Federal Science and Technology Grants

The following objective summarizes the work for a maximum of three (3) unique, stand-alone projects. Over the life of the cooperative agreement (3 years), it is anticipated that 3 projects would be completed. Objective 1: Investigator will collaborate with ERDC researchers to develop laboratory or mesocosm and protocols and conduct experiments to determine herbicide efficacy for the operational chemical management of European frogbit. Any needed permitting should be obtained prior to collecting laboratory or mesocosm protocols. Objective 2: Collect mesocosm and field data on chemical control efficacy within managed vs non-managed European frogbit sites. These data should include but are not limited to: percent change in plant abundance following chemical management, biomass and turion production, and comparison of these data between managed vs. non-managed sites. Any needed permitting should be obtained prior to collecting mesocosm of field data. Objective 3: Develop herbicide management guidance based on most up to date frogbit management research. All data shall be incorporated in a report using peer-review publication format. Status and draft reports shall be submitted for ERDC review on a quarterly basis.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has advanced tremendously and today promisespersonalizedhealthcare; enhanced national security; improved transportation; and more effective education, to name just a few benefits. Increased computing power, the availability of large datasets and streaming data, and algorithmic advances in machine learning (ML) have made it possible for AI research and development to create new sectors of the economy and revitalize industries. Continued advancement, enabled bysustainedfederal investment and channeled toward issues of national importance, holds the potentialfor further economic impact and quality-of-life improvements. The 2023 update to theNational Artificial Intelligence Research and Development Strategic Plan,informed byvisioning activities in the scientific communityas well asinteraction with the public, identifies as its first strategic objective the need to make long-term investments in AI research in areas with the potential for long-term payoffs in AI. AI Institutes represent a cornerstone Federal Government commitment to fostering long-term, fundamental research in AI while also delivering significantly on each of the other eight objectives in that strategy. The National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence (NSCAI) identifies AI Institutes as a key component of a bold, sustained federal push to scale and coordinate federal AI R funding and to reinforce the foundation of technical leadership in AI. This program is a multisector effort led by the National Science Foundation (NSF), in partnership with the Simons Foundation (SF), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Department of Defense (DOD) Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (OUSD (R)), Capital One Financial Corporation (Capital One),and Intel Corporation (Intel). This program solicitation expands the nationwide network of AI Research Institutes with new funding opportunities over the next two years.In this round, the program invites proposals for institutes that have a principal focus in one of the following themes aimed at transformational advances in a range of economic sectors, and science and engineering fields: Group 1 - Awards anticipated in FY 2024: Theme 1: AI for Astronomical Sciences Group 2 - Awards anticipated in FY 2025: Theme 2: AI for Discovery in Materials Research Theme 3: Strengthening AI For the institute themes listed in Group 1, NSF anticipates awards to start in FY 2024; and forthemes listed in Group 2, NSF anticipates awards to start in FY 2025. Each group has a specific set of due dates and review timeline pertaining only to that group. Moredetail is found under Due Dates and in the timeline provided in the Program Description.

The MMRDA mechanism is intended to fund the logical continuation of previously DOD-funded research or development efforts relevant to the above FY24 JWMRP Focus Areas with the highest potential to augment and accelerate medical product development and health care solutions for active-duty Service Members, their Families, Veterans, and/or the American public. Collaboration with DOD organizations is encouraged when this alliance would contribute to the success of the research effort, and any funds designated for DOD laboratories or activities should be identified in the application/proposal through submission of a Suggested Intragovernmental/Intramural Budget Form, Attachment 15. Applications/proposals from small businesses and/or partnerships with industry are also encouraged. The MMRDA mechanism supports a wide range of research projects, spanning late-stage preclinical studies, late-state technology development efforts, technology demonstration, and translational research. A Clinical Research or Clinical Trial Option is available to specifically support clinical research/observational studies, all phases of clinical trials/interventional studies, and/or correlative studies in support of the development of promising pharmaceutical or biologic candidates, medical devices, and technologies. Note: Applications/proposals submitted under this option will be required to submit additional relevant application/proposal materials.

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) describes a newly proposed initiative of the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) concerning standing up a University Center of Excellence (CoE) for Data Assimilation (DA) Driven by Mathematical Features Representing Physics with educational institutions in the United States. The University CoE is defined as a joint effort among multiple technical directorates (TDs) of the Air Force Research Laboratory to include: the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR), Aerospace Systems Directorate (RQ), Space Vehicles Directorate (RV), and Munitions Directorate (RW), referred to collectively as we, our, or us, in this FOA, and an outstanding university or team of universities that will perform high priority unclassified and collaborative basic / applied (6.1/ 6.2) research which addresses the United States Air Force (USAF) and United States Space Force (USSF) research needs in the DA area with relevance to high-speed flows and combustion.

This funding opportunity is designed for research institutions affiliated with the Great Rivers Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit to investigate floodplain forest dynamics and regeneration in the Upper Mississippi River System.

This funding opportunity provides financial support for innovative breast cancer research projects aimed at preventing the disease, understanding its recurrence, or improving treatment, targeting both early-stage and more developed studies from a range of eligible organizations and researchers.

**AMENDED on DECEMBER 11 2023**: The latest revision is posted as Amendment 18. Potential applicants are strongly encouraged to review the Amendment in its entirety, as it updates several sections. Specifically, ATTACHMENT 1: SPECIFIC TOPICS now includes Basic Research Topics N1-N4, with white papers due by 11:59pm EST on 5 February 2024. White papers may not be considered if they are received after this deadline. In addition, submissions to the general thrust areas in accordance with the requirements detailed in the BAA are also welcome. ** Please note that all correspondence must be sent to the appropriate Agency contact identified in Section 7. Agency Contacts. **

This grant provides funding for collaborative clinical trials aimed at improving the diagnosis and treatment of health issues related to military toxic exposures, targeting researchers and institutions involved in this critical area of study.

This funding opportunity provides financial support for research organizations in California to develop and assess biological control methods for managing the invasive giant cane, which threatens local ecosystems and water resources.

This funding opportunity provides financial support for research and data collection projects focused on geological structures, public lands classification, and natural resources, aimed at federal, state, tribal, and academic partners.

**CYCLE 4 POSTED ON 10 APRIL 2024. SEE ATTACHED UPDATED ANNOUNCEMENT FOR SPECIFIC TOPICS OF INTEREST IN CYCLE 4 AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION** **CYCLE 3, ORIGINALLY POSTED ON 21 MARCH 2023, IS UPDATED TO INCLUDE A QUESTION AND ANSWER DOCUMENT AND TO UPDATE THE SUBMISSION DATE TO 5 MAY 2023 BY 1700 EASTERN TIME** **CYCLE 3 POSTED ON 21 MARCH 2023. SEE ATTACHED UPDATED ANNOUNCEMENT FOR SPECIFIC TOPICS OF INTEREST IN CYCLE 3 AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION** **CYCLE 2 POSTED ON 8 FEBRUARY 2021. SEE ATTACHED UPDATED ANNOUNCEMENT FOR SPECIFIC TOPICS OF INTEREST IN CYCLE 2 AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION** Purpose: Future Army forces will need to conduct cross-domain maneuver (CDM) and at times, operate semi-independently, disbursed, and while communications and infrastructure such as Global Positioning System (GPS) are disrupted or denied. Robotics and Autonomous Systems (RAS) will play a key role in expanding the operational reach, situational awareness, and effectiveness of maneuver forces in CDM. The Combat Capabilities Development Command (CCDC) Army Research Laboratory (ARL) is focused on developing fundamental understanding and informing the art-of-the-possible for warfighter concepts through research to greatly improve air and ground based autonomous vehicle perception, learning, reasoning, communication, navigation, and physical capabilities to augment and increase the freedom of maneuver in complex and contested environments. The Scalable, Adaptive, and Resilient Autonomy (SARA) program is focused on developing and experimentally accelerating emerging research in autonomous mobility and maneuverability, scalable heterogeneous and collaborative behaviors, and human agent teaming to realize adaptive and resilient Intelligent Systems that can reason about the environment, work in distributed and collaborative heterogeneous teams, and make op-tempo decisions to enable Autonomous Maneuver in complex and contested environments. In order to achieve this vision, advancements are needed in following: Novel methods for all-terrain ground and aerial maneuver to interact with and move through complex environments. Methods for scalable and heterogeneous collaborative behaviors in support of collaborative air and ground manned-unmanned teaming operations. Techniques for improved perception, decision-making, and adaptive behaviors for fully autonomous maneuver in contested environments. Methods, metrics, and tools to facilitate, simulate, and enable testing and evaluation of emerging approaches for intelligent and autonomous systems under Army relevant constraints and environments Experimental testbeds to develop and refine knowledge products to inform and transition technology to Army stakeholders.

This funding opportunity supports a wide range of organizations in developing advanced component technologies that are essential for NASA's space and Earth science missions.

This funding opportunity provides financial support to U.S.-based non-profit organizations and academic institutions to help improve weather and climate forecasting capabilities in developing countries, ultimately enhancing their disaster risk reduction efforts.

This grant provides funding for non-profits, educational institutions, and government organizations to implement programs that promote understanding of emerging technologies, enhance English teacher training, strengthen U.S. alumni networks, and celebrate 30 years of U.S.-Vietnam relations.

This funding opportunity provides financial support to various organizations and institutions to help prevent adversaries from exploiting advanced technologies and commercial facilities for military purposes, focusing on enhancing global partnerships and security measures.

This funding opportunity provides financial support to organizations that will help laboratories in Latin America improve their capabilities in analyzing genome sequences to investigate potential biological weapons attacks.

This funding opportunity supports late-stage preclinical studies using adult stem cells to advance regenerative medicine therapies, specifically for researchers who have previously received NIH funding in this area.

This grant provides funding to small businesses developing innovative tools for bioenergy crop engineering to enhance sustainable energy production and reduce carbon emissions.

The US Geological Survey is offering a funding opportunity to a CESU partner for research in the application of Artificial Intelligence informed by explicit semantics to the practice of scientific assessments carried out by the USGS. The demand for actionable scientific findings from legislatively mandated scientific assessments in energy, mineral, biodiversity, and other National natural resource assets is increasing in intensity and requirements for currency with all available data, information, and knowledge. This demand can be aided through the development of AI scientists, intelligent agents built within a technological framework that iteratively improves through new generations of generative AI and related capabilities and trained through regular learning and adapting interactions with USGS scientists.

This funding opportunity provides financial support for projects that enhance marine education and training, particularly for indigenous Pacific Islanders and underserved communities in Hawaii and the Pacific Islands, focusing on sustainable fishing practices and traditional knowledge integration.