Impact
Innovation and Impact
At APL, we create technologies and innovations to protect our homeland and warfighters, enable teamwork between people and machines, expand the limits of computing power, and improve the ability of people to survive in the most remote parts of the globe.
By combining creativity and technical expertise with a culture of risk-taking — brought together in cutting-edge collaboration spaces, labs, and test facilities across our campuses — we tackle increasingly difficult challenges with impacts across multiple domains.
![Guidance Systems Evaluation Laboratory](/sites/default/files/2023-01/IMG_Hero_Impact_Air_Missile_Defense.jpg)
Air and Missile Defense
Johns Hopkins APL has been instrumental in developing advanced capabilities to defend our forces and allies against aircraft and missile threats.
![An APL engineer modifies a robot to test its navigation algorithms](/sites/default/files/2023-01/IMG_Hero_Impact_AI_ML_Data.jpg)
Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Autonomy
Advancing AI and intelligent systems to ensure the technology's capabilities while identifying, minimizing, or eliminating its weaknesses.
![Heba Mostafa (left), assistant professor of pathology at Johns Hopkins Medicine, joins APL biologists Tom Mehoke (center) and Peter Thielen as the team initiates a sequencing of the genome of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19.](/sites/default/files/2023-01/IMG_Hero_Impact_Biology.jpg)
Biology and Bioengineering
We work to measure, understand, and harness biological systems and processes to drive innovation and enable new capabilities to address critical challenges to national security and human health.
![Leveraging AI to address climate change challenges](/sites/default/files/2023-01/IMG_Hero_Impact_Environment.jpg)
Climate and Environment
We explore and develop technologies to respond to national security and public health challenges in a rapidly changing environment.
![Communications Systems](/sites/default/files/2023-03/IMG-Communications-Systems.jpg)
Communications Systems
Effective communications systems and networks are of vital importance to government, military, and commercial operations.
![LIVE Lab](/sites/default/files/2023-01/IMG_Hero_Impact_Cybersecurity.jpg)
Cybersecurity
Cyberattacks are more elusive, and more damaging, than ever, targeting infrastructure across the nation and around the world.
![Health Engineering Analytics Lab](/sites/default/files/2023-01/IMG_Hero_Impact_Health.jpg)
Health
Johns Hopkins APL is transforming health care by bringing significant new data analytics and systems engineering capability to the field of medicine that will enhance the nation’s ability to predict, prevent, and detect illness and injury.
![Hypersonics](/sites/default/files/2023-03/IMG-Hypersonics_0.jpg)
Hypersonics
Hypersonics will be an essential technology in tomorrow’s strategic defense landscape, a critical difference-maker in our nation’s ability to protect itself and our allies against a new generation of threats.
![APL researcher](/sites/default/files/2023-01/IMG_Hero_Impact_IRAD.jpg)
Independent Research and Development
From a multitiered grant system and robust research and leadership development programs to leading-edge collaboration initiatives and workspaces, Johns Hopkins APL fuels creativity and new ideas at every level.
![C4ISR](/sites/default/files/2023-01/IMG_Hero_Impact_ISR_Technology.jpg)
ISR Technology
We develop, prototype, and transition state-of-the-art capabilities to revolutionize intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) systems and technologies.
![Next-Generation Materials](/sites/default/files/2023-03/IMG-Next-Generation-Materials.jpg)
Next-Generation Materials
We invent, discover, and experiment with truly unique materials and explore new ways to realize their potential.
![Dragonfly](/sites/default/files/2024-04/IMG_Hero_Impact_Space_Science_Engineering.jpg)
Space Science and Engineering
Since the dawn of the Space Age, APL has expanded the frontiers of space science and technology.
![STEM and Community Engagement](/sites/default/files/2023-01/IMG_Hero_Impact_STEM_Community_Engagement.jpg)
STEM and Community Engagement
Our mission extends beyond critical research and into the critical challenge of inspiring and training the next generation of scientists, engineers, and researchers.
![Global network (Credit: Bigstock)](/sites/default/files/2023-02/Impact-Strategy-Analysis.jpg)
Strategy and Analysis
Since our founding in 1942, Johns Hopkins APL has proudly served a special role for the United States as a cornerstone research and analysis institution for some of our most critical defense technologies.
![Combat Systems Evaluation and Minotaur Laboratories](/sites/default/files/2023-01/IMG_Hero_Impact_Systems_Engineering.jpg)
Systems Engineering
Johns Hopkins APL has been developing systems since day one, and our world-class expertise in systems engineering is applied to solve problems that are more complex and difficult than other organizations can address.