The SI2 program focuses on supporting robust, reliable and sustainable software that will support and advance sustained scientific innovation and discovery. Thus, proposals are strongly encouraged to describe their approach to quality software development through a defined software engineering process that includes software testing, the appropriate use of analysis tools and capabilities such as those made available through the software Assurance Marketplace (SWAMP, https://continuousassurance.org/), and collaborations with resources such as software Carpentry (http://software-carpentry.org/) and the Center for Trustworthy Scientific Cyberinfrastructure (CTSC, http://trustedci.org/), in order to gain access to expertise where needed, such as in software design and engineering, as well as in cybersecurity.
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.
The NSF/Intel Partnership on Computer Assisted Programming for Heterogeneous Architectures (CAPA) aims to address the problem of effective software development for diverse hardware architectures through groundbreaking university research that will lead to a significant, measurable leap in software development productivity by partially or fully automating software development tasks that are currently performed by humans. The main research objectives for CAPA include programmer effectiveness, performance portability, and performance predictability. In order to address these objectives, CAPA seeks research proposals that explore (1) programming abstractions and/or methodologies that separate performance-related aspects of program design from how they are implemented; (2) program synthesis and machine learning approaches for automatic software construction that are demonstrably correct; (3) advanced hardware-based cost models and abstractions to support multi-target code generation and performance predictability for specified heterogeneous hardware architectures; and (4) integration of research results into principled software development practices.
The HPEM Modeling & Effects research and development effort consists of the following areas: understanding the connectivity of infrastructure and mobile targets; understanding the phenomenology of front door effects; developing a predictive effects model; developing a theoretical and empirical basis for HPEM effects ranging from the basic circuit level to the system level effects; empirical effects testing on operational targets as a function of frequency, pulsed duration, and power of the incident HPEM pulse; battle damage assessment; rapid modeling of HPEM system sources and components; improving particle-in-cell code (PIC) capabilities; first principles materials modeling; improving models for electron emission, gas desorption to enhance the predictive capability of virtual prototyping; and developing electromagnetic (EM) algorithms to propagate radio frequency (RF) from platform-specific high power RF systems to targets to assess the performance measures of effective HPEM sources. Sound software engineering and development principles must be employed for all developed software and documentation. Robust software testing, validation, and verification are critical to software development efforts. As appropriate, software must scale to large simulation sizes and be portable to massively parallel computer architecture.
Advancements in data-driven scientific research depend on trustworthy and reliable cyberinfrastructure. Researchers rely on a variety of networked technologies and software tools to achieve their scientific goals. These may include local or remote instruments, wireless sensors, software programs, operating systems, database servers, high-performance computing, large-scale storage, and other critical infrastructure connected by high-speed networking. This complex, distributed, interconnected global cyberinfrastructure ecosystem presents unique cybersecurity challenges. NSF-funded scientific instruments, sensors and equipment are specialized, highly-visible assets that present attractive targets for both unintentional errors and malicious activity; untrustworthy software or a loss of integrity of the data collected by a scientific instrument may mean corrupt, skewed or incomplete results. Furthermore, often data-driven research, e.g., in the medical field or in the social sciences, requires access to private information, and exposure of such data may cause financial, reputational and/or other damage.
The purpose of this amendment is to correct a typographical error in the abstract details on page 41. See the attached conformed BAA with changes highlighted in yellow. Amendment 01: The purpose of this amendment is to make administrative changes as highlighted in yellow in the attached.Original Synopsis Below:DARPA is soliciting innovative research proposals in the area of novel computing architectures. The Page 3 Architectures thrust of the Electronics Resurgence Initiative (ERI) seeks to demonstrate heterogeneous computing systems that provide the performance advantages of specialized processors, while maintaining the programmability of general purpose processors.The goal of the Software Defined Hardware (SDH) program is to build runtime-reconfigurable hardware and Software that enables near ASIC performance without sacrificing programmability for data-intensive algorithms. SDH will create a hardware/Software system that allows data-intensive algorithms to run at near ASIC efficiency without the cost, development time or single application limitations associated with ASIC development. The overall goal of the Domain-specific System on Chip (DSSoC) program is to develop a heterogeneous SoC comprised of many cores that mix general-purpose processors, special-purpose processors, hardware accelerators, memory, and input/output (I/O). DSSoC seeks to enable rapid development of multi-application systems through a single programmable device.
The Cyberinfrastructure for Sustained Scientific Innovation (CSSI) umbrella program encompasses the long-running Data Infrastructure Building Blocks (DIBBs) and Software Infrastructure for Sustained Innovation (SI2) programs, as NSF seeks to enable funding opportunities that are flexible and responsive to the evolving and emerging needs in data and Software cyberinfrastructure.
The Cyberinfrastructure for Sustained Scientific Innovation (CSSI) umbrella program encompasses the long-running Data Infrastructure Building Blocks (DIBBs) and Software Infrastructure for Sustained Innovation (SI2) programs, as NSF seeks to enable funding opportunities that are flexible and responsive to the evolving and emerging needs in data and Software cyberinfrastructure.
The Cyberinfrastructure for Sustained Scientific Innovation (CSSI) umbrella program encompasses the long-running Data Infrastructure Building Blocks (DIBBs) and Software Infrastructure for Sustained Innovation (SI2) programs, as NSF seeks to enable funding opportunities that are flexible and responsive to the evolving and emerging needs in data and Software cyberinfrastructure. The CSSI umbrella program anticipates four classes of awards: Elements(eitherData ElementsorSoftware Elements): These awards target small groups that will create and deploy robust capabilities for which there is a demonstrated need that will advance one or more significant areas of science and engineering.
The goal of the National Robotics Initiative (NRI) is to support fundamental research that will accelerate the development and use of robots in the United States that work beside or cooperatively with people. The original NRI program focused on innovative robotics research that emphasized the realization of collaborative robots (co-robots) working in symbiotic relationships with human partners. The NRI-2.0 program significantly extends this theme to focus on issues of scalability: how teams of multiple robots and multiple humans can interact and collaborate effectively; how robots can be designed to facilitate achievement of a variety of tasks in a variety of environments, with minimal modification to the hardware and software; how robots can learn to perform more effectively and efficiently, using large pools of information from the cloud, other robots, and other people; and how the design of the robots’ hardware and software can facilitate large-scale, reliable operation
The goal of the National Robotics Initiative (NRI) is to support fundamental research that will accelerate the development and use of robots in the United States that work beside or cooperatively with people. The original NRI program focused on innovative robotics research that emphasized the realization of collaborative robots (co-robots) working in symbiotic relationships with human partners. The NRI-2.0 program significantly extends this theme to focus on issues of scalability: how teams of multiple robots and multiple humans can interact and collaborate effectively; how robots can be designed to facilitate achievement of a variety of tasks in a variety of environments, with minimal modification to the hardware and software; how robots can learn to perform more effectively and efficiently, using large pools of information from the cloud, other robots, and other people; and how the design of the robots' hardware and software can facilitate large-scale, reliable operation. In addition, the program supports innovative approaches to establish and infuse robotics into educational curricula, advance the robotics workforce through education pathways, and explore the social, behavioral, and economic implications of our future with ubiquitous collaborative robots. Collaboration between academic, industry, non-profit, and other organizations is encouraged to establish better linkages between fundamental science and engineering and technology development, deployment and use. Well-justified international collaborations that add significant value to the proposed research and education activities will also be considered.
The General & Age Related Disabilities Engineering (GARDE) program supports research that will lead to the development of new technologies, devices, or software for persons with disabilities. Research may be supported that is directed to the characterization, restoration, and/or substitution of human functional ability or cognition, or to the interaction of persons with disabilities and their environment. Areas of particular recent interest are disability-related research in neuroscience/neuroengineering and rehabilitation robotics. Emphasis is placed on significant advancement of fundamental engineering and scientific knowledge and not on incremental improvements. Proposals should advance discovery or innovation beyond the frontiers of current knowledge in disability-related research. Applicants are encouraged to contact the Program Director prior to submitting a proposal.
Undergraduate Engineering Design Projects are also supported, especially those that provide prototype "custom-designed" devices or software for persons with disabilities. The education of undergraduate engineering students is enhanced through Undergraduate Engineering Design Projects' awards supported by the GARDE program.
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 Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) seeks to support up to 10 Imaging Scientists who will work at the interface of biology, microscopy hardware, and imaging software at imaging centers across the United States. "Imaging Scientists" might be engineers, physicists, mathematicians, computer scientists, or biologists who have focused on technology development in either microscopy or data analysis fields. The primary goal of the program is to increase interactions between biologists and technology experts. The Imaging Scientists will have expertise in microscopy hardware and/or imaging software. A successful "Imaging Program" will employ an Imaging Scientist who: a) works collaboratively with experimental biologists on projects at the imaging center; b) participates in courses that disseminate advanced microscopy methods and analysis; c) trains students and postdocs in imaging technology; d) participates in a network of CZI Imaging Scientists to identify needs and drive advances in the imaging field; e) attends twice-yearly CZI scientific workshops and meetings in imaging and adjacent biomedical areas. Each grant will fund salary and fringe benefits for an Imaging Scientist at the center, a modest travel and teaching budget, plus 15% indirect costs. The award period is three years plus an additional two years if the Imaging Program passes a review at year three.
The GO Competition is a series of prize challenges to accelerate the development and comprehensive evaluation of grid software solutions. The first GO Competition, Challenge 1, is an algorithm competition focused on the security-constrained optimal power flow (SCOPF) problem for the electric power sector. Awardees under this FOA will be required to participate in Challenge 1. As described in detail in Appendix A1 to this FOA and on the GO Competition website (https://gocompetition.energy.gov/), Challenge 1 is anticipated to launch in the Fall of 2018. Participation in the GO Competition Challenge 1 will be open to anyone that satisfies the applicable requirements in Rules Document specified on the GO Competition website (https://gocompetition.energy.gov/competition-rules), not just those awarded under ARPA-E DE-FOA-0001952. The purpose of this FOA is to provide grants: (i) to further incentivize and identify innovative research for solution methods applicable to Challenge 1, and (ii) to enable broader diversity in team domain expertise, i.e., to encourage teams to participate that do not traditionally focus on the particular problems that are targeted but otherwise have innovative approaches for this class of mathematical programs. While Challenge 1 focuses on a power systems problem, the Challenge and this FOA target a much broader audience (e.g., those specialized in operations research, applied mathematics, optimization methods and algorithms, controls etc.). Existing grid software was designed for a power grid centered on conventional generation and transmission technologies.
NCATS plans to support the research, development and testing of up to three biomedical reasoning tool prototypes for the Biomedical Data Translator for an estimated $1,000,000 total costs each. NCATS is utilizing a three-step application process (challenge-concept-proposal) for this expedited program. The duration of each award will be less than one year. All awardees will be expected to collaborate and cooperate with NCATS staff, one another and potentially other contributors to the overall program to maximize the exploration of the potential capabilities of Translator and to understand technical feasibility and challenges of having multiple groups build a single resource.
All U.S. and foreign organizations and U.S. citizens are eligible to apply. This funding opportunity is open to U.S. and foreign organizations, including academic institutions and commercial entities; subcontracts are allowed. U.S. citizens may also apply as individuals and may be direct recipients of an award. Non-citizen individuals residing in the U.S. or foreign country not affiliated with either a U.S. or foreign organization are not eligible to be direct recipients of an award.
Successful completion of the application process will require applicants to have specific skills related to translational research and software development. Applicants need to demonstrate technical skills, including familiarity with web communication protocols, a variety of programming languages and software stack, and general algorithmic techniques in the areas of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and knowledge engineering, as well as problem solving skills, especially creativity and persistence. Applicants familiar with languages and packages most useful for solving different tasks, the entire challenge process may take between 2 and 8 hours to complete.
The program supports four main research thrusts that are envisioned to advance the goal of ubiquitous co-robots: scalability, customizability, lowering barriers to entry, and societal impact. Topics addressing scalability include how robots can collaborate effectively with multiple humans or other robots; how robots can perceive, plan, act, and learn in uncertain, real-world environments, especially in a distributed fashion; and how to facilitate large-scale, safe, robust and reliable operation of robots in complex environments. Customizability includes how to enable co-robots to adapt to specific tasks, environments, or people, with minimal modification to hardware and software; how robots can personalize their interactions with people; and how robots can communicate naturally with humans, both verbally and non-verbally. Topics in lowering barriers to entry should focus on lowering the barriers for conducting fundamental robotics research and research on integrated robotics application. This may include development of open-source co-robot hardware and software, as well as widely-accessible testbeds. Outreach or using robots in educational programs do not, by themselves, lower the barriers to entry for robotics research. Topics in societal impact include fundamental research to establish and infuse robotics into educational curricula, advance the robotics workforce through education pathways, and explore the social, economic, ethical, and legal implications of our future with ubiquitous collaborative robots.
As the largest video, high-speed Internet, and phone provider to residential customers, Comcast Cable is committed to supporting external technical research and open source software development. Over the long term, this can lead to critical insights and advancements that can positively benefit consumers by delivering innovative new generations of products faster than ever before.
The Comcast Innovation Fund offers funding for researchers at leading academic institutions and elsewhere to support research that is of mutual interest to Comcast and the research community. It also provides funding to support open source software development. While Comcast has supported this kind of work for many years, we are now doing so in a more strategic way.
RESEARCH GRANTS
Research Grants can be either general or targeted. A general research grant provides an unrestricted award of funds to support researchers, usually at colleges and universities. These grants are focused on supporting excellent technical research in a wide variety of fields that are relevant to the broadband industry and/or to Comcast specifically. In contrast, a targeted research grant is more narrowly tailored and typically study more specific issues. In either case, applicants are encouraged to consider grants that may have a cooperative focus, whereby researchers can be matched with a Comcast engineering liaison who will be involved with the research. Applicants for these grants may be organizations, academic institutions, or individuals.
1. Lithium-ion Battery Safety. Safety concerns continue to hamper full adoption of lithium-ion batteries for defense systems, despite significant research investments by the government and the private sector. This Defense initiative will advance promising lithium-ion battery safety technologies at university research laboratories into early laboratory prototypes and potentially minimum viable products for adoption by the defense and commercial sectors via early startups, small businesses and non-traditional defense contractors. Specific technical areas of interest include, but are not limited to, the following: improved electrolytes; stable high-energy anodes and cathodes; cell components and structures that enhance safety and reliability (e.g. use of electrode coatings and electrolyte additives); safety optimization through battery and battery module design and packaging; and battery management and state of health techniques that prevent and/or mitigate catastrophic failure. 2. Electrical Grid Reliability, Resiliency and Security. Both the defense and commercial sectors recognize the ever-growing criticality to enhance electrical grid reliability, resiliency and security through innovation at the component and system levels. This Defense initiative will advance relevant electrical grid innovations at university research laboratories into early laboratory prototypes and potentially minimum viable products for adoption by the defense and commercial sectors via early startups, small businesses and non-traditional defense contractors. Specific technical areas of interest include, but are not limited to, the following: advanced electrical power generation, transmission and distribution hardware and software; physical cyber secured industrial controls hardware and software; effective control of microgrids supporting high-dynamic loads; electrical grid protocols and controls to maintain secured operations of critical infrastructure under adverse conditions; hardening of e
This NOFO will support achievement of national targets for 2018 antiretroviral therapy (ART) scale-up towards the UNAIDS Fast Track Targets in Ukraine. The recipient will implement innovative and effective recruitment and case management models for persons who inject drugs (PWID) and men who have sex with men (MSM) at the community level. These innovative changes will increase uptake of HIV community based testing and increase ART initiation for these populations. The recipient will pilot risk network-based testing using point-of-care recency assays to link recently infected PWID to care. The project will focus on the six regions with the highest HIV burden (Dnipropetrovsk, Mykolayiv, Odesa, government controlled areas (GCA) of Donetsk, Kyiv City, and Kherson) and continue to work in six additional medium burden oblasts (Cherkasy, Poltava, Chernihiv, Zaporizhzhya, Kirovohrad, and Kyiv). The recipient will also increase the capacity of the Government of Ukraine’s Center for Public Health (CPH) and regional monitoring and evaluation (M&E) centers specialists to conduct data analysis using statistical software and build institutional capacity to conduct economic evaluations of HIV interventions. Illustrative strategic information (SI) activities include development of trainings to support the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the newly established CPH in using statistical software, routine analysis of surveillance data, study design, and research protocol development.
