SEN. DORGAN SECURES $44 MILLION FOR HIGH-TECH RESEARCH, TRAINING IN NORTH DAKOTA

The office of Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., issued the following news release:

U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) announced Tuesday that House and Senate negotiators have agreed on legislation that will give a well-deserved raise to U.S. military personnel and direct $44 million in federal funding to high-tech research and training projects in the Red River Valley Research Corridor.

Dorgan is a member of the House-Senate conference committee that negotiated the final version of the Fiscal Year 2007 Defense Appropriations bill. He worked to include a pay raise for military personnel of 3.5 percent - a larger increase than recommended by the President.

Dorgan also secured $44 million for high-tech projects in North Dakota. Among them are projects to develop vaccines that will protect troops in the field, cutting-edge research to develop new technology that will give soldiers a leg up on the battlefield, and a training course that will bring West Point cadets to the state to learn to fly helicopters.

"Our military personnel are serving their country with honor in a difficult time, and they deserve the raise we are providing in this legislation," Dorgan said. "The high-tech research and training in this bill will also strengthen our military while boosting the Red River Valley Research Corridor. That's good for our country and good for North Dakota."

The compromise bill will get a final vote in the House and Senate before being sent to the President. A list of North Dakota projects in the bill is below.

Universal Description, Discovery and Integration

$2.8 million

This project will allow Minot's InfoTech to provide for the first time a single web-based location where the Department of Defense can access military databases around the world, while still protecting sensitive data. It is part of the effort to build a worldwide Department of Defense information network called the Global Information Grid. This project is critical to ensuring the U.S. military has "information dominance" on the battlefield.

Air Battle Captain ROTC Helicopter Training

$2 million

This funding will enable UND to continue training ROTC students to fly helicopters for the Army and to provide summer helicopter flight training to West Point cadets. This program relieves the strain on the Army helicopter pilot pipeline through Fort Rucker.

UND's Center of Excellence for Defense UAV Education

$3.2 million

This funding will support research at the University of North Dakota's Center of Excellence for Defense UAV Education to help improve the nation's unmanned aircraft systems. Projects the Center will work on include integrating UAVs into the national airspace system and operating UAVs in cold weather.

MEMS Antenna for Wireless Communications Supporting UAVs in the Battlefield

$2.4 million

This funding will be used by Laserlith Corporation of Grand Forks to develop a new generation of high-performance antennas that can be used in UAVs. The project will use state-of-the-art micro-electronic mechanical systems (MEMS) to reduce the cost, size and power consumption of high-performance antennas.

Advanced Tactical Fuels for the U.S. Military

$2 million

This funding will be used by UND's Energy and Environmental Research Center (EERC) to develop new types of cleaner, more efficient fuels for the U.S. military. EERC researchers will work to develop a system to produce hydrogen fuel, as well as an assortment of liquid fuels that are produced from coal and biomass.

Engineered Surfaces for Weapons Systems' Life Extension

$3 million

This funding would be used by Alion Science and Technology Inc. and UND to develop technology and production methods that increase the lifespan and improve the reliability of the engines, transmissions and drive systems of Army helicopters and vehicles.

Staph Vaccine

$2 million

This funding will be used by NovaDigm, a company with facilities at UND's new Research Park, to develop vaccines to prevent infections by Staph, which poses a serious threat to military personnel, especially those who have been wounded.

ParallelaVax Rapid Vaccine Testing Technology

$2 million

This funding will be used by Aldevron, a North Dakota biotech company, to develop vaccines that can protect military personnel against high-priority biological threats such as botulinum toxin, Ebola and Marburg viruses, and influenza virus.

Electronics and Materials for Flexible Sensors and Transponders

$3 million

This funding will be used by NDSU to employ state-of-the-art materials and manufacturing processes to design and create prototypes of flexible, low-cost, disposable radio-frequency sensors and transponders. Such components can be used covertly in the war on terrorism.

Parts-on-Demand for CONUS Operations

$3.6 million

This funding will be used for a precision manufacturing facility that is being set up on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation to provide specially fabricated replacement parts to Army units in the United States. This facility will significantly reduce the idle days that result when vehicles have to wait for needed parts from the standard supply network, particularly for parts that are in short supply or no longer manufactured.

Advanced Fouling and Corrosion Control Coatings

$2 million

This funding will be used by NDSU's Center for Nanoscale Science and Engineering to help develop environmentally compliant coatings to protect ships against fouling and corrosion. This will save the Navy hundreds of millions of dollars per year in maintenance and fuel costs.

Autonomous Border and Intrusion Surveillance Sensor Networks

$2 million

This funding will be used by Pedigree Technologies, a Fargo-based company, to develop technology that will significantly improve the military's ability to monitor borders and facilities in remote areas.

Detecting and Inhibiting Corrosion on Army Vehicles

$1.2 million

This funding will be used by NDSU and Turtle Mountain Manufacturing, a Native American-owned company in North Dakota, for a project aimed at extending the life of Army vehicles. Researchers will work to develop novel ways to detect corrosion in military vehicles before it is visible, as well as to find ways to replace the old coatings now used with more effective corrosion control coatings.

Durable Hybrid Coatings for Aircraft Systems

$1.2 million

This funding will be used by NDSU to develop environmentally compliant and longer-lived anti-corrosion coatings needed to protect aircraft against weathering and corrosion. This project is part of an Air Force program aimed at eliminating $150 million a year in costs from dealing with hazardous wastes associated with painting, stripping and repainting aircraft.

Spartan Advanced Composite Technology

$1.6 million

This funding will be used by Fargo's Space Age Synthetics to improve the performance of the Spartan, an unmanned Navy patrol vessel. This project will be used to demonstrate whether the Spartan's performance can be improved by significantly reducing the vessel's weight by replacing engine covers and other components with components made from composite materials.

Aircraft Logging and Recording for Training (ALERTS)

$1.6 million

This funding will be used by Fargo-based Appareo Systems for a project aimed at improving military flight training and safety. The project will evaluate the use of a flight tracking and data program that identifies abnormal events and risks that could lead to an accident, for use in mission rehearsal and analysis.

Miniaturized Wireless Sensor Systems and Components

$3.6 million

This funding will be used by NDSU's Center for Nanoscale Science and Engineering to develop and prototype advanced wireless components for U.S. government customers.

Demonstrations, Tests and Evaluations of Microsensors and Miniaturized Wireless Systems

$4.8 million

This funding will be used to support demonstrations, operational tests and evaluations of state-of-the-art technology that was developed by NDSU and its industrial partners. One technology uses microsensors to improve the military's awareness of potential threats and the defense of high-value targets. The other features miniature wireless components that collect and transmit information using very little power.

Contact: Barry E. Piatt and Brenden Timpe, 202/224-2551.