WILLOW RUN LABORATORIES Research Vital to the Nation's Defense By RALPH LANGER THE LOCATION isn't very glam- orous and the buildings aren't very modern, but what takes place there is of vital importance to our nation's defense. Looking across the field from Willow Run Air Terminal, one has difficulty seeing the low grey buildings strung out along the concrete ramp. Under the drone and whistle of modern airliners, more than 700 men and women are daily applying University research methods to the solution of mili- tary problems. Most of the work at the Willow Run Laboratories is classified and no visitor would get far wander- ing around peering through doors and windows. But if he could, he would see dozens of small benches cluttered with electronic pieces, complicated electronic computers with mazes of buttons, dials, and wires, and small offices where the only research tool is Man's brain. OR.ANIZATION of the Labor- atories looks simple on a chart. There are research groups, administrative staffs, and service units that provide skills and pro- duce information for the outside world. But an additional division accounts for the largest amount of activity. Project MICHIGAN, or PM, is a major contract fi- nanced by the Army Signal Corps to the tune of several million dollars annually. Begun in 1953 the Project's six Task Groups do research in the employment of the physical sci- ences to the accomplishment of combat surveillance and target acquisition. Briefly, surveillance is the col- lective means a military com- mander uses to keep tabs on operations and potential develop- menis in a battle area. If the need ever arises, the commander of the future will know far more about what's going on than he ever has before. Battle areas stretching for pos- not be tied in with the transconti- nental air system then under de- velopment. When no public agen- cy would accept responsibility for operating Willow Run Airport, the University reluctantly stepped in. In the process several old hangars were acquired which were not needed for commercial use. From this less than glamorous begin- ning the present Willow Run Laboratories has emerged. THE Laboratories pay their own way, but this very fact makes it difficult to obtain funds for fu- ture buildings. For years there has been hope that modern research facilities will someday be built on North Campus enabling, the lab- oratories to work still more close- ly with other University personnel. Within one of the rambling ex- hangars a visitor would see masses of small benches sometimes sep- arated by temporary partitions. Here, original ideas may be put into their first physical form, test- ed for feasibility, and, provided it passes, tested further in more complex situations. Each man is encouraged to use his fullest imag- ination. One such idea was the adapta- tion of seismics to battle area needs. Explosions and other mili- tary noises can be transmitted for great distances through the earth's crust. It follows that special sound receivers known as "geophones" placed in the earth might be able to detect the explosion of an atom- ic bomb that a human ear could not hear. The final refinement of this rudimentary method of col- lecting battle area noise is to make complete and reliable intelligence available for the, battle area com- mander's use. This means that the identity of each noise or "signa- ture" must be carefully determined and filed so that it may be re- trieved when needed and be add- ed to other data to form the over- all intelligence picture. SCIENTIFIC and engineering personnel must determine what technical equipment will make the tab-keeping accurate, -swift, and practical. By the very same re- search methods taught in the Uni- versity's classrooms, Willow Run Laboratories is finding the answers. The purpose of Project MICHI- GAN is not to' develop finished (Continued on Next Page) Ralph Langer is former contributing editor of The Michigan Daily. Engineers and technicians developed a battle area simulation device for Project MICHIGAN at the Willow Run Laboratories. The instrument permits precise location of enemy activity on an illuminated display console. sibly hundreds of miles and ranged over by fast moving com- bat forces present formidable ob- stacles to good communications. Dependable systems for quickly detecting enemy actions and pro- cessing combat iniformation are essential to the security of our own troops. Project MICHIGAN is evaluating these systems con- cepts through simulation and analysis, by the development of breadboard models to verify new technhiques, and by testing mod- els of experimental equipment to ascertain their technical capa- bilities. WILLOW RUN Laboratories, under a different name, be- gan about 13 years ago when the the University acquired Willow Run Airport. Two unusual events led to its nascence. World War II Sthe had added to the demands on the University for full-time research facilities. The Engineering Re- search Institute, born in 1922, had made major contributions to our war effort by providing a staff to do university-type research un- der both private and government- al contractors. As the need for still more research was felt, the search for additional facilities was stepp- ed up. At the same time, something else was taking place which Was to greatly influence the University's research program. Twin-engine aircraft had been the standard for transcontinental air travel at the start of World War II. The United States emerged from the war, however, with its major cities served by four-engine planes which required longer runways and more handling facilities. Detroit was the exception.' 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