Defense, Security

Submit Notice of Intent // Limit: 1 Phase I or Phase II Application per Focus Area

DOE plans to hold an informational webinar about this RFA on Thursday, March 26, 2026 at 3 PM Eastern. Registration information is linked here. 

Limiting Language
Applicant institutions are limited to no more than one application as the lead institution per focus area for Phase I and Phase II applications combined. Phase II applications must list a primary focus area but will have the option to list secondary focus areas. The primary focus area will be used for determining limitations on institutional submissions.

There is no limitation to the number of applications for which the institution is not the lead in a multi-institution team using collaborative applications.

The PI on an application may also be listed as a senior or key personnel on an unlimited number of separate submissions but can be the lead PI on only one application.  However, the PI on an awarded Phase I award may submit a Phase II proposal as part of the FY27 go/no-go decision process.  

The full RFA is linked here. 

Executive Summary 
The DOE Office of Science (SC), Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation (CMEI), Office of Environmental Management (EM), Office of Nuclear Energy (NE), Office of Electricity (OE), and Hydrocarbons and Geothermal Office (HGEO) hereby announce interest in receiving applications from interdisciplinary teams addressing the Genesis Mission National Science and Technology Challenges to accelerate scientific discovery and research and development (R&D) workflows using novel artificial intelligence (AI) models and frameworks. By achieving AI advantage, these teams will advance the DOE's mission and ensure America’s security and prosperity by addressing energy, environmental, and nuclear challenges through science and technology. Teams are encouraged to leverage the extensive scientific and data resources of the DOE/National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), the National Laboratories, U.S. industry, and academia. The resulting AI models and workflows, if successful, may be integrated into the American Science Cloud. 

DOE is soliciting new FY26 Phase I small team and Phase II large team applications in the following topic areas: advanced manufacturing, biotechnology, critical materials, nuclear fission, nuclear fusion, quantum information science, semiconductors and microelectronics, discovery science, and energy (see specific focus areas in Section III Program Descriptions). 

In addition, this RFA will remain available to allow the recipients of FY26 Phase I awards to apply for larger team Phase II awards. In a few weeks, DOE plans to amend the RFA to clarify the LOI and application guidelines for FY26 Phase II awards. In FY27, DOE plans to amend the RFA or to issue an alternative funding opportunity to update the topic and focus areas to allow a second competition of Phase I small team applications and Phase II large team applications. 

Additional applications for Phase I and Phase II may be submitted after the corresponding deadline listed on the cover of this RFA, however, DOE reserves the right to decline such applications without review.

Request Ticket // Limit: 1 // Tickets Available: 1

Limiting Language
Only one proposal will be considered by ECA from each applicant organization. In cases where more than one submission from an applicant appears in grants.gov, ECA will only consider the submission made closest in time to the NOFO deadline; that submission would constitute the one and only proposal ECA would review from that applicant.

Executive Summary
The Office of Citizen Exchanges of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) is pleased to announce an open competition for proposals to administer the FY 2026 National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y) program. NSLI-Y increases the number of American youth (ages 15 to 18) who learn critical foreign languages in support of bolstering U.S. national security; promoting U.S. competitiveness and economic prosperity; and building mutual understanding with critical regions of the world. The award will support approximately 275 American teens to study critical languages through intensive overseas language programs in locations where the target languages are widely spoken, and through virtual programming. U.S. public and private non-profit organizations, meeting the provisions described in Internal Revenue Code section 26 USC 501(c)(3), may submit proposals to cooperate with ECA in the overall administration of NSLI-Y and the3 implementation of summer, academic year, and virtual programs according to the guidance in this solicitation.

Request Ticket // Limit: 1 // Tickets Available: 1

Limiting Language
Only one proposal will be considered by ECA from each applicant organization. In cases where more than one submission from an applicant appears in grants.gov, ECA will only consider the submission made closest in time to the NOFO deadline; that submission would constitute the one and only proposal ECA would review from that applicant.

Executive Summary
The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, through its Office of Citizen Exchanges, invites proposals to design and implement the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) Professional Fellowship. The program advances U.S. strategic interests in the Indo-Pacific by developing a network of emerging leaders from Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states who share America’s founding principles of liberty, opportunity, and self-reliance. By promoting free enterprise, open markets, and innovation, the program fosters shared prosperity and supports a secure, free, and open Indo-Pacific.

Through professional fellowships and reciprocal exchanges, YSEALI PFP advances U.S. leadership by strengthening commercial ties, promoting regional stability, and supporting peace and security across the Indo-Pacific. Each year two cohorts of approximately 144 Fellows from Southeast Asia will travel to the United States for five to six weeks of professional and leadership development. Participants, ages 25 to 35, will be placed with U.S. public, private, and nonprofit institutions for customized fellowships aligned with four strategic themes central to U.S. foreign policy: Economic Prosperity, Strategic Energy and Minerals, Liberty and Freedom, and Peace and Security.

The exchange will culminate in a YSEALI Fellows Forum in Washington, D.C., where participants will share lessons learned and explore future collaboration. Following each U.S. fellowship, approximately 72 American professionals will travel to Southeast Asia on Reciprocal Exchanges to extend engagement, transfer expertise, and strengthen bilateral partnerships.

Limit: 1 (Scholarship Track - Innovation Track is not limited) // Tickets Available: 0 

J. Pauli (College of Information Science)

Limiting Language
There is no restriction for the Innovation Track.

For the Scholarship Track, each performing organization is limited to one (1) proposal submitted for the same competition date. Institutions with an active CyberAI SFS scholarship project must wait until they are within 14 months of the current award's expected end date before submitting a new proposal.

Each institutional office of research may have internal processes used to select proposals for submission to the Scholarship Track

Per the program officer: The collaborative non-lead submission is considered as one submission from the institution, and limits the institution from submitting another scholarship track proposal.

Program Synopsis
Government and the nation face a talent shortfall in artificial intelligence (AI) and cybersecurity. The CyberAICorps Scholarship for Service (CyberAI SFS) program welcomes proposals that address AI and cybersecurity education and workforce development. CyberAI refers to using AI in cybersecurity as well as providing security and resilience for AI systems.

• The Scholarship Track provides funding to establish, or to continue, scholarship for service programs with integrated AI and cybersecurity components (CyberAI). Scholarship recipients must be U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents and work after graduation in the AI or cybersecurity mission of a government organization for a period of at least the length of the scholarship.
• The Innovation Track supports projects that enhance preparation of AI and/or cybersecurity professionals. Projects may expand existing educational opportunities, curricula, degree programs, educational pathways, methods and interventions, and partnerships among institutions of higher education, government, and employers.

Two statutes authorize this program:  15 USC §7442 (cybersecurity) and 42 USC §18993 (AI). CyberAI SFS aligns with the Executive Order 14277 to prioritize AI within scholarship for service programs. CyberAI is managed by NSF’s Directorate for STEM Education in collaboration with the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Request Ticket // Limit: 1 // Tickets Available: 1

Limiting Language
Applicants are only allowed to submit one proposal per organization. Organizations may form a consortium and submit a combined proposal; however, one organization should be designated as the lead applicant and other organization(s) listed as sub-recipient partner(s).

Project Description 
The Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs of the U.S. Department of State announces an open competition for organizations to submit applications to carry out a project to aimed at reducing recruitment by organized crime groups in Mexico. This project will advance U.S. security interests by promoting a comprehensive approach that includes prevention, prosecution, and legal reform. The initiative will engage stakeholders in key Mexican states to implement intelligence-driven prevention strategies, strengthen public advocacy, enhance prosecutorial capacity, support disengagement programs, and advance legislative reform to criminalize organized crime recruitment. These efforts will disrupt criminal networks that facilitate the flow of illicit drugs, violence, and illegal migration into the United States. By fostering stability and the rule of law in Mexico, this project not only supports our regional partners but also directly contributes to the safety and security of the United States.

No Applicants // Limit: 1 // Tickets Available: 1

Limiting Language
Primary applicants may submit one application in response to this NOFO.

Executive Summary 
The U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Democracy Human Rights and Labor, Office of International Religious Freedom (IRF) announces an open competition for organizations interested in submitting applications for a program to provide emergency financial assistance to victims of religious persecution and defenders of religious freedom. 

IRF promotes religious freedom as a core objective of U.S. foreign policy that makes America stronger, safer, and more prosperous. IRF’s mission is guided by its statutory mandate established by the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (IRF Act) and the Frank Wolf International Religious Freedom Act of 2016 (Wolf Act). The IRF Act provides that it is the policy of the United States, “standing for liberty and standing with the persecuted, to...promote respect for religious freedom by all governments and peoples.” To that end, the Wolf Act calls for the State Department to issue foreign assistance awards to promote respect for religious freedom and combat religious freedom violations.

As declared in President Trump’s Executive Order 13926, the promotion of international religious freedom is a “national security imperative” and “a foreign policy priority of the United States.” Pursuant to that Executive Order, IRF funds foreign assistance programs to “anticipate, prevent, and respond to attacks against individuals and groups on the basis of their religion, including programs designed to help ensure that such groups can persevere as distinct communities; to promote accountability for the perpetrators of such attacks; to ensure equal rights and legal protections for individuals and groups regardless of belief; to improve the safety and security of houses of worship and public spaces for all faiths; and to protect and preserve the cultural heritages of religious communities.”

Information on religious freedom conditions globally can be found in the State Department’s annual International Religious Freedom Report.

Applicants will be responsible for ensuring program activities and products are implemented in accordance with the Establishment Clause of the United States Constitution.

No Applicants // Limit: 1 // Tickets Available: 1

Limiting Language
Applicants can submit one application in response to the NOFO.  If more than one application is submitted by an organization, only the final application received, and time stamped by grants.gov will be reviewed for eligibility.  Each application can include multiple projects that will be evaluated independently.  

Executive Summary
Priority of Regions:

1. Western Hemisphere (WHA)
2. East Asia and the Pacific (EAP)
3. South and Central Asian (SCA)
4. Europe and Eurasia (EUR)
5. Middle East and North Africa (NEA)
6. Africa (AF)

The Office of Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) is a key component of the Department’s and ACN’s efforts to advance the Administration’s top national security and foreign policy objectives in a cost-effective and impactful manner.  CTR uses programming and training with foreign partners to advance President Trump’s America First Investment Policy (NSPM-3) and America’s AI Action plan by disrupting the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) exploitation of critical U.S. intellectual property (IP) and dual-use technologies, including AI, biotechnologies, quantum, semiconductor, and space technologies, through research security, cybersecurity and IP protection training.  As the programmatic lead for the Foundational Infrastructure for the Responsible Use of Small Modular Reactor [SMR] Technology (FIRST) program, CTR implements Section 8(e) of EO 14299 on Deploying Advanced Nuclear Reactor Technologies for National Security by helping U.S. vendors deploy secure, safe U.S. SMRs to strategic regions, including Latin America, the Indo-Pacific, and the Middle East, to outcompete strategic competitors for decades-long partnerships, generating multi-billion dollar deals for U.S. companies and creating thousands of American jobs.  CTR implements maximum pressure on Iran (NSPM-2), by training foreign partner countries to implement U.S. sanctions on Iran’s nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs, and disrupts proliferation networks tied to the CCP, DPRK, and Russia that undermine U.S. interests.  CTR also advances EO 14292 by preventing U.S. adversaries from advancing biological weapons capabilities through targeted biosecurity, physical security, and cybersecurity trainings and disrupts Iran’s and other U.S. adversary chemical weapons programs through assisting supply chain security of precursor chemicals and equipment. Finally, CTR advances EO 14285 Unleashing America’s Offshore Critical Minerals, by training critical mineral holders to derisk from reliance on Chinese and Russian Private Military Companies in favor of U.S. security firms.

Institutionally Coordinated // Limit: 2 // Tickets Available: 0
H. Budinoff (Systems and Industrial Engineering)
B. Kim (Materials Science and Engineering)

This opportunity is being institutionally coordinated by Research Development Services and the Office of Hispanic Serving Institution Initiatives. If you are interested, please check your eligibility then contact Riley McIssac. 

Limiting Language
Limit on number of proposals per university: 2

About ASCENDʳ
ASCENDʳ Research is a competitively funded DOD research program that is aligned to the U.S. National Defense Science and Technology Strategy and the DOD Critical Technology Areas and part of the HSRU’s Advancing STEM Careers through Education, Networking, Development + Research (ASCENDʳ) Initiative (for more information about ASCENDʳ visit www.hsru.org) For this opportunity, research priority areas are: Advanced Materials, Human-Machine Interfaces, and Space Technology. Through this competitively funded research program, HSRU Alliance member institutions’ research strengths will be leveraged, faculty leadership development will be provided, and graduate student researchers will be integrated. This research program will have the aims to (1) expose both faculty and students to military operations and defense and national security real-world challenges, (2) deploy and enhance the research environments conducive for the successful progression and participation of the students in the process (e.g. mentoring, professional development, and financial support), and to (3) conduct research and deliver research outcomes to meet DOD technical challenges/gaps.

Eligibility 
The proposal must originate from an HSRU member institution in good standing.

1.  Principal Investigator and Co-Principal Investigator(s) must be a Research Faculty member or Tenure/Tenure Track Faculty member that is early to mid-career, defined as within the first 8 years of their professional career.
2. The Principal Investigator must hire and integrate at least one Graduate Research Assistant for this project. The graduate assistant must be enrolled at the start of the project and maintain enrollment eligibility throughout the proposed project.
3. All PIs, Co-PIs, and the graduate assistant working on this project must be U.S. Persons, defined as U.S. born or U.S. Naturalized Citizen.b.
4. The Principal Investigator and Co-PIs must agree to jointly participate in the ASCENDʳ Leadership Program.

Program Webpage | RFP (box login required) 
 

Limit: 25* // Tickets Available: 10

* RTX has invited the University of Arizona to participate in submission to five (5) topic areas (listed below) for funding of up to $100,000/project. Each institution is limited to five (5) submissions per topic area and each tenure track faculty member may request one limited submissions ticket for one topic area. 

Autonomy // Limit: 5 // Tickets Available: 0
H. Rastgoftar (Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering)
M. Chertkov (Applied Mathematics)
J. Thanga (Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering)
E. Azimi (Electrical and Computer Engineering)
N. Risso  (Mining Engineering and Mineral Resources)

Advanced Materials and Manufacturing // Limit: 5 // Tickets Available: 1
P. Deymier (Materials Science and Engineering) 
E. Madenci (Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering)
V. Yurkiv (Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering)
B. Chalifoux (Optical Sciences)

Microelectronics // Limit: 5 // Tickets Available: 5

Digital Lifecycle // Limit: 5 // Tickets Available: 3
A. Salado (Systems and Industrial Engineering)
H. Budinoff (Systems and Industrial Engineering)

Integrated Battlespace // Limit: 5 // Tickets Available: 4
B. Bash (Electrical and Computer Engineering)

Program and Submission Details:
For more information on each of these topics of interest, login to box and click here. Please note technical data is strictly prohibited. 

The full submissions consists of: 

• Acknowledgement of Terms of Use and agreement that no Technical Data is included.
• 700 Word Description including: relevance of your proposed project to the specific technology needs; how the work will advance the field of research; how the deliverables and outcomes would lead to a continued and deeper research partnership with RTX businesses; opportunities for future collaborations with institutions, organizations, or experts; follow-on funding opportunities and specific funding agencies who would have interest in the technology, and the outcomes necessary to stimulate that interest.
• Scope of Work (SOW) that breaks down the proposed project into tasks explaining in brief terms how you would secure and allocate resources; how you address any risks, including delays; defined tasks and their associated milestones, schedule, and deliverables.
• Budget Form 

Topics of Interest: 

1. Autonomy
2. Advanced Materials and Manufacturing
3. Microelectronics
4. Digital Lifecycle
5. Integrated Battlespace

Upcoming Informational Webinars
Please note that webinars will not be recorded. If you are unable to attend and have questions, please contact Christine Gemelli, Director for University Relations and Technical Learning at RTX, at christine.gemelli2@rtx.com. 

New Date:  Microelectronics
Monday November 10, 10 to 11:00 am (Arizona time)
https://www.zoomgov.com/j/16124740608?pwd=Vkk3ZWFSM25COUJMeTRNdU83cktNUT09&omn=1600648772&from=addon
Meeting ID: 161 2474 0608 | Passcode: 615506


Integrated Battlespace
Friday November 7, 1:30 to 2:30 pm (Arizona time)
https://www.zoomgov.com/j/16124740608?pwd=Vkk3ZWFSM25COUJMeTRNdU83cktNUT09&omn=1618313830&from=addon 
Meeting ID: 161 2474 0608 | Passcode: 615506

Advanced Materials and Manufacturing
Monday November 17 1pm to 2 pm (Arizona time)
https://www.zoomgov.com/j/16124740608?pwd=Vkk3ZWFSM25COUJMeTRNdU83cktNUT09&omn=1613346598&from=addon 
Meeting ID: 161 2474 0608 | Passcode: 615506

Digital Lifecycle
Friday, November 7, 8 am to 9 am (Arizona time)
https://www.zoomgov.com/j/16124740608?pwd=Vkk3ZWFSM25COUJMeTRNdU83cktNUT09&omn=1608750769&from=addon
Meeting ID: 161 2474 0608
Passcode: 615506

Autonomy
Friday, November 7, 9 am to 10 am (Arizona time)
https://www.zoomgov.com/j/16124740608?pwd=Vkk3ZWFSM25COUJMeTRNdU83cktNUT09&omn=1609280784&from=addon
Meeting ID: 161 2474 0608
Passcode: 615506
 

Limit: 2 // Tickets Available: 1

A. Sachdeva (Management Information Systems)

Limiting Language 
Up to two (2) preliminary proposals per lead organization are allowed. NSF will review the preliminary proposals and provide a binding "Invite" or "Do Not Invite" response for each preliminary proposal. Invited organizations will be allowed to submit a full proposal on the project described in the preliminary proposal by the full proposal submission deadline.

Description
Vulnerabilities in an open-source product and/or its continuous development, integration and deployment infrastructure can potentially be exploited to attack any user (human, organization, and/or another product/entity) of the product. To respond to the growing threats to the safety, security, and privacy of open-source ecosystems (OSEs), NSF is launching the Safety, Security, and Privacy for Open-Source Ecosystems (Safe-OSE) program. This program solicits proposals from OSEs, including those not originally funded by NSF’s Pathways to Enable Open-Source Ecosystems (POSE) program, to address significant safety, security, and/or privacy vulnerabilities, both technical (e.g., vulnerabilities in code and side-channels) and socio-technical (e.g., supply chain, insider threats, and social engineering). 

Although most open-source products are software-based, it is important to note that Safe-OSE applies to any type of OSE, including those based on scientific methodologies, models, and processes; manufacturing processes and process specifications; materials formulations; programming languages and formats; hardware instruction sets; system designs or specifications; and data platforms. The goal of the Safe-OSE program is to catalyze meaningful improvements in the safety, security, and privacy of the targeted OSE that the OSE does not currently have the resources to undertake. Funds from this program should be directed toward efforts to enhance the safety, security, and privacy characteristics of the open-source product and its supply chain as well as to bolster the ecosystem’s capabilities for managing current and future risks, attacks, breaches, and responses.