Earmarks: Armed Services FY 2011

Software to Prevent Cyber Attack
Purpose/Description: Develop and test software system to monitor web activity and forecast likelihood of cyber attacks based on set of systematically-monitored social, political, economic and cultural factors of turmoil, coupled with Internet activity monitoring. 
Suggested Recipient: University of Nebraska Omaha
Suggested Location: Omaha, Nebraska
Taxpayer Interest: Research addresses published Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) need to develop technologies allowing for improved cyberspace situational awareness to support offensive and defensive operations.

Collaborative Software for Warfighters
Purpose/Description: Develop and test collaboration software for high-efficiency collaborative work practices for warfighters designed to reduce military decision cycles. Funding continues collaboration with Nebraska and Iowa National Guards, U.S. Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) and Global Innovation and Strategy Center (GISC) to develop and expand applications for crisis response planning, strategic deterrence planning, and multi-agency intelligence analysis.
Suggested Recipient: University of Nebraska Omaha
Suggested Location: Omaha, Nebraska
Taxpayer Interest: Military decision cycles are measured in the time and effort required to detect, interpret and respond to mission-relevant changes on the battlefield. The military organization with the shortest, most accurate and effective decision cycle can dominate the battlespace making this research relevant to the Department of Defense.

Virtual Enterprise Infrastructure
Purpose/Description: Provide virtual enterprise infrastructure capability and deliver vitally needed commercialization acceleration capability to Heartland’s geographically-disadvantaged innovator firms. U.S. Department of the Navy currently runs an accelerator service out of its small business office, but its service is generally not accessible to geographically-separated firms. This effort will extend existing services to these disadvantaged firms through virtual enterprise infrastructure.
Suggested Recipient: University of Nebraska-Omaha – Nebraska Business Development Center/Dawnbreaker
Suggested Location: Omaha, Nebraska
Taxpayer Interest: The need to facilitate commercialization for small business innovations is evidenced by the recent authorization and creation of the Commercialization Pilot Program within the Department of Defense (DOD). However, the need to specifically target rural businesses still exists. The VBA-SP will identify, select and bring to maturity technologies of critical need to the DOD with dual-use applications. Through the VBA-SP the DOD will substantially improve access to technology originators who today are effectively geographically-disconnected from the DOD rapid commercialization process and its current innovation support infrastructure. A pilot for the new American enterprise paradigm, VBA-SP will bring forth the underutilized Heartland talent as a cost-effective alternative to off-shoring of American skilled labor.

Micro-Scales/Weather Research
Purpose/Description: Research and model variability of precipitation on micro-scales to improve weather monitoring and reporting, with implications for agriculture, defense, climate modeling, and weather forecasting.
Suggested Recipient: University of Nebraska Kearney
Suggested Location: Kearney, Nebraska
Taxpayer Interest: Research addresses long-established requirement within Army Research Laboratory (ARL) environmental research to provide precise, localized weather prediction to support resource movements and operations.

Support for Military Medics
Purpose/Description: Create a handheld decision-support device to assist military medics in making quick, effective decisions to assess and care for injured soldiers, without performing unnecessary pre-surgical testing.
Suggested Recipient: University of Nebraska Medical Center
Suggested Location: Omaha, NE
Taxpayer Interest: Several existing programs within DoD including the Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Program, the Combat Casualty Care Research Program and the Medical Chemical Defense Research program outline priorities to which this research is relevant. These include improving the delivery and quality of medical/surgical care throughout the battlespace and developing medical techniques and materials including medical devices, allowing for early intervention in life-threatening battle related injuries.

Retinal Implant Development
Purpose/Description: Develop wireless, high-resolution prosthetic retinal implant to restore vision in military personnel blinded due to trauma, macular degeneration, and retinitis pigmentosa.
Suggested Recipient: University of Nebraska Medical Center
Suggested Location: Omaha, NE
Taxpayer Interest: Eye damage is among most common wounds for U.S. personnel engaged in combat situations, and vision impairment in military personnel is double the number of amputations.

Nerve-Agent Exposure Test Kit
Purpose/Description: Develop test kit to immediately detect nerve-agent exposure in military personnel on battlefield, which could also be used in homeland defense emergency response actions. Research will focus on developing tests of antibodies reacting to presence of nerve agents in blood work to determine individual exposure and required medical treatment.
Suggested Recipient: University of Nebraska Medical Center
Suggested Location: Omaha, NE
Taxpayer Interest: Efforts address high costs and long processing times for mass spectrometry currently in use to diagnose exposure.

Preventing Trauma-Related Epilepsy
Purpose/Description: Prevent individuals who have suffered head trauma from developing acquired epilepsy, by developing methods to increase body’s levels of natural enzyme protecting brain cells. Acquired epilepsy can develop as result of trauma from vehicle accidents and explosions.
Suggested Recipient: University of Nebraska Medical Center
Suggested Location: Omaha, NE
Taxpayer Interest: U.S. Department of Defense reports that greatest physical distribution of injuries in soldiers occurs to head and neck, and data suggests that majority of these individuals develop cognitive impairments, including acquired epilepsy.

Vaccine Delivery System Research
Purpose/Description: Develop nanoscale delivery systems for vaccines, which prevent variety of central nervous diseases, such as Parkinson’s. Exposure to toxins, including chemical weapons, contributes to CNS disorders. Research will identify causes of nerve disorders and develop efficacious and immune-modulatory vaccines using novel nanoscale delivery system. Outcome will be unique vaccine delivery vehicles which can be employed to combat wide variety of diseases.
Suggested Recipient: University of Nebraska Medical Center
Suggested Location: Omaha, NE
Taxpayer Interest: Important goal of U.S. Department of Defense is to develop effective countermeasures should destructive agents ever be used against civilians or military personnel, and development of effective vaccines to protect CNS from chemical weapons addresses this goal.

Materials to Destroy Airborne Toxins
Purpose/Description: Develop novel non-woven materials capable of trapping and destroying airborne biological and chemical toxins. Efforts will focus on testing to further characterize material properties and developing methods to scaling production.
Suggested Recipient: University of Nebraska Lincoln
Suggested Location: Lincoln, Nebraska
Taxpayer Interest: Material would improve personal protective gear by trapping and destroying airborne biological and chemical toxins, supporting continued improvements in U.S. Department of Defense’s chemical biological defense program.

Software Development for Unmanned Aircraft
Purpose/Description: Develop and implement software framework for monitoring systems to enable unmanned aircraft to examine and automatically adjust to their environment in real-time, making them more resilient to Global Positioning System (GPS) denial or degradation, reducing system energy consumption to enable longer missions and increasing flexibility to operate in scenarios for which they were not specifically designed.
Suggested Recipient: University of Nebraska Lincoln
Suggested Location: Lincoln, Nebraska
Taxpayer Interest: Research directly supports Air Force’s need to allow UAVs to operate in GPS-denied environments.

Carbon Material for Energy Storage
Purpose/Description: Further research and develop newly discovered onion-like shell structures of carbon materials called carbon nano-onions. Structures provide for development of advanced carbon materials for high-density energy storage devices.
Suggested Recipient: University of Nebraska Lincoln
Suggested Location: Lincoln, Nebraska
Taxpayer Interest: Advances in high-density energy storage may enable many defense applications, such as electric vehicle fleets and warships.

Offut Air Force Base Improvements
Purpose/Description: Authorize all work necessary to construct new entry road and privately-owned vehicle (POV) inspection area, associated roadway, and Overwatch Facility and associated infrastructure, including lighting, landscaping, and fencing at Kenney and Bellevue Gates.
Amount Requested: $11,000,000
Suggested Recipient: United States Air Force
Suggested Location: Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska
Taxpayer Interest: Project is needed to comply with U.S. Department of Defense entry control standards and provide increased force protection, security, safety, and traffic flow.

National Guard Readiness Center, Mead, NE
Purpose/Description: This project is to provide a Readiness Center, of permanent type construction, to serve the peace time missions of the assigned units. The proposed site for the project is on Federally owned property. This project is part of "Grow the Force" funding.
Amount Requested: $11,400,000
Suggested Recipient: Nebraska Army National Guard
Suggested Location: Mead, Nebraska
Taxpayer Interest: Completion of this project is required to provide required space for 1 unit with a required strength of 150 soldiers. This new Readiness Center will provide the necessary administrative, training, kitchen, locker room and storage areas required to achieve proficiency in their respective areas of training. The proposed site for the project is on 1194 acres of Federally owned property.

National Guard Readiness Center, Lincoln, NE
Purpose/Description: renovate a former US Army Reserve Training Center located in Lincoln, NE that will provide needed Readiness Center space for Nebraska Army National Guard and save costs by re-utilizing existing federal facilities that have fallen into disrepair.
Amount Requested: $3,300,000
Suggested Recipient: Nebraska Army National Guard
Suggested Location: Lincoln, Nebraska
Taxpayer Interest: The Nebraska Army National Guard currently has a requirement deficit of 145,000 square feet in readiness center space. In addition, renovation of this facility will allow for the permanent stationing of the 67th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade (BfSB), a new Grow-The-Army unit, to a facility with enough space to function and complete assigned missions. Units stationed at the Lincoln metropolitan area, the second most populated area of the State, are particularly affected by the shortage of space. The Pershing facility will move the BfSB out of the 1776 Armory at the Lincoln Complex, opening space for units currently stationed at the Lincoln Airbase and maximizing training potential for mission accomplishment. The new facility will be remodeled on federally leased ground of approximately 3.2 acres.

Updated 7.29.10