Defense, Security

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

Eligibility
Applicants are only allowed to submit one proposal per organization. If more than one proposal is submitted from an organization, all proposals from that institution will be considered ineligible for funding.

Executive Summary
The U.S. Embassy Bangkok Public Diplomacy Section (PDS) is pleased to invite eligible applicants to submit program ideas to implement the American Cybersecurity Enhancement Program (ACEP) for Thai Entrepreneurs. This program will leverage American cybersecurity best practices to address the critical need for robust and adequate cybersecurity measures among businesses, startups, and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Thailand. The program must include American elements or connections with American experts, companies, or organizations in the respective fields.

Limit: 1 // Available: 0

D. Moseke

The 2022 CHIPS and Science Act appropriated $50 billion to the U.S. Department of Commerce’s (the Department or DOC) CHIPS for America program to strengthen semiconductor manufacturing in the United States. This amount includes $39 billion for the Department to onshore semiconductor manufacturing through an incentives program and $11 billion to advance U.S. leadership in semiconductor research and development (R&D). These R&D advances will primarily be realized through the following four programs: the CHIPS National Semiconductor Technology Center (NSTC), the CHIPS National Advanced Packaging Manufacturing Program (NAPMP), the CHIPS Metrology Program, and the CHIPS Manufacturing USA Program (MFG USA). These investments, across both the R&D and incentives programs, seek to strengthen U.S. competitiveness, support domestic production and innovation, create good jobs across the country—with working conditions consistent with the Good Jobs Principles published by the Department of Commerce and the U.S. Department of Labor—and advance U.S. economic and national security.

The CARISSMA program will complement these efforts by generating or enhancing sustainable semiconductor materials and processes. Research outputs should prove relevant and translatable to industry, the NSTC, the CHIPS Manufacturing USA Program, and other CHIPS programs. The competition should further enhance participation in and availability of academic-industry partnerships and research infrastructure for CHIPS Act funded activities and the development of a thriving semiconductor-related AI/AE talent pool.

Eligibility 
Under this NOFO, eligible applicants are domestic accredited institutions of higher education and domestic non-profit or for-profit organizations that manage consortia of accredited institutions of higher education. A domestic entity is one that is incorporated within the United States (including a U.S. territory) with its principal place of business in the United State (including a U.S. territory). Eligible applicants may submit only one concept paper and, if invited, one full application.

Limit: 20*// Available: 2

Advanced Product Manufacturing- RFI: Limit: 5 // Available: 0
H. Budinoff (Systems and Industrial Engineering) 
P. Deymier (Materials Science & Engineering)
P. Lucas (Materials Science & Engineering)
M. Shafae (Systems and Industrial Engineering) 
A. Wessman (Materials Science & Engineering)
Advanced Weapon System Capabilities - RFI: Limit 5 // Available: 0
V. Yurkiv (Aerospace & Mechanical Engineering)
B. Parent (Aerospace & Mechanical Engineering)
B. Potter (Materials Science & Engineering)
B. Revil Baudard (Materials Science & Engineering)
O. Cazacu  (Materials Science & Engineering)
Collaborative Autonomy - RFI: Limit 5// Available: 1
J. Thanga (Aerospace & Mechanical Engineering)
H. Rastgoftar (Aerospace & Mechanical Engineering)
B. Liu (Electrical and Computer Engineering)
E. Lee (Electrical and Computer Engineering)
High Assurance Networks (HAN)- RFI: Limit 5 // Available: 1
M. Krunz (Electrical and Computer Engineering)
B. Bash (Electrical and Computer Engineering)
J. Thanga (Aerospace & Mechanical Engineering)
E. Lee (Electrical and Computer Engineering)

RTX University Research is looking for novel ideas and innovative concepts that are aligned with the specific technology needs stated below. In your application, please provide a 700-word description of the proposed research or technology:

• Clearly outline the relevance of your proposed project to the specific technology needs.
• Articulate how it will advance the field of research.
• Explain how deliverables and outcomes would lead to a continued and deeper research partnership with RTX businesses.
• Discuss opportunities for future collaborations with institutions, organizations or experts.
• Discuss follow-on funding opportunities and specific funding agencies who would have interest in the technology, and the outcomes that will be necessary to stimulate that interest.

Please provide a statement of work (SOW) that breaks down the proposed project into tasks

• Explain in brief terms how you would secure and allocate resources, including facility, equipment, personnel (must include graduate or undergraduate students or both), and any other funding sources that would complement the RTX funding
• Discuss in brief terms how you would address any risks, including potential delays.
• In bullet point format, clearly define tasks and their associated milestones, schedule, and deliverables.

Please provide budget details to include all expected costs to be covered by the RTX funding.

Limit: 2 // Available: 0

Michael Wu (Electrical and Computer Engineering)
M. Hashim (Management Information Systems) 

Vulnerabilities in an open-source product (software and non-software) and/or its continuous development, maintenance, integration, and deployment infrastructure can potentially be exploited to attack any user (human, organization, and/or another product/entity) of the product and/or its derivations. To respond quickly to the growing threats to the safety, security, and privacy of OSEs, NSF is launching the Safety, Security, and Privacy of Open-source Ecosystems (Safe-OSE) program.

This program seeks to fund impactful, mature open-source ecosystems to address important classes of safety, security, and privacy vulnerabilities. In this context, mature signifies that the ecosystem in question has already established a robust community of contributors, an extensive group of users, a managing organization that steers the development of the product, and the essential infrastructure needed to keep the ecosystem running.

This program grows out of the Pathways to Enable Open-Source Ecosystems (POSE) program which supports new managing organizations to catalyze distributed, community-driven development and growth of new OSEs to address the discerned need to address safety, security, and privacy vulnerabilities in impactful OSEs.

Unlike NSF's Dear Colleague Letter inviting proposals related to open-source software security (NSF 23-149), which focuses on fundamental cybersecurity research, the Safe-OSE program solicits proposals from OSEs, including those not originally funded by POSE, to address safety, security, and/or privacy vulnerabilities proactively in existing, mature OSEs. These vulnerabilities can be technical (e.g., vulnerabilities in code, side-channels potentially disclosing sensitive information) and/or socio-technical (e.g., supply chain issues, insider threats, biases, and social engineering), as long as they are deemed significant in the context of the OSE. The goal of the Safe-OSE program is to catalyze meaningful improvements in the safety, security, and privacy of the targeted OSE that the managing organization does not currently have the resources to undertake. The program especially focuses on efforts in which enhancing the safety, security, and privacy of the OSE will lead to demonstrable improvement in its positive societal and economic impacts.

Proposals to this program should provide clear evidence that OSE team leaders have established a thorough understanding of the threat landscape, vulnerabilities, and/or failure modes for the open-source product(s) managed by the OSE. Proposals should describe, where appropriate, what other products depend upon the safe, secure, and privacy-preserving functions of the OSE. Proposals should situate the OSE's threat landscape in the larger context of known threats and/or vulnerabilities and discuss any significant prior incidents affecting the product(s). A realistic plan for addressing risks related to safety, security, and privacy should address the threat landscape and describe how Safe-OSE funding will meaningfully improve the OSE's capabilities for addressing vulnerabilities as well as for detecting and recovering from incidents.

Funds from this program should not be directed toward fundamental research or at readily resolvable, known bugs/issues, but rather toward strategies, methods, and actions that will fundamentally improve the open-source product's safety, security, and privacy stance. Funds from this program can also be directed at efforts to bolster the OSE's resiliency for recovering from future incidents. Thus, the proposal should articulate how Safe-OSE funding will improve the broader national, societal, and/or economic impacts of the OSE by hardening it against adverse events over the long term.

Who May Submit Proposals:

Proposals may only be submitted by the following:

• Non-profit, non-academic organizations: Independent museums, observatories, research laboratories, professional societies and similar organizations located in the U.S. that are directly associated with educational or research activities.
• For-profit organizations: U.S.-based commercial organizations, including small businesses, with strong capabilities in scientific or engineering research or education and a passion for innovation.
• State and Local Governments
• Tribal Nations: An American Indian or Alaska Native tribe, band, nation, pueblo, village, or community that the Secretary of the Interior acknowledges as a federally recognized tribe pursuant to the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994, 25 U.S.C. §§ 5130-5131.
• Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs) - Two- and four-year IHEs (including community colleges) accredited in, and having a campus located in the US, acting on behalf of their faculty members.

Who May Serve as PI:

For Institutions of Higher Education:

By the submission deadline, any PI, co-PI, or other Senior/Key Personnel must hold either:

• a tenured or tenure-track position, or
• a primary, full-time, paid appointment in a research or teaching position, or
• a staff leadership role in an Open-Source Program Office or equivalent position

at a U.S.-based campus of an Institution of Higher Education (see above), with exceptions granted for family or medical leave, as determined by the submitting institution.

Individuals with primary appointments at overseas branch campuses of U.S. institutions of higher education are not eligible. Researchers from foreign academic institutions who contribute essential expertise to the project may participate as Senior/Key Personnel or collaborators but may not receive NSF support.

For all other eligible proposing organizations:

The PI must be an employee of the proposing organization who is normally resident in the US and must be acting as an employee of the proposing organization while performing PI responsibilities. The PI may perform the PI responsibilities while temporarily out of the U.S.

Individuals with primary appointments at non-U.S. based non-profit or non-U.S. based for-profit organizations are not eligible.

Limit on Number of Proposals per Organization: 2

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.

Limit on Number of Proposals per PI or co-PI:

There are no restrictions or limits.

Institutionally Coordinated - Competitive Resubmission //  Limit: 1 // T. Prudhomme (Convergence Center)

The IC CAE Program began as a three-year pilot project directed by congressional authorization and appropriation for FY 2004 and was initiated by the Director of Central Intelligence to meet the nation’s demand for “a diverse cadre of professionals to carry out national security priorities and obligations”. In 2005, following the establishment of ODNI, the program moved under ODNI management with the intent to increase the pool of applicants by expanding awareness of the IC mission and culture throughout ethnically and geographically diverse communities. From October 2011 through December 2019, the IC CAE Program was managed by the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), with oversight from ODNI, and expanded in scope and number of grant recipients. In December 2019, congress returned management of the IC CAE Program to the ODNI.

Submit ticket request   // Limit: One nomination per College

Major divisions (e.g., College of Arts and Sciences, Medical School) of an institution may nominate only one applicant each year.

The William T. Grant Scholars Program supports career development for promising early-career researchers. The program funds five-year research and mentoring plans that significantly expand researchers’ expertise in new disciplines, methods, and content areas.

The William T. Grant Foundation’s mission is to support research to improve the lives of young people ages 5-25 in the United States. They pursue this mission by supporting research within two focus areas. Researchers interested in applying for a William T. Grant Scholars Award must select one focus area: Reducing Inequality or Improving the Use of Research Evidence

Applicants should have a track record of conducting high-quality research and an interest in pursuing a significant shift in their trajectories as researchers. Recognizing that early-career researchers are rarely given incentives or support to take measured risks in their work, this award includes a mentoring component, as well as a supportive academic community.

Awards are based on applicants’ potential to become influential researchers, as well as their plans to expand their expertise in new and significant ways. The application should make a cohesive argument for how the applicant will expand his or her expertise. The research plan should evolve in conjunction with the development of new expertise, and the mentoring plan should describe how the proposed mentors will support applicants in acquiring that expertise. Proposed research plans must address questions that are relevant to policy and practice in the Foundation’s focus areas. Award recipients are designated as William T. Grant Scholars. Each year, four to six Scholars are selected and each receives up to $350,000, distributed over five years.

Areas of Interest

The Foundation supports research in two distinct focus areas: 1) Reducing inequality in youth outcomes, and 2) Improving the use of research evidence in decisions that affect young people.  Proposed research must address questions that align with one of these areas.

Focus Area: Reducing Inequality

In this focus area, we support studies that aim to build, test, or increase understanding of programs, policies, or practices to reduce inequality in the academic, social, behavioral, or economic outcomes of young people, especially on the basis of race, ethnicity, economic standing, language minority status, or immigrant origins.

Focus Area: Improving the Use of Research Evidence

While an extensive body of knowledge provides a rich understanding of specific conditions that foster the use of research evidence, we lack robust, validated strategies for cultivating them. What is required to create structural and social conditions that support research use? What infrastructure is needed, and what will it look like? What supports and incentives  foster research use? And, ultimately, how do youth outcomes fare when research evidence is used? This is where new research can make a difference. 

Eligibility

Applicants must have received their terminal degree within seven years of submitting their application. We calculate this by adding seven years to the date the doctoral degree was conferred. In medicine, the seven-year maximum is dated from the completion of the first residency.

Applicants must be employed in career-ladder positions. For many applicants, this means holding a tenure-track position in a university. Applicants in other types of organizations should be in positions in which there is a pathway to advancement in a research career at the organization and the organization is fiscally responsible for the applicant’s position. The award may not be used as a post-doctoral fellowship.

 Limit: 1 // J. Denno (Cyber Convergence Center) 

NCAE-Cs may submit one proposal which provides a response to one or two focus areas identified below. The total proposal submission per NCAE-C may not exceed $250,000.00 ($125,000.00 for each project). Any proposals exceeding this limit will automatically be rejected. 

 Universities designated under the National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity (NCAE-C)  which includes  National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Education and  National Centers of Academic Excellence – Research,  and  National Centers of Academic Excellence – Cyber Operations  (hereinafter referred to as NCAE-Cs) 

The Department of Defense (DoD) Cyber Scholarship Program (CySP) is authorized by Chapter 112 of title 10, United States Code, Section 2200. The purpose of the program is to support the recruitment of new cyber talent and the retention of current highly skilled professionals within the DoD cyber workforce. Additionally, this program serves to enhance the national pipeline for the development of cyber personnel by providing grants to institutions of higher education. The DoD Cyber and Digital Services Academy (DCDSA) will partner with the DoD CySP/DCDSA in 2024. 

Regionally and nationally accredited U.S. institutions of higher education, designated under the National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity (NCAE-C) and known as National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense, Research, and/or Cyber Operations (hereinafter referred to as NCAE-Cs) are invited to submit proposals for developing and managing a full-time, institution-based, grant-funded scholarship program in cyber-related disciplines for Academic Year 2024- 2025. NCAE-Cs may propose collaboration with other accredited institutions, and are encouraged to include accredited post-secondary minority institutions. NCAE-Cs must be in good standing with the NCAE-C Program Office and not be delinquent on any required documentation by the NCAE-C Program Office. 

Consistent with 10 U.S.C. 2200b, NCAE-C proposals to this solicitation may also request modest collateral support for purposes of institutional capacity building to include faculty development, laboratory improvements, and/or curriculum development, in cyber-related topics to providing a strong foundation for a DoD CySP/DCDSA/DCDSA. [Special note: Requirements for proposing modest capacity building support are detailed in ANNEX II.] 

To continue the development of a strong foundation for recruitment scholarship program during the Academic Year 2024-2025, students falling into one of the following categories may apply: 

• • Rising second-year NCAE-C Community College students who will be transitioning into a bachelor’s degree program at a 4-year NCAE-C 
• • Current individuals who hold a non-cyber related bachelor’s or graduate degree, cross training into cyber by pursuing an associate’s degree. 
• • Juniors or Seniors pursuing a bachelor's degree (Sophomore's promoting to a Junior in Fall 2024 are eligible to apply) 
• • Students in their first or second year of a master's degree; or 
• • Students pursuing doctoral degrees. 

Traditional National Guardsmen and reservists are eligible to apply under the recruitment program. Current DoD civilians and active duty military members are only eligible for the retention program. Applications for the retention program are processed under a different memorandum. NCAE-C are not required to forward or handle retention student applications. These individuals may also participate in the retention community college program. 

Reserve Officer’s Training Corps (ROTC) participants are eligible to apply as long as they do not currently have a service obligation with their ROTC activities. 

Employees of non-DoD federal agencies are ineligible for either program. 

No Applicants /// Limit: 1 // Tickets Available: 0

There won't be a submission for this program during the June deadline. 

Limit on Number of Proposals per Organization: An organization may submit one proposal per submission window. An organization must wait for a determination from NSF (e.g., Award, Decline, or Returned Without Review) on the pending proposal before submitting a new proposal in the next window. Declined proposals require a new invitation to submit (via the Concept Outline process) and significant revision, while proposals Returned Without Review may be submitted using the same invited Concept Outline (assuming that the proposal is received within one year of the original Concept Outline invitation).

The National Science Foundation and its partners support the continued growth of a broad and diverse interdisciplinary research community for the advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and AI-powered innovation, providing a unique opportunity to broadly promote the NSF vision and core values, especially inclusion and collaboration. The National Artificial Intelligence Research Institutes program has established a national network of multisector flagship centers of AI research and workforce development that address a wide range of society's grand challenges through AI-powered innovation.

PROGRAM TRACKS

This program solicitation offers two Tracks corresponding to stages of readiness for partnerships in AI Institutes. These are “ExpandAI Capacity Building Pilots” and “ExpandAI Partnerships” as described below.

Track 1: ExpandAI Capacity Building Pilots

Capacity Building Pilots (CAP) are planning and growth efforts focused on the establishment of AI activities at the funded MSI and the early exploration of future synergistic partnerships that have the potential to be part of prospective ExpandAI Partnerships. Successful pilots will result in establishing new AI research capacity, education/workforce development in AI, and/or AI infrastructure capacity at the proposing institution and, potentially, a basis for future AI partnerships. CAP activities should plan for engaging appropriate communities to test the feasibility of partnerships as well as developing plans for continuing capacity development. Plans should consider required research infrastructure, plans to leverage established groups in related research areas, and inclusion of faculty training and research experiences that emphasize the diversification of investigators. 

Proposals must articulate a clear vision motivating the capacity building activities, with a focus on long-term benefits to the MSI such as enhanced faculty capacity for foundational and/or use-inspired AI research or new effective models for increased education and career pathways in AI. Proposals to this track must include a strong Institutional Need and Support Statement (see proposal preparation instructions) containing an assessment of the current AI research and instructional capacity and infrastructure, a demonstration of institutional need for capacity building in AI, and a statement of the commitment of institutional support for the proposed activities. Proposals that substantiate a strong case in this need and support statement are likely to be most compelling for the funding opportunity. Further guidance for this supporting document can be found in Proposal Preparation Instructions.

Successful proposals will feature a Capacity Building Plan that features clear and measurable outcomes/benefits of capacity building. Suitable activities for such a plan are:

• establishment or significant enhancement of foundational or use-inspired AI research, marked by increased faculty research output;
• design of academic pathways or innovative models for teaching and learning in AI, incorporating how students learn effectively in AI activities, and bringing AI disciplinary advances into the undergraduate and graduate experience;
• establishment or significant expansion of AI career pathways for students resulting from new AI activities;
• enhanced AI research infrastructure;
• significant increase in the participation of investigators and students who have been traditionally underserved and underrepresented in AI; and
• a plan for objective process evaluation in support of the proposed efforts.

Note that this list is representative of suitable activities and outcomes for this track. CAP activities need not be limited to this list, and proposals do not have to include every type of outcome represented in that list. Proposers are encouraged to select and integrate the activities most appropriate for their institutional context and their vision for capacity building toward partnerships. 

Early partnership development between the proposing MSI and one or more AI Institutes is neither required nor encouraged in a CAP proposal.

Track 2: ExpandAI Partnerships

The ExpandAI Partnership (PARTNER) track is an opportunity for MSIs to scale up already-established AI research and/or education programs and to initiate/leverage new collaborations with AI Institutes. These partnerships will be multi-organization collaborations submitted by an MSI and will include a subaward to an AI Institute. PARTNER projects are centered around shared, complementary goals. Proposals will be submitted as single-organizational collaborative proposals. PARTNER proposals may only be submitted by a qualifying MSI as indicated in Eligible Institutions in this solicitation. 

PARTNER proposals should scale up and make fully productive an appropriate existing capacity in AI research, education/workforce development, and/or infrastructure capacity. The proposing MSI in this track is not required to have previously been awarded a CAP project under this program. PARTNER proposals must constitute a significant new partnership that has the clear potential to build on the institution’s current AI capacity as well as leverage the intrinsic strengths and talents of the MSI for mutual benefit in collaborative AI activities.

MSIs applying for this track must demonstrate readiness to leverage external expertise and financial resources to focus on medium- and long-range plans to leverage this funding opportunity and new partnerships to develop AI capacity within the MSI, including but not limited to further development of the MSI’s envisioned methodological thrusts, use cases, educational and/or workforce development activities, and the potential for the MSI to expand and scale these efforts through formal, mutually beneficial partnerships. Proposals should include at least one (and if appropriate, more) established AI Institutes in developing a roadmap for collaborative work in some unifying theme or focus. 

PARTNER proposals must feature a compelling Partnership Roadmap for collaborative work in some unifying theme or focus. Roadmaps are the beginning of a joint strategy between organizations for collaborative work. These roadmaps may also include community building activities (e.g., workshops) to further develop common interests, objectives, and goals for the growth of collaborative activities. Effective roadmaps are both depicted visually (e.g., conceptual diagram, logic model, table, etc.) and fully explained by a descriptive narrative. The roadmap should address all proposed projects involving research, education/workforce development, infrastructure, and any other types that are applicable to the collaboration. Roadmaps might address:

• enhancement of existing projects by virtue of new collaboration;
• initiation of new projects made possible by the collaboration;
• community building activities (e.g., workshops) to further develop common interests, objectives, and further growth of the partnership;
• potential and plans for scaling nascent programs;
• an evaluation plan for measuring the growth and mutual benefit of activities in all projects.

 Limit: 1 // J. M. Roveda (Electrical and Computer Engineering) - Track 1: ExpandAI Capacity Building Pilots (CAP)

Limit on Number of Proposals per Organization: An organization may submit one proposal per submission window. An organization must wait for a determination from NSF (e.g., Award, Decline, or Returned Without Review) on the pending proposal before submitting a new proposal in the next window. Declined proposals require a new invitation to submit (via the Concept Outline process) and significant revision, while proposals Returned Without Review may be submitted using the same invited Concept Outline (assuming that the proposal is received within one year of the original Concept Outline invitation).

The National Science Foundation and its partners support the continued growth of a broad and diverse interdisciplinary research community for the advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and AI-powered innovation, providing a unique opportunity to broadly promote the NSF vision and core values, especially inclusion and collaboration. The National Artificial Intelligence Research Institutes program has established a national network of multisector flagship centers of AI research and workforce development that address a wide range of society's grand challenges through AI-powered innovation.

PROGRAM TRACKS

This program solicitation offers two Tracks corresponding to stages of readiness for partnerships in AI Institutes. These are “ExpandAI Capacity Building Pilots” and “ExpandAI Partnerships” as described below.

Track 1: ExpandAI Capacity Building Pilots

Capacity Building Pilots (CAP) are planning and growth efforts focused on the establishment of AI activities at the funded MSI and the early exploration of future synergistic partnerships that have the potential to be part of prospective ExpandAI Partnerships. Successful pilots will result in establishing new AI research capacity, education/workforce development in AI, and/or AI infrastructure capacity at the proposing institution and, potentially, a basis for future AI partnerships. CAP activities should plan for engaging appropriate communities to test the feasibility of partnerships as well as developing plans for continuing capacity development. Plans should consider required research infrastructure, plans to leverage established groups in related research areas, and inclusion of faculty training and research experiences that emphasize the diversification of investigators. 

Proposals must articulate a clear vision motivating the capacity building activities, with a focus on long-term benefits to the MSI such as enhanced faculty capacity for foundational and/or use-inspired AI research or new effective models for increased education and career pathways in AI. Proposals to this track must include a strong Institutional Need and Support Statement (see proposal preparation instructions) containing an assessment of the current AI research and instructional capacity and infrastructure, a demonstration of institutional need for capacity building in AI, and a statement of the commitment of institutional support for the proposed activities. Proposals that substantiate a strong case in this need and support statement are likely to be most compelling for the funding opportunity. Further guidance for this supporting document can be found in Proposal Preparation Instructions.

Successful proposals will feature a Capacity Building Plan that features clear and measurable outcomes/benefits of capacity building. Suitable activities for such a plan are:

• establishment or significant enhancement of foundational or use-inspired AI research, marked by increased faculty research output;
• design of academic pathways or innovative models for teaching and learning in AI, incorporating how students learn effectively in AI activities, and bringing AI disciplinary advances into the undergraduate and graduate experience;
• establishment or significant expansion of AI career pathways for students resulting from new AI activities;
• enhanced AI research infrastructure;
• significant increase in the participation of investigators and students who have been traditionally underserved and underrepresented in AI; and
• a plan for objective process evaluation in support of the proposed efforts.

Note that this list is representative of suitable activities and outcomes for this track. CAP activities need not be limited to this list, and proposals do not have to include every type of outcome represented in that list. Proposers are encouraged to select and integrate the activities most appropriate for their institutional context and their vision for capacity building toward partnerships. 

Early partnership development between the proposing MSI and one or more AI Institutes is neither required nor encouraged in a CAP proposal.

Track 2: ExpandAI Partnerships

The ExpandAI Partnership (PARTNER) track is an opportunity for MSIs to scale up already-established AI research and/or education programs and to initiate/leverage new collaborations with AI Institutes. These partnerships will be multi-organization collaborations submitted by an MSI and will include a subaward to an AI Institute. PARTNER projects are centered around shared, complementary goals. Proposals will be submitted as single-organizational collaborative proposals. PARTNER proposals may only be submitted by a qualifying MSI as indicated in Eligible Institutions in this solicitation. 

PARTNER proposals should scale up and make fully productive an appropriate existing capacity in AI research, education/workforce development, and/or infrastructure capacity. The proposing MSI in this track is not required to have previously been awarded a CAP project under this program. PARTNER proposals must constitute a significant new partnership that has the clear potential to build on the institution’s current AI capacity as well as leverage the intrinsic strengths and talents of the MSI for mutual benefit in collaborative AI activities.

MSIs applying for this track must demonstrate readiness to leverage external expertise and financial resources to focus on medium- and long-range plans to leverage this funding opportunity and new partnerships to develop AI capacity within the MSI, including but not limited to further development of the MSI’s envisioned methodological thrusts, use cases, educational and/or workforce development activities, and the potential for the MSI to expand and scale these efforts through formal, mutually beneficial partnerships. Proposals should include at least one (and if appropriate, more) established AI Institutes in developing a roadmap for collaborative work in some unifying theme or focus. 

PARTNER proposals must feature a compelling Partnership Roadmap for collaborative work in some unifying theme or focus. Roadmaps are the beginning of a joint strategy between organizations for collaborative work. These roadmaps may also include community building activities (e.g., workshops) to further develop common interests, objectives, and goals for the growth of collaborative activities. Effective roadmaps are both depicted visually (e.g., conceptual diagram, logic model, table, etc.) and fully explained by a descriptive narrative. The roadmap should address all proposed projects involving research, education/workforce development, infrastructure, and any other types that are applicable to the collaboration. Roadmaps might address:

• enhancement of existing projects by virtue of new collaboration;
• initiation of new projects made possible by the collaboration;
• community building activities (e.g., workshops) to further develop common interests, objectives, and further growth of the partnership;
• potential and plans for scaling nascent programs;
• an evaluation plan for measuring the growth and mutual benefit of activities in all projects.

Limit: 3 // PIs:
Y. Vitaliy (Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering)
B. Revil-Baudard (Materials Science and Engineering)
H. Rastgoftar (Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering)

The DEVCOM Army Research Lab seeks unclassified research proposals from Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Minority-Serving Institutions (HBCU/MI) under Broad Agency Announcement (FOA) W911NF-23-S-0001-0002 (hereafter referred to as the DEVCOM ARL BAA”) to establish an Army HBCU/MI Early Career Program (ECP) which embodies the high priority placed by the government on maintaining the leadership position of the United States in science by producing outstanding scientists and engineers and nurturing their continued development. Each award will support basic research contributing to Army modernization needs conducted by outstanding scientists and engineers beginning their careers at HBCU/MI institutions. ECP awards are funded by the Army to support early career scientists and engineers who show exceptional ability and promise for conducting basic research. This targeted opportunity is open to U.S. citizens, U.S. Nationals, or Lawful Permanent Residents of the U.S. who have held a tenure- track position at a covered educational institution for fewer than five years at the time applications are due in response to this special notice. Faculty at an institution of higher education which does not designate a faculty appointment as "tenure track" are eligible if that fact is so indicated in the proposal, and the supporting letter from the institute states that the faculty member submitting the proposal will be considered for a permanent appointment, or it is demonstrated that the faculty member is within five years of receiving his or her first competitively awarded federal research funding (as principal investigator), excluding funds secured during graduate school or postdoctoral training/fellowship and funds secured for training, fellowship, education, or career development. The objective of the ECP Award is to foster creative basic research in science and engineering; enhance development of outstanding early career investigators; and increase opportunities for early career investigators to pursue research in areas relevant to the Army. Proposals that do not meet these criteria for the Principal Investigator (PI) will be considered ineligible and not reviewed or considered for funding.

The eleven DEVCOM ARL competencies are:

•   Biological and Biotechnology Sciences

•   Electromagnetic Spectrum Sciences

•   Energy Sciences

•   Humans in Complex Systems

•   Mechanical Sciences

•   Military Information Sciences

•   Network, Cyber, and Computational Sciences

•   Photonics, Electronics, and Quantum Sciences

•   Sciences of Extreme Materials

•   Terminal Effects

•   Weapons Sciences

DEVCOM ARL plans to award up to eight (8) new HBCU/MI ECP grants at a total cost of $990,000 each over a duration of 5 years, with funding profile of $110,000 in year one, $165,000 in year two, $220,000 in year three, $330,000 in year four, and $165,000 in year five. Note this is more funding and longer duration than the typical ECP award specified in the DEVCOM ARL BAA.