Benjamin Fasel accepts an award for patenting the “Functionally Graded Structures for Impact Absorption.” during DEVCOM Soldier Center’s Third Annual Patent Award and Innovation Recognition Ceremony. This patent presents a functionally graded structure with varying compression response properties for impact energy absorption in a protective helmet.
(team members not pictured: David Colanto, Robert DiLalla, and Tony Kayhart)
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NATICK, Mass. – The U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Soldier Center, or DEVCOM Soldier Center, recently held its Annual Patent Award and Innovation Recognition Ceremony honoring its employees and teams who were awarded patents during fiscal year 2024. These exemplary innovators’ creative efforts have resulted in cutting-edge and transformational technologies that continue to support and advance Soldier performance and capabilities, and the Army’s modernization efforts to dominate the future battlefield.
Military research has a long history of contributing inventions that not only benefit the warfighter but also have applications in the civilian world. DEVCOM Soldier Center, located at the U.S. Army Natick Soldier Systems Center in Natick, MA, has had a significant impact on—or co-sponsored the development of—numerous products that are in use today by both commercial and military users.
One example that is familiar to Soldiers as well as other service members, law enforcement and first responders, and now in the outdoor sports market, is the MOLLE system. The Modular Lightweight Load Carrying Equipment, or MOLLE (pronounced Molly), is an Army and Marine Corps item that replaced the older All-purpose, Lightweight, Individual Carrying Equipment, or ALICE, introduced in 1973, and the Integrated Individual Fighting System, introduced in 1988.
In 1996, inventors at DEVCOM Soldier Center created the MOLLE interlocking pocket attachment system, a component of the MOLLE system that led to numerous accessories and attachments for U.S. military equipment, and now can be found on camping gear, dog harnesses, and even in the interiors of sport utility vehicles. They were granted the patent in 1998.
MOLLE equipment was first adopted by the Army in August 2001 and the interlocking pocket attachment system was originally intended for MOLLE ammunition pouches and other equipment. It provided Soldiers the flexibility and security necessary to make pouch-attached gear the standard way to add accessories to a basic item.
According to Sheri Mennillo, DEVCOM Soldier Center’s technology transfer manager, “seeking a patent, like other technology transfer activities, can help to drive research and development forward for the particular technology, which ultimately furthers the Army’s mission and may have a positive impact on the warfighter.”
Additionally, patents help incentivize commercialization partners to develop federally owned technologies for commercial purposes, bringing the technology to the general public. The reason for this is linked to the large capital investment required to bring early-stage technology to market. Without patent protection, companies may be unwilling to accept the risk associated with developing a new product, knowing that a competitor could simply duplicate their work at a fraction of the cost. As a result, patents can help spur economic growth with respect to military partners, the community, and nationwide.
For some Soldier Center employees, this was their first patent award, and for others, it represented another recognition of their hard work and innovation.
Todd Grenga is a mechanical engineer on Soldier Center’s Aerial Delivery Engineering Support Team and these latest awards are his 12th and 13th patents.
“I work for the Aerial Delivery Division and although it is an Army organization, we support all services. Everything we do can be summed up in getting Soldiers and equipment from some altitude to the ground safely,” said Grenga. “ADEST are not item developers; our role is to provide the operational field with engineering expertise to ensure their equipment functions the way advertised and intended.”
“These patents represent areas where products may be improved or simplified, and all items designed by ADEST would primarily target aerial delivery riggers or paratroopers–a small but important portion of our armed forces,” Grenga said.
For Tony Patti, the division technical lead for Expeditionary Systems Support, working with the Product Manager Force Sustainment Systems, whose patent was for a new cooking appliance to prepare rations in the field, this was not his first time receiving a patent.
“It’s always an honor to be recognized for producing a new and novel concept that may benefit our Soldiers by helping to enhance their daily activities in any little way possible,” said Patti.
“For military field feeding, the Army is exploring the possibility of using the Continuous Conveyor Cooking System that uses both microwave power and hot air impingement that cooks military rations up to 4-5 times faster than current field kitchens at the same or higher quality,” Patti said.
“Additionally, this one common appliance would replace ovens, griddles, stock pots, etc. thus greatly reducing logistics, water and small wares like pots and pans since all meals would be pre-packaged and sent through the conveyor at rapid speed ‘ready to eat’. It’s potentially a game changer for field feeding,” Patti explained.
Douglas Tamilio, director of DEVCOM Soldier Center, summed up the importance of the organization’s innovative contributions to the warfighter.
“Patents are incredibly important because they give employees recognition for the great work that they have done but also protects our intellectual property interests and allows commercialization of those products but in a way we can control,” he said.
During the ceremony, which was orchestrated by Dr. Yoojeong Kim, Team Leader for the Innovation and Outreach Team, 29 current and former employees were honored for their contributions to 14 issued patents, including:
Scotlund McIntosh, Lisa Hepfinger, Cheryl Stewardson, Anabela Dugas, and James Fairneny for Camouflage Patterns:
–This patent is part of the patent family that claims the Operational Camouflage Pattern, or OCP, that is present on uniforms issued beginning in 2015.
Joshua Uzarski for Additively Manufactured Self-Supporting Microfluidics:
–This patent presents extrusion-based 3D printing processes to produce hollow microfluidic structures without requiring sacrificial materials, resulting in minimal postprocessing.
Michael Ghebrebrhan for Particle-Filled Retroreflective Fiber:
–This patent relates to fibers, textiles, fabrics, clothing and methods that are retroreflective including fibers having a hollow sheath that is filled with retroreflective particles.
Haile Verville for Functional Fit System for Apparel:
–This patent is for configurable coveralls that provide a wide range of motion without constant readjustment and accommodate a diverse array of users.
Laurel Doherty, Jason Soares, Steven Arcidiacono, and Sarah Pearce for Automated System for Simulating the Human Lower Gastrointestinal Tract:
–This patent is for an in vitro model of the human small and large intestines to simulate a biotransformation of food product through the human digestive tract.
Todd Grenga for Rapid Release Interface for Airdrop Lashings:
–The patent is for a system that allows for derigging lashings of an airdrop platform with one action, making it faster and easier to derig a payload from an airdrop platform.
Quoc Truong for Water Extractable Microcapsules of Activated Carbon, Super Activated Carbon, and Other Adsorptive and Reactive Materials:
–This patent is for the application of a microencapsulation methodology to improve the retention of more purified super activated carbon, a payload which has known utility against chemical warfare agents.
Scotlund McIntosh, Lisa Hepfinger, Cheryl Stewardson, Anabela Dugas, and James Fairneny for Camouflage for Garment Assembly:
–This patent is for assembling a military uniform, a military combat uniform, and a helmet using the Operational Camouflage Pattern, or OCP.
Todd Grenga for Adjustable Helical Capstan Rope Brake:
–This patent presents a braking device to control the speed of payload descent from rotary wing aircrafts to reduce the loss of supplies.
Kathryn McCusker, Robert Drown, Matthew Hurley, and Alfredo Lujan for Integrated Protective Knee Pad Assembly:
–This patent claims a lightweight integrated knee pad featuring a hinged external hard-shell cap that is high-impact, shatter-resistant, and protects both the users and the base garment, allowing for heavy use in extreme terrain. This new design ensures absolute stability, eliminates the opportunity for misalignment during installation, and a straightforward path for removal when necessary for replacement or maintenance.
Anthony Patti for Continuous Mode Conveyor Cooking Utilizing Hot Air Jet Impingement and Microwave Energy:
–This patent presents a conveyor cooking appliance with a central microwave unit and two hot air jet impingement ovens on each side of the microwave section to rapidly prepare Unitized Group Rations, or UGRs, without needing an entire kitchen ensemble, while preserving the quality of food and reducing heat, noise, and microwave exposures to cooking personnel.
Ferdinando Bruno, David Ziegler, and Nicole Farhadi for Abatement of Asbestos Using Fluorinated Metal Compound:
–The patent presents a novel procedure for treating asbestos or asbestos-containing material, including fibrous asbestos and airborne fibrous asbestos, to convert them to an inert additive with a fire-retardant property.
Jason Parker, Tony Kayhart, Damian Kubiak, and Robert Sykes for Method for Forming Composite Articles:
–This patent describes a method for forming a net shape preform to produce a defect-free, high performance ballistic helmet.
Benjamin Fasel, David Colanto, Robert DiLalla, and Tony Kayhart for Functionally Graded Structures for Impact Absorption:
–This patent presents a functionally graded structure with varying compression response properties for impact energy absorption in a protective helmet.
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About DEVCOM Soldier Center: The DEVCOM Soldier Center is committed to discovering, developing, and advancing science and technology solutions that ensure America’s warfighters are optimized, protected, and lethal. DEVCOM Soldier Center supports all of the Army’s Modernization efforts, with the Soldier Lethality and Synthetic Training Environment Cross Functional Teams being the DEVCOM Soldier Center’s chief areas of focus. The center’s science and engineering expertise are combined with collaborations with industry, DOD, and academia to advance Soldier and squad performance. The center supports the Army as it transforms from being adaptive to driving innovation to support a Multi-Domain Operations Capable Force of 2028 and a MDO Ready Force of 2035. DEVCOM Soldier Center is constantly working to strengthen Soldiers’ performance to increase readiness and support for warfighters who are organized, trained, and equipped for prompt and sustainable ground combat.
STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) outreach and mentoring the next generation of scientists and engineers are also an important part of the mission of DEVCOM Soldier Center. The mentoring of students by Army scientists and engineers benefits the students and their communities. It also increases young people’s awareness of potential Army job opportunities and helps provide the Army with potential new talent, helping to fuel innovative ideas that benefit the nation’s warfighters and the nation as a whole.
DEVCOM Soldier Center is part of DEVCOM. Through collaboration across the command’s core technical competencies, DEVCOM leads in the discovery, development and delivery of the technology-based capabilities required to make Soldiers more lethal to win our nation’s wars and come home safely. DEVCOM is a major subordinate command of the U.S. Army Futures Command.
