LSU and Integer Technologies Announce $9.8M Navy Research Contract, Baton Rouge Office

Based in South Carolina, Integer Technologies is opening a permanent office on LSU’s flagship campus in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to work directly with students and faculty solving national security challenges. The strategic partnership is supported by an initial $9.8 million Navy research award to develop maritime technology. Integer continues to hire Louisiana engineers and recent LSU graduates to create new capabilities for defense and intelligence customers.

Integer Technologies is a rapidly growing defense contractor that partners with top U.S. research universities to accelerate the development of scientific research in support of national security and U.S. military missions. The new partnership with LSU positions Integer and the university to jointly pursue a range of technology initiatives that will create high-paying jobs in Louisiana and unlock the potential for LSU and the state to secure multiple multi-million-dollar federal defense contracts. The first, $9.8 million from the Office of Naval Research, announced today will engage a multi-disciplinary research team in the LSU College of Engineering and the LSU College of Science to create new solutions for naval operators, including technologies to improve the intelligence, autonomy and decision-making abilities of distributed networks of maritime intelligent autonomous systems, such as underwater robots.

“My administration is committed to the continued economic growth of our great state of Louisiana,” Governor Jeff Landry said. “Supporting our military, increasing port security and supporting the offshore energy industry through projects like this will bring continued investment and high-earning jobs to the hardworking men and women of Louisiana.”

“With our proud military legacy and flagship mission, LSU continues to serve and protect Louisiana and the nation,” LSU President William F. Tate IV said. “We have world-class problem solvers in coastal science and engineering, in cybersecurity and energy, and are excited to partner with Integer Technologies to put our research faculty and outstanding students and graduates in a position to support the U.S. Navy in defense of our great nation, in a way that creates jobs right here in Louisiana.”

Integer’s headquarters in Columbia, South Carolina, is located less than a mile from the University of South Carolina where LSU President William F. Tate IV previously served as Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost. Integer’s pursuit of a research partnership with LSU is a testament to the success of LSU’s Scholarship First Agenda, launched by Tate in 2022, where coast, defense and energy are three of the university’s top five research priorities.

“The entrepreneurial spirit and excitement I’ve felt from the LSU team since we began this partnership is contagious,” Integer CEO Duke Hartman said. “I couldn’t be more pleased to announce the opening of Integer’s new permanent office in Baton Rouge to work on this and other important national security projects with LSU. Together, we are building high-end technology research capacity that will become an asset to our national security customers in the areas of coast, defense, cyber and energy over the next decade.”

Prior to announcing the Navy contract, Integer already employed a Louisiana engineer and recently hired three more, including an LSU mechanical engineering graduate. The company is also relocating top talent from across the country to support its new office in the Digital Media Center on LSU’s flagship campus in Baton Rouge.

“We’re not just managing the program administratively; our scientists and engineers are actually doing applied research, tech development and commercialization alongside our university partners—that’s why we need to be here,” Hartman said. “Some people think you can do everything remotely, and I disagree. We need to be at the source of talent, where many graduates want to stay and where we can foster an intimate partnership with the LSU research team. Proximity is part of our secret sauce. Our goal at the end of every project is to have a technology prototype we can demonstrate, often in the ocean, for our national security customers, and we need a tight collaboration to make that happen.”

Integer’s facilities will be capable of doing secure U.S. government work, with the potential for LSU student interns and faculty to participate. Integer and LSU have additional pending research proposals for cybersecurity, defense and energy-related efforts.

Maritime engineer Dillon Helfers, originally from St. Louis but a four-year resident of Lafayette, Louisiana, who previously worked on some of the largest autonomous ship programs for the U.S. military, was recently hired by Integer to support the growing research collaborations with LSU.

“My wife and I have been trying to stick around because we love Louisiana and we love Lafayette, but it can be hard to find jobs,” Helfers said. “Integer moving here is the perfect opportunity to stay and work for an organization that will have a regional economic impact.”

Helfers is already a frequent face in LSU’s robotics research labs.

“You can’t beat being here in person to help guide research toward relevance,” Helfers said. “We’re looking at the development of a robot and I can say to the professor or student, ‘See that piece? The Warfighter needs that piece today.’”

Three recent LSU engineering graduates from the Baton Rouge area—Caleb Stewart, Jared Suprun and Pacco Tan—all decided to pursue their master’s degrees at LSU just to work on the newly funded LSU-Integer-Navy project.

“It’s very interesting research,” said Tan, who graduated from LSU last December with a dual bachelor’s degree in computer science and electrical engineering. “We’re enabling acoustic communication between multiple robots that have to be underwater for a long time and can’t communicate too frequently as they otherwise run out of power. It’s challenging, and a great opportunity to refine my skills.”

“Keeping our country safe in the future is all about how well we can gather and make sense of data and intelligence,” Senator Bill Cassidy said. “This partnership between LSU and Integer Technologies helps our Navy defend our nation better. Louisiana can be proud that LSU is who the Navy is working with.”

About Integer Technologies

Integer is a science and technology company that protects freedom by transforming innovative research into fieldable technology for our national security customers. Visit www.integer-tech.com for more information.

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