The Q3 2026 newsletter marks a milestone quarter for the AFRL Regional Network – Mid-Atlantic, which has completed the largest single round of awards in its history and now stands at approximately $10.5 million deployed across 73 project awards since 2022. This edition shares the results of the Fall 2026 Partnership Funding Cycle, which awarded $2.3 million across 12 Stage 2 and Stage 3 projects, every one building on previously funded Network work to carry a proven innovation closer to commercial markets and Air Force and Space Force missions. It also updates members on the planned transition between federal funding cycles, with current AFRL funding supporting operations through August 2027, bids farewell to AFRL Collaboration Director Dr. John Luginsland, who departs for the Virginia Tech Applied Research Corporation, and spotlights Nereis, the UConn robotics spinout built on technology the Network has funded since 2023, now sending liquid metal robots into steam turbines.
One note on the number. I used $2.3 million from the Results section since that’s the committee’s awarded total, but that’s the same figure that reads $2.4 million in the Director’s Welcome, so if you and the co-directors land on $2.4 million for the newsletter, swap it here too.
