Blue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense Hosts Meeting on Implementing the National Biodefense Strategy
Federal officials agreed the U.S. needs a more coordinated approach to civilian and military biodefense efforts, following a November 14 interagency discussion on the implementation of the National Biodefense Strategy.  The Blue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense hosted the meeting, where officials from the Department of Homeland Security, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Government Accountability Office, and the National Security Council discussed how to improve cross-agency coordination.  The National Biodefense Strategy, released in September 2018 by the Trump Administration, outlines measures to manage the risk of biological threats due to naturally occurring, accidental, or deliberate events.

The White House, National Security Council, and lead agencies, like the Department of Health and Human Services, are still in the early stages of convening federal agency representatives and understanding the infrastructure needed to build a coordinating committee to implement the strategy.  Lewis-Burke continues to monitor the progress of the National Biodefense Strategy, its implementation, and agencies’ responses to the directed objectives and will continue to provide information on opportunities to engage.

ONR Appoints New Chief Scientist
The Office of Naval Research (ONR) has appointed Dr. Craig Hoffman as its new chief scientist.  Dr. Hoffman previously served as Superintendent for the Optical Sciences Division of the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) following his positions as Associate Superintendent and Acting Superintendent.  Dr. Hoffman first joined the NRL as a National Research Council Post-Doctoral Fellow in 1979 and joined the scientific staff as a research physicist in 1981.  His research portfolio included optoelectronic and transport properties of narrow gap semiconductors as well as infrared detectors and laser radiation.  He also previously led NRL’s Optical Sciences Division in research that included organic optoelectronics, quantum dots, nanochannel glass, aerosol optics, biowarfare agent detection, and sensor hardening.  Dr. Hoffman received his B.S. in Physics at Purdue University and M.S. and Ph.D. in Physics from Brown University.

DARPA Announces Second Phase of Advanced Electronics Program
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Microsystems Technology Office (MTO) has announced the second phase of its Electronics Resurgence Initiative (ERI).  The ERI seeks to make foundational advances to the defense enterprise’s electronics capabilities, in light of a widely held prediction of the end of Moore’s law, which observed that the number of transistors in an integrated circuit doubles approximately every year.  The next phase addresses research challenges and issues raised by the microelectronics community during DARPA’s ERI summit in July.  ERI’s next three priorities include strengthening chip security; increasing connections and collaborations between new ERI programs; and demonstrating new technologies for defense applications.  DARPA will continue to look for alternatives to strengthening processing power beyond traditional scaling through new efforts such as the Photonics in the Package for Extreme Scalability (PIPES) program, which aims to convene the advanced microelectronics industry with photonics experts in the research community to develop optical signaling capabilities for military microelectronics.

Creating new technologies and strengthening the manufacturing capabilities of the domestic microelectronics enterprise continues to be MTO’s top priority and a significant concern for many Department of Defense (DOD) officials, following reports of foreign adversaries infiltrating domestic companies and organizations by exploiting the global microelectronics supply chain.  Lewis-Burke anticipates that this next phase will lead to a slate of new programs that may be announced in the next fiscal year.

Federal Advisory Committee Urges Administration’s Cybersecurity Moonshot Initiative to Invest in Key Research and Technologies
U.S. leadership must pursue a “Cybersecurity Moonshot Initiative” similar to President John F. Kennedy’s 1961 moonshot to catalyze national cybersecurity activities and “make the internet safe and secure” in the next 10 years, according to a draft report released in mid-November by the President’s National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee (NSTAC).   The advisory committee recommended that the President or Vice President introduce and strategically champion a whole-of-government, whole-of-nation “Cybersecurity Moonshot Initiative” that boosts investments in research and technology in four strategic areas: automated intelligence; quantum communications and quantum resistant cryptography; behavioral biometrics; and 5G communications.  The NSTAC noted that while the foundational technological underpinnings exist or are in development, they require a concerted national research and product development strategy to “bring them to bear against the national cybersecurity challenge.”

The NSTAC envisions the “whole of nation” approach including a “multi-tiered governance model spanning the Government, industry, and academia that align their inherent capabilities and activities toward realizing a safe and secure internet.”  The report recommends using grand challenges to spur innovation and discovery in the four major technical areas.

NSTAC’s report describes the breadth of the effort required to influence human behavior in cyberspace and addresses educational and skills gaps in the key strategic research disciplines associated with enhancing cybersecurity.  It also sets the framework for governance, budget authority, privacy considerations, and policy needed to ensure a safe and trusted internet for Americans.  The report repeatedly emphasizes the role academia plays in the cybersecurity ecosystem and calls for the acceleration of an academic research model in this domain.  The committee further recommended more funding for basic and applied research to create and expand cybersecurity programs aligned with near-term development of enabling technology, as well as increased job rotation and cross-pollination between government, industry, and academia.

It is unclear whether the Trump Administration will adopt the committee’s recommendations for a Cybersecurity Moonshot, but the White House has recently released several strategies aimed at enhancing the nation’s cyber hygiene and resilience, including the National Cyber Strategy, and is expected to launch a large-scale cyber moonshot effort.

The Department of Defense is also increasing its efforts to reign in cybersecurity vulnerabilities within the Department’s information systems and weapons systems.  The Office of the Director for Operational Test and Evaluation is considering establishing a University Affiliated Research Center (UARC) focused on cybersecurity vulnerability testing to help it sustain a durable test capability while inserting state-of-the-art research and capabilities.

Laboratory for Analytic Sciences (LAS) to Hold Research Symposium in December
The Laboratory for Analytic Sciences (LAS) will hold its annual Research Symposium on December 12 at North Carolina State University (NCSU) in Raleigh, NC.  LAS, founded in 2013 as a partnership between the National Security Agency (NSA) and NCSU, seeks to solve the data analytics challenges facing analysts at the Department of Defense (DOD) and the intelligence community (IC).  LAS serves as the primary interface between NSA and the extramural research community.  The symposium provides an opportunity for academia, industry, and small businesses to engage with LAS and government partners and facilitates collaboration to advance the science of analysis.  In 2019, LAS will focus on human-machine collaboration; integrity for analytic methods; forecasting and anticipation; and analytics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning as its four priority research challenges.  These research areas will support several mission applications relevant to DOD and the IC such as cybersecurity and insider threat, industrial internet of things and critical infrastructure, computational social science, and emerging technology.  Organizations interested in attending may register here, and more information on LAS is available here.

DOD Opens Registration for STIx Event in December
The Department of Defense (DOD) opened registration for the 2018 Science, Technology, and Innovation Exchange (STIx), which takes place on December 10-11.  The event showcases DOD-funded basic research and serves as an opportunity to continue engagement with DOD basic research agencies.  Scheduled presentations will discuss “connections in basic science, multidisciplinary work, technological advances that benefit both the warfighter and general society,” as well as best practices related to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) recruitment and retention in a TED talk style presentation for a broad audience.  Information on registration and a tentative speaker schedule is available here.

DARPA to Host AI Colloquium in March
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) announced plans to host a two-day conference on Artificial Intelligence (AI) Research and Development (R&D) programs on March 6-7, 2019 in Alexandria, Virginia.  The 2019 AI Colloquium will provide information on DARPA’s AI R&D to Department of Defense (DOD) researchers and industry stakeholders and will explore the potential applications of AI technologies to DOD missions.  DARPA Deputy Director Peter Highnam said the agency currently pursues more than 20 programs that aim to advance AI into a third wave of “contextual reasoning.”  The Colloquium will also host a panel discussion surrounding the ethics of AI.  DARPA’s announcement of the 2019 AI Colloquium can be found here, and attendees may register here.

NDIA to Hold Annual Science & Engineering Technology Conference in April
The National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) will hold its annual Science and Engineering Technology (S&ET) Conference from April 2-4, 2019 at the San Diego Marriot Mission Valley in San Diego, CA.  The conference serves as an opportunity to interact with the Department of Defense’s (DOD) Science and Technology leadership, and to gain insight into the Department’s priorities and new initiatives pertaining to S&T.  The theme of this year’s conference will be “Enabling the National Defense Strategy through Science and Technology.”  Registration for the event is expected to open in early 2019, and will be available here.

AFRL Releases FOA for Materials-Related Center of Excellence
On November 30, the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Materials and Manufacturing Directorate (RXCM) released a funding opportunity announcement (FOA) for a Data-Driven Discovery of Optimized Multifunctional Material Systems Center of Excellence (D³OM²S CoE).  AFRL seeks to develop and apply advances in artificial intelligence, data analytics, and decision science to advance materials challenges of interest to the Air Force.

White papers are required and should be submitted by mail to Melissa Gross, AFRL/RQKMC, Bldg 45, 2130 8^th ST., Wright-Patterson AFB, OH 45433-7541 by January 3, 2019 at 2:00 PM EST.  The Air Force will send a request for proposal (RFP) with further instructions to proposers whose white papers are considered to meet the needs of the Air Force.  Communication between prospective applicants and AFRL representatives is encouraged prior to submission.  AFRL anticipates funding one award of $5 million over a five year period, plus an additional three months to submit a final report.  Only educational institutions within the United States are eligible to apply.  More information is available in the full FOA, located at www.grants.gov under solicitation number “FOA-AFRL-RQKM-2019-5011.”

ONR Releases FOA for Navy and Marine Corps STEM Education Workforce Program
The Office of Naval Research (ONR) released a funding opportunity announcement (FOA) to increase Navy and Marine Corps science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce opportunities.  This FOA encourages projects that create meaningful STEM education experiences for students and workers, including active learning approaches and 21^st Century skill development.  ONR seeks to develop a STEM workforce in order to maintain U.S. technological superiority in the Services and specifically increase naval STEM capabilities.  Funding efforts will be focused on the following STEM education communities: secondary education; post-secondary education; informal science communities; and the current naval STEM workforce.  Projects should align with the following naval research priority areas: augmented warfighter; integrated and distributed forces; operational endurance; sensing and sense-making; and scalable lethality.  Applicants must highlight the importance of naval workforce needs and must submit white papers by June 28, 2019 at 5:00 PM ET.  Applications are due on September 27, 2019 at 11:59 PM ET.  The full grant opportunity is available at www.grants.gov under solicitation number “N00014-19-S-F003.”

SERDP Releases FY 2020 BAA
The Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP), the Department of Defense’s (DOD) environmental science and technology program, released its broad agency announcement (BAA) for fiscal year (FY) 2020.  The program focuses on improving environmental sustainability and reducing current and future environmental liabilities impacting DOD bases, land use, and operations.  The BAA is soliciting applications for proposals in four areas: munitions response, weapons systems and platforms, environmental restoration, and resource conservation and resiliency.  Proposers can apply in response to either SERDP’s Core or SEED Statement of Needs, which list the agency’s objectives for research in response to DOD challenges.  SERDP recommends that applicants ensure that their proposals clearly and sufficiently respond to the needs statements.  SERDP intends to award a total of $12 million for larger multi-year projects under the Core BAA.  SERDP will also fund smaller awards, not exceeding $200,000, for one-year projects under the SEED BAA.  Pre-proposals for Core projects should be submitted no later than January 8, 2019 at 2:00 PM ET.  Applicants will be notified in February if they are invited to submit full proposals, which are due on March 5, 2019 at 2:00 PM ET.  SEED projects, which do not require pre-proposals, are also due on March 5, 2019 at 2:00 PM ET.  Further information on the submission process is available here.

DARPA BTO to Host Proposers Day for Panacea Program
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Biological Technologies Office (BTO) announced a proposers day for the Panacea program, in advance of a broad agency announcement (BAA).  The proposers day will be held on December 14, 2018 in Arlington, VA.

The Panacea program seeks to integrate systems pharmacology and advanced medicinal chemistry to discover and develop drugs and interventions to better support the physiological resilience and recovery of the warfighter.  DARPA aims to better understand the complex physiological conditions of the human body to address two specific issues affecting military service members: alleviating pain/inflammation without unwanted side effects and mitigating metabolic stress.  Participants must register here by December 7, 2018 at 12:00 PM ET or until the event reaches its capacity of 136 participants.  More information is available in DARPA’s special notice, which can be found at www.fbo.govunder solicitation number “DARPA-SN-19-12.”

DARPA DSO Releases PA on Sigma + Network and Analytics
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Defense Sciences Office (DSO) released a program announcement (PA) for the SIGMA + Network and Analytics program, part of the office’s broader SIGMA + Initiative.  The Sigma + Initiative seeks to build on the successes of the earlier SIGMA program to develop a real-time early detection system for the full spectrum of chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosive (CBRNE) weapons of mass destruction (WMD) threats at the city-to-region scale.  The Sigma + Initiative consists of three thrusts: sensors, networks, and large field trials.  DARPA released a PA for the sensors thrust earlier this year.  DARPA anticipates funding multiple awards, although there is no predetermined level of funding for individual awards.  Full proposals should be submitted through DARPA’s submission website at baa.darpa.mil no later than January 11, 2019 at 4:00 PM ET.  The full PA is available at www.fbo.gov under solicitation number “DARPA-PA-19-01.”

DARPA DSO Seeks New Program Managers
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Defense Sciences Office (DSO) seeks prospective program managers from academia and industry to work on its Complex Social Systems portfolio.  Dr. Adam Russell leads the social and behavioral sciences research portfolio which includes four programs: Ground Truth, Next Generation Social Science (NGS2), Systematizing Confidence in Open Research and Evidence (SCORE), and Understanding Group Biases (UGB).  The agency seeks additional program managers to execute those programs, assist with the transition of results to other programs, and help develop future DARPA programs in complex social systems, human behavior, and development of experimental platforms and semi-automated capabilities to validate social and behavioral science research results and theories.  Those interested should reach out to DARPA DSO directly.

IARPA Releases RFI for Sensitive Compartmented Information Facilities
The Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA) released a request for information (RFI) on innovative approaches to securing sensitive compartmented information facilities (SCIFs).  Areas of interest for the RFI include advanced materials or techniques to “fully shield” SCIFs from unintended radio frequency (RF) or optical, acoustic, or magnetic transmissions.  The RFI also seeks approaches or technologies that enable more dependable technical surveillance countermeasures (TSCM) and secure the operation of wireless devices and networks in sensitive areas.  Responses to the RFI are due on December 31, 2018 at 4:00 PM ET and must be submitted electronically as a PDF to dni-iarpa-rfi-19-03@iarpa.gov.  More information on the SCIF RFI is available here.

AFRL Releases Special Notice RFI for Distributed Common Ground System (DCGS)
The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) released a request for information (RFI) on the “best of breed” tools that can add value to the Air Force’s Distributed Common Ground System (DCGS) mission.  The RFI specifically seeks to increase technological capabilities and better understand existing tools and research and development (R&D) in DCGS multi-intelligence (Multi-INT) fusion and analytics.  This RFI is meant to help AFRL identify potential DOD laboratories, Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDC), academic institutions, and industry vendors that can support the following capabilities:

• Establish or maintain fusion priorities and mission planning through workflow management;
• Perform automated or machine-assisted time-dominant fusion and content-driven fusion;
• Provide situational awareness to decision makers and/or analysts; and
• Create and disseminate multi-INT products and data.

RFI abstracts are due on December 7, 2018.  More information on the RFI is available here.

DHS S&T Releases Request for Comment on Next Generation First Responder (NGFR) Program
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) released a request for comment in the federal register for technology demonstration under the Next Generation First Responder (NGFR) program.  NGFR seeks to develop and field new technologies for first responders in order to better address challenges facing the DHS mission component agencies.  The request for comment is soliciting information on new research and technologies to support first responders and will help to shape future funding opportunities.  Comments should be submitted no later than January 14, 2019.  Instructions can be found in the federal register notice, available here.

ARL Releases FOA for Collaborative Alliance on Strengthening Teamwork for Robust Operations in Novel Groups (STRONG)
The Army Research Laboratory (ARL) released a funding opportunity announcement (FOA) for the Strengthening Teamwork for Robust Operations in Novel Groups (STRONG) program.  STRONG seeks to develop the foundational sciences for the Army that will enable teaming between warfighters and intelligent agents, specifically on the potential for “influencing individual team members, human or agent, to enhance positive team properties and performance.”  The program is structured around eight annual program cycles from fiscal year (FY) 2019 to 2026.  Each year, new topics will build on the progress from the previous year and broader scientific and technological advancement.  ARL anticipates awarding 10-15 seedling projects each cycle, ranging from $50,000 to $100,000 for the initial phase.  Projects selected for extensions will be larger in scope and are anticipated to receive between $350,000 and $500,000 per year for up to three years.  For the FY 2019 cycle, full proposals should be submitted no later than December 21, 2018 at 3:00 PM ET.  The full solicitation is available at www.grants.gov under solicitation number “W911NF-19-S-0001.”  More information on STRONG is available here.

Combating Terrorism Technical Support Office (CTTSO) Releases Draft BAA
In advance of an industry day on December 6, the Department of Defense Combating Terrorism Technical Support Office/Technical Support Working Group (CTTSO/TSWG) released its draft broad agency announcement (BAA) to identify technologies and approaches that provide near-, mid-, and long-term solutions that enhance the capabilities of the U.S. government to combat or mitigate terrorism.  CTTSO is charged with providing a forum for interagency and international users to discuss mission requirements to combat terrorism, prioritizing those requirements, funding and managing solutions, and delivering capabilities.  CTTSO accomplishes these objectives through rapid prototyping of novel solutions developed and field-tested before the traditional acquisition systems are fully engaged.

The draft BAA describes multi-agency challenges across 10 technical focus areas, such as advanced analytic capabilities; chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosives; irregular warfare and evolving threats; physical security; and surveillance, collection, and operations support.  The draft BAA describes specific requirements for research and development, including a mapping robot for complex urban environments, large-scale digital forensics in cross-domain environments, blockchain risks and opportunities to the U.S., affordable small unmanned aircraft systems, virtual immersive training environments, and a focus on developing capabilities for subterranean operating environments.  Proposals are also accepted under an “Unspecified requirements (R000)” category for unique innovations that have not yet been identified by CTTSO.  CTTSO anticipates the release of its final BAA in early January 2019 following feedback from the draft BAA and the industry day.  The draft BAA is available here.  Industry day slides describing the solicitation process, submission formats and requirements are available here.