Dear Members, Friends, and Collaborators,

Happy 2026, we hope you’re well. Thank you again for your patience and continued engagement as we move RNMA into its next phase following last year’s pause.

As we reengage the community and reconnect with our members, we wanted to share a brief update on our network’s progress and impact to date. Since launching in 2022, the RNMA has grown to 137 member institutions across academia, industry, and government and has supported 48 awarded projects through its Partnership Funding cycles. Together we have deployed approximately $6.3 million in RNMA funding, leveraging $42 million in previous funding, to catalyze $24.5 million in follow-on funding. With $3.2M of those projects completed, we achieved an impact ROI of 8x with significant participation from DoD stakeholders.

We are grateful and excited that program activity is now moving forward again. In this newsletter, we’re pleased to share the following:

• Results of the Spring 2025 Partnership Funding Cycle that was affected by the pause
• Dates for our upcoming Spring 2026 Partnership Funding Cycle
• A ‘Save the Date’ for our 2026 Annual Meeting
• A call to provide input on the next generation AFRL Network
• Additional AFRL opportunities of interest

As always, thank you for the continued collaboration and innovation that make this Network thrive.

We’re happy to be back,

Emmanuel Giannelis & Patrick Govang

Co-Directors

AFRL Regional Network – Mid-Atlantic

Last week the AFRL-RNMA held selection committee meetings on March 4 and March 6 to review and recommend projects proposed in Spring 2025.  After reviewing presentations from 18 of 36 Stage 1 Proposals, 4 Stage 2 Proposals and 2 Stage 3 Proposals, the committee recommended the following for funding:

Stage 1 Awards ($100K each)

Title: New Technologies for Efficient, Jammer-Tolerant Software-Defined Radio

PI: Thomas Tapen, EchoICs Inc

Co-PI: Robert Ewing, Dr. (AFRL/RY)

Platform: Complex Systems and Modeling

Title: Neuromorphic Few-shot Incremental Learning for Low-power Edge Computing

PI: Qinru Qiu, Syracuse University

Co-PI: Lisa Loomis, Electronic Engineer (AFRL/RI)

Platform: Edge Computing

Title: Autonomous Drone Airdrop and Advanced Stabilization

PI: Mehdi Salehi, Drone City LLC

Co-PI: Elizabeth Bentley, AFRL-RI

Platform: Quantifying Performance in Extreme Environments

Title: Robust Microscale Microstructure and Residual Stress Characterization

PI: Darren Pagan, The Pennsylvania State University

Co-PI: Mark Obstalecki, Research Mechanical Engineer, AFRL-RX

Platform: Quantifying Performance in Extreme Environments

Title: Radiation-Tolerant and Thermally Managed High-Voltage Gallium Oxide Power Diodes for High-Power Space Electronics

PI: Anhar Uddin Bhuiyan, Univ. of Massachusetts, Lowell

Co-PI: Ahmad E. Islam, AFRL-RY

Platform: Quantifying Performance in Extreme Environments

Stage 2 and 3 Awards ($200K each)

Title: Integrating Structural Health Monitoring in Sandwich Panels

PI: Pritam Poddar, PrisAM

Co-PI: Hilmar Koerner, Research Lead, (AFRL/RX)

Platform: Quantifying Performance in Extreme Environments

Title: Liquid Metal Electrodes for Improved Optics and Navigation in Inspection Robots

PI: Mihai Duduta, University of Connecticut

Co-PI: Christopher Tabor, Research Scientist, AFRL-RX

Platform: Quantifying Performance in Extreme Environments

Title: Satellite Accountability Blockchain (StAB)

PI: Kaylon Paterson, Paterson Aerospace Systems Corp

Co-PI: Liam Patterson, Assoc. Research Physicist (AFRL/RI)

Platform: Complex Systems and Modeling

Title: Photopolymerization-based ceramic additive manufacturing for extreme environments

PI: Sadaf Sobhani, Cornell University

Co-PI: Charis Lin, Research Scientist, AFRL-RX

Platform: Quantifying Performance in Extreme Environments

We are pleased to announce the key dates for the upcoming Spring 2026 Partnership Funding Cycle, which will provide new opportunities for collaboration across the RNMA community.

Program details will be released later this month followed shortly thereafter by the opening of the Stage 1 pre-proposal submission window.

• March 20, 2026 – Program details published
• April 2, 2026 – Stage 1 pre-proposals open
• April 18, 2026 – Proposal submissions due
• Week of May 6, 2026 – Selection committee presentations
• August 1, 2026 – Planned project start dates

As always, we encourage members to begin exploring potential project collaborations early, including identifying AFRL collaborators and forming interdisciplinary teams where appropriate.

We are pleased to share that the 2026 RNMA Annual Meeting will be hosted at Cornell University this September 22.

We are excited to welcome members of the Network back to campus for a full day of collaboration, discussion, and community building across the RNMA ecosystem.

The Annual Meeting will once again provide an opportunity to:

• Highlight research and project outcomes across the Network
• Foster new collaborations between academia, industry, and government
• Engage directly with AFRL leadership and program stakeholders

We look forward to sharing more details soon and bringing the Network together again later this year.

The Air Force Research Laboratory has recently issued a Request for Information (RFI) regarding a future National Research Network. This effort will inform the next phase and potential renewal of the current regional network model.

As we prepare our response, we welcome input and perspectives from our membership to help ensure the next generation of the network reflects the needs and opportunities across our community.

If you are interested in contributing ideas or feedback, please contact Patrick Govang at pjg26@cornell.edu for next steps.

AFRL Regional Network - Midwest Annual Meeting

The Midwest Network is holding its annual meeting on March 26 at Purdue University (in the Stewart Center). This year's meeting will bring together network members, including business leaders, faculty, researchers, and AFRL stakeholders, to foster collaboration and accelerate technology advancement. Participants will have the opportunity to connect with regional partners, explore cutting-edge research, hear insights from leadership, and take part in hands-on workshops designed to spark new ideas and actionable outcomes.

AFRL ASCEND Program

Finally, we also wanted to highlight a valuable opportunity for small businesses in the RNMA community. The AFRL Small Business Office’s ASCEND (Advancing Small Business Competitiveness through Engagement & Development) program is designed to help innovative companies become more competitive as prime contractors with the Department of the Air Force.

ASCEND is a three-part virtual training series that combines hands-on workshops, practical tools, and direct engagement with subject matter experts. The program is particularly well-suited for companies with prior federal contracting experience (e.g., SBIR, subcontracting, or Mentor-Protégé programs) that are looking to strengthen their positioning as prime contractors.

The next cohort is scheduled for March 17 - April 2, 2026, with additional cohorts offered throughout the year. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis.