The Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Defense–Materiel Readiness has today announced five finalists for the 2024 Maintenance Innovation Challenge. They are:

  • Enhancing Field Repair Capabilities through Mixed Reality
    Author: Stephanie Bryan, Marine Depot Maintenance Command
  • Expeditionary Cold Spray
    Author: Jeff Campbell, NAVSEA 05T
  • On-Aircraft Cold Spray to Optimize Maintenance and Reduce Logistics
    Author: Matthew Chu, Fleet Readiness Center – Southwest
  • Repair Technology Exercise
    Author: Mathew VanRavenhorst, NAVSEA 05T
  • XtruJog
    Author: Vis Madhavan, Fairmount Technologies, LLC.

The DOD Joint Technology Exchange Group (JTEG) principals selected the finalists from a total of 77 entries submitted by government, industry, and academia participants. The finalists were judged as having the highest potential to make maintenance and sustainment more agile, effective, efficient, and affordable.

The finalists will deliver presentations at the 2024 DOD Maintenance Symposium in Salt Lake City, UT, in a breakout session scheduled for Tuesday, December 10, 3:30-5:00 pm MST. They will be evaluated by a panel of DOD senior maintenance leaders and commanders, after which an overall MIC Award winner will be selected. In addition, attendees at the breakout session will select a “People’s Choice” winner.

NCMS has committed to support the demonstration of the winners’ innovations by making available $50,000 of in-kind support to both the MIC and the “People’s Choice” winners’ associated commercial technology provider(s). (Reference to NCMS does not constitute or imply endorsement or recommendation by the Department of Defense.)

To learn more about the MIC and see entries from previous years’ competitions, visit: https://ncms.org/maintenance-innovation-challenge/.