Army Research Laboratory

Army Research Laboratory (ARL)! Army Research Office (ARO)! ARO Research Thrusts (often one PM) – multiple BAAs • Chemistry • • • • • • • • • • Compu.ng and Info Science Electronics Environmental ARL Core Technical Areas Life Sciences • Computational Sciences Materials • Materials • Sciences-for-Maneuver Mathema.cs • Information Sciences Mechanics • Sciences-for-Lethality and Protection Network Science • Human Sciences • Assessment and Analysis Nanoscience Physics ! ! Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR)! Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL)! • AFOSR awards nearly 1,500 grants and contracts to more than 200 academic institutions, 160 firms and more than 250 intramural programs • Annual BAA (Broad Agency Announcement) • • • • • • • • AFRL Technology Focus Areas Next Generation Aerospace Systems Weapon Space & Nuclear Deterrence Intelligence, Surveillance, & Reconnaissance Command & Control, Cyber, Communications (C4) Affordability and Sustainment Human Performance Electronic Warfare/Electronic Protection DARPA • FY17 / 16: $2.9 B • FY17 topic areas (proposed areas): Defense Research Sciences Basic Operational Medical Sciences • • • • • Secure Programming Languages (Math & Computer Sciences) Quantum and Materials Basics (Electronic Sci.) Engineering Complex [biological] Systems (Transformative Sciences) Decoding Neural Activity (Transformative Sci.) Electronics Technology ! • • Limits of Thermal Sensors Connect Everything Outpacing Infectious Disease Biomedical Technology • Enhanced Monitoring of Health and Disease Information and Communication Technology • • • Tactical Context Extraction Removing Barriers to Hardware System Security Integrated through Hardware and S oftware Tactical Technology • • • Counter Unmanned Air Systems and Force Protection 21st Century Propellants Science of Human and Computer Teaming Materials and Biological Technology • Enhancing Neuroplasticity Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) • Basic and applied research on bio/chemical/nuclear/explosives/information sciences geared towards countering weapons of mass destruction • Total Research Budget (6.1-6.3) ~$480 million (basic $38 million) – Non-medical: Nano, cognition, information science, bioscience – Medical Biological Defense Transformational Medical Technologies Initiative: Diagnostic Technology, Vaccine, Therapeutic – viral, toxin, bacterial – Medical Chemical Defense – Smallest Area: Respiratory, Cutaneous and Ocular, Neurological, Toxicology • Working with DTRA – Broad Agency Announcement (BAA): Science and Technology New Initiatives. • New way for researchers to engage DTRA program managers by submitting a quad chart and white paper narrative to gauge interest in an idea and receive informal feedback. – Annual call for BASIC RESEARCH TOPICS pre-application white papers - typically in fall – Multi-year BAA, specific topics change annually based on program manager interest - little feedback DOD Health Government-wide Initiatives Impacting DOD Health • Big Data: data sharing standards, software tools, enhanced training, centers of excellence • Precision Medicine • Cancer Moonshot • BRAIN: targeted investment to accelerate development of neurotechnologies • Alzheimer’s and aging: new investments in research and care to address looming challenges in patients and costs • Global Health Security (biosurvelliance, antimicrobial resistance, and Ebola/infectious disease research and response) DOD Health Research Priorities • • • • • • Hemorrhage – blood products (storage, transportation, in theater transfusions); extend blood platelet shelf life; improved pre-hospital treatments for critical patients; alternatives to using antibiotics for post wound care. Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) – classification of TBIs that can inform future technology and treatment strategies; Biomarkers to replace CAT scans (affordability) Mental Health – suicide prevention; substance abuse, rural healthcare/telemedicine Pain Management – Burn care, opioid use Infectious Disease – prevention, diagnostics, therapeutics; surveillance; warfighter v. civilian health Health IT Congressionally-Directed Medical Research Program (CDMRP) Mission: “Responsibly manage collabora2ve research that discovers, develops and delivers health care solu2ons for Service Members, veterans, and the American public.” • ~$850 million annual fund • Started in 1992 to support breast cancer research – has since supported research in more than 20 topic areas • Created as way for Congress to assert influence over biomedical research agenda • Congress helps dictate topics, but annual open competitions/peer review employed in funding decisions • CDMRP funds added annually by appropriators –Frequent talk about scaling back, but several in Congress are strong supporters • TBI/Psychological Health a key focus in recent years; sustained at $125 million Engaging DOD Health vs. NIH • Start with the DOD challenge; NOT the research idea • Program managers have broader authority and more flexibility • Only some programs use peer review; more ad hoc, not always external • Collaborations with DOD medical commands and centers are important to longterm success • New program managers often change program goals and direction • Process to request DOD data from Military Health System • Opportunities to engage locally/regionally DOE Overview • FY 2016 budget: Total: $29.6 billion; Office of Science: $5.3 billion • The Department of Energy (DOE) has 3 core missions: – Science and Energy (basic and applied research) – Nuclear Security – Environmental Management Strategic science directions are guided by input from the research community, scientific workshops, the National Science and Technology Council, the National Academy of Sciences and advisory committees. DOE and the Trump Administration: • Secretary Rick Perry has stressed the importance of basic research and highlighted: supercomputing, international collaboration, and genomics and gene-editing technologies as research priorities • Trumps budget Blueprint proposed: – 17% cut for Office of Science – Eliminating all funding for the Advanced Research Project Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) – Cutting ~$2 billion from fossil energy, renewable energy, energy efficiency, nuclear energy, and grid research and development activities • Political support in Congress for many of DOE’s basic and applied research programs How to Engage with DOE Office of Science? • To increase likelihood of success for winning funding solicitations: – Review the 5 year strategic plans for basic and applied research programs AND relevant topic area reports – Participate in workshops – Engage with faculty contacts sitting on DOE advisory committees – Respond to requests for information – Meet with program managers (either in person or via phone / videoconference) – Partner with DOE national labs – Review Basic Energy Sciences (BES) project summary document (released every two years) • Competitive awards: – For Biological and Environmental Research (BER), there were 8 FOAs in FY 2016. 502 proposals were submitted and 68 awarded meaning a 14 percent success rate – In BES, the renewal rate for awards is around 65 percent and the award rate for new awards is around 15 percent NASA Overview • National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Mission: advance human exploration and understanding of the Earth and space • Most of NASA’s budget devoted to human exploration missions and operations • Budget: $19.3 billion in FY 2016 – $5.59 billion for the Science Mission Directorate (SMD) – $686.5 million for the Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) • NASA direction often influenced by politics – Distribution of NASA facilities creates political power centers in Congress – Earth science research politicized due to debate over climate change • NASA and the Trump Administration – Budget blueprint proposes $19.1 billion for FY 2018 • Proposed reduction to Earth science programs less than anticipated – New Administrator and deputy yet to be named – Overall, NASA is shielded from severe cuts facing other agencies (e.g. NOAA, EPA) How to Engage with NASA SMD? Primary funding opportunities: • Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Science 2017 (ROSES 2017) – Main source of funding for individual researchers • Competed, PI-led missions – Each division has its own series of missions – Overseen by NASA but designed and managed by a PI – Cost-caps ranging from $31 million to $750 million Engagement: • Community-driven research priorities – Decadal surveys determine mission priorities • 2017 Earth Science and Applications from Space due this year – Other advisory mechanisms • NASA Advisory Council’s Science Committee and subcommittees • National Academies’ Space Studies Board, Board on Physics and Astronomy • Contact program managers with questions on how research fits within a specific call How to Engage with NASA STMD? STMD’s wide-ranging research portfolio makes it very accessible to engineering schools • Directorate is relatively new (2013) and actively engages with universities • Capabilities-driven programs allow participation across a broad range of tech R&D areas Primary funding opportunities: • Different awards based on Technology Readiness Level and response to certain technology challenges • Range from $100k - $2 million • Specific opportunities for Early Career Faculty Engagement: • Program managers at HQ best to contact with high level questions • Principle Technologists located at NASA centers and can provide technical feedback NEH Overview • NEH Funding: FY 2016 budget was $148m • NEH Chairman Bro Adams would like to stay on to finish his four-year term appointment • Anticipate will continue on with usual grant-making activities and current agency-wide initiatives –Common Good Initiative supports humanities scholars and organizations to focus their attention to humanistic topics that resonate with Americans and society at large. –Standing Together Initiative to promote an understanding of the experience of war How to Engage with NEH? • Nearly 50 percent of the funding goes directly to support state humanities councils and the agency’s administration, with most of the rest slated for grants, education and public programming • NEH programs are organized through several divisions/offices, including: Division of Education Programs, Division of Preservation and Access, Division of Public Programs, Division of Research Programs, Office of Challenge Grants, Office of Digital Humanities, and State and Federal Partnerships Office. • Over last few years, major changes to programs/opportunities across various NEH Divisions Challenge Grants (new opportunities - Next Gen PhD, Creating Humanities Communities), Education Programs (Humanities Connections), Digital Humanities (new Advancement grants). • Majority of NEH program solicitations are released on annual basis. • NEH program managers are happy to speak and meet with interested researchers and educators regarding potential ideas. • Additional funding opportunities are available through NEH-funded state humanities councils. IES Overview • Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences (IES) • Non-partisan division • Tom Brock, Commissioner of National Center for Education Research serving as Acting Director of IES • One of the smaller research agencies: FY 2016: $618 million – National Center for Education Research: $195 million – National Center for Special Education Research: $54 million How to Engage with IES? • Annual competitive grant program will be posted in spring 2017 for a range of topics in education and special education • Other opportunities include: –Partnerships and Collaborations Focused on Problems of Practice or Policy –Low-Cost, Short-Duration Evaluation of Education Interventions –Research Networks Focused on Critical Problems of Education Policy and Practice Exploring • Important to develop relationships with program officers and offer to serve on peer review panels