the final frontier.
"The capacity to test the microelectronics necessary for sustaining and improving MDA's space assets is crucial to the future of national defense," said Steve Taylor, senior vice president for research and economic development. "This new facility will provide testing that will allow us to evaluate the possible effects of extreme radiation exposure."
The significant shortage of rad hardening infrastructure articulated in recent reports by government agencies like NASA, the National Academies of Sciences and the Office of Secretary of Defense is something that AUARI stands ready to tackle.
"Establishing a radiation hardening test facility just outside the gates of Redstone Arsenal will provide a regional testing capability to address this national shortage," said Melanie Baker, AUARI principal research scientist. "Auburn University has a long history and continued commitment to supporting our DOD and NASA customers and we are extraordinarily proud to partner with MDA on this critical need."
Baker was a part of the Auburn team that recently traveled to Boston to purchase a multi-million-dollar cyclotron necessary for simulating space radiation. Previously used for therapy in cancer treatment, the particle accelerator will be the centerpiece of the institute's rad hardening arsenal.
"We're at a critical juncture, but whether we're talking expertise or resources, filling that gap — and quickly — is exactly why the Applied Research Institute was established," Baker said.
Taylor agrees.
"It's really exciting seeing all of the university's assets coalescing to make it a success," he said. "AUARI is leading the charge, but we're also taking advantage of our already established focus areas with faculty within both the College of Sciences and Mathematics and the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering."
Taylor said the project benefited from the efforts of Congressman Mike Rogers, who represents Alabama's Third Congressional District and serves as chairman of the House Armed Services Committee.
"I'm proud to support Auburn's role in a project so crucial to national security, and so pivotal for the future of the American space program," Rogers said. "That this will be the only university in the nation doing this incredibly important work reinforces the state of Alabama's reputation — and particularly Auburn University's reputation — as a leader in aerospace and defense research.
"I think it's safe to say that few schools are better positioned for this sort of project."
The MDA certainly seems to think so.
"The Missile Defense Agency values our research partnership with Auburn University's Applied Research Institute as they are bringing needed expertise to radiation hardened testing for key components for MDA," said Scott Shifrin, the MDA's acting director for innovation, science and technology. "This robust testing will ensure future capabilities are successful operating in a wide variety of environments."
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