Dr. Merrill leads high-impact research programs addressing long-standing challenges in materials reliability and multi-scale processing, with applications across the Department of Defense (DoD) and broader scientific communities. His work spans transparent armor, high-hard steels, and nanomanufacturing, and has resulted in over $10M in applied research funding and $11M in transitioned technologies. As principal investigator, he oversees all aspects of proposal development, execution, and collaboration—engaging with over 10 DoD components, 13+ industry partners, and multiple universities. His success is driven by identifying critical science gaps, building cross-disciplinary teams, and translating research into actionable solutions for policy, procurement, and industrial R&D.