APL at 100: A Research and Exploratory Development Perspective

Abstract

Although predicting the future is a difficult task, in many ways the Research and Exploratory Development Department (REDD) at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) exists to do just that. The department’s researchers seek to envision future challenges for APL and the nation and develop innovative solutions to those challenges. This brief article begins with a framework for thinking about what APL research and development will look like when the Lab reaches its centennial. Then it discusses some key areas of research that we predict will be active in 2042.