U.S. Army DEVCOM ASPIRE Grant Recipient

UMass Lowell’s HEROES (Harnessing Emerging Research Opportunities to Empower Soldiers) Initiative, a partnership between the university and the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) Soldier Center in Natick, serves to innovate and commercialize technologies that keep U.S. soldiers safe.  The grant was awarded by the U.S. Army DEVCOM Soldier Center as part of the ASPIRE (Advancing Soldier Performance through Integrated Research and Engineering) program.

UMass Lowell’s unique HEROES collaboration between dozens of faculty and student researchers, numerous industry partners, including Prepared for Flight, and the Department of Defense, facilitates innovations in the sciences, engineering, health and other disciplines with U.S. Army scientists and engineers. 

Prepared for Flight will fabricate and evaluate a commercially viable product using our Stella Fortis dual-material filament.  Materials extrusion is rarely used to manufacture objects intended for use in thermally or mechanically demanding environments. Recently, however, a new filament technology has been developed in a joint-venture between the United States Army Research Laboratory (ARL) and the University of Massachusetts-Lowell (UML) which allows for the creation of much stronger and tougher parts.  Prepared for Flight's Kevin Hart, PhD, is coinventor of the dual-material filament technology.

UMass Lowell is a national research university located on a high-energy campus in the heart of a global community. The university offers its students bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in business, education, engineering, fine arts, health, humanities, sciences and social sciences. UMass Lowell delivers high-quality educational programs, vigorous hands-on learning and personal attention from leading faculty and staff, all of which prepare graduates to be leaders in their communities and around the globe. www.uml.edu