JR Plumer Associates · Analytical Solutions

Complex problems. Defensible answers.

JR Plumer Associates designs studies, develops field-deployable methodology, and produces defensible data for federal agencies, prime contractors, and industrial clients working at the edge of what is measurable.

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Who We Are

Study design, field methodology, and defensible data for any client, in any domain.

JRPA is retained when the cost of a wrong answer is higher than the cost of the work. Our practice is built around study design, field-deployable analytical methodology, and data that holds up under regulatory review, legal scrutiny, and peer examination.

Our past performance spans environmental remediation, defense research, and critical minerals supply chain. We do not organize around those domains — we organize around capability, and we apply it wherever the problem lives.

Capabilities

Six lines of practice. One standard of defensibility.

The company draws on analytical chemistry, materials science, geoscience, and federal program execution. Every engagement combines several of these in service of a single question the client cannot afford to answer wrong.

Study Design & Protocol

End-to-end methodology for detection, characterization, and monitoring programs — built to withstand review from the first sample forward.

Field-Deployable Methodology

Translating laboratory-grade analytical performance into real field conditions. Portable instrumentation, operator protocols, sample-to-answer workflows on site.

Trace & Ultra-Trace Detection

Parts-per-billion sensitivity for regulated analytes, including the light elements that conventional field instruments routinely miss.

Data Fusion & Analysis

Combining orthogonal analytical techniques into a single defensible answer. Patent-pending methodology developed under USACE-ERDC. SBIR/STTR Phase II/III transition experience across Army, USACE, and environmental programs.

Federal Program Execution

Prime and subcontract work, SBIR/STTR transition, federal capture and proposal development, and program navigation across defense and environmental programs.

Technical Assessment

Independent review of analytical instrumentation, methodologies, and vendor claims for acquisitions and programs of record.

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Selected Work

Engagements that demonstrate the range.

Direct federal prime contracts and active joint programs. Full past performance record available under NDA.

Critical Minerals Active program

Field verification for rare earth and critical minerals

Domestic supply chain · Multi-agency pursuit

Supply chain verification depends on lab-delayed assay. Mine-face, drill-core, and import decisions happen faster than samples move. Real-time field assay with light-element sensitivity closes the gap.

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Environmental · Defense W913E518C001

Subcompact multi-analyzer system for field spectroscopy

USACE-ERDC · Cold Regions Research & Engineering Laboratory

Field investigators lacked a single instrument combining XRF, Raman, and LIBS in a form factor usable at remediation sites. We engineered a subcompact multi-analyzer with unified data fusion, now patent-pending.

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Defense W911NF2020269

In-process quality control for advanced composite manufacture

U.S. Army Research Laboratory · Aberdeen Proving Ground

No viable in-process methodology existed for verifying carbon-carbon composite composition during fabrication. We developed and demonstrated a novel inline analytical protocol, validated against ARL reference materials.

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Environmental ESTCP · EPA SBIR

PFAS and emerging contaminant field detection

DoD & EPA remediation programs · FY26 pursuit

PFAS remediation workflows depend on 3–5 day laboratory turnaround. Field decisions get made before the data arrives. Field-portable detection at parts-per-billion closes the exposure record gap.

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The Team

Expertise that carries the work.

Between them: analytical chemistry, materials science, federal program execution, and combat-veteran operational discipline. R&D 100 awards. Decades of DoD and DOE-funded research.

Federal Pathway & Strategy

John Plumer

Principal, JR Plumer Associates

48-year career Army scientist and Pollution Prevention Program Manager. Deep institutional fluency across DoD, USACE, and environmental agencies.

Science & Technology

Dr. Richard Russo

Founder, Applied Spectra, Inc.

Senior Scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Multiple R&D 100 Award recipient for foundational work in laser plasma spectroscopy. Decades of DOE- and Army-funded research.

Commercial & Business Development

David Tardif

Commercial Development

U.S. Army infantry combat veteran. Neurobiology background and over a decade in enterprise technology sales leadership. Broad relationships across government, defense, and commercial sectors.

Technology Partner

Applied Spectra, Inc.

WEST SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA · TEAMING SINCE 2022

JRPA holds a standing teaming relationship with Applied Spectra for the manufacturing and commercialization of laser plasma spectroscopy instrumentation. The underlying analytical science originates with Dr. Russo at ASI; JRPA integrates that capability into study design and federal program execution.

About the partnership

Contact

Discuss an engagement.

Every conversation starts with the problem and ends with a clear path forward.

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Primary Point of Contact

John Plumer, Principal

john@jrplumer-associates.com

Telephone

+1 603 387 7765

Mailing Address

34 Bean Hill Road
Belmont, New Hampshire 03220