Australia-US Directed Energy Program (AUSDEP)
The US Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) and US DoD Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (OUSD R&E) announce this solicitation for a three-year program of collaborative research grants in directed energy, particularly those areas concentrating on the advancement of high power laser and microwave systems.
AUS-US DE Program APAN Call
History:
Directed Energy (DE) systems are those based on exploiting concentrated sources of electro-magnetic energy – typically in the optical and microwave regime. The United States Department of Defense (DOD) is interested in the development of directed energy systems as a growing number of nations are realizing the potential of DE for a variety of militarily relevant missions.
Eligibility:
Applications must have two collaborating principal investigators (co-PIs): one from a US academic institution or DoD Laboratory, and one from an Australian academic institution. Teams can be constructed to work under each of these PI’s. Only one application is permitted per PI (i.e. a PI may not be on more than one proposal, even they would be on a different team). It is up to the PI’s themselves to form and coordinate the teams and research concepts themselves. Applications from early career researchers and HBCU/MI institutions are encouraged.
Instructions:
Detailed Instructions can be found here: AUS-US DE Program APAN Call
Each team, consisting of a US PI and an Australian PI, will be asked to submit a single joint white paper with a technical narrative of no more than 2 pages. White papers should describe the proposed effort to be undertaken. Based on an internal evaluation of these white papers, up to 12 finalist teams will be invited to submit full proposals. Full proposals, consisting of a technical narrative of no more than 8 pages, will compete for the final selection of 5 winners.
It is expected that basic research efforts funded under this program will: 1) publish their results in the open literature, 2) complement existing basic and applied research efforts at AFRL, and 2) foster greater scientific collaboration between Australia and the US. The suggested scientific focus areas include:
High Power Lasers (Continuous Wave or Long Pulse, but not Ultra-short)
Novel wavelengths in both continuous wave (CW) and pulsed lasers
Beam dynamics and propagation
Compact high power laser sources
High power radio frequency & microwaves
The proposals will be reviewed and selected by a panel of subject matter experts, according to a multi-step process detailed below. It is expected that efforts funded under this program will complement existing basic research efforts and foster greater scientific collaboration between the US and Australia. Preference will be given to high risk, high reward projects, and selection will be based upon:
The scientific merit and novelty of the proposal,
The unique synergy enabled by the AUS-US team, and
The potential for transition to defense technology development efforts
Funding Level:
Funding will be for 3 years with up to US$150,000/year for each PI (US$300,000 per project).
Timeline:
All collaborative teams will be selected in 2023 for a 2023 start. The timeline for this call is as follows:
22 May – Release of this announcement
12 June – 2-page white papers due
26 June – Winners announced, and notifications sent to selected teams to submit full proposals
14 July – Full proposals due
31 July – Winners announced, and notifications sent to selected teams to submit for award
A signed award is anticipated at 3-4 months after submission, depending on Contracting elements
Points of Contact:
All communication for this program should be channeled through:
General inquiries: Dr. Geoff Andersen, geoffrey.andersen.4@us.af.mil
Submissions: Dr. Geoff Andersen, geoffrey.andersen.4@us.af.mil
Dr. John Luginsland, john.luginsland@us.af.mil
Please note that AFOSR is not responsible for finding partners, making introductions, or forming collaborations.