WABI reports on funding for Advanced Structures and Composites Center to assist U.S. Army
WABI (Channel 5) reported on the U.S. Army Natick Soldiers Systems Center awarding more than $3.2 million to the Advanced Structures and Composites Center at the University of Maine. The funding from a new five-year contract will allow the center to continue developing products for the army, such as Modular Ballistic Protection Systems used for army tents, inflatable arches used to quickly set up shelters, 3D-printed shelters and shelter materials, according to the report. The center will also use the funds to expand its laboratory, hire more full-time researchers and recruit more graduate and undergraduate students for research work. “The ASCC’s work with the Natick Soldier SSC has resulted in two Maine spinoff companies, Compotech and Advanced Infrastructure Technologies (AIT), both located in Brewer,” said Habib Dagher, center director and professor of civil engineering at UMaine. “The ASCC has also been hiring new research engineers and technicians, including 15 new personnel and 60 students this year.”