About APL

Who We Are
The Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) is a not-for-profit center for engineering, research and development. APL is a division of one of the world's premier research universities, Johns Hopkins. Our 399-acre campus, 20 miles north of Washington, DC, is home to 4,300 men and women. We recruit and hire the best and the brightest from top colleges, 68% of those hires are engineers and scientists. We work on more than 400 programs that protect our homeland and advance the nation's vision in research and space science, at an annual funding level of about $680M.

The Laboratory has been a major asset to the nation since it was organized to help the war effort in 1942, four months after Pearl Harbor. We're proud of our heritage from those early days and the can-do attitude and spirit of dedication to the nation's welfare that is still a major element of our culture.

What We Do
APL solves complex problems that present critical challenges to the nation. That's how we decide what work we will pursue, and it's how we've chosen to benchmark our success. Our work reflects a depth of expertise that allows us to take on a surprisingly broad range of programs. And our sponsor base includes most of the nation's pivotal government agencies —especially those that protect our security.

The expertise we bring includes advanced technology; highly qualified, technically diverse teams; hands-on operational knowledge of the military and security environments; and a basic systems engineering approach. We offer an outstanding creative staff, augmented by world-class facilities, and the ability to develop effective solutions to difficult problems.

Message from the Director's Office.