(Left) "A bust of Thomas Edison at the NRL front gate honors his role in founding the Laboratory. (Photo: U.S. Naval Research Laboratory) "
“In 1915, Thomas Edison was asked by a New York Times correspondent to comment on the great European war. Edison argued that the Nation should look to science.
“The Government,” he proposed in a published interview, “should maintain a great research laboratory…In this could be developed…all the technique of military and naval progression without any vast expense.” This lives on as the seminal moment for the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL).
Since its establishment on July 2, 1923, NRL has excelled in conducting a broadly based multidisciplinary program of scientific research and technological development focused on Navy and Marine Corps applications. NRL’s dedicated scientists, engineers, and support personnel – working in world-class facilities – have developed a number of innovations that have revolutionized the capabilities of our Navy and Marine Corps.
The Laboratory has pioneered naval research into space, from atmospheric probes with captured V-2 rockets, through direction of the Vanguard project – America’s first satellite program – to the invention and development of the enabling technologies that became the Global Positioning System. Today, NRL is the Navy’s lead laboratory in space systems research, fire research, tactical electronic warfare, microelectronic devices, and artificial intelligence. NRL has also evaluated new issues, such as the effects of intense radiation and various forms of shock and vibration on aircraft, ships, and satellites.”
