13 April, 2001

Jim Clark, Research Mechanical Engineer

Naval Liaison Scientist

Jim Clark represents the Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) of Newport, Rhode Island, and their interests at the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL). It is his responsibility to represent the research needs of the Navy at CRREL.

Historically, the Navy has had a strong interest in the Arctic. Through the Base Realignment and Closure Agreement (BRAC), the Navy significantly downsized their Arctic program. Part of this decision acknowledged that much of the research and development needs of the Navy could be realized at CRREL.

Not only does Jim Clark advocate Navy interests at CRREL, but he also utilizes CRREL expertise when appropriate for Navy projects and vice versa. Jim additionally maintains a lecture exchange program between the two institutions. This exchange schedule is dependent upon the function of the various projects he's involved in and upon generated interest.

This week I was able to observe an example of Jim Clark's cooperative navy facilitations at CRREL in action. A visiting team from the Naval Undersea Warfare Center, Newport, Rhode Island came to CRREL to conduct studies in under-ice satellite communications and perform an experiment in technology transfer based communications. The "Visiting Research Team" profile focuses on the educational outreach activities of this scientific team.

By Sandra Kolb, March 2001

Jim Clark, Naval Liaison Scientist, in his CRREL office. Photo by Sandra Kolb.