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Solid research is the underlying driving force to crystallize fearless creativity and innovation. While we are committed to run in-house research and engineering, we are also excited to collaborate with academic partners to facilitate exploration of new and promising research. The Sony Focused Research Award provides an opportunity for university faculty and Sony to conduct this type of collaborative, focused research. The award provides up to $150K USD* in funds, and may be renewed for subsequent year(s). A list of candidate research topics appears below: - Manipulation Secure Image Sensing - Self-Supervised Learning for Spiking Neural Networks with Event-Based Vision Sensor - Deep Learning & Deep Fusion Towards Automotive Scene Perception - Designing and Implementing Camera ISP Algorithms Using Deep Learning and Computer Vision - Robust Mesh Tracking for Volumetric Capture - Advanced Image Processing Enabled by AI - Novel Actuator - Machine Learning/AI for Wireless Communications - Reconfigurable Reflector Type Materials - Individual Treatment Effect Estimation - Acoustic Metamaterials - Novel Technologies for GaN-based VSCELs - Intelligent Sensing of Patient-Reported Outcomes

NSF-supported science and engineering research increasingly relies on cutting-edge infrastructure. With its Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) program and Major Multi-user Facilities (Major Facilities) projects, NSF supports infrastructure projects at the lower and higher ends of infrastructure scales across science and engineering research disciplines. The Mid-scale Research Infrastructure Big Idea is intended to provide NSF with an agile, Foundation-wide process to fund experimental research capabilities in the mid-scale range between the MRI and Major Facilities thresholds. NSF defines Research Infrastructure (RI) as any combination of facilities, equipment, instrumentation, or computational hardware or software, and the necessary human capital in support of the same. Major facilities and mid-scale projects are subsets of research infrastructure. The NSF Mid-scale Research Infrastructure-1 Program (Mid-scale RI-1) supports the design or implementation of unique and compelling RI projects. Mid-scale RI-1 implementation projects may include any combination of equipment, instrumentation, cyberinfrastructure, broadly used large-scale datasets, and the commissioning and/or personnel needed to successfully complete the project, or the design efforts intended to lead to eventual implementation of a mid-scale class project. Mid-scale RI-1 design projects will include the design efforts intended to lead to eventual implementation of a mid-scale class RI project. Mid-scale RI-1 projects should fill a research community-defined scientific need or enable a national research priority to be met. Mid-scale RI-projects should also enable US researchers to remain competitive in a global research environment and involve the training of a diverse workforce engaged in the design and implementation of STEM infrastructure.

DOE SC hereby invites applications for support under the Early Career Research Program in the following program areas: Advanced Scientific Computing Research (ASCR); Basic Energy Sciences (BES); Biological and Environmental Research (BER); Fusion Energy Sciences (FES); High Energy Physics (HEP); Nuclear Physics (NP); Isotope R&D and Production (DOE IP); or Accelerator R&D and Production (ARDAP). The purpose of this program is to support the development of individual research programs of outstanding scientists early in their careers and to stimulate research careers in the areas supported by SC.

Navigating the New Arctic (NNA) embodies an important forward-looking response by the Foundation to these profound challenges. NNA seeks innovations in fundamental convergence research across the social, natural, environmental, computing and information sciences, and engineering that address the interactions or connections among natural and built environments and social systems, and how these connections inform our understanding of Arctic change and its local and global effects. This solicitation requests proposals that fall within one of three tracks: NNA Planning Grants, dedicated to developing convergence research questions and teams to tackle projects of larger scope in the future; NNA Research Grants, aimed to support creative projects on fundamental research that address convergent scientific and engineering challenges related to the rapidly changing Arctic; and NNA Collaboratory Grants, designed to support collaborative teams undertaking research and training initiatives on critical themes of a broad scope related to the New Arctic.

The Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program supports active research participation by undergraduate students in any of the areas of research funded by the National Science Foundation. REU projects involve students in meaningful ways in ongoing research programs or in research projects specifically designed for the REU program. This solicitation features two mechanisms for support of student research: (1) REU Sites are based on independent proposals to initiate and conduct projects that engage a number of students in research. REU Sites may be based in a single discipline or academic department or may offer interdisciplinary or multi-department research opportunities with a coherent intellectual theme. Proposals with an international dimension are welcome. (2) REU Supplements may be included as a component of proposals for new or renewal NSF grants or cooperative agreements or may be requested for ongoing NSF-funded research projects.

The goal of the Smart and Connected Health (SCH) Program is to accelerate the development and use of innovative approaches that would support the much needed transformation of healthcare from reactive and hospital-centered to preventive, proactive, evidence-based, person-centered and focused on well-being rather than disease. Approaches that partner technology-based solutions with biobehavioral health research are supported by multiple agencies of the federal government including the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The purpose of this program is to develop next generation health care solutions and encourage existing and new research communities to focus on breakthrough ideas in a variety of areas of value to health, such as sensor technology, networking, information and machine learning technology, decision support systems, modeling of behavioral and cognitive processes, as well as system and process modeling. Effective solutions must satisfy a multitude of constraints arising from clinical/medical needs, social interactions, cognitive limitations, barriers to behavioral change, heterogeneity of data, semantic mismatch and limitations of current cyberphysical systems. Such solutions demand multidisciplinary teams ready to address technical, behavioral and clinical issues ranging from fundamental science to clinical practice.

The goal of the Smart and Connected Health (SCH) Program is to accelerate the development and use of innovative approaches that would support the much needed transformation of healthcare from reactive and hospital-centered to preventive, proactive, evidence-based, person-centered and focused on well-being rather than disease. Approaches that partner technology-based solutions with biobehavioral health research are supported by multiple agencies of the federal government including the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The purpose of this program is to develop next generation health care solutions and encourage existing and new research communities to focus on breakthrough ideas in a variety of areas of value to health, such as sensor technology, networking, information and machine learning technology, decision support systems, modeling of behavioral and cognitive processes, as well as system and process modeling.

The Naval Facilities Command, through the Living Marine Resources applied science program (LMR), is soliciting pre-proposals for efforts related to any one of the six (6) themes listed below.  1. Data and Tools for the Assessment and Mitigation of Effects from Construction Noise (LMR N-0001-13).  2. Passive Acoustic Monitoring (PAM) Technology Demonstrations (LMR N-0006-13). 3. Behavioral Responses to Navy Sound Sources (LMR N-0011-13).  4. Hearing and Auditory System Information for Hearing-Based Risk Criteria (N-0012-13).  5. Demonstration and Evaluation of Platform-Independent Improvements to Automated Signal Processing of Passive Acoustic Monitoring (PAM) Data (LMR N0020-13).  6. Capability Development for Hearing Data Collection (LMR N0029-13).

DARPA is soliciting innovative research proposals in the area of cyber analysis. Proposed research should investigate innovative approaches that enable revolutionary advances in science, devices, or systems. Specifically excluded is research that primarily results in evolutionary improvements to the existing state of practice.   ICAS aims to make IT system information readily useful for attack forensics and tactical cyber defense by automatically integrating all device data and generating a complete, current picture of the enterprise. DARPA envisions an ICAS solution comprised of two principal elements: a connecting layer to enable federation of currently stovepiped IT system data sources, and tools for analyzing, visualizing, and reasoning over the ICAS federated database.

The Transforming Undergraduate Education in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (TUES) program seeks to improve the quality of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education for all undergraduate students. This solicitation especially encourages projects that have the potential to transform undergraduate STEM education, for example, by bringing about widespread adoption of classroom practices that embody understanding of how students learn most effectively. Thus transferability and dissemination are critical aspects for projects developing instructional materials and methods and should be considered throughout the project's lifetime.  More advanced projects should involve efforts to facilitate adaptation at other sites.

The goal of the CPS program is to develop the core system science needed to engineer complex cyber-physical systems upon which people can depend with high confidence. The program aims to foster a research community committed to advancing research and education in CPS and to transitioning CPS science and technology into engineering practice. By abstracting from the particulars of specific systems and application domains, the CPS program aims to reveal cross-cutting fundamental scientific and engineering principles that underpin the integration of cyber and physical elements across all application sectors.  To expedite and accelerate the realization of cyber-physical systems in a wide range of applications, the CPS program also supports the development of methods, tools, and hardware and software components based upon these cross-cutting principles, along with validation of the principles via prototypes and test beds.

The ARI is a joint Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (DNDO) and National Science Foundation (NSF) program seeking novel cross-cutting research that will enhance the nation's ability to detect and interdict nuclear or radiological material outside of regulatory control, and otherwise help prevent nuclear or radiological attacks. This year's solicitation topics will encompass a range of subjects, with an emphasis on unconventional, multidisciplinary approaches to threat detection. A number of small to medium awards are intended in the areas of novel approaches to extremely low-cost threat detection, orthogonal and informatics approaches to threat detection, deterrence analytics, and advanced forensics techniques. A single large award is intended for an integrated, multidisciplinary approach to shielded special nuclear material detection. Primary objectives of the ARI include advancing fundamental knowledge in the above areas and developing intellectual capacity in scientific fields relevant to long-term advances in these areas. Proposals outside of the scope described in this solicitation will be returned without review. Research proposals specific to detection of biological, chemical, and conventional weapons are excluded from the scope of this solicitation, however approaches that consider explosives detection and nuclear or radiological materials detection are of interest.

The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation makes grants on six broad subject matters, known within the Foundation as major program areas.  Basic Research STEM Higher Education Public Understanding of Science Economic Performance and the Quality of Life Select National Issues Civic Initiatives

The INSPIRE awards program was established to address some of the most complicated and pressing scientific problems that lie at the intersection of traditional disciplines.  It is intended to encourage investigators to submit bold, exceptional proposals that some may consider to be at a disadvantage in a standard NSF review process; it is not intended for proposals that are more appropriate for existing award mechanisms.

The goal of the Smart and Connected Health (SCH) Program is to accelerate the development and use of innovative approaches that would support the much needed transformation of healthcare from reactive and hospital-centered to preventive, proactive, evidence-based, person-centered and focused on well-being rather than disease. Approaches that partner technology-based solutions with biobehavioral health research are supported by multiple agencies of the federal government including the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The purpose of this program is to develop next generation health care solutions and encourage existing and new research communities to focus on breakthrough ideas in a variety of areas of value to health, such as sensor technology, networking, information and machine learning technology, decision support systems, modeling of behavioral and cognitive processes, as well as system and process modeling.

According an NSF official with whom OARS staff recently had a conversation, in keeping with the emphasis on interdisciplinary research, the Integrated NSF Support Promoting Interdisciplinary Research and Education (INSPIRE) grants are an area of focus for the NSF.  These awards are meant to address "some of the most complicated and pressing scientific problems that lie at the intersections of traditional disciplines."  Further, "it is intended to encourage investigators to submit bold, exceptional proposals that some may consider to be at a disadvantage in a standard NSF review process."  Full proposals are invited following review of letters of intent.  The NSF official we spoke with indicated that successful LOIs and proposals will target at least two directorates and will make a strong argument for why the project is not a good fit for a single directorate.  

The Ethics Education in Science and Engineering (EESE) program funds research and educational projects that improve ethics education in all fields of science and engineering that NSF supports, with priority consideration given to interdisciplinary, inter-institutional, and international contexts.  Although the primary focus is on improving ethics education for graduate students in NSF-funded fields, the proposed programs may benefit advanced undergraduates as well.

Sophisticated electronic microsystems can now be made at such low cost that they are increasingly pervasive throughout the battlefield and large numbers can be widely proliferated and used for applications such as distributed remote sensing and communications. However, it is nearly impossible to track and recover every device, resulting in unintended accumulation in the environment as well as subsequent unauthorized use. DARPA seeks innovative proposals to address this pervasive challenge by developing electronic systems capable of physically disappearing in a controlled, triggerable manner. The goal of the Vanishing Programmable Resources (VAPR) BAA is to develop and establish a basis set of materials, components, integration, and manufacturing capabilities to undergird this new class of electronics. See the full DARPA-BAA-13-23 document attached.

The SI2 program includes three classes of awards: 1. Scientific Software Elements (SSE): SSE awards target small groups that will create and deploy robust software elements for which there is a demonstrated need that will advance one or more significant areas of science and engineering. 2. Scientific Software Integration (SSI): SSI awards target larger, interdisciplinary teams organized around the development and application of common software infrastructure aimed at solving common research problems. SSI awards will result in a sustainable community software framework serving a diverse community. 3. Scientific Software Innovation Institutes (S2I2): S2I2 awards will focus on the establishment of long-term hubs of excellence in software infrastructure and technologies, which will serve a research community of substantial size and disciplinary breadth.

Next-generation wireless networks, utilizing a wide swath of wireless spectrum and an array of novel technologies in the wired and wireless domains, are on the cusp of unleashing a broadband revolution with promised peak bit rates of tens of gigabits per second and latencies of less than a millisecond. Such innovations will make possible a new set of applications such as autonomous vehicles, industrial robotics, tactile Internet applications, virtual and augmented reality, and dense Internet of Things (IoT) deployments. A key requirement of these applications is fast information response time that is invariant as a function of the bandwidth demanded, users/devices supported, and data generated, of which low-latency wireless access time is only one component. Intrinsic security, seamless mobility, scalable content caching, and discovery/distribution services are also essential for such applications. This solicitation seeks unique data network architectures featuring an information plane using an Information-Centric Networking (ICN) approach and addressing discovery, movement, delivery, management, and protection of information within a network, along with the abstraction of an underlying communication plane creating opportunities for new efficiencies and optimizations across communications technologies that could also address latency and scale requirements.