The Department of Defense announced $18 million in Defense Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (DEPSCoR) awards to 28 collaborative academic teams. DEPSCoR is a capacity-building program designed to strengthen the basic research infrastructure at institutions of higher education in underutilized states/territories.
"DEPSCoR allows us to tap into institutions that have enormous basic research capability – but have been underutilized by DoD – to enhance U.S. science and engineering research capacity both now and in the long term," said Dr. Bindu Nair, Director of DoD's Basic Research Office. "Since the next scientific breakthrough could come from any corner of our Nation, growing the Department's ecosystem of creative and insightful researchers is critical to our national security."
Today's awards follow two Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 competitions – the DEPSCoR Research Collaboration competition and the DEPSCoR Capacity Building competition.
The DEPSCoR Research Collaboration competition is open to tenured and tenure-track faculty members with appointments in the 37 states/territories eligible to compete for DEPSCoR funds. This competition helps introduce potential researchers to DoD's unique research challenges and supportive research ecosystem.
DoD received over 115 white papers for the FY 2022 Research Collaboration competition, from which subject matter experts in the Military Services selected the final 25 collaborative teams. Universities in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho, Indiana, Nebraska, Nevada, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Wisconsin will lead these teams. Each team will receive up to $600,000 over a three-year period of performance to pursue science and engineering research in areas relevant to DoD initiatives supporting the National Defense Strategy.
The DEPSCoR Capacity Building competition supports the strategic objectives of institutes of higher education (either individually or in partnership with others) in DEPSCoR-eligible states/territories, enhancing their competitiveness as research and development centers.
The DoD received over 25 white papers for the FY 2022 Capacity Building competition, from which DoD subject matter experts selected the three finalists. The executive offices at George Washington University, the University of New Mexico, and the University of South Dakota will lead the selected teams. Each team will receive up to $1 million over a two-year period of performance to pursue capacity-building activities that will help them achieve basic research excellence in areas relevant to the DoD.
Click here for the list of winning Research Collaboration teams.
About USD(R&E)
The Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (USD(R&E)) is the Chief Technology Officer of the Department of Defense. The USD(R&E) champions research, science, technology, engineering, and innovation to maintain the U.S. military's technological advantage. Learn more at www.cto.mil, follow us on Twitter @DoDCTO, or visit us on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/ousdre.
