Universities to get $42 million from Pentagon for research gear

To support the purchase of research instrumentation, the Defense Department is awarding $42.2 million to 97 academic institutions. The agency plans to give 233 grants, averaging $181,000. The awards are being made under the Defense University Research Instrumentation Program (DURIP). The program enables Pentagon-supported university re-searchers to purchase scientific equipment that costs $50,000 or more. Under their contracts and grants, the researchers often have difficulty buying instruments that cost that much. Four military research offices picked the award winners from more than 700 proposals from universities. Among the DURIP selections are funds for state-of-the-art instruments for research in: vibration and noise monitoring of large observation platforms at the University of Maryland; micro-heat engines at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; and ad-vanced mechanical testing systems at Florida International University.