Two proposals were recently approval for seed grant funding from the Oklahoma Aerospace and Defense Innovation Institute and the Data Institute for Societal Challenges. Both projects seek to improve the Department of Defense supply chain system and enhance combat power for America.
"OADII is committed to supporting Department of Defense supply chain resiliency and knows these researchers will make positive impacts in this arena," Lt Gen (ret.) Gene Kirkland, OADII executive director, said. "We anticipate that this research will help the DOD stay combat ready and enhance our ability to protect America and our allies."
Yingtao Liu, Ph.D., William H. Barkow Presidential Professor in the School of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, and John Klier, Ph.D., dean and AT&T chair of the Gallogly College of Engineering, will receive funding for their project, "Revolutionizing Defense Supply Chain with Ultrasonic Additive Manufacturing: Materials and Process Innovation."
This project aims to develop an ultrasonic additive manufacturing system that harnesses the power of high-frequency ultrasonic vibrations, and will allow the curing process of continuous fiber-reinforced composite laminates to be accelerated and enhanced, offering the potential for improved bonding, reduced defects and enhanced mechanical properties in the manufactured composites. This proposed technology holds great promise for strengthening the resilience of composite supply chains, minimizing dependence on external composite suppliers within the U.S. defense sector.
"We believe that ultrasonic additive manufacturing of structural composites has the potential to revolutionize the US DOD supply chain. Its ability to deliver rapid, lightweight, and robust components is essential in strengthening our defense systems." Liu, said.
Additionally, Naveen Kumar, Ph.D., assistant professor of management information systems in the Price College of Business, and Pankhuri Malhotra, Ph.D., assistant professor in the School of Marketing and Supply Chain Management, will receive seed funding for their project, "Examining the Role of Large-Scale Language Models and Prompt Engineering in Enhancing Department of Defense Supply Chain Readiness."
"Despite being in their early stages, the large-scale language models have the potential to be the game changer in making defense supply chain networks more efficient. We are very excited to pursue this important research and share the outcome of our efforts," Kumar said.
The main objective of this study is to examine how large-scale language models like ChatGPT and prompt engineering can be used to identify supply chain vulnerabilities, evaluate potential disruptions and mitigate risk in the Department of Defense supply chain. The researchers will also establish a large network of collaborators from academia and industry and seek larger funding opportunities with major organizations like the National Science Foundation and the Department of Defense.
"Using large language models to increase the resiliency of the DOD supply chain has the potential to drastically improve the continuity of the supply chain even in the face of natural disasters, pandemics and other major disruptions," David Ebert, Ph.D., director of the Data Institute for Societal Challenges and associate vice president for research and partnerships, said.
Learn more about the University of Oklahoma's supply chain readiness efforts.
