Proposals Selected for Next Round of SURPASS Cycle 2

Five proposals from 36 submissions were selected for further consideration under SURPASS, the multimillion-dollar joint initiative between the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) and Johns Hopkins University Whiting School of Engineering (WSE). The proposals were chosen based on their potential to transform foundational research into impactful activities. Each proposal is led by two principal investigators (PIs), one from APL and the other from WSE.

SURPASS leverages WSE and APL’s unique technical strengths and research and development communities. It supports cross-divisional teams dedicated to using innovative, multidisciplinary approaches to solving some of the world’s most pressing problems.

The continuing teams are (listed in alphabetical order by proposal name):

• AI-Driven Discovery of High-Entropy H2 Generators (ADD H2)
  • PIs: Avi Bregman (APL) and Corey Oses (WSE).
  • APL contributing staff members: Kenneth Kane, Karun Kumar Rao, Victor Leon, Morgan Trexler (PM).
  • WSE contributing faculty: Anthony Hall.
• Autonomous Emergency Medical Response Robot
  • PIs: Dave Handelman (APL) and Tinoosh Mohsenin (WSE).
  • APL contributing staff members: Corban Rivera, Brian Haberman, Brian Chandler, Chris Korpela (PM).
  • WSE contributing faculty: Russell Taylor, Axel Krieger, Mathias Unberath.
• The Humanoid Chip
  • PIs: Andrea Timm (APL) and Annie Kathuria (WSE).
  • APL contributing staff members: Austin Veith, Bill Evans, Sarah Herman (PM).
  • WSE contributing faculty: Ji Yi, Patrick Cahan.
• Universal Pathogen Analysis and Countermeasure Synthesis (UPAC)
  • PIs: Mekbib Astatke (APL) and Rebecca Schulman (WSE).
  • APL contributing staff members: Julia Patrone, Laura Dunphy, Stergios Papadakis, Alan Ravitz (PM).
  • WSE contributing faculty: Hai-Quan Mao, Tza-Heui (Jeff) Wang.
• Water AI-aided Treatment and Environmental Remediation (WATER)
  • PIs: Danielle Nachman (APL) and Brandon Bukowski (WSE).
  • APL contributing staff members: Jeffrey Kalter, Jesse Ko, Nam Q. Le, Michael Salerno, Morgan​ Trexler (PM).
  • WSE contributing faculty: Yayuan Liu.

Next Steps

APL’s Design Thinking team will lead the five continuing teams in innovation coaching, designed to help them foster interdivisional collaboration and develop a business plan while pushing their proposal ideas to go beyond what’s currently possible. Additionally, SURPASS partners with APL’s Research and Exploratory Development Mission Area, which serves as a transition agent, assisting with exposing SURPASS technologies more broadly. APL’s program managers are also a resource for idea cultivation and engagement.

Full proposals will be submitted in February. Each team will pitch its ideas to JHU stakeholders for funding shortly thereafter. New proposals will compete against existing SURPASS projects, but the proposal requirements for the two cohorts will be different. A total of $3.75 million in funding for 18 months of performance will be awarded to a select few, and they will begin executing their SURPASS proposals in July 2024.

Originally published 1/11/2024 via APL internal platform “APL News Wire.”
Approved for public release