Published On: April 13, 2026Categories: Newsletters
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The AFRL Regional Network – Midwest is thrilled to welcome you to the latest edition of Around the Region, an exciting addition to your inbox that promises to keep you in the know regarding all Midwest Network happenings.
With a mission to share the latest news, trends, insights, events, and intriguing stories, the team has crafted this newsletter as your trusted companion on a journey of innovation.
April 2026 Edition
2026 Funding Call #1 Opens April 13
The AFRL Regional Network – Midwest is excited to announce that its next funding call will officially open on April 13, 2026! We encourage all members of the Network to begin preparing now and take advantage of this opportunity to advance collaborative, mission-driven research.
Key dates:
April 13: Call opens
May 1: Phase I pre-proposal due
The open-topic call is designed to support projects that can directly and meaningfully impact AFRL scientists and engineers, with a strong emphasis on innovation, transition potential, and alignment with Air Force and Space Force priorities.
All proposals must include an AFRL scientist or engineer as a co-PI, and submissions follow a two-phase process beginning with a short pre-proposal followed by an invitation-only proposal submission. If you have not yet established an AFRL collaboration, we strongly encourage you to connect through the TechConnect portal to begin building that partnership.
We look forward to seeing the innovative ideas that emerge from across the network.
The AFRL Regional Network – Midwest hosted a successful 2026 Annual Meeting at Purdue University on March 26, 2026, bringing together 102 attendees from across the network for two days of collaboration and forward-looking discussion.
Participants dove into a dynamic, full-day program packed with insightful presentations and engaging discussions. A program overview shared by Dr. Stacy Manni highlighted the Network’s achievements and ambitious vision for the future. Attendees explored a wide range of cutting-edge topics — from space policy and innovation science to hypersonics, advanced propulsion, in-space manufacturing, and cislunar space domain awareness — hearing from an outstanding lineup of experts across academia, industry, and AFRL.
The meeting also created valuable opportunities for attendees to exchange ideas, forge new collaborations, and strengthen existing partnerships. The energy throughout the day reflected a shared commitment to advancing innovation and expanding the impact of the Network across the Midwest.
A heartfelt thank you to all attendees for bringing such enthusiasm, insight, and passion to this year’s event. Your participation is what drives the AFRL Regional Network – Midwest forward and fuels the innovation ahead.
Awardee Speaker Features
Four of our awardees presented technical talks on their projects at the 2026 annual meeting:
Top right: Dr. Bethanie Stadler, CSE Distinguished Professor, Erwin A. Kelen Professor in Electrical Engineering, and Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs at University of Minnesota
Bottom left: Dr. Antonio Ramirez, Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at Ohio State University
Bottom right: Dr. Keith LeGrand, Assistant Professor in the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics at Purdue University
Running’s project, “Flight-Matched Hypersonic Engine Optical Measurements,” is helping to enhance hypersonic ground-test capabilities by applying self-aligned focusing schlieren (SAFS) to non-intrusively measure internal flow phenomena under flight-relevant conditions, improving characterization of hypersonic engine performance and enabling future Air Force technology transfer. RH Technologies won an R&D Top 100 Award and NASA Invention of the Year for their SAFS technology.
Stadler’s project, “Field Emission Cathodes for Ionic Propulsion of Space Vehicles,” is developing small, low-power field emission cathodes for space applications by using individually separated, vertically aligned carbon nanotubes grown inside anodic aluminum oxide nanopores, enabling precise control of emitter spacing, height, and electric fields for stable, high-efficiency emission. Stadler and her team have successfully identified the best field emitters and gate electrodes for their project.
Ramirez’s project, “In-Space Laser Welding of High-Performance Allows,” is advancing in-space manufacturing readiness by developing and validating an autonomous laser welding system capable of joining high-performance alloys under vacuum and extreme temperatures, enabling critical repair and construction capabilities for future Air Force and Space Force missions. Ramirez and his team completed a successful parabolic flight experiment testing the performance of the equipment developed for this project.
LeGrand’s project, “Adaptive Tracking and Maneuver Characterization for Cislunar Space Domain Awareness,” addresses the growing challenge of detecting evasive maneuvers by noncooperative cislunar space objects by developing a compact Bayesian tracking framework using realistic non-Gaussian uncertainty modeling and quantified optical measurement requirements to guide future surveillance systems. LeGrand and his team published an open source Python package based on research completed for this project.
Innovation and Space Policy Overviews at Purdue
Dr. Stacey Connaughton, Professor of Communication and Director of the Purdue Policy Research Institute, and Dr. Joseph Sinfield, Professor of Civil and Construction Engineering and Director of the Institute for Innovation Science at Purdue, delivered dynamic and insightful overviews of space policy and innovation at Purdue at our annual meeting.
Connaughton’s research examines leadership and multi-stakeholder organizing, most recently in the context of political violence prevention initiatives. She served as a thought leader on distributed leadership for the U.S. Army Research Institute’s Leader Development Unit and was also recently named as the Vice Chair of the Purdue@DC Council. In this role, Connaughton will co-lead the long-term visioning and strategic planning for Purdue@DC in existing priority areas and identifying new opportunities for Purdue researchers, innovators, educators, and students.
Sinfield is a thought leader in civil engineering and innovation science. As Founder and Director of the Institute for Innovation Science, he has advanced the study of how innovation happens within complex systems. His research focuses on developing evidence-based methods and tools that help organizations achieve their desired impact. His work bridges academia and practice, informed by his experience as an engineer, entrepreneur, and consultant to some of the world’s most innovative organizations.
Have you checked out the AFRL Regional Network – Midwest YouTube Channel? On this platform, partners have access to a variety of video content that includes:
Funded project video reports
Network promo videos
Informative and instructional videos
Stay tuned to all of our social media channels as new content will be added frequently!
Partner with Us
The AFRL Regional Network – Midwest is a unique opportunity to partner with the Air Force Research Lab. If you are interested in becoming a partner, please visit our Join Page for more information!
Get Featured in the Newsletter
If you or your organization would like to be featured in an issue of Around the Region, please email us at afrlmwst@purdue.edu. A representative will then reach out to you for additional information.
At the AFRL Regional Network – Midwest, we are dedicated to developing next-generation research and technology to support the Air Force mission by providing analysis, development, and testing capabilities that span multiple science and engineering disciplines. From propulsion to communications, materials to sensors, our research focuses on advancing mission capability and accelerating technology transitions throughout the life cycle of programs.
At the Midwest Network, we understand the importance of collaboration in advancing technology and mission capability. We facilitate partnerships between industry and academia to develop new means to address the current and future needs of our customers.
