The Defense Advanced Research Project Agency’s Defense Sciences Office has announced the staging of its Discovery DSO Day from April 23 to 24 in Chicago.
The agency said Monday the two-day event aims to establish a connection between DSO and the science and technology community in the Midwest and foster the development of advanced technologies and capabilities crucial for national security. The D3 event builds on similar science and technology community outreach events staged in 2024 in San Francisco and Boston.
Boosting National Security Through Innovation
DARPA aims to discover and develop scientific and engineering research that can be leveraged in creating advanced capabilities for the Department of Defense. DSO, meanwhile, pursues emerging technologies with the potential to be utilized for national security.
The initiative will cover several key areas including classical and quantum sensing, computation and processing, military’s operational resilience, energy and logistics, streamlined acquisition processes, participation of new innovators, and the accelerated deployment of new technologies.
“At D3 Chicago our program managers will share their perspectives and strategies for disruption in a variety of technical areas and lay out the critical challenges we need the tech community’s help to overcome,” said Bart Russell, director of DSO.
Bridging the Gap Between Research and Deployment
The D3 event also intends to help technologies transition into the field and be utilized by U.S. warfighters. Russell stressed that the initiative is designed to overcome the ‘Valley of Death,’ where promising technologies are stalled because of the lack of transition pathways.
