Strategic Relationships
Developing Better Products through Partnerships
Industry partners come to Sandia
seeking innovative solutions to a vast
range of engineering and design
problems. When they do, they receive a
huge return on their investment.
“Sandia offers its partners access to a
wide spectrum of exceptional technical
talent, world-class facilities, and highquality
science-based engineering
solutions,” said Rick Stulen, Vice
President and Chief Technology Officer.
Sandia also receives a huge return
on investment in the process. Partnerships
provide validation for new ideas
and commercial sources for mission
components.
“In the dynamic business world of
today, we have to provide an innovative
partnerships program that is tailored to
the needs of our various management
units,” said David Goldheim, Director
for Sandia’s Strategic Relationships
Center. Working with the Labs’ California
Business Development Support
Department, the program “facilitates
partnerships and develops novel approaches,”
Goldheim said.
Rockwell Collins
Rockwell Collins’ partnership with Sandia took the path of a traditional
Cooperative Research and Development Agreement. In addition to efforts
to commercialize the miniSAR technology for use on unmanned aerial
vehicles like the Shadow 200 used by the U.S. military, the partners will
pursue other mutual technology interests.
Aerospace leader Rockwell Collins
announced that it will spend several
million dollars over the next two years
to turn Sandia’s miniSAR technology
into a product that can be deployed
tactically by the U.S. military. Rockwell
Collins designs, produces, and supports
communication and aviation electronics,
and global surveillance solutions.
MiniSAR is a small synthetic-aperture
radar developed at Sandia that can
see through clouds and in the dark to
provide images for use on the battlefield
and in other intelligence applications.
The partnership provides a strong and
complementary match to bring advanced
radar remote-sensing capability
to the warfighter, said Brett Remund,
Deputy Director, Microwave Intelligence,
Surveillance, and Reconnaissance.
An umbrella Cooperative Research
and Development Agreement, or CRADA,
is allowing Sandia and Rockwell
Collins to explore further projects in a
number of fields.
