Good Afternoon,
The Department of Defense has announced the FY24 Multidisciplinary Research Program of the University Research Initiative (MURI), which supports teams of researchers investigating high priority topics and opportunities that intersect more than one traditional technical discipline. More information on the MURI program and links to the three separate calls for proposals can be found in the synopsis below. We are also including, as a reminder, a synopsis of the previously announced Defense University Research Instrumentation Program (DURIP).
FY24 Multidisciplinary Research Program of the University Research Initiative (MURI)
Sponsor Deadline for White Papers (strongly recommended) : May 19, 2023
FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: August 31, 2023
Sponsor Deadline for Full Proposals: September 8, 2023
Award Amount: Typical annual funding per grant is in the $1.25M to $1.5M range for five years. The amount of the award and the number of supported researchers should generally not exceed the limit specified for the individual topics. For select topics (topics 4, 6, 12, 17, 21, and 23), an additional $1.5M per topic over the 5-year MURI award is available specifically to support HBCU/MI participation in the MURI research team. Note, however, that HBCU/MI team members are not required for submission to these topics.
DoD's Multidisciplinary Research Program of the University Research Initiative (MURI) program addresses high-risk basic research and attempts to understand or achieve something that has never been done before. 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. The program was initiated over 25 years ago and it has regularly produced significant scientific breakthroughs with far reaching consequences to the fields of science, economic growth, and revolutionary new military technologies. Key to the program’s success is the close management of the MURI projects by service program officers and their active role in providing research guidance.
This Department of Defense program is administered by three agencies, each with their own funding opportunity announcement: Army Research Office (ARO); Office of Naval Research (ONR); and Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR).
White papers and proposals addressing the following topics should be submitted to the respective agency:
ONR
- Topic 1: Interventions in Large and Complex Networks: Prediction, Monitoring and Evaluation
- Topic 2: The Deep Sea Benthic Boundary Layer; Interactions and Coupling with the Deep Seabed
- Topic 3: Machine Learning Methods for Phase Change Heat Transfer Modeling and Design
- Topic 4: Complexity Science Disorder-Promoted Synchronization
- Topic 5: Theory and Algorithms for Learning and Decision-Making in Multi-Agent Systems
- Topic 6: Reexamining Ocean Effects on Atmospheric Wind Drag and Enthalpy Flux
- Topic 7: Understanding Thermal and Mechanical Behavior in High Temperature Materials
- Topic 8: Understanding and Tailoring the Interactions between Metamaterials and Hypersonic Flows
- Topic 9: Cognitive and Neuroscience-Inspired Problem-Solving for Autonomous Systems in Physical Environments
AFOSR
- Topic 10: Plasmon-Controlled Single-Atom Catalysis
- Topic 11: A New Mathematical Paradigm for Integrating Data, Models, Decisions
- Topic 12: AlN Semiconductors for High-Power Electronics
- Topic 13: Compositionally Complex Ceramics (CCCs) via Knowledge-Guided Pyrolysis for Hypersonics
- Topic 14: Piezoelectric Materials Interfaced with Semiconductors for Integrated Quantum Systems
- Topic 15: Space-Based Characterization of Arctic Permafrost Dynamics
- Topic 16: Modeling and Measuring Multilevel Resonance
- Topic 17: Fundamental Limits of Passive Heterodyne Photodetection of Incoherent, Broadband Sources
- Topic 18: Tensor Networks and Low-Rank Methods for High-Dimensional Computing
ARO
- Topic 19: Bioinspired Vibronic Coherence in Molecular and Solid-State Systems
- Topic 20: Engineered Quantum Materials Approaches to Room-Temperature Single Photon Detection in Infrared Range
- Topic 21: The Ecological Succession of Environmental Films at the Gas-Solid Interface
- Topic 22: Predicting Performance Outcomes for Heterogeneous Materials under Complex Loading
- Topic 23: Synchronization in Natural and Engineered Systems
- Topic 24: Ferroelectric Group III and II-IV-Nitride Semiconductors for Photonics and Electronics
- Topic 25: SCAMP 3D- Synthetic Colloidal Assemblies for Meta-Photonics in Three Dimensions
It is strongly recommended that applicants contact the Research Topic Chiefs with questions regarding eligibility and technical requirements before the submission of formal proposals. Pre-proposal inquiries and questions must be submitted no later than May 5, 2023.
Defense University Research Instrumentation Program (DURIP)
Inquiries and Questions Deadline: April 21, 2023
FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: May 5, 2023
Sponsor Deadline for Full Proposals: May 12, 2023
Award Amount: $50,000-$3,000,000. Exceptions are rare and must meet criteria outlined below. DURIP awards are typically one year in length.
The Defense University Research Instrumentation Program (DURIP) is designed to improve the capabilities of accredited U.S. institutions of higher education to conduct research and to educate scientists and engineers in areas important to national defense, by providing funds for the acquisition of research equipment or instrumentation. Each administering agency will make grants to fund the purchase of research equipment or instrumentation costing $50,000 or more that cannot typically be purchased within the budgets of single-investigator awards. Awards will not exceed $3,000,000 unless the proposal qualifies for one of the following two exceptions: 1) the proposal contains a commitment from the applicant institution to provide voluntary committed cost sharing or matching so the cost to DoD remains $3,000,000 or less; or, 2) the proposal requests that the administering agency grant an exception to the $3,000,000 maximum if the agency considers it is warranted by a priority defense research need.
This Department of Defense program is administered by three agencies, each with their own funding opportunity announcement:
Applicants may submit a single DURIP proposal to more than one administering agency; however, only one administering agency will fund it, if selected. Applicants are encouraged to contact the Program Managers listed in the cited announcements before submitting proposals to explore research areas of mutual interest. Pre-proposal inquiries and questions must be submitted not later than April 21, 2023.