Block Engineering News
Press Releases
Block MEMS Awarded $2.2 Million Contract to Supply Advanced Spectrometer for the U.S. Navy
Southborough, Massachusetts – March 21, 2023
Block MEMS, LLC (Block) has been awarded a $2.2 million contract by Naval Surface Warfare Center Indian Head Division (NSWC IHD) to further develop and supply an advanced spectrometer using Block's proprietary Quantum Cascade Lasers (QCLs). Read the full press release.
Smiths Detection and Block MEMS Team to Develop Non-Contact Chemical Detection Device for US Department of Defense
Southborough, Massachusetts – August 9, 2022
Smiths Detection Inc. alongside Block MEMS, LLC (Block) have been selected by The Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) and the Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical Biological Radiological Nuclear Defense to develop a Proximate Chemical Agent Detector (PCAD) capable of non-contact detection of solid and liquid threats. Read the full press release.
Block MEMS Awarded $2.6 Million Contract to Detect Vehicle-Borne Explosives
Southborough, Massachusetts – October 26, 2021
Block MEMS, LLC (Block) has been awarded a $2.6 million contract in support of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) to detect Vehicle-Borne Improvised Explosive Devices (VBIEDs). Read the full press release.
For our full archive of past press releases, you may visit our press release page.
Articles and Videos
Video from IARPA on the SILMARILS chemical detection program, featuring Block's technology
November 2020
Over the past five years, @IARPAnews has tested the SILMARILS program, a technology that makes it physically safer to detect chemicals and narcotics. Learn how this program can save lives by detecting threatening chemicals on surfaces up to 30 meters away. pic.twitter.com/h1brgPCyvm
— Office of the DNI (@ODNIgov) November 13, 2020
Shine a Light: Laser Spectrometers Aid in the Detection of Hazardous Chemicals
February 2020
Block's SBIR contract allowed the company to build the foundation of its Quantum Cascade Laser (QCL) technology, eventually resulting in the current product line of QCL-based chemical detection for military and commercial applications. Daniel Cavicchio, Block's executive chairman, explained that "Block wouldn’t have developed this technology if it hadn’t been for the SBIR program."
Read the article (PDF).
Upcoming Events
US Army Chemical Corps CBRN Exhibition
June 27-28, 2023 | Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri
This event is the premier gathering of CBRN (chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear) / WMD (weapons of mass destruction) Joint, Multinational, Industry and CBRN professionals.
NCT (Non-Conventional Threat) USA
September 5-7, 2023 | Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland
NCT USA will welcome members from the national CBRNe Community, as well as industry leaders in the fields of CBRNe, C-IED and EOD.
For a full list of upcoming events, you may visit our events page.
