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GC selected to develop next gen US Military footwear

GC USA has been selected to participate in a research and development program between DEVCOM Soldier Center, Natick MA and UMass Lowell to develop materials for the next generation of U.S. military footwear.

GC USA Team, Sandy Chen, Mox Weber & Francisco Martinez at SWIFT Kick-off, June 2024
GC USA Team, Sandy Chen, Mox Weber & Francisco Martinez at SWIFT Kick-off, June 2024

The program, SWIFT [Supporting Warfighters through Innovative Footwear Technologies], is offered by the HEROES (Harnessing Emerging Research Opportunities to Empower Soldiers) initiative and will see GC extend its patented GC Composite graphene and aerogel technology to develop ultra-lightweight, durable, insulative materials for use in extreme cold weather.


LIGHTWEIGHT, EFFECTIVE, AND DURABLE THERMAL INSULATION IS ESSENTIAL FOR EXTREME COLD WEATHER MILITARY TRAINING AND OPERATIONS.


This industry-academia collaborative program seeks to bring new innovations and next generation footwear solutions to US Warfighters with significantly enhanced performance in terms of protection, comfort, durability, and/or weight reduction that can be manufactured in the USA.


GC aims to address the significant scientific obstacle of enhancing the thermal capabilities of footwear in severe conditions, particularly in combating the challenges posed by ineffective insulative materials for extremely cold weather military footwear. Through the characterization and development of GC graphene and aerogel composite designs, the goal is to produce innovative, insulative, and durable materials, tailored to excel in extreme cold weather environments.


Overseen by Fuqiang Liu, Associate Professor, leading the Electrochemical Energy Lab in Mechanical Engineering department at UMass Lowell, the project is named ‘Characterization and Sampling of Graphene Composites Insulative Materials for Extreme Cold Weather Footwear’.


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