U.S. Department of Defense to Award USD 167 Million in Research Funding

The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) yesterday announced plans to issue 24 awards totaling $167 million over the next five years to academic institutions to perform multidisciplinary basic research.

The Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) program supports research conducted by teams of investigators that intersect more than one traditional science and engineering discipline in order to accelerate research progress.

The Army Research Office, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, and the Office of Naval Research solicited proposals in 24 topics important to DOD and the military services. Initially, 361 white papers were received, 88 of which were selected for more detailed proposals. The awards were selected based on a merit review by a panel of experts and are subject to successful negotiation between the institution and DOD.

The awards announced yesterday are for a five year period subject to availability of appropriations and satisfactory research progress.

The highly competitive MURI program complements other DOD basic research efforts which fund traditional, single-investigator university, industry and department laboratory grants, by supporting multidisciplinary teams with larger and longer-term awards, in carefully chosen research topics identified for their potential for significant and sustained progress. Like single-investigator awards, MURI awards provide strong support for the education and training of graduate students in cutting edge research. Based on the proposals selected in the fiscal 2014 competition, a total of 64 academic institutions are expected to participate in these 24 research efforts.

For more than 25 years, DOD’s MURI program has resulted in significant capabilities for U.S. military forces and opened up entirely new lines of research. Examples include advances in laser frequency combs that have become the gold standard in frequency control for precision in navigation and targeting; atomic and molecular self-assembly projects that have opened new possibilities for nano-manufacturing; and the field of spintronics emerged from a MURI award on magnetic materials and devices research.

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Press Release, April 15, 2014; Image: Wikimedia