Applied Research Associates

Applied Research Associates, Inc

Company type	Private/Employee-Owned
Industry	research and development (R&D), engineering consulting, management consulting, public sector consulting
Founded	1979
Headquarters	Albuquerque, New Mexico , United States of America
Key people	Curt Beckemeyer (CEO, President, and Director) [1] William “Brother” Ratliff (COO, Vice President) [1]
Number of employees	~2,300 [2]  (2023)
Website	www.ara.com

Applied Research Associates Inc. (ARA), is an engineering, management, and public sector consulting firm and a research and development company headquartered in Albuquerque, New Mexico, founded in 1979. ^[3] As of 2018, its revenue was estimated at between $100 and $750 million by The Washington Post . ^[4] As of 2023, the company has over 2,300 employee-owners. ^[5]

History

The company was launched by Harry Auld and Neil Higgins in 1979. The company was originally named Higgins, Auld and Bratton Inc. Jimmie Bratton joined the company in 1980 and the name was changed to its current name, Applied Research Associates, Inc. (ARA). ^[6]

In 2008, ARA assisted National Institute of Standards and Technology with their investigation into the collapse of original 7 World Trade Center in the September 11 attacks in 2001. ^[7]

Sub-divisions

• Analytic, Software, and Engineering Solutions
• Automation & Geosciences
• Security Engineering & Applied Sciences
• Software, Systems, and Modeling
• Transportation, Infrastructure, and Energy
• Klein Associates ^{[8] [9]}

Research

• National Security
  • Integrated Munitions Effects Assessment (IMEA)
  • Nuclear Capabilities Services (NuCS)
  • Vulnerability Assessment and Protection Option (VAPO)
• Infrastructure
• Health Solutions
  • BioGears Human Physiology Engine
  • PTSD - A 2007-2008 pilot study by ARA found connections between traumatic brain injury and Posttraumatic stress disorder, contesting the notion that PTSD is primarily a psychological and not a physical affliction. ^[10]
• Energy & Environment

Products

• Aggregative Contingent Estimation System (ACES), a crowdsourcing platform funded by IARPA. ^{[11] [12]}
• ARC4, an augmented reality system used in defense applications. ^{[13] [14] [15]}
• HURLOSS, a hurricane modelling system used in risk assessment. ^{[16] [17]}
• Modular Robotic Applique Kits (M-RAKs), robotic applique systems for ground vehicles. ^[18]
• MRZR X unmanned ground vehicle with Polaris Inc. and Neya Systems. ^[18]
• ReadiJet, a renewable biofuel developed with Chevron Lummus Global. ^{[19] [20]}
• SenseDefense hearing protection systems, a line of passive and hybrid active protectors including FiRes HP, ShotShields, HHP, and IEEP. ^{[21] [22]}
• Silent Sabre, a rifle-mounted directed-energy weapon. ^[23]

References

1. "ARA Board of Directors Announces New CEO, COO". ARA. 2025-08-28. Retrieved 2025-12-06.
2. "ARA Ranked One of Nation's Largest Employee-Owned Companies". ARA. 2023-12-14. Retrieved 2025-12-06.
3. Wilkers, Ross (March 5, 2017). "Applied Research Associates wins Army sensor prototyping contract". Washington Technology. Founded in 1979, the employee-owned company's work encompasses research, engineering, and technical support services in projects and programs involving physical sciences for government and commercial partners.
4. "Applied Research Associates". 2018-06-29. Archived from the original on 2018-06-29. Retrieved 2022-04-08.
5. "ARA Ranked One of the Nation's Largest Employee-Owned Companies". ARA. 2023-12-14. Retrieved 2025-12-06.
6. "Our History - ARA". 2020-08-03. Retrieved 2022-04-08.
7. "Global Structural Analysis of the Response of World Trade Center Building 7 to Fires and Debris Impact Damage" (PDF). govinfo.gov. 2008.
8. Francis T. Durso (6 February 2007). Handbook of Applied Cognition. John Wiley & Sons. p. 195. ISBN   978-0-470-05963-0.
9. Laura Militello; Raanan Lipshitz; Jan Maarten Schraagen (18 September 2017). Naturalistic Decision Making and Macrocognition. CRC Press. p. 25. ISBN   978-1-317-08958-2. Winston R. Sieck, PhD, is a Senior Scientist at Klein Associates Division of Applied Research Associates.
10. Worth, Robert F. (June 10, 2016). "What if PTSD Is More Physical Than Psychological?". The New York Times .
11. Rawnsley, Adam (July 11, 2011). "Spy Agency's Next Top Analyst: You". Wired .
12. Weinberger, Sharon (November 18, 2014). "Intelligence agencies turn to crowdsourcing". BBC News .
13. Gallagher, Sean (May 25, 2017). "Heads up: Augmented reality prepares for the battlefield". Ars Technica . The HUNTR system developed over the past two years uses an Android port of a software package called ARC 4, according to a CERDEC presentation given at an industry event in October 2015. ARC, developed by Applied Research Associates, was also used in an earlier DARPA augmented-reality program called Ultra-Vis. The data from ARC can be displayed either within enhanced night-vision gear or on a variety of existing head-mounted see-through displays.
14. Roberts, Dave. "ARC4: Heads-up on-the-move augmented reality technology". Applied Research Associates, Inc. ARC4 is advanced augmented reality (AR) technology that delivers heads-up situational awareness for outdoor on-the-move applications.
15. Gibbons-Neff, Thomas (March 26, 2016). "This is the tiny camera that might change the future of warfare". The Washington Post .
16. Michael Faber; Jochen Koehler; Kazuyoshi Nishijima (15 July 2011). Applications of Statistics and Probability in Civil Engineering. CRC Press. p. 875. ISBN   978-0-203-14479-4.
17. "Lloyd's and the LMA announce 'groundbreaking' shared services deal with Oasis". Lloyd's of London. September 19, 2016.
18. Judson, Jen (February 7, 2018). "Meet MRZR X — the Polaris equipment transport ground robot". Defense News.
19. Morris, John (September 13, 2012). "Falcon 20 First Civil Jet To Fly On 100% Biofuel". Aviation Week .
20. Holton, Jennifer (October 31, 2016). "'Readijet' biofuel created in Panama City to fuel military jets". WJHG-TV.
21. "SenseDefense". Applied Research Associates. Retrieved 2025-12-06.
22. "SenseDefense FiRes HP hearing protectors receive 15-decibel Noise Reduction Rating". GlobeNewswire. November 9, 2015. Retrieved 2025-12-06.
23. Host, Pat (March 23, 2018). "ARA develops Silent Sabre directed energy weapon". Jane's Information Group. Applied Research Associates Inc (ARA) has developed a 1.5 kw directed energy weapon called Silent Sabre that attaches to a rifle and performs similar to an acetylene torch at a range of 183-274 m.