DESI competition for unique solutions

The Defense Department has announced an award competition for the Defense Enterprise Science Initiative (DESI), a new pilot program that supports university-industry collaboration on use-inspired basic research. DESI incentivizes use-inspired basic research or scientific study directed toward increasing fundamental knowledge and understanding in the context of end-use applications. Funded projects will bring university and industry teams together with the aim of discovering unique solutions to challenging defense/national security problems. DESI aims to accelerate the impact of basic research results on defense capabilities, inform existing or future acquisition programs, and support sustainable collaboration between the nation’s universities and the private sector. The theme of this year’s competition centers on technologies to enable a new generation of sensing, mobility, and autonomy. Research topics include power beaming, highly‐maneuverable autonomous unmanned aerial vehicle, soft active composites, and meta-material based antennas. For more info see the Broad Agency Announcement (FA9550-18-S-B001) at https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=299112. (Source: Defense Department 01/03/18)