The Department of Defense announces Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 Department of Defense Multidisciplinary Research Program of the University Research Initiative, ONR N00014-19-S-F005, ARO W911NF-19-S-0008, AFOSR FOA-AFRL-AFOSR-2019-0002.
The MURI program supports basic research in science and engineering at U.S. institutions of higher education (hereafter referred to as "universities") that is of potential interest to DoD. The program is focused on multidisciplinary research efforts where more than one traditional discipline interacts to provide rapid advances in scientific areas of interest to the DoD. As defined in the DoD Financial Management Regulation:
Basic research is systematic study directed toward greater knowledge or understanding of the fundamental aspects of phenomena and of observable facts without specific applications towards processes or products in mind. It includes all scientific study and experimentation directed toward increasing fundamental knowledge and understanding in those fields of the physical, engineering, environmental, and life sciences related to long-term national security needs. It is farsighted high payoff research that provides the basis for technological progress (DoD 7000.14-R, vol. 2B, chap. 5, para. 050201.B).
DoD’s basic research program invests broadly in many fields to ensure that it has early cognizance of new scientific knowledge.
ONR Topics
Topic 1: Stimuli-Responsive Materials based on Triggered Polymer Depolymerization
Topic 2: Quantum Benefits without Quantum Fragility: The Classical Entanglement of Light
Topic 3: Mathematical Methods for Deep Learning
Topic 4: Spin and Orbital Angular Momentum (SAM & OAM)
Topic 5: Photonic High-Order Topological Insulators (PHOTIs)
Topic 6: Active Topological Mechanical Metamaterials
Topic 7: Harvesting Oxygen from the Ocean
Topic 8: Exploring Oxidation and Surface Phenomena of Multi-Principal Element Alloys
Topic 9: The Physics of High-Speed Multiphase-flow / Material Interactions
Topic 10: Combining Disparate Environmental Data Into a Common Framework
ARO Topics
Topic 11: Adaptive and Adversarial Machine Learning
Topic 12: Axion Electrodynamics beyond Maxwell's Equations
Topic 13: Engineering Endosymbionts to Produce Novel Functional Materials
Topic 14: Information Exchange Network Dynamics
Topic 15: Mathematical Intelligence: Machines with More Fundamental Capabilities
Topic 16: Quantum State Engineering for Enhanced Metrology
Topic 17: Solution Electrochemistry without Electrodes
Topic 18: Stimuli-Responsive Mechanical Metamaterial
AFOSR Topics
Topic 19: Machine Learning and Physics-Based Modeling and Simulation
Topic 20: Fundamental Design Principles for Engineering Orthogonal Liquid-Liquid Phase Separations in Living Cells
Topic 21: Modeling, Prediction, and Mitigation of Rare and Extreme Events in Complex Physical Systems
Topic 22: Fundamental Limits of Controllable Waveform Diversity at High Power
Topic 23: Full Quantum State Control at Single Molecule Levels
Topic 24: Constructive Mathematics and Its Synthetic Concepts from Type Theory
Topic 25: Weyl Fermion Optoelectronics
Topic 26: Mechanisms of Ice Nucleation and Anti-Icing Constructs
All topics recommend budgets of 1.5 million per year for 3 years plus a 2 year option.
Encouraged Whitepapers due June 3, 2019
Full Proposals due September 13, 2019