Department of Defense Research and Education Program for Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Minority-Serving Institutions (HBCU/MI)

The Army-HBCU/MI Faculty Immersion Program, administered by the U.S. Department of the Army through the Army Contracting Command at Research Triangle Park, is a funding initiative designed to enhance collaboration between Historically Black Colleges and Universities/Minority-Serving Institutions (HBCU/MIs) and the Department of Defense (DoD). The program is established under 10 U.S.C. Section 4144, targeting institutions that have not received substantial DoD research, development, test, and evaluation funding. Its purpose is to build research capacity, foster institutional partnerships, and increase the participation of underrepresented faculty in DoD-related research initiatives. This program is tailored for junior faculty at HBCU/MIs who are engaged in environmental science research. Eligibility requires U.S. citizenship, the ability to meet access requirements for government research facilities, and submission to a National Crime Information Center (NCIC) check. The faculty member must hold the rank of Assistant or Associate Professor and must have been appointed at their home institution for no more than seven years. Additionally, the applicant institution must provide a Title III or Title V eligibility letter from the Department of Education dated February 2024 or later. The program consists of three phases over two years. Phase one involves a 10-week immersion at an Army laboratory, Phase two includes a semester at a Research 1 (R-1) university, and Phase three spans 18 months conducting research at the faculty member's home institution with continued collaboration from both the Army and the R-1 partner. Applicants must name an R-1 institution as a subawardee in the proposal, with up to 30 percent of the annual budget allocated for their support. Collaboration with Army researchers and the R-1 institution must be explicitly detailed in the application. Eligible research must fall within environmental science and may focus on specialized areas such as ultrawide bandgap III-nitride materials, causal reasoning for artificial intelligence, or generative AI dealing with information uncertainty. Proposals should not exceed 25 pages and must include institutional support documentation. Awards will be made via cooperative agreements with funding up to $250,000 per year per award, and up to two awards may be granted. Applications must be submitted by 4:00 PM ET on July 31, 2025, with award announcements expected in September 2025. Questions regarding the program must be submitted via the official website by June 18, 2025. For inquiries about the announcement or proposal content, applicants are directed to visit https://www.hbcumiresearch.army.mil. Additional federal compliance and privacy act requirements are also specified, particularly related to foreign affiliations and conflicts of interest or commitment.