An interesting personal opportunity

[theperfessor]

For several years now the University I work for has partnered with Crane Naval Depot to help them develop civilian uses for some Intellectual Property (patents and such) developed originally for military uses.

Last Spring a couple of my students helped develop a shock reduction system for a close-in .50 cal weapons system used on board ships to discourage boarders and came up with a simple and successful modification that worked real well.

Due to my interest in weapons and previous experience working with students on the .50 cal system my boss has tagged me to participate this year to develop some commercial uses for Crane's IP relating to small arms systems :D. The program kicks off in mid October.

I get a small stipend and the chance to see and do some things that most civilians can't - and I may be the only NON PhD to participate. Well, they need somebody with practical shop experience who can take ideas and turn them into real products and I am pretty good at that so I'm not too intimidated at the challenge.

No telling where this will go, just wanted to share my good fortune with my friends here.

[462]

Appears to be an interesting and fun project.

[blackthorn]

Congratulations and good luck with this interesting project.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Crane will only benefit utilizing your expertise !
Good Luck and have fun :)
Jon

[dragonrider]

Sounds like fun Perfessor, keep us informed if you can.

[felix]

That seldom happens, and when it does it sure is gratifying to all participants after the fact. I don't hesitate anymore to call in "experts" when needed, assuming I was still working. I could not have completed my hardware designs without folks having uncanny ability to read trash as trash on scopes, and not being some logic error, software or hardware in origin. Stupid me, I would have had to resort to fractals, or other mathematical transformers, to decipher the differentiation of what I needed to know without several experts in my company. Noise analysis is a job for an EXPERT technician, and you are a good one in your particular field, Professor. ... felix

[MtGun44]

It will be good to have a practical minded person on these sort of projects. I might get to
do some consulting on ammunition issues for the military, too. I have no idea if it will really
happen, but looking forward to the possibility.

It is great when someone's hobby interests can intesect with paid work - plus the person with
the hobby interest is often much more knowledgable than anyone else due to hours of
personal research and "lab work" in the basement and on the range.

Kudus to you sir, hope you can help our military to be a bit more effective.

Bill

[theperfessor]

Yeah, I'm hoping my "gun nut" interests might help me see potential civilian applications for some military patents/IP. Not sure how it could help the military but of course any products that might develop will boost the domestic economy and maybe put a few people back to work.

[higgins]

I may be the only NON PhD to participate. Well, they need somebody with practical shop experience who can take ideas and turn them into real products and I am pretty good at that so I'm not too intimidated at the challenge.

theperfessor reminds me of one of my undergraduate and graduate instructors I had back in the early 70s. He was an instructor in the biology department who taught fisheries and wildlife management courses, but was probably a certifiable genius that had as good an understanding of math and physics as most of the people teaching it in our school's well-respected engineering departments. One of my instructor's engineering acquaintances, who knew he was a handloader and gun tinkerer, approached him for help with a hypervelocity project the engineering dept. had gotten from somewhere (NASA or DOD?). The engineering dept. bought the biology professsor a 22/250 M700 Remington to be fired into an old iron lung that was converted to a vacuum chamber (imagine how many millions it would cost to come to the same solution equipment-wise today!). His instructions were to make things like plastic and aluminum spheres go as fast as possible. He was told if he wrecked the rifle they'd get him another one. I don't remember any velocities they measured, but I do know he carried a bunch of case heads on a ring showing progressively higher pressure, to the point that he had to chuck the bolt in a lathe and turn the case head off of it (he was apparently a pretty fair machinist too). He had to routinely use a leather mallet to beat the bolt handle up and back for extraction. It made him (and me) a believer in the strength of the M700 action. I also know he succeeded because he kept a few pieces of cratered aluminum on his desk for paper weights and conversation pieces.