An official website of the United States government
Here's how you know
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.



Palmetto Tech Bridge Logo


Palmetto Tech Bridge

The Palmetto Tech Bridge (PTB) was one of the first few tech bridges the DON stood up in 2019. 

It exists to CONNECT, REINFORCE and SUSTAIN “acceleration ecosystems,” removing barriers to entry, fostering a culture of trust and innovation, and providing direct access to Sailors and Marines across multiple Department of Defense (DOD) locations. 

In addition to holding a hand out to nontraditional organizations, the PTB partners with start-ups, academia, small businesses, non-profits, private capital and government entities to share information, support collaboration spaces and generate dual-use solutions that both meet national defense needs and enhance the region’s economy.



What is a Tech Bridge?

In 2019, the Department of the Navy (DON) established the concept of a “tech bridge,” in strong partnership with the Office of Naval Research and NavalX, as a way to harness innovation in private businesses and academia to better serve and protect our country.

Tech Bridges are catalysts, operating as franchises, with each region developing its own model. They bridge the gap between project owners on base who are developing solutions for the warfighter and innovators off base who are working with emerging technologies.

The PTB looks to connect academia, research institutions and nontraditional commercial industry to the following Technical Focus Areas within NIWC Atlantic:

  • Cybersecurity
  • Assured Communications
  • Applied Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning
  • Autonomous Decision Aids and Unmanned Systems
  • Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) systems
  • Live, Virtual, Constructive and Synthetic (LVC/S) environment technologies
Mr. Erik J. Gardner Director, Palmetto Tech Bridge
Erik J. Gardner LinkedIn Palmetto Tech Bridge LinkedIn
Useful Links Challenge.gov PTB Outreach to Academia Contracting Cone DARPA Opportunities Defense Innovation Unit DoD Research & Engineering, OUSD (R&E) OUSD A&S - Doing Business with the DoD Funding Opportunities IWRP Consortium NavalX Office of Naval Research Office of Small Business Programs SAM.gov

Why Here?

As a regional organization, the PTB’s geographic mission draws a line from Raleigh-Durham’s Research Triangle to the north, Atlanta to the west and Jacksonville, Florida, to the south.

The PTB is aligned under the mission of Naval Information Warfare Center (NIWC) Atlantic, whose headquarters is located in the unique innovation ecosystem of Charleston, South Carolina. 

With our partners, the PTB looks to solve hard problems in these TFAs by standing up easily accessible collaborative spaces that join our teams and industry partners in one place to build sustainable networks of collaboration and enable accelerated problem-solving.

Associated News Stories

Site Map
FOIA
Navy.com
Plain Writing
No Fear Act
USA.gov
508 Compliance
Privacy Policy
Veterans Crisis Line
Information Quality
Open Government
Guidance-Card-Icon Dept-Exclusive-Card-Icon