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{{Short description|U.S. Navy research laboratory}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2017}}
{{Infobox laboratory
| name             = U.S. Naval Research Laboratory
| logo             = Naval Research Laboratory Logo.png
| image            = US_Naval_Research_Laboratory.jpg
| caption          = Aerial view in 2021
| logo_size        = 160
| image_size       = 280
| established      = {{Start date|1923}}
| type             = Basic and Applied Research
| budget           = $1.1 billion<ref name="Facts, Figures">{{cite web |title=Facts,Figures |url=https://www.nrl.navy.mil/Portals/38/PDF%20Files/2021_Annual_Rpt_FINAL.pdf?ver=URD7At6oh0YAIv7JKOKK1w%3d%3d&timestamp=1616776284401 |access-date=May 3, 2021}}</ref>
| research_field   = {{Plainlist|
* [[National security]]
* [[Fundamental science]]
 }}
| director         = [https://www.nrl.navy.mil/About-Us/Leadership/Director-of-Research/ Dr. Bruce Danly]
| staff            = 2,538 civilian<br />86 military (2015)
| city             = [[Washington, D.C.]]
| country          = United States
| coordinates      = {{Coord|38|49|21|N|77|01|30|W|region:US-DC|display=inline,title}}
| affiliations     = 
| module           = {{Infobox military unit
 |unit_name        = U.S. Naval Research Laboratory
 |image            = 
 |image_size       = 
 |caption          = 
 |dates            = 1923–present
 |country          = {{flag|United States}}
 |branch           = {{navy|United States}}<br/>
 {{marines|United States}}
 |type             = Research
 |size             = 
 |garrison         = 
 |website          = {{site|https://www.nrl.navy.mil|nrl.navy.mil}}
 |commander1       = [https://www.nrl.navy.mil/About-Us/Leadership/Commanding-Officer/ Capt. Jesse H. Black]
 |commander1_label = Commander
 |commander2       = [https://www.nrl.navy.mil/About-Us/Leadership/Director-of-Research/ Dr. Bruce Danly]
 |commander2_label = Director of Research
 |commander3       = 
 |commander3_label = 
 |identification_symbol = 
 }}
}}
[[File:Naval Research Laboratory.png|thumb|Naval Research Laboratory seal]]

The '''United States Naval Research Laboratory''' ('''NRL''') is the corporate [[research laboratory]] for the [[United States Navy]] and the [[United States Marine Corps]]. It was founded in 1923 and conducts basic scientific research, applied research, technological development and prototyping. The laboratory's specialties include [[plasma physics]], [[space physics]], [[materials science]], and tactical [[electronic warfare]]. NRL is one of the first US government scientific [[R&D]] laboratories, having opened in 1923 at the instigation of [[Thomas Edison]], and is currently under the [[Office of Naval Research]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Mission |url=http://www.nrl.navy.mil/about-nrl/mission/ |website=U.S. Naval Research Laboratory |access-date=9 December 2013}}</ref>

As of 2016, NRL was a [[United States Navy Working Capital Fund|Navy Working Capital Fund]] activity, which means it is not a line-item in the US Federal Budget. Instead of direct funding from Congress, all costs, including overhead, were recovered through sponsor-funded research projects. NRL's research expenditures were approximately $1&nbsp;billion per year.<ref name="factbook_2016"/>

==Research==
[[File:U.S. Naval Research Laboratory 2019a.jpg|thumb|Part of the Naval Research Laboratory main campus in Washington, D.C. The prominent dish antenna is often used as a symbol of the laboratory.]]

The Naval Research Laboratory conducts a wide variety of basic research and applied research relevant to the US Navy. NRL scientists and engineers author{{when|date=August 2022}} over 1200 openly published research papers in a wide range of conferences, symposia, and journals each year.

It has a history of scientific breakthroughs and technological achievements dating back to its foundation in 1923.<ref name="little_book">{{cite web |title=The Little Book of Big Achievements |url=http://www.nrl.navy.mil/content_images/little_book.pdf |publisher=Naval Research Laboratory |editor1=Saul Oresky |editor2=Don DeYoung |access-date=31 January 2014 |date=2000}}</ref> In some instances the laboratory's contributions to military technology have been declassified decades after those technologies have become widely adopted.

In 2011, NRL researchers published 1,398 unclassified scientific and technical articles, book chapters and conference proceedings.<ref name="factbook_2014"/> In 2008, the NRL was ranked No. 3 among all U.S. institutions holding [[nanotechnology]]-related patents, behind [[IBM]] and the [[University of California]].<ref>{{cite journal |title=Trends in nanotechnology patents |author1=Hsinchun Chen |author2=Mihail C. Roco |author3=Xin Li |author4=Yiling Lin |journal=Nature Nanotechnology |volume=3 |issue=3 |pages=123–125 |doi=10.1038/nnano.2008.51 |pmid=18654475 |date=1 March 2008 |bibcode=2008NatNa...3..123C}}</ref>

Current areas of research at NRL include, for example:<ref name="factbook_2014"/>
* Advanced radio, optical and infrared sensors
* Autonomous systems
* [[Computer science]], [[cognitive science]], and [[artificial intelligence]]
* [[Communications Technology]] (e.g., radio, networking, optical transmission)
* Directed energy technology
* Electronic electro-optical device technology
* [[Electronic warfare]]
* Enhanced maintainability, reliability and survivability technology
* Environmental effects on naval systems
* [[Human-robot interaction]]
* Imaging research and systems
* [[Information security|Information Security]]
* Marine geosciences
* Materials
* [[Meteorology]]
* Ocean acoustics
* [[Oceanography]]
* Plasma physics
* Space systems and technology
* Surveillance and sensor technology
* Undersea technology

In 2014, the NRL was researching: armor for munitions in transport, high-powered lasers, remote explosives detection, spintronics, the dynamics of explosive gas mixtures, electromagnetic [[railgun]] technology, detection of hidden nuclear materials, [[graphene]] devices, high-power [[extremely high frequency]] (35–220&nbsp;GHz) amplifiers, acoustic lensing, information-rich orbital coastline mapping, arctic weather forecasting, global aerosol analysis & prediction, high-density plasmas, [[millisecond pulsar]]s, broadband laser data links, virtual mission operation centers, battery technology, photonic crystals, carbon nanotube electronics, electronic sensors, mechanical nano-resonators, solid-state chemical sensors, organic opto-electronics, neural-electronic interfaces and self-assembling nanostructures.<ref name="factbook_2014"/><ref>{{cite web |title=Nanoscience Programs |website=Nanoscience Institute |url=http://www.nrl.navy.mil/nanoscience/programs.php |publisher=Naval Research Laboratory |access-date=31 January 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120818003535/http://www.nrl.navy.mil/nanoscience/programs.php |archive-date=2012-08-18}}</ref>

The laboratory includes a range of R&D facilities. 2014 additions included the NRL Nanoscience Institute's {{cvt|5000|sqft|m2}} Class 100 nanofabrication cleanroom;<ref name="NNCI">{{cite web |title=Other Nano Resources |url=https://www.nnci.net/other-nano-resources |website=National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure |publisher=National Science Foundation |access-date=25 September 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=About the Nanoscience Institute |website=Nanoscience Institute |url=http://www.nrl.navy.mil/nanoscience/about.php |publisher=Naval Research Laboratory |access-date=31 January 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120819020453/http://www.nrl.navy.mil/nanoscience/about.php |archive-date=2012-08-19}}</ref> quiet and ultra-quiet measurement labs;<ref>{{cite web |title=Major Facilities 2008 |editor1=Claire Peachey |editor2=Kathy Parrish |date=October 2008 |url=https://www.nrl.navy.mil/content_images/2008Facilities_revised.pdf |publisher=Naval Research Laboratory}}</ref> and the Laboratory for Autonomous Systems Research (LASR).<ref>{{cite web |title=LASR: behind the curtain of the Navy's robotics laboratory |author=Brian Heater |date=1 March 2012 |url=https://www.engadget.com/2012/05/01/lasr-behind-the-curtain-of-the-navys-robotics-laboratory/ |website=Engadget |access-date=4 March 2016}}</ref>

==Notable accomplishments==
[[File:U.S. Naval Research Laboratory 2019d.jpg|thumb|This building on NRL's main campus features prominent [[radome]]s on its roof]]

===Space sciences===
The Naval Research Laboratory has a long history of spacecraft development. This includes the second, fifth and seventh American satellites in Earth orbit, the first solar-powered satellite, the first surveillance satellite, the first meteorological satellite and the first GPS satellite. [[Project Vanguard]], the first American satellite program, tasked NRL with the design, construction and launch of an artificial satellite, which was accomplished in 1958. {{As of|2024}}, [[Vanguard I]] and its upper launch stage are still in orbit, making them the longest-lived man-made satellites. [[Vanguard II]] was the first satellite to observe the Earth's cloud cover and therefore the first meteorological satellite. NRL's [[Galactic Radiation and Background]] I (GRAB I) was the first U.S. [[intelligence satellite]], mapping out [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] radar networks from space. The [[Global Positioning System]] (GPS) was invented at NRL and tested by NRL's [[Timation]] series of satellites. The first operational GPS satellite, Timation IV (NTS-II) was designed and constructed at NRL.<ref>{{cite web |title=NRL GPS Bibliography |author1=Robert R. Whitlock |author2=Thomas B. McCaskill |url=http://www.gpsdeclassified.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/NRL_GPS_Bibliography-web.pdf |publisher=Naval Research Laboratory |date=3 June 2009}}</ref>

NRL pioneered the study of the sun Ultraviolet and X-Ray spectrum and continues to contribute to the field with satellites like [[Coriolis (satellite)|Coriolis]] launched in 2003. NRL is also responsible for the [[Tactical Satellite Program]] with spacecraft launched in 2006, 2009 and 2011.

The NRL designed the first satellite tracking system, [[Minitrack]], which became the prototype for future satellite tracking networks. Prior to the success of surveillance satellites, the iconic parabolic antenna atop NRL's main headquarters in Washington, D.C. was part of [[Communication Moon Relay]], a project that utilized signals bounced off the Moon both for long-distance communications research and surveillance of internal Soviet transmissions during the [[Cold War]].

NRL's spacecraft development program continues today with the [[TacSat-4]] experimental tactical reconnaissance and communication satellite. In addition to spacecraft design, NRL designs and operates spaceborne research instruments and experiments, such as the Strontium Iodide Radiation Instrumentation (SIRI) and RAM Angle and Magnetic field sensor (RAMS) aboard STPSat-5,<ref>{{cite web |title=U.S. Air Force STPSat-5 Satellite Fully Integrated Onboard SpaceX Falcon 9 Launch Vehicle |url=https://defpost.com/u-s-air-force-stpsat-5-satellite-fully-integrated-onboard-spacex-falcon-9-launch-vehicle/ |website=DEFPOST |access-date=12 December 2018}}</ref> the Wide-field Imager for Solar PRobe (WISPR) aboard the [[Parker Solar Probe]], and the [[Large Angle and Spectrometric Coronagraph]] Experiment (LASCO)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nrl.navy.mil/accomplishments/solar-lunar-studies/lasco/ |title=LASCO |website=U.S. Naval Research Laboratory |access-date=30 December 2017}}</ref> aboard the [[Solar and Heliospheric Observatory]] (SOHO). NASA's [[Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope]] (FGST) [formerly called Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST)] was tested at NRL spacecraft testing facilities.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Naeye |first1=Robert |last2=Gutro |first2=Rob |url=http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/GLAST/science/glast_tests.html |title=NASA's GLAST Satellite Arrives at Naval Research Lab for Testing |location=Goddard Space Flight Center |publisher=NASA |date=30 November 2007 |access-date=4 March 2016}}</ref> NRL scientists have most recently contributed leading research to the study of novas<ref>{{cite journal |display-authors=12 |last1=Chomiuk |first1=Laura |last2=Linford |first2=Justin D. |last3=Yang |first3=Jun |last4=O'Brien |first4=T.J. |last5=Paragi |first5=Zsolt |last6=Mioduszewski |first6=Amy J. |last7=Beswick |first7=R.J. |last8=Cheung |first8=C.C. |last9=Mukai |first9=Koji |last10=Nelson|first10=Thomas |last11=Ribeiro |first11=Valério A.R.M. |last12=Rupen |first12=Michael P. |last13=Sokoloski |first13=J.L. 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===Meteorology===
[[File:170825-N-N0101-502 (36086497114).jpg|thumb|right|NRL satellite image of hurricane Harvey just prior to landfall on the Texas coast, 2017.]]
The Marine Meteorology Division (Naval Research Lab–Monterey, NRL–MRY), located in [[Monterey, California]], contributes to weather forecasting in the United States and around the world by publishing imagery from 18 weather satellites. Satellite images of severe weather (e.g. hurricanes and cyclones) that are used for advanced warning often originate from NRL–MRY, as seen in 2017 during [[Hurricane Harvey]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nrlmry.navy.mil/proddemo.html |title=NRL Monterey Product Demonstrations |website=U.S. Naval Research Laboratory — Marine Meteorology Division |access-date=4 March 2016}}</ref> NRL is also involved in weather forecasting models such as the [[Hurricane Weather Research and Forecasting model]] released in 2007.<ref>{{cite web |title=Weather Forecast Accuracy Gets Boost with New Computer Model |url=https://www.ucar.edu/news/releases/2006/wrf.shtml |website=University Corporation for Atmospheric Research. |publisher=National Science Foundation |access-date=25 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160310022929/https://www.ucar.edu/news/releases/2006/wrf.shtml |archive-date=10 March 2016 |date=25 August 2006}}</ref>

===Materials science===

NRL has a long history of contributions to materials science, dating back to the use of [[Industrial radiography]] with gamma rays for the nondestructive inspection of metal casings and welds on Navy vessels beginning in the 1920s. Modern mechanical [[fracture mechanics]] were pioneered at NRL and were subsequently applied to solve fracture problems in Navy vessels, commercial aircraft and Polaris missiles. That knowledge is in widespread use today in applications ranging from design of nuclear reactors to aircraft, submarines and toxic material storage tanks.<ref name="little_book"/>

NRL developed the synthesis of high-purity GaAs crystals used in a myriad of modern high frequency transceivers including cellular phones, satellite communication systems, commercial and military radar systems including those aboard all US combat aircraft and ARM, Phoenix, AIM-9L and AMRAAM missiles. NRL's GaAs inventions were licensed by Rockwell, Westinghouse, Texas Instruments and Hughes Research.<ref name="nrl.navy.mil">{{cite web |title=Celebrating 75 Years of Science and Technology Development for the Navy and the Nation |url=http://www.nrl.navy.mil/content_images/75awards.pdf |author=Don J. DeYoung |editor1=Maureen Long |editor2=Saul Oresky |publisher=Naval Research Laboratory |date=June 1998}}</ref> High-purity GaAs is also used for high-efficiency solar cells like those aboard NASA's Spirit and Opportunity rovers currently on Mars.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://rt.grc.nasa.gov/power-in-space-propulsion/photovoltaics-power-technologies/technology-thrusts/photovoltaics-for-mars/ |title=Photovoltaics for Mars |website=Research & Engineering — NASA Glenn Research Center |date=8 September 2008 |access-date=30 December 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090731031814/https://rt.grc.nasa.gov/power-in-space-propulsion/photovoltaics-power-technologies/technology-thrusts/photovoltaics-for-mars/ |archive-date=2009-07-31}}</ref>

NRL discovered solar-wind hydrogen in Apollo lunar soil samples provided by a NASA-funded research mission.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Hydrogen detected in lunar samples, points to resource availability for space exploration |url=https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1008776 |access-date=2023-11-24 |website=EurekAlert! |language=en}}</ref>

Fundamental aspects of stealth technology were developed at NRL, including the radar absorption mechanisms in ferrite-containing materials.<ref name="nrl.navy.mil"/> Metal bearing surface treatments using Cr ion implantation researched at NRL nearly tripled the service life of Navy turbine engine parts and was adopted for Army helicopter parts as well.<ref name="nrl.navy.mil"/> Fluorinated polyurethane coatings developed at NRL are used to line fuel storage tanks throughout the US Navy, reducing leakage and environmental and fuel contamination. The same polymer films are used in [[Los Angeles-class submarine]] radomes to repel water and enable radar operation soon after surfacing.<ref name="nrl.navy.mil"/>

Scientists at NRL frequently contribute theoretical and experimental research on novel materials,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Feldman |first1=J.L. |last2=Singh |first2=D.J. |last3=Bernstein |first3=N. |title=Lattice-dynamical model for the filled skutterudite: Harmonic and anharmonic couplings |journal=Physical Review B |date=26 June 2014 |volume=89 |issue=22 |pages=224304 |doi=10.1103/PhysRevB.89.224304 |bibcode=2014PhRvB..89v4304F}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Manni |first1=S. |last2=Choi |first2=Sungkyun |last3=Mazin |first3=I.I. |last4=Coldea |first4=R. |last5=Altmeyer |first5=Michaela |last6=Jeschke |first6=Harald O. |last7=Valentí |first7=Roser |last8=Gegenwart |first8=P. |title=Effect of isoelectronic doping on the honeycomb-lattice iridate |journal=Physical Review B |date=11 June 2014 |volume=89 |issue=24 |pages=245113 |doi=10.1103/PhysRevB.89.245113 |arxiv=1312.0815 |bibcode=2014PhRvB..89x5113M |s2cid=118490653}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Liu |first1=Xiao |last2=Queen |first2=Daniel R. |last3=Metcalf |first3=Thomas H. |last4=Karel |first4=Julie E. |last5=Hellman |first5=Frances |title=Hydrogen-Free Amorphous Silicon with No Tunneling States |journal=Physical Review Letters |date=8 July 2014 |volume=113 |issue=2 |doi=10.1103/PhysRevLett.113.025503 |bibcode=2014PhRvL.113b5503L |pmid=25062205 |page=025503 |s2cid=20919532 |url=https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5x94b30n}}</ref> particularly [[magnetic material]]s<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Glasbrenner |first1=J.K. |last2=Bussmann |first2=K.M. |last3=Mazin |first3=I.I. |title=Magnetic spiral induced by strong correlations in {{chem|Mn|Au|2}} |journal=Physical Review B |date=17 October 2014 |volume=90 |issue=14 |pages=144421 |doi=10.1103/PhysRevB.90.144421 |arxiv=1408.4719 |bibcode=2014PhRvB..90n4421G |s2cid=119278696}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Glasbrenner |first1=J.K. |last2=Pujari |first2=B.S. |last3=Belashchenko |first3=K.D. |title=Deviations from Matthiessen's rule and resistivity saturation effects in Gd and Fe from first principles |journal=Physical Review B |date=7 May 2014 |volume=89 |issue=17 |pages=174408 |doi=10.1103/PhysRevB.89.174408 |arxiv=1312.7802 |bibcode=2014PhRvB..89q4408G |s2cid=14601726}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Glasbrenner |first1=J.K. |last2=Žutić |first2=I. |last3=Mazin |first3=I.I. |title=Theory of Mn-doped II-II-V semiconductors |journal=Physical Review B |date=13 October 2014 |volume=90 |issue=14 |pages=140403 |doi=10.1103/PhysRevB.90.140403 |arxiv=1405.2854 |bibcode=2014PhRvB..90n0403G |s2cid=119113866}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Guo |first1=Y.F. |last2=Princep |first2=A. J. |last3=Zhang |first3=X. |last4=Manuel |first4=P. |last5=Khalyavin |first5=D. |last6=Mazin |first6=I.I. |last7=Shi |first7=Y.G. |last8=Boothroyd |first8=A.T. |title=Coupling of magnetic order to planar Bi electrons in the anisotropic Dirac metals |journal=Physical Review B |date=11 August 2014 |volume=90 |issue=7 |pages=075120 |doi=10.1103/PhysRevB.90.075120 |arxiv=1311.0308 |bibcode=2014PhRvB..90g5120G |s2cid=118695913}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Watson |first1=M.D. |last2=McCollam |first2=A. |last3=Blake |first3=S.F. |last4=Vignolles |first4=D. |last5=Drigo |first5=L. |last6=Mazin |first6=I.I. |last7=Guterding |first7=D. |last8=Jeschke |first8=H.O. |last9=Valentí |first9=R. |last10=Ni|first10=N. |last11=Cava |first11=R. |last12=Coldea |first12=A.I. |title=Field-induced magnetic transitions incompounds |journal=Physical Review B |date=30 May 2014 |volume=89 |issue=20 |pages=205136 |doi=10.1103/PhysRevB.89.205136 |bibcode=2014PhRvB..89t5136W |arxiv=1310.3728 |s2cid=124996333}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Rosa |first1=P.F.S. |last2=Zeng |first2=B. |last3=Adriano |first3=C. |last4=Garitezi |first4=T.M. |last5=Grant |first5=T. |last6=Fisk |first6=Z. |last7=Balicas |first7=L. |last8=Johannes |first8=M.D. |last9=Urbano |first9=R.R. |last10=Pagliuso|first10=P.G. |title=Quantum oscillations in single crystals |journal=Physical Review B |date=24 November 2014 |volume=90 |issue=19 |pages=195146 |doi=10.1103/PhysRevB.90.195146 |arxiv=1402.2412 |bibcode=2014PhRvB..90s5146R |s2cid=118516536}}</ref> and [[nanomaterial]]s<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lindsay |first1=L. |last2=Li |first2=Wu |last3=Carrete |first3=Jesús |last4=Mingo |first4=Natalio |last5=Broido |first5=D.A. |last6=Reinecke |first6=T.L. |title=Phonon thermal transport in strained and unstrained graphene from first principles |journal=Physical Review B |date=24 April 2014 |volume=89 |issue=15 |pages=155426 |doi=10.1103/PhysRevB.89.155426 |bibcode=2014PhRvB..89o5426L}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Neek-Amal |first1=M. |last2=Xu |first2=P. |last3=Qi |first3=D. |last4=Thibado |first4=P.M. |last5=Nyakiti |first5=L.O. |last6=Wheeler |first6=V.D. |last7=Myers-Ward |first7=R.L. |last8=Eddy |first8=C.R. |last9=Gaskill |first9=D.K. |last10=Peeters|first10=F.M. |title=Membrane amplitude and triaxial stress in twisted bilayer graphene deciphered using first-principles directed elasticity theory and scanning tunneling microscopy |journal=Physical Review B |date=1 August 2014 |volume=90 |issue=6 |pages=064101 |doi=10.1103/PhysRevB.90.064101 |arxiv=1407.1189 |bibcode=2014PhRvB..90f4101N |s2cid=119187385}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gunlycke |first1=Daniel |last2=White |first2=Carter T. |title=Specular graphene transport barrier |journal=Physical Review B |date=31 July 2014 |volume=90 |issue=3 |pages=035452 |doi=10.1103/PhysRevB.90.035452 |bibcode=2014PhRvB..90c5452G}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ott |first1=Florian D. |last2=Spiegel |first2=Leo L. |last3=Norris |first3=David J. |last4=Erwin |first4=Steven C. |title=Microscopic Theory of Cation Exchange in CdSe Nanocrystals |journal=Physical Review Letters |date=7 October 2014 |volume=113 |issue=15 |doi=10.1103/PhysRevLett.113.156803 |bibcode=2014PhRvL.113o6803O |pmid=25375732 |page=156803 |arxiv=1409.4832 |s2cid=38367161}}</ref> and [[thermoplastic]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Warfighters Will Be Able to Press and Repair their Armor |first=Tamir |last=Eshel |website=Defense Update |url=http://defense-update.com/20170314_thermoplastic_transparent_armor.html |date=14 March 2017}}</ref>

===Radar===
The first modern U.S. [[radar]] was invented and developed at NRL in Washington, DC in 1922. By 1939, NRL installed the first operational radar aboard the USS New York, in time for radar to contribute to naval victories of the [[Battle of the Coral Sea|Coral Sea]], [[Battle of Midway|Midway]] and [[Guadalcanal Campaign|Guadalcanal]]. NRL then further developed over-the-horizon radar as well as radar data displays.<ref name="little_book"/> NRL's Radar Division<ref>{{cite web |title=Radar Home |url=https://www.nrl.navy.mil/radar/ |website=U.S. Naval Research Laboratory — Radar Division}}</ref> continues important research & development contributing to US Navy and US Department of Defense capabilities.

===Tactical electronic warfare===
NRL's Tactical Electronic Warfare (TEW) Division<ref>{{cite web |title=TEWD Home |url=https://www.nrl.navy.mil/tewd/ |website=U.S. Naval Research Laboratory — Tactical Electronic Warfare Division}}</ref> is responsible for research and development in support of the Navy's tactical electronic warfare requirements and missions. These include electronic warfare support measures, electronic countermeasures, and supporting counter-countermeasures, as well as studies, analyses, and simulations for determining and improving the performance of Electronic Warfare systems. NRL TEW includes aerial, surface, and ground EW within its scope. NRL is responsible for the [[identification, friend or foe]] (IFF) system and a number of other advances.

===Information security===
The ''Information Technology Division''<ref>{{cite web |title=ITD Home |url=https://www.nrl.navy.mil/itd/ |website=U.S. Naval Research Laboratory — Information Technology Division}}</ref> features an information security R&D group, which is where the IETF's IP Security ([[IPsec]]) protocols were originally developed. The Encapsulating Security Payload (ESP) protocol developed at NRL is widely used for virtual private network (VPN) connections worldwide. The projects developed by the laboratory often become mainstream applications without public awareness of the developer; an example in computer science is [[onion routing]], the core principle of the anonymizing [[Tor (anonymity network)|Tor]] software.

===Nuclear research===
Nuclear power research was initiated at NRL as early as 1939,<ref name="little_book"/> six years before the first atomic bomb, for the purpose of powering submarines. Uranium enrichment methods sponsored by NRL over the course of World War II were adopted by the Manhattan Project<ref>{{cite journal |title=The United States Navy's Early Atomic Energy Research, 1939–1946 |first=Joseph-James |last=Ahern |url=http://www.ijnhonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/pdf_ahern.pdf |journal=International Journal of Naval History |volume=1 |issue=1 |date=April 2002}}</ref> and guided the design of [[Oak Ridge National Laboratory]]'s Uranium enrichment plant. NRL is currently developing laser focusing techniques aimed at [[inertial confinement fusion]] technology.<ref>{{cite press release |date=20 March 2013 |url=http://www.nrl.navy.mil/media/news-releases/2013/nrl-nike-laser-focuses-on-nuclear-fusion |title=NRL Nike Laser Focuses on Nuclear Fusion |website=U.S. Naval Research Laboratory |access-date=4 March 2016}}</ref>

===Physical sciences===
The [[static discharger]] seen on trailing edges of virtually all modern aircraft was originally developed by NRL scientists during World War II. After the war, the laboratory developed modern synthetic lubricants<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bried |first1=E. |last2=Kidder |first2=H. F. |last3=Murphy |first3=C. M. |last4=Zisman |first4=W. A. |title=Synthetic Lubricant Fluids from Branched-Chain Diesters Physical and Chemical Properties of Pure Diesters |journal=Industrial & Engineering Chemistry |date=April 1947 |volume=39 |issue=4 |pages=484–491 |doi=10.1021/ie50448a014}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Murphy |first1=C. M. |last2=O'Rear |first2=J. G. |last3=Zisman |first3=W. A. |title=Pinic Acid Diesters – Effect of Amide-Type Compounds |journal=Industrial & Engineering Chemistry |date=January 1953 |volume=45 |issue=1 |pages=119–125 |doi=10.1021/ie50517a040}}</ref> initially for use in the Navy's jet aircraft but subsequently adopted by the commercial jet industry.<ref name="little_book"/>

In the late 1960s, NRL researched low-temperature physics, achieving for the first time a temperature within one millionth of a degree of absolute zero in 1967. In 1985 two scientists at the laboratory, [[Herbert A. Hauptman]] and [[Jerome Karle]], won the Nobel Prize for devising direct methods employing [[X-ray diffraction]] analysis in the determination of crystal structures.<ref>{{cite web |website=Nobelprize.org |url=https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/1985/ |title=The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1985 |access-date=4 March 2016}}</ref> Their methods form the basis for the computer packages used in pharmaceutical labs and research institutions worldwide for the analysis of more than 10,000 new substances each year.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nrl.navy.mil/accomplishments/awards-recognitions/nobel-prize/ |title=NRL Scientists Receive 1985 Nobel Prize in Chemistry |website=U.S. Naval Research Laboratory |access-date=4 March 2016}}</ref>

NRL has most recently published research on quantum computing,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Webster |first1=L.A. |last2=Truex |first2=K. |last3=Duan |first3=L.-M. |last4=Steel |first4=D.G. |last5=Bracker |first5=A.S. |last6=Gammon |first6=D. |last7=Sham |first7=L.J. |title=Coherent Control to Prepare an InAs Quantum Dot for Spin-Photon Entanglement |journal=Physical Review Letters |date=24 March 2014 |volume=112 |issue=12 |doi=10.1103/PhysRevLett.112.126801 |bibcode=2014PhRvL.112l6801W |pmid=24724666 |page=126801 |s2cid=45471721 |url=https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3wg377p4}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Solenov |first1=Dmitry |last2=Economou |first2=Sophia E. |author2-link=Sophia Economou |last3=Reinecke |first3=Thomas L. |title=Excitation spectrum as a resource for efficient two-qubit entangling gates |journal=Physical Review B |date=3 April 2014 |volume=89 |issue=15 |pages=155404 |doi=10.1103/PhysRevB.89.155404 |arxiv=1312.6866 |bibcode=2014PhRvB..89o5404S |s2cid=118341932}}</ref> quantum dots,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Davanço |first1=Marcelo |last2=Hellberg |first2=C. Stephen |last3=Ates |first3=Serkan |last4=Badolato |first4=Antonio |last5=Srinivasan |first5=Kartik |title=Multiple time scale blinking in InAs quantum dot single-photon sources |journal=Physical Review B |date=16 April 2014 |volume=89 |issue=16 |pages=161303 |doi=10.1103/PhysRevB.89.161303 |arxiv=1306.0614 |bibcode=2014PhRvB..89p1303D |s2cid=54735072}}</ref> plasma shockwaves,<ref>{{cite journal |display-authors=12 |last1=Hickstein |first1=Daniel D. |last2=Dollar |first2=Franklin |last3=Gaffney |first3=Jim A. |last4=Foord |first4=Mark E. |last5=Petrov |first5=George M. |last6=Palm |first6=Brett B. |last7=Keister |first7=K. Ellen |last8=Ellis |first8=Jennifer L. |last9=Ding |first9=Chengyuan |last10=Libby|first10=Stephen B. |last11=Jimenez |first11=Jose L. |last12=Kapteyn |first12=Henry C. |last13=Murnane |first13=Margaret M. |last14=Xiong |first14=Wei |title=Observation and Control of Shock Waves in Individual Nanoplasmas |journal=Physical Review Letters |date=18 March 2014 |volume=112 |issue=11 |doi=10.1103/PhysRevLett.112.115004 |bibcode=2014PhRvL.112k5004H |pmid=24702383 |page=115004 |arxiv=1401.0187 |s2cid=2758684}}</ref> thermodynamics of liquids,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Casalini |first1=R. |last2=Roland |first2=C.M. |title=Determination of the Thermodynamic Scaling Exponent for Relaxation in Liquids from Static Ambient-Pressure Quantities |journal=Physical Review Letters |date=18 August 2014 |volume=113 |issue=8 |doi=10.1103/PhysRevLett.113.085701 |bibcode=2014PhRvL.113h5701C |pmid=25192107 |page=085701 |arxiv=1403.4551 |s2cid=1116846}}</ref> modeling of oil spills<ref>{{cite journal |display-authors=12 |last1=Poje |first1=A.C. |last2=Ozgokmen |first2=T.M. |last3=Lipphardt |first3=B.L. |last4=Haus |first4=B.K. |last5=Ryan |first5=E.H. |last6=Haza |first6=A.C. |last7=Jacobs |first7=G.A. |last8=Reniers |first8=A.J.H.M. |last9=Olascoaga |first9=M.J. |last10=Novelli|first10=G. |last11=Griffa |first11=A. |last12=Beron-Vera |first12=F.J. |last13=Chen |first13=S.S. |last14=Coelho |first14=E. |last15=Hogan |first15=P.J. |last16=Kirwan |first16=A.D. |last17=Huntley |first17=H.S. |last18=Mariano |first18=A.J. |title=Submesoscale dispersion in the vicinity of the Deepwater Horizon spill |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |date=18 August 2014 |volume=111 |issue=35 |pages=12693–12698 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1402452111 |pmid=25136097 |pmc=4156713 |arxiv=1407.3308 |bibcode=2014PNAS..11112693P |doi-access=free}}</ref> and other topics.

NRL operates a small squadron of research aircraft termed [[VXS-1|Scientific Development Squadron (VXS) 1]]. Its missions include, for example, Rampant Lion, which used sophisticated airborne instrumentation (gravimeters, magnetometers and hyperspectral cameras) to collect precise 3D topography of two-thirds of Afghanistan and locate natural resources (underground gas and mineral deposits, vegetation types, etc.) there<ref>{{cite web |author=Naval Research Laboratory |title=Afghanistan's rich mineral deposits: Aerogeophysical survey provides promising prospects of economic development |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/06/100618102640.htm |website=ScienceDaily |date=18 June 2010}}</ref> and in Iraq and Colombia.<ref>{{cite web |title=In Afghanistan, High-Tech Tools Replace The Hammer |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=127932762 |website=NPR |date=18 June 2010}}</ref>

===Plasma science===
The Division of Plasma Physics conducts research and development into ionized matter. NRL currently holds the world record for most energetic [[Railgun|rail gun]] projectile ({{cvt|33|MJ|disp=comma}})<ref>{{cite magazine |author=Spencer Ackerman |date=10 December 2010 |title=Video: Navy's Mach 8 Railgun Obliterates Record |url=https://www.wired.com/2010/12/video-navys-mach-8-railgun-obliterates-record/ |magazine=WIRED}}</ref> and fastest man-made projectile ({{convert|2.24|e6mph|e6kph|abbr=unit|disp=comma}}).<ref>{{cite web |title=Nike krypton laser achieves spot in Guinness World Records |website=Phys.org |publisher=Naval Research Laboratory |url=https://phys.org/news/2014-07-nike-krypton-laser-guinness-world.html |date=24 July 2014}}</ref>

===Artificial intelligence===
NRL established the Navy Center for Applied Research in Artificial Intelligence in 1981,<ref>{{cite web |website=www.nrl.navy.mil |url=https://www.nrl.navy.mil/itd/aic/ |title=The Navy Center for Applied Research in Artificial Intelligence |access-date=5 February 2020}}</ref> which conducts basic and applied research in artificial intelligence, cognitive science, autonomy, and human-centered computing. Among its achievements are advances in [[cognitive architectures]], [[human-robot interaction]], and [[machine learning]].

==Organization==

As of 2017, the laboratory was divided into four research directorates, one financial directorate, and one executive directorate. All the directorates are headquartered in Washington, D.C. Many directorates have other facilities elsewhere, primarily at either the ''Stennis Space Center'' in Bay St Louis, Mississippi or in Monterey, California.

===Staff===

Most NRL staff are civilians in the [[United States federal civil service|civil service]], with a relatively small number of Navy enlisted personnel or officers. Virtually all NRL staff are US citizens and are not dual-nationals. In addition, there are some support contractors that work on-site at NRL. As of 31 December 2015, across all NRL locations, NRL had 2540 civilian employees (i.e., not including civilian contractors).<ref name="factbook_2016"/> On the same date, there were 35 military officers on-board NRL and 58 enlisted on-board NRL, most of whom are with NRL's VXS-1 Scientific Flight Detachment, which is located at the [[Naval Air Station Patuxent River|Patuxent River ('Pax River') Naval Air Station (NAS)]] in southern Maryland.<ref name="factbook_2016"/>

NRL has special authority to use a Pay-Band pay system instead of using the traditional ''[[General Schedule (US civil service pay scale)|General Schedule (GS)]]'' pay system for its civilian employees.<ref name="federalregister.gov">{{cite web |title=Department of Defense Science and Technology Reinvention Laboratory (STRL) Personnel Management Demonstration Project Program |url=https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2014/07/28/2014-17657/department-of-defense-science-and-technology-reinvention-laboratory-strl-personnel-management |website=Federal Register |publisher=Defense Department |date=28 July 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://hroffice.nrl.navy.mil/personnel_demo/index.htm |title=Personnel Demonstration Project |website=NRL — Human Resources Office |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040406155451/https://hroffice.nrl.navy.mil/personnel_demo/index.htm |archive-date=2004-04-06}}</ref> This gives NRL more ability to pay employees based on performance and merit, rather than time-in-grade or some other seniority metric. There are several different pay-band groups at NRL, each being for different categories of civilian employees. As of 31 December 2015, NRL had 1615 civilian scientists/engineers in the ''NP'' pay system, 103 civilian technicians in the ''NR'' pay system, 383 civilian administrative specialists/professionals in the ''NO'' pay system, and 238 civilian administrative support staff in the ''NC'' pay system.<ref name="factbook_2016"/>

NRL scientists & engineers typically are in the ''(NP)'' pay group in NRL's Pay Band system.<ref name="federalregister.gov"/> The NP-II pay band is equivalent to GS-5 Step 1 through GS-10 Step 10. The NP-III pay band is equivalent to GS-11 Step 1 through GS-13 Step 10. NRL's ''Pay Band IV'' corresponds to the GS-14 Step 1 to GS-15 Step 10 pay grades, inclusive, while NRL's Pay Band V can pay above GS-15 Step 10 and corresponds to the ''Senior Technologist (ST)'' pay grade elsewhere in the civil service.

For new graduates, someone with a Bachelor of Science degree typically is hired at a salary in the GS-7 range; someone with a Master of Science degree typically is hired at a salary in the GS-11 range; someone with a PhD typically is hired at a salary in the GS-12 range. NRL has the flexibility to offer partial student loan repayments for new hires.

According to the NRL Fact Book (2016), of NRL civilian full-time permanent employees, 870 had a doctorate, 417 had a master's, and 576 had a bachelor's as their highest degree.<ref name="factbook_2016"/>

The laboratory also hosts post-doctoral researchers and was voted #15 in the Best Places to Work PostDocs 2013 survey.<ref>{{cite web |title=Best Places to Work Postdocs 2013 |date=1 April 2013 |url=http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/34849/title/Best-Places-to-Work-Postdocs-2013/ |website=The Scientist}} [https://www.the-scientist.com/images/April2013/top10.pdf TOP 25 INSTITUTIONS]</ref>

===Research directorates===
The four research directorates within NRL were:<ref name="NRL_res_fclts"/>
* The '''Systems Directorate''' (Code 5000) is responsible for performing a range of activities from basic research through engineering development to expand the operational capabilities of the US Navy. There are four research divisions: Radar, Information Technology, Optical Sciences, and Tactical Electronic Warfare.
* The '''Materials Science and Component Technology Directorate''' (Code 6000) carries out a range of materials research with the aim of better understanding of the materials in order to develop improved and advanced materials for use by the US Navy. There are seven research divisions: Laboratory for the Structure of Matter, Chemistry, Material Science & Technology, Laboratory for Computational Physics and Fluid Dynamics, Plasma Physics, Electronics Science & Technology, and the Center for Biomolecular Science & Engineering.
* The '''Ocean and Atmospheric Science and Technology Directorate''' (Code 7000) performs research in the fields of acoustics, remote sensing, oceanography, marine geosciences, marine meteorology, and space science.<ref>{{cite web |website=U.S. Naval Research Laboratory |url=https://www.nrl.navy.mil/research/directorates-divisions/ocean-atmosphere/ |title=Ocean & Atmospheric Science Directorate – Code 7000 |access-date=20 July 2008}}</ref> There are six research divisions: Acoustics, Remote Sensing, Oceanography, Marine Geosciences, Marine Meteorology, and Space Science.
* The '''Naval Center for Space Technology''' (Code 8000) is a focal point and integrator for NRL technologies used in space systems. It provides system engineering and technical assistance for development and acquisition of space systems. There are two research departments: Space Systems Development and Spacecraft Engineering.

===Support directorates===
[[File:NRLP3 landing.JPG|thumb|Scientific Development Squadron ONE ([[VXS-1]]) [[Lockheed P-3 Orion|NP-3D Orion]].]]
The two support directorates were:<ref name="NRL_res_fclts"/>
* The '''Executive Directorate''' operations are directed by the Commander of the NRL, who typically is a US Navy Captain. Scientific Development Squadron ONE ([[VXS-1]]), located at [[Naval Air Station Patuxent River]], Maryland, which provides airborne research facilities to NRL and other agencies of the US Government, is run out of the Executive Directorate.
* The '''Business Operations Directorate''' provides program management for the business programs which support the scientific directorates of NRL. It provides contracting, financial management and supply expertise to the scientific projects.

===Nanoscience Institute===
In April 2001, in a departure from traditional working relationships between NRL scientists, the Institute for Nanoscience was established to conduct multidisciplinary research in the fields of materials, electronics and biology. Scientists may be part of the Nanoscience Institute while still performing research for their respective divisions.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nrl.navy.mil/nanoscience/ |title=Nanoscience Institute |website=U.S. Naval Research Laboratory |access-date=31 December 2017}}</ref>
[[File:LASR Tropical High Bay.jpg|thumb|The Laboratory for Autonomous Systems Research has a Tropical High Bay that is a 60-foot by 40-foot greenhouse, and it contains a re-creation of a southeast Asian rain forest. In the Tropical High Bay, temperatures average 80 degrees with 80 percent humidity year round.]]

===Laboratory for Autonomous Systems Research===
Opened March 2012,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.nrl.navy.mil/news/releases/naval-research-laboratory-opens-laboratory-autonomous-systems-research |title=Naval Research Laboratory Opens Laboratory for Autonomous Systems Research |date=March 16, 2012 |website=U.S. Naval Research Laboratory}}</ref> the Laboratory for Autonomous Systems Research (LASR) is a 50,000 square foot facility that supports basic and applied research in autonomous systems. The facility supports a wide range of interdisciplinary basic and applied research in autonomous systems to include research in autonomous systems, intelligent autonomy, human-autonomous system interaction and collaboration, sensor systems, power and energy systems, networking and communications, and platforms.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nrl.navy.mil/lasr/ |title=Laboratory for Autonomous Systems Research |website=U.S. Naval Research Laboratory |access-date=16 April 2020}}</ref>

LASR provides unique facilities and simulated environmental high bays (littoral, desert, tropical, and forest) and instrumented reconfigurable high bay spaces to support integration of science and technology components into research prototype systems.<ref>{{Cite book |title=SPECTRA |publisher=U.S. Naval Research Laboratory |year=2012 |url=https://www.nrl.navy.mil/lasr/sites/www.nrl.navy.mil.lasr/files/pdfs/SPECTRA_Spring_2012.pdf |pages=2–6}}</ref>

==Locations==
[[File:NavalResearchLab.jpg|thumb|An aerial view of the NRL complex in 2012. The area shown contains the oldest five buildings on the campus.]]

The main campus of NRL is in Washington, D.C., near the southernmost part of the District. It is on the [[Potomac River]] and is immediately south of (but is not part of) [[Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling]]. This campus is immediately north of the Blue Plains site of the DC Water Authority. Exit 1 of northbound I-295 leads directly to Overlook Avenue and the NRL Main Gate. The [[U.S. Postal Service]] operates a post office on the NRL main campus.<ref>"[https://tools.usps.com/go/POLocatorDetailsAction!input.action?locationTypeQ=all&address=Oxon+Hill%2C+MD&radius=20&locationType=po&locationID=1434187&locationName=NAVAL+RESEARCH+LABORATORY&address2=&address1=4555+OVERLOOK+AVE+SW&city=WASHINGTON&state=DC&zip5=20375&zip4=0001&tollFree=800-ASK-USPS%26reg%3B%26nbsp%3B%28800-275-8777%29&fax=&tAddress=&tAddress1Ams=&tAddress2Ams=&tCityAms=&tStateAms=&tZipAms=&tCarrierRouteAms=&latitude=38.823157&longitude=-77.0179167&sWithin=20&&&&&&&&& NAVAL RESEARCH LABORATORY]." [[U.S. Postal Service]]. Retrieved on September 11, 2018. "4555 OVERLOOK AVE SW WASHINGTON, DC 20375-0001"</ref>

In addition, NRL operates several field sites and satellite facilities:<ref name="factbook_2014"/><ref name="NRL_res_fclts"/><ref>{{cite web |title=Field Sites |url=http://www.nrl.navy.mil/field-sites/ |website=U.S. Naval Research Laboratory |access-date=10 December 2013}}</ref>
* NRL-South is located at NASA's [[Stennis Space Center]] in [[Bay St. Louis, Mississippi]], and specializes in oceanography, marine geology, geophysics, geoacoustics, and geotechnology.
* NRL-Monterey is located east of the [[Naval Postgraduate School]] in [[Monterey, California]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Directions and Maps |url=http://www.nrlmry.navy.mil/maps_dir.html |website=U.S. Naval Research Laboratory — Marine Meteorology Division |access-date=4 March 2016}}</ref> sharing a campus with the [[Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Monterey |url=https://www.nrl.navy.mil/field-sites/monterey/ |website=U.S. Naval Research Laboratory |access-date=30 December 2017}}</ref> and the San Francisco Bay Area/Monterey local forecast office of the [[National Weather Service]]. NRL-Monterey is dedicated to meteorology and atmospheric research.
* The [[VXS-1|Scientific Development Squadron (VXS) 1]] is located at the [[Patuxent River Naval Air Station]] in [[Lexington Park, Maryland]], and operates a wide range of research aircraft.<ref>{{cite web |title=Scientific Development Squadron ONE (VXS-1) |url=https://www.nrl.navy.mil/field-sites/vxs-1/ |website=U.S. Naval Research Laboratory |access-date=4 March 2016}}</ref>
* The Chesapeake Bay Detachment (CBD) in [[Chesapeake Beach, Maryland]] is 168-acre site for research in radar, electronic warfare, optical devices, materials, communications, and fire research. This facility is often used in combination with the Multiple Research Site on [[Tilghman Island, Maryland]] just across the Chesapeake Bay.
* The Midway Research Center in [[Quantico, Virginia]], Free Space Antenna Range in [[Pomonkey, Maryland]], and Blossom Point Satellite Tracking and Command Station in [[Blossom Point, Maryland]] are used by NRL's Naval Center for Space Technology.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nrl.navy.mil/ssdd/facilities |title=Facilities |website=U.S. Naval Research Laboratory — Space Systems Development Department |access-date=30 December 2017}}</ref>
* The Marine Corrosion Facility located on [[Fleming Key]] at [[Naval Air Station Key West]] in Florida is used by the Center for Corrosion Science & Engineering.
* NRL operates several synchrotron radiation [[beamline]]s and the Extreme-Ultraviolet and X-Ray Calibration Facility at the [[National Synchrotron Light Source]] at the [[Brookhaven National Laboratory]].{{citation needed|date=December 2017}}

==History==

===Early history===
Artifacts found on the NRL campus, such as [[stone tool]]s and ceramic shards, show that the site had been inhabited since the Late [[Archaic period in North America|Archaic Period]]. [[Cecil Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore]], granted the tract of land which includes the present NRL campus to William Middleton in 1663. It became part of the [[District of Columbia]] in 1791, and was purchased by Thomas Grafton Addison in 1795, who named the area [[Bellevue (Washington, D.C.)|Bellevue]] and built a mansion on the highlands to the east.

Zachariah Berry purchased the land in 1827, who rented it out for various purposes including a [[fishery]] at [[Blue Plains (Washington, D.C.)|Blue Plains]]. The mansion was demolished during the Civil War to build [[Fort Greble]]. In 1873 the land was purchased by the federal government as the Bellevue Annex to the [[Naval Gun Factory]], and several buildings were constructed including the Commandant's house, "Quarters A", which is still in use today.<ref>{{Cite press release |url=http://www.nrl.navy.mil/media/news-releases/2014/prehistoric-artifacts-open-window-to-past-at-nrl |title=Prehistoric Artifacts Open Window to the Past at NRL |date=28 July 2014 |access-date=1 August 2014 |website=U.S. Naval Research Laboratory}}</ref>

===Foundation===
[[File:US Naval Research Laboratory in 1923.png|thumb|NRL in 1923, the year it was founded, showing the first five buildings on its campus]]

The ''Naval Research Laboratory'' came into existence from an idea that originated from [[Thomas Edison]]. In a May 1915 editorial piece in the ''New York Times Magazine'', Edison wrote; "The Government should maintain a great research laboratory... In this could be developed...all the technique of military and [[navy|naval]] progression without any vast expense."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9C06E7DD1239E333A2575BC0A9669D946496D6CF |title=Big Laboratory for Navy Planned |publisher=NY Times |date=8 October 1915 |access-date=5 July 2008 |format=PDF}}</ref> This statement addressed concerns about World War I in the United States.<ref name="modern">{{cite web |url=http://www.nrl.navy.mil/content_images/75highlights.pdf |title=Highlights of NRL's First 75 Years |author=Timothy D. Calderwood |publisher=Naval Research Laboratory |date=October 1998}}</ref>

Edison then agreed to serve as the head of the Naval Consulting Board that consisted of civilians who had achieved expertise. The focus of the Naval Consulting Board was as advisor to the U.S. Navy pertaining to science and technology. The board brought forward a plan to create a modern facility for the Navy. In 1916 Congress allocated $1.5&nbsp;million for implementation. However, construction was delayed until 1920 because of the war and internal disagreements within the board.<ref name=modern/>

The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, the first modern research institution created within the United States Navy, began operations at 1100 on 2 July 1923. The Laboratory's two original divisions – Radio and Sound – performed research in the fields of high-frequency radio and underwater sound propagation. They produced communications equipment, direction-finding devices, sonar sets, and the first practical radar equipment built in the United States. They performed basic research, participating in the discovery and early exploration of the [[ionosphere]]. The NRL gradually worked towards its goal of becoming a broadly based research facility. By the beginning of [[World War II]], five new divisions had been added: Physical Optics, Chemistry, Metallurgy, Mechanics and Electricity, and Internal Communications.<ref name=modern/>

===World War II years and growth===
[[File:US Naval Research Laboratory in 1944.png|thumb|NRL in 1944, after significant wartime growth]]

Total employment at the NRL jumped from 396 in 1941 to 4400 in 1946, expenditures from $1.7&nbsp;million to $13.7&nbsp;million, the number of buildings from 23 to 67, and the number of projects from 200 to about 900. During World War II, scientific activities necessarily were concentrated almost entirely on applied research. Advances were made in [[radio]], [[radar]], and [[sonar]]. Countermeasures were devised. New lubricants were produced, as were antifouling paints, luminous identification tapes, and a marking dye to help locate survivors of disasters at sea. A thermal diffusion process was conceived and used to supply some of the U-235 isotope needed for one of the first atomic bombs. Also, many new devices that developed from booming wartime industry were type tested and then certified as reliable for the Fleet.<ref name=modern/>

===After WWII===
As a result of the scientific accomplishments of the WWII, the United States emerged into the postwar era determined to consolidate its wartime gains in science and technology and to preserve the working relationship between its armed forces and the scientific community. While the Navy was establishing the [[Office of Naval Research]] (ONR) in 1946 as a liaison with and supporter of basic and applied scientific research, the Navy encouraged NRL to broaden its scope since it was the Navy Department's corporate research laboratory. NRL was placed under the administrative oversight of ONR after ONR was created. NRL's Commanding Officer reports to the Navy's ''Chief of Naval Research (CNR)''. The Chief of Naval Research leads the Office of Naval Research, which primarily is located in the Ballston area of Arlington, Virginia. The reorganization also caused a parallel shift of the Laboratory's emphasis to one of long-range basic and applied research in the full range of the physical sciences.<ref name="factbook_2014"/>

However, rapid expansion during the war had left NRL improperly structured to address long-term Navy requirements. One major task – neither easily nor rapidly accomplished – was that of reshaping and coordinating research. This was achieved by transforming a group of largely autonomous scientific divisions into a unified institution with a clear mission and a fully coordinated research program. The first attempt at reorganization vested power in an executive committee composed of all the division superintendents. This committee was impracticably large, so in 1949, a civilian director of research was named and given full authority over the program. Positions for associate directors were added in 1954.<ref name="factbook_2014"/>

===Modern era===
[[File:US Naval Research Laboratory in 2001.jpg|thumb|NRL in 2001]]

In 1992, the previously separate ''Naval Oceanographic and Atmospheric Research Laboratory (NOARL)'', with centers in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, and Monterey, California, was merged into NRL. Since then, NRL is also the lead Navy center for research in Oceanographic and Atmospheric Sciences, with special strengths in physical oceanography, marine geosciences, ocean acoustics, marine meteorology, and remote oceanic and atmospheric sensing.<ref name=modern/>

===Centennial===

Commissioned July 2, 1923, as the Naval Experimental and Research Laboratory — later shortened to the Naval Research Laboratory (c.1926) — the laboratory began operations seven years after inventor Thomas Edison suggested that the Government establish "a great research laboratory."

Throughout the past century, NRL has changed the way the U.S. military fights, improved its capabilities, prevented technological surprise, transferred vital technology to industry, and tilted the world’s balance of power on at least three occasions; with the first U.S. radar, world’s first intelligence satellite, and first operational satellite of the Global Positioning System (GPS).<ref>{{Cite web |last= |date=June 2023 |title=100 Years of Contributions to Sea Power and National Security |url=https://www.nrl.navy.mil/Portals/38/NRL%20100%20Contributions_508_reduced_1.pdf |access-date=2023-07-21 |website=NRL |language=en-US}}</ref>

July 2, 2023, the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory celebrates 100 years of service as the Navy's corporate laboratory with a rich history of performing advanced scientific research and making significant contributions to U.S. military forces on, under, and above the seas.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |date=July 21, 2023 |title=U.S. Naval Research Laboratory Centennial |url=https://www.nrl.navy.mil/About-Us/History/NRL-Centennial/ |access-date=2023-07-21 |website=Navy |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Environmental contamination==
The Navy’s environmental investigations began in 1984. NRL was not listed on the National Priorities List as a [[Superfund]] and the Maryland Department of the Environment has regulatory oversight. Since the early 2010s, the Navy and MDE have coordinated their activities at NR. In 2017 groundwater investigation [[Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances|PFAS]] were present on-base in the shallow aquifer. As of 2022, there are 6 active IRP sites (Photo-processing Waste Discharge, fire testing area etc) and 3 active munition response sites at former small arms ranges with lead contamination in the Chesapeake Bay Detachment.<ref name="navfac">{{Cite web |date=nd |title=Naval Research Laboratory, Chesapeake Bay Detachment Site Descriptions |url=https://www.navfac.navy.mil/Business-Lines/Environmental/Products-and-Services/Environmental-Restoration/WASHINGTON/Naval-Research-Laboratory-CBD/Site-Descriptions/ |access-date=2022-08-05 |website=www.navfac.navy.mil}}</ref> An online [[Restoration Advisory Board]] (RAB) meeting in May 2021 alarmed residents because of extremely high PFAS levels in the soil at the CBD's fire training facility.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pat Elder |date=May 20, 2021 |title=State Acknowledges "Massive Contamination" in Chesapeake Beach, MD |url=https://www.militarypoisons.org/latest-news/state-acknowledges-massive-contamination-in-chesapeake-beach-md |access-date=2022-08-05 |website=Military Poisons |language=en-US}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[United States Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory]] (MCWL)
* [[Office of Naval Research]] (ONR)
* [[Air Force Research Laboratory]] (AFRL)
* [[United States Army Research, Development and Engineering Command]] (RDECOM)
* [[DARPA|Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency]] (DARPA)
* [[Naval Research Laboratory Flyrt]] — Flying Radar Target
* [[History of radar]]
* [[Robert Morris Page]] — One of the main American radar scientists
* [[Interactive Scenario Builder]] — 3-D modeling and simulation application for studying the radio frequency (RF) environment
* [[NRLMSISE-00]] — Model of the Earth's atmosphere from ground to space
* [[SIMDIS]] — 3-D Analysis and Display Toolset
* [[Clementine spacecraft]]
* [[National Research Libraries Alliance]]
* [[Fleet Electronic Warfare Center (FEWC)]]
* [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]] (NOAA)
* [[University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System]] (UNOLS)
* [[List of auxiliaries of the United States Navy]]
* [[TransApps]] – rapid development and fielding of secure mobile apps in the battlefield

==References==
{{USGovernment |url=http://www.nrl.navy.mil |agency=United States Navy}}
{{Reflist|40em|refs=
<ref name="factbook_2014">{{cite web |url=http://www.nrl.navy.mil/content_images/2014_FactBook_cleansed.pdf |title=NRL Fact Book 2014 |publisher=Naval Research Laboratory |date=May 2014 |access-date=8 February 2015}}</ref>
<ref name="factbook_2016">{{cite web |url=https://www.nrl.navy.mil/content_images/2016_FactBook.pdf |title=2016 NRL FactBook |publisher=U.S. Naval Research Laboratory |date=August 2016 |access-date=30 December 2017}}</ref>
<ref name="NRL_res_fclts">{{cite web |url=https://www.nrl.navy.mil/research/facilities/ |title=Facilities |website=U.S. Naval Research Laboratory |access-date=31 December 2017}}</ref>
}}
* Sterling, Christopher H. (2008) ''Military Communications: From Ancient Times to the 21st Century'' ABC-CLIO {{ISBN|978-1851097326}} p 326
July

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* {{Official website}}
* {{cite web |url=https://www.nrl.navy.mil/Careers/ |title=Human Resources |publisher=NRL}}
* {{cite web |url=http://www.nrl.navy.mil/NewsRoom/images/little_book.pdf |title=The Little Book of Big Achievements |publisher=NRL}}
* {{cite web |url=https://www.nrl.navy.mil/Portals/38/NRL%20100%20Contributions_508_reduced_1.pdf |title=100 Years of Contributions to Sea Power and National Security |publisher=NRL}}
* {{cite web |url=https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA387688.pdf |title=Pushing the Horizon: 75 years of High Stakes Science and Technology at the Naval Research Laboratory |publisher=NRL}}
* {{cite web |url=https://www.nrl.navy.mil/News-Media/Videos/ |title=NRL Videos |publisher=NRL}}
* {{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/user/USNRL |title=YouTube Videos |publisher=NRL}}

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{{US research agencies}}
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{{Use American English|date=January 2014}}

[[Category:Scientific organizations established in 1923]]
[[Category:1923 establishments in the United States]]
[[Category:Military facilities in Washington, D.C.]]
[[Category:United States Navy]]
[[Category:Research installations of the U.S. Department of Defense]]
[[Category:Collier Trophy recipients]]
[[Category:Research institutes in Washington, D.C.]]