2018-2020 Assessment of the Army Research Office

The mission of the Army Research Office (ARO), as part of the U.S. Army Futures Command—U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command—Army Research Laboratory (ARL), is to execute the Army's extramural basic research program in the following scientific disciplines: chemical sciences, computing sciences, electronics, life sciences, materials science, mathematical sciences, mechanical sciences, network sciences, and physics. The goal of this basic research is to drive scientific discoveries that will provide the Army with significant advances in operational capabilities through high-risk, high pay-off research opportunities, primarily with universities, but also with large and small businesses. ARO ensures that this research supports and drives the realization of future research relevant to all of the Army Functional Concepts, the ARL Core Technical Competencies, and the ARL Essential Research Programs. The results of these efforts are transitioned to the Army research and development community, industry, or academia for the pursuit of long-term technological advances for the Army. This report summarizes the findings of the review of ARO's Information Sciences Directorate in 2018, the Physical Sciences Directorate in 2019,and the Engineering Sciences Directorate in 2020 conducted by the panels of the Army Research Laboratory Technical Assessment Board.