ANN ARBOR, Mich. – More than 280 members of the automotive research community from across academia, government and industry came together this month for one of the Army’s chief investments in science and technology, and critical driver of future force readiness. Held June 10-11, the 32nd Automotive Research Center Annual Program Review provided updates to community partners on current projects and research advances, while demonstrating how collaboration, digital engineering, and modeling and simulation continue to directly solve Army problems and shape operational capabilities. “The technologies you are all spearheading will help prepare our military for the battlefield of the future,” said U.S. Sen. Gary Peters during opening remarks. ARC is a U.S. Army Center of Excellence for the modeling and simulation of ground vehicles, led by the University of Michigan. It operates under a Quad structure—in which Army scientists, academic investigators, industry engineers, and graduate students combine efforts to solve scientific problems such as autonomy, power and energy management, mobility, and system survivability of ground vehicles. In this way, ARC serves as a bridge between research and real-world defense applications. The Quad model also supports the Army’s digital engineering transformation by enabling partners to work from shared models, data environments, and simulation tools, helping accelerate the transition of emerging technologies into operational capabilities. “The ARC remains uniquely positioned to support this mission,” said Dr. David Gorsich, Chief Scientist for U.S. Army DEVCOM Ground Vehicle Systems Center (GVSC), who has been involved with ARC since its inception. “The Quad model is one of ARC’s greatest strengths,” Gorsich said. “It creates an environment where promising ideas mature faster and transition more effectively from research to capability. That ability to connect research, development, and experimentation is critical to delivering new technologies to Soldiers.” According to Gorsich, the ARC portfolio aligns with the technical