Applied Physics Laboratory

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The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), located in Laurel, Maryland, is a not-for-profit, university-affiliated research center employing 4,150 people. APL is primarily a defense contractor. It serves as a technical resource for the Department of Defense, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and other Government agencies. The Lab is a research and development organization rather than an academic division of JHU. However, its on-site APL Education Center offers part-time graduate programs through Hopkins’ Whiting School of Engineering for staff and students from the surrounding Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area.

APL was created in 1942 during World War II under the Office of Scientific Research and Development as part of the Government’s effort to mobilize the nation’s science and engineering expertise within its universities. Its founding director was Merle Antony Tuve. The Laboratory succeeded in developing the variable-time proximity fuse that played a significant role in the Allied victory. Expected to disband, APL instead became heavily involved in the development of guided missile technology for the Navy. At Government request, the University continued to maintain the Laboratory as a public service.

The Laboratory’s name comes from its origins in World War II, but APL’s major strengths are system engineering and technology application. About half of the technical staff are engineers, and 25% have computer science and math degrees. APL conducts programs in fundamental and applied research; exploratory and advanced development; test and evaluation; and systems engineering and integration.

From 1965 through 1990, APL provided technical support to and performed testing to improve the performance and survivability of the Pershing missile systems.

The U.S. Navy continues to be APL’s primary long-term sponsor. The Laboratory performs work for the Missile Defense Agency, the Department of Homeland Security, intelligence agencies, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), and others. The Laboratory supports NASA through space science, spacecraft design and fabrication, and mission operations. APL has made significant contributions in the areas of air defense, strike and power projection, submarine security, antisubmarine warfare, strategic systems evaluation, command and control, distributed information and display systems, sensors, information processing and space systems. APL has built and operated many spacecraft, including: the TRANSIT navigation system, NEAR, Geosat, ACE, CONTOUR, Messenger, New Horizons, and STEREO.