Group items tagged

The Space/Time Analysis for Cybersecurity (STAC) program seeks to enable analysts to identify algorithmic resource usage vulnerabilities in software at levels of scale and speed great enough to support a methodical search for them in the software upon which the U.S. government, military, and economy depend. 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. See the full DARPA-BAA-14-60 document attached.

The Geobiology and Low-Temperature Geochemistry Program focuses on geochemical processes in terrestrial Earth's surface environmental systems, as well as the interaction of geochemical and biological processes. The program supports field, laboratory, theoretical, and modeling studies of these processes and related mechanisms at all spatial and temporal scales. Studies may address: 1) inorganic and/or organic geochemical processes occurring at or near the Earth's surface now and in the past, and across the broad spectrum of interfaces ranging in scale from planetary and regional to mineral-surface and supramolecular; 2) the role of life in the transformation and evolution of Earth's geochemical cycles; 3) surficial chemical and biogeochemical systems and cycles, including their modification through environmental change and human activities; 4) low-temperature aqueous geochemical processes; 5) mineralogy and chemistry of earth materials; 6) geomicrobiology and biomineralization processes; and 7) medical mineralogy and geochemistry. The Program encourages research that focuses on geochemical processes as they are coupled with physical and biological processes in the critical zone. The Program also supports work on the development of tools, methods, and models for the advancement of low-temperature geochemistry and geobiology. The Geobiology and Low-Temperature Geochemistry Program is interested in supporting transformational and cutting-edge research. The Program is highly interdisciplinary and interfaces with other programs within the Earth Surface Section and with programs in biology, chemistry and engineering.

MGI recognizes the importance of materials science to the well-being and advancement of society and aims to "deploy advanced materials at least twice as fast as possible today, at a fraction of the cost." DMREF integrates materials discovery, development, property optimization, and systems design and optimization, with each employing a toolset to be developed within a materials innovation infrastructure. The toolset will synergistically integrate advanced computational methods and visual analytics with data-enabled scientific discovery and innovative experimental techniques to revolutionize our approach to materials science and engineering.

MGI recognizes the importance of materials science to the well-being and advancement of society and aims to "deploy advanced materials at least twice as fast as possible today, at a fraction of the cost." DMREF integrates materials discovery, development, property optimization, and systems design and optimization, with each employing a toolset to be developed within a materials innovation infrastructure. The toolset will synergistically integrate advanced computational methods and visual analytics with data-enabled scientific discovery and innovative experimental techniques to revolutionize our approach to materials science and engineering.

DARPA is soliciting innovative research proposals in the field of UV laser technology that will enable enhanced detection and discrimination of specific biological and chemical compounds using Raman spectroscopy. The goal of the Laser UV Sources for Tactical Efficient Raman (LUSTER) program is to develop compact, efficient, high-power ultraviolet lasers capable of achieving output power >1 W, wall-plug efficiency >10%, linewidth < 0.01 nm and all at wavelengths between 220-240 nm. Various methods such as direct electrical injection, electron beam pumping, second harmonic generation or other alternatives will be considered as long as all of the metrics can be met or exceeded. See the full DARPA-BAA-14-20 document attached.

The Division of Engineering Education and Centers (EEC) seeks to enable a world-leading system of engineering education, equally open and available to all members of society, that dynamically and rapidly adapts to meet the changing needs of society and the nation's economy. Research areas of interest include, but are not limited to:Diversifying pathways to and through engineering degree programs. Research projects that align with this theme explore how engineering programs can engage and develop students with a broad range of backgrounds, interests, and experiences; investigate how informal or real world experiences germane to engineering--such as military service or being a "maker"--impact, improve, or accelerate learning; or investigate how to fundamentally restructure courses, curricula, or programs to substantially boost student success, especially for under-represented populations and veterans. Understanding how to increase the diffusion and impact of engineering education research. Research projects are sought that discover how to improve the process by which engineering education research is translated into practice; how to accomplish organizational and cultural change in institutions of engineering education that leads to improved learning outcomes; or identifying and overcoming barriers to widespread adoption of engineering education research. Research projects that partner with other engineering education stakeholders (e.g. private companies, NGOs, or professional societies) to measure the value and impact of engineering education research on practice are also sought.Understanding engineering education in broader, organizing frameworks such as innovation, globalization, complex engineered systems, or sustainability. Research in this theme explores learning from perspectives and contexts that cut across disciplines and in which learners integrate expertise from multiple fields. Research projects that align with this theme include discovering proce

The Civil Infrastructure Systems (CIS) program supports research leading to the engineering of infrastructure systems for resilience and sustainability without excluding other key performance issues. Areas of interest include intra- and inter-physical, information and behavioral dependencies of infrastructure systems, infrastructure management, construction engineering, and transportation systems. Special emphasis is on the design, construction, operation, and improvement of infrastructure networks with a focus on systems engineering and design, performance management, risk analysis, life-cycle analysis, modeling and simulation, behavioral and social considerations not excluding other methodological areas or the integration of methods.This program does not encourage research proposals primarily focused on structural engineering, materials or sensors that support infrastructure system design, extreme event modeling, hydrological engineering, and climate modeling, since they do not fall within the scope of the CIS program. Researchers focused in these areas are encouraged to contact the Infrastructure Management and Extreme Events (IMEE), Geotechnical Engineering (GTE), Hazard Mitigation and Structural Engineering (HSME), Structural Materials and Mechanics (SMM), or the Sensors and Sensing Systems (SSS) program within CMMI. Additionally, researchers may consider contacting the Hydrologic Sciences program in the Earth Sciences Division (EAR) or the Physical and Dynamic Meteorology (PDM) program in the Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences Division (AGS) of the Directorate for Geosciences.

The Sensors, Dynamics, and Control (SDC) program supports fundamental research on the analysis, measurement, monitoring and control of complex dynamical and structural systems, including development of new analytical, computational and experimental tools, and novel applications to engineered and natural systems. Program objectives are the discovery of new phenomena and the investigation of innovative methods and applications for dynamics, measurement, and control. Transformative research on complex networks, linear and nonlinear discrete or infinite dimensional systems spanning a multitude of time and length scales and physical domains are of interest, as are highly interdisciplinary projects and projects addressing security, resilience and sustainability. Basic research strongly motivated by industry needs or other real-life applications is welcome.The SDC program supports fundamental research on the theories of dynamical systems to uncover novel paradigms for modeling, control and analysis of dynamic phenomena and systems that undergo spatial and temporal evolution with applications crossing interdisciplinary boundaries, along with fundamental studies on stability, phase transitions, and wave propagation in complex and non-local media. Furthermore, the program supports fundamental research on monitoring, analysis, and decision-making processes for integrity monitoring, sensors reliability and safety of complex engineered systems, especially under conditions of uncertainty. Of interest is the investigation of big data (high-volume and high-speed) issues related to virtually-continuous streams of measurements from heterogeneous sensors for continuous systems monitoring. The SDC program also includes fundamental research on control theory and its applications. Topics of current interest include unconventional applications of control; the combined roles of feedback, feedforward and uncertainty; integrated feedback, communication and signal processing; and control conc

The purpose of this Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative is to encourage applications that will develop and validate novel tools to facilitate the detailed analysis of complex circuits and provide insights into cellular interactions that underlie brain function. The new tools and technologies should inform and/or exploit cell-type and/or circuit-level specificity. Plans for validating the utility of the tool/technology will be an essential feature of a successful application. The development of new genetic and non-genetic tools for delivering genes, proteins and chemicals to cells of interest or approaches that are expected to target specific cell types and/or circuits in the nervous system with greater precision and sensitivity than currently established methods are encouraged. Tools that can be used in a number of species / model organisms rather than those restricted to a single species are highly desired. Applications that provide approaches that break through existing technical barriers to substantially improve current capabilities are highly encouraged.

The purpose of this FOA is to solicit an application for the next 5-year cycle of the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) Study, a National Longitudinal Study of Health and Well-being. The goals of this next phase are to complete the third wave of longitudinal data collection and enhance content in the area of daily stress; complete the second wave of data collection of clinical biomarkers and affective neuroscience assessments; continue innovative sub-studies such as how psychosocial influences affect gene expression and novel methods to track and reinstate non-responders; connect these content areas through innovative analyses to data on health, functioning, personality, cognitive status, affective functioning, economic well-being, social relationships, and well-being; and maintain and enhance data distribution and user support. A central goal of the MIDUS study is to support data dissemination, user support of public use files, and encourage data use broadly by the scientific community.

Up to three awards of $1,500 each will be presented annually to enable recipients to complete substantive instructional research projects related to the teaching of psychology that will create resources suitable for distribution by the Office of Teaching Resources in Psychology and for posting on OTRP-Online. Proposals may be general in focus or specific to a particular psychology course or student population. Research may be empirical (e.g., an investigation to determine which strategies are most successful in preventing cheating), experiential (e.g. a critical summary and evaluation of time-tested methods of assessing learning in child development courses), or reviews of the literature on new topics in psychology  (e.g., producing an annotated bibliography of readings or Internet resources in cross-cultural psychology). Proposals to create internet sites will not be funded unless the posted resource captures the same information in a print-friendly file (.doc, .pdf, .rtf); given its mission to provide readers with high quality, peer-reviewed materials, OTRP will not link to outside Internet sources because they cannot be monitored continuously. The average IRA funding rate since tracking began in 2012 is 33 percent.

The Science, Technology, and Society (STS) program supports research that uses historical, philosophical, and social scientific methods to investigate the intellectual, material, and social facets of the scientific, technological, engineering and mathematical (STEM) disciplines. It encompasses a broad spectrum of STS topics including interdisciplinary studies of ethics, equity, governance, and policy issues that are closely related to STEM disciplines, including medical science.

The Environmental Health and Safety of Nanotechnology (Nano EHS) program provides support to examine and mitigate the environmental effects of nanotechnologies.  Fundamental research is sought to understand, evaluate, and lessen the impact of nanotechnology on the environment and biological systems.  The program emphasizes engineering principles underlying the environmental health and safety impacts of nanotechnology.  Innovative methods related to clean nanomaterials production processes, waste reduction, recycling, and industrial ecology of nanotechnology are also of interest.  

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is intended to support research projects to enhance our understanding of the nature, extent, distribution, etiology, comorbidities, and consequences of drug use, abuse, and addiction across individuals, families, communities, and diverse population groups. This FOA strongly encourages applications that reflect the breadth of epidemiology research by addressing multiple levels of risk, resilience, and causation across scientific disciplines; by applying novel methods to advance knowledge of the interplay among genetic, environmental, and developmental factors and between social environments and associated health and disease outcomes; and by building on the research investments of NIH and sister HHS agencies to harness existing data on the epidemiology and etiology of drug abuse to improve public health prevention and treatment programs.

The purpose of this Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative is to encourage applications that will develop and validate novel tools to facilitate the detailed analysis of complex circuits and provide insights into cellular interactions that underlie brain function. The new tools and technologies should inform and/or exploit cell-type and/or circuit-level specificity. Plans for validating the utility of the tool/technology will be an essential feature of a successful application. The development of new genetic and non-genetic tools for delivering genes, proteins and chemicals to cells of interest or approaches that are expected to target specific cell types and/or circuits in the nervous system with greater precision and sensitivity than currently established methods are encouraged. Tools that can be used in a number of species / model organisms rather than those restricted to a single species are highly desired. Applications that provide approaches that break through existing technical barriers to substantially improve current capabilities are highly encouraged.

The technical objectives of this BAA are to research innovative, disruptive technologies and methods in Measurement and Signatures Intelligence Exploitation (MASINT-X). The MASINT-X BAA seeks significant advances in the exploitation and reporting of five MASINT sub-disciplines.

The purpose of this FOA is to encourage submission of Exploratory/Developmental Bioengineering Research Grants (EBRG) applications which establish the feasibility of technologies, techniques or methods that: 1) explore a new multidisciplinary approach to a biomedical challenge; 2) are high-risk but have high impact; and 3) develop data that may lead to significant future research. A

The Division of Materials Research (DMR), the Division of Mathematical Sciences (DMS), the Division of Electrical, Communications and Cyber Systems (ECCS), and the Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure (OAC) seek to rapidly accelerate quantum materials design, synthesis, characterization, and translation of fundamental materials engineering and information research for quantum devices, systems, and networks. The new program of Enabling Quantum Leap: Convergent Accelerated Discovery Foundries for Quantum Materials Science, Engineering, and Information (Q-AMASE-i) aims to support these goals by establishing Foundries with mid-scale infrastructure for rapid prototyping and development of quantum materials and devices. The new materials, devices, tools and methods developed by Q-AMASE-i will be shared with the science and engineering communities through a Foundry-operated network. Technology transfer of Foundry activities will be enabled by close cooperation with industrial partners.

NineSigma, representing Wärtsilä Moss, seeks innovative technologies that can remove water vapor from a continuous air flow. Technologies based on new principles, even at a research stage, are especially welcomed. Wärtsilä provides environmentally and economically sound integrated solutions for various merchant vessels including LNG carriers. When LNG tanks are emptied they have to be aerated to remove all combustible gases. These tanks are however very cold (-40°C) and any vapor in the air will freeze inside the tank. The current air dehumidification method Wärtsilä Moss installs on LNG carriers is based on chillers that cool the air down to 5°C to remove most of the water vapor, followed by passing the air through a desiccant tower packed with activated alumina. Although this approach is effective it is not easy to scale and the installed capacity is not always used in an optimal way. Thus, the client seeks novel techniques which are being developed to dehumidify air or an inert gas like N2.

The technical objectives of this BAA are to research innovative, disruptive technologies and methods in Measurement and Signatures Intelligence Exploitation (MASINT-X). The MASINT-X BAA seeks significant advances in the exploitation and reporting of six MASINT sub-disciplines.