Air Force Office of Scientific Research officials announced last week that they will award approximately $12.1 million in grants to 39 scientists and engineers who submitted winning research proposals through the Air Force's Young Investigator Research Program. Congratulations go to Maj. Jason Schmidt, an assistant professor of electro-optics in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the Air Force Institute of Technology’s Graduate School of Engineering and Management, for being the only military member to receive the award.

The AFOSR YIP program fosters creative basic research in science and engineering, enhances early career development of outstanding young researchers, and increases opportunities for the young researchers to recognize the Air Force mission and the related challenges in science and engineering. It is open to scientists and engineers at research institutions across the United States who hold a doctorate or equivalent degree in the last five years and show exceptional ability and promise for conducting basic research. According to AFOSR officials, competition for the YIP award is intense. This year, the AFOSR broad agency announcement solicitation in major areas of interest to the Air Force resulted in 210 proposals, leading to only 39 awards. The areas of interest included aerospace, chemical and material sciences, physics and electronics, and mathematics, information and life sciences. Each award is $100,000 for each of three years.

With this funding, Maj. Schmidt and his students will conduct basic research in adaptive optics (AO), a technology that compensates for the dynamic blurring effects that atmospheric turbulence has on light. This blurring, which can be observed in the twinkling of stars at night, is random and evolves quickly, causing severe problems for imaging, laser communications, and laser weapon systems. While AO has been used since the early 1980s on ground-based telescopes, recent technological advances have led to high expectations for AO in very challenging conditions, such as those encountered by airborne optical systems. Specifically, the proposal outlines a plan to add new high-speed optical sensors—called wavefront sensors—to his AO laboratory for indoor testing with simulated turbulence and then move to outdoor testing with real turbulence in the final project year. The scientifically unique part of his proposal is his use of multiple sensors to measure the turbulence with high accuracy in severe turbulence.

According to Dr. Nat Davis, head of AFIT’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, “The Young Investigator Program recognizes and honors the top new faculty from universities across the country. Jason Schmidt has certainly earned this award. His research in adaptive optics offers the potential to revolutionize the operation of airborne laser systems for the Air Force. Jason is an outstanding example of the Air Force's very select group of brilliant warrior-scholars that are defining the future of the service.”

Dr. Heidi Ries, Dean for Research, agrees. “Maj. Schmidt’s research offers new technologies that will enable the US to maintain dominance in the battlespace,” she says.

Born in Wisconsin, Maj. Schmidt was educated first at Marquette University, then The Ohio State University, and finally University of Dayton. He previously worked with AO research in two military assignments. First at the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Starfire Optical Range, he spent three years directing satellite tracking experiments and analyzing data from AO sensors on large telescopes. Then, when he was stationed at University of Dayton, completing his doctorate in preparation for his AFIT faculty assignment, he researched the use of AO to improve high-speed communications systems that use lasers to transmit data.