Naval leaders mark ONR anniversary with personal tributes

ARLINGTON, Va. — Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao drew on his years as a Navy diver and explosive ordnance disposal officer to highlight the Office of Naval Research’s enduring impact on fleet safety and combat effectiveness, offering a personal view of how lab discoveries become lifesaving tools in the field.

Cao’s remarks underscored the ways Navy-backed science has shaped operational capabilities central to diving and EOD missions, including advances in life-support and decompression research, underwater sensing, robotics, and mine countermeasures. He framed those accomplishments as examples of how sustained investment in research delivers practical advantages to sailors and Marines.

The appearance came as ONR nears its 80th year. Established in 1946, the office serves as the Navy and Marine Corps’ science and technology sponsor, funding basic and applied research across universities, industry, and government laboratories and working to transition breakthroughs into programs of record.

Officials and observers say ONR’s portfolio spans autonomy and unmanned systems, undersea warfare, advanced materials and energetics, Information Warfare and electronic systems, training and human performance, and medical and operational readiness—areas that directly affect how quickly new capabilities reach the fleet.

Cao’s message placed the work of scientists and engineers alongside the experiences of operators who depend on it, linking laboratory progress to day-to-day readiness and the ability to manage risk in unforgiving maritime environments.

The event also spotlighted ONR’s role in cultivating the future technical workforce and partnering with academia and small businesses through mechanisms such as grants and innovation programs designed to speed promising ideas from concept to deployment.