Abstract:
Unique compared to other services, the Navy is responsible for more war fighting platforms such as ships, submarines, aircraft, ground vehicles, and dismounted Marines.  In this presentation, an overview of different military imaging technologies associated with these Navy platforms is provided.  Examples of materials, components, and systems that are under development and describe some of the challenges for the future Navy imaging systems is also provided.

Bio:
Ronald G. Driggers received a doctorate in electrical engineering from the University of Memphis in 1990. He was appointed to the Senior Executive Service as the superintendent of the Optical Sciences Division at the Naval Research Laboratory in 2008.  Previously, he was the director of the Modeling and Simulation Division at the U.S. Army’s Night Vision and Electronic Sensors Directorate (NVESD) and a brief period as the chief of the Electro-Optics and Photonics Division at the Army Research Laboratory. 

Dr. Driggers is the author of four books on infrared and electro-optics systems and has published over 100 research papers.  He was editor in chief of the Encyclopedia of Optical Engineering (Taylor and Francis).  He was selected as the 2002 Army Materiel Command’s Engineer of the Year, 2001 CERDEC Technical Employee of the Year, and 2001 NVESD Technical Employee of the Year.  He is a U.S. Naval Reserve Officer and was selected as the 2001 Naval Engineering Duty Officer of the Year (William Kastner Award).  He is also a Fellow of the International Society for Optical Engineering, the Optical Society of America, and the Military Sensing Symposium.  In January 2010, he took over duties as editor in chief of SPIE’s flagship journal, Optical Engineering.