Award

The Department of Defense Minerva Research Initiative is pleased to announce the 2021-2022 cohort of the Minerva-USIP Peace and Security Dissertation Fellows. In partnership with the U.S. Institute of Peace’s Jennings Randolph Peace Scholar Dissertation Fellowship program, over 115 applicants from 88 U.S. universities applied for this prestigious award. Those chosen for the Peace and Security Scholar Fellowship show great potential to advance the peace building and security fields and to positively influence policy and practice.

Since 2016, the Minerva Research Initiative has joined with the U.S. Institute of Peace to award non-residential fellowships to students enrolled in U.S. universities, supporting careers in research, teaching, and policy making. Minerva Research Initiative fellowships support basic research contributions related to broad concerns of conflict management and peace building, including security and stability.

“The Minerva-USIP Peace and Security pre-doctoral awards support young researchers at a crucial time in their careers and encourages them to think through how their work can broadly influence security challenges around the world,” remarked Dr. David Montgomery, Director of the Minerva Research Initiative. “We are proud of the doctoral candidates being funded through this collaboration with the U.S. Institute of Peace and look forward to seeing their projects develop.”

The 2021-2022 Peace Scholar Dissertation Fellows include:

Minerva-Funded Minerva-USIP Peace and Security Scholars

• Peyman Asadzade (Arizona State University), “Diplomatic Support for Protest Movements: Causes, Effectiveness, and Consequences.”
• Nejla Asimovic (New York University), “Growing Closer or Further Apart: Exposure to Social Media in Post-Conflict Societies.”
• Zenobia Chan (Princeton University), “Affluence without Influence? Understanding Positive Economic Statecraft and Influence in International Politics.”
• Jiwon Kim (Stanford University), “Security, Identity, and Minority Politics: Explaining Ethnic Mobilization in Post-conflict Elections.”
• Casey Mahoney (University of Pennsylvania), “How Friends Fight: International Alliances, Military Technology, and Intra-Alliance Bargaining in the Shadow of Conflict.
• Aidan Milliff (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), “Seeking Safety: The Cognitive and Social Foundations of Behavior During Violence.”
• Dijana Mujkanovic (University of Pittsburgh), “Conflict Prevention and Transformation: A Study of the Effects of Contact between Ethnic Groups in Israel and Bosnia and Herzegovina.”
• Paul Orner (University of Southern California), “The Logics of Chinese Strategy: How the PRC Undermines American Security Partnerships.”
• Faizaan Qayyum (University of Illinois “” Urbana-Champaign), “Dis-placemaking: Ethnicization of Afghan lives in Quetta, Pakistan.”
• Mashal Shabbir (American University), “Rebelling Against the Rebellion: Explaining the Magnitude of Insurgent Group Disintegration.”
• Aaron Stanley (City University of New York), “Local Conceptions and Perceptions of Legitimacy in Post-Conflict States.”
• Olivia Woldemikael (Harvard University), “South-South Migrants, Refugees, and Hosts: Lessons of Tolerance from Uganda and Colombia.”

The Minerva initiative has a unique relationship between Research and Policy within DoD. As such, leadership across the department collaborate to identify and support basic social science research issues in need of attention and then integrate those research insights into the policy-making context. In doing this, the leadership team closely works with the program managers within the Air Force Office of Scientific Research and the Office of Naval Research.

Please join us in congratulating these distinguished Ph.D. candidates on this accomplishment.

About OUSD(R&E)
The Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (OUSD(R&E)) is responsible for the research, development, and prototyping activities across the Department of Defense. OUSD(R&E) fosters technological dominance across the DoD, ensuring the unquestioned superiority of the American joint force. Learn more at www.cto.mil or follow us on Twitter: @DoDCTO.

To learn more, visit the US Institute of Peace Collaboration webpage.

Arlington, VA – The Department of Defense (DoD) has announced awards to 144 university researchers totaling $46 million under the Defense University Research Instrumentation Program (DURIP). These grants will be provided to 81 institutions across 35 states in Fiscal Year (FY) 2022.

DoD has long championed the country’s scientific ecosystem. Through DURIP, DoD supports purchases of major research equipment to augment current and develop new capabilities. This effort enables universities to perform state-of-the-art research that boosts the United States’ technological edge, while ensuring that our future science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce remains second to none. This year, the awards will support equipment and instrumentation to accelerate basic research, which is relevant across the department to include the design, development, and characterization of novel materials, quantum computing and quantum networks, bioelectronics, hypersonics, autonomy and more.

“DURIP awards provide essential research infrastructure to enable the pursuit of new knowledge and help maintain cutting-edge capabilities of our universities,” said Dr. Bindu Nair, Director, Basic Research Office, Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering. “The awards will sustain the scientific excellence of our universities, train the next generation of STEM workforce, and facilitate scientific advances that will drive unparalleled military capabilities for our country.“

The annual DURIP award process is highly competitive. The program is administered through a merit competition jointly by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, Army Research Office, and Office of Naval Research. The Department seeks specific proposals from university investigators conducting foundational science and engineering research relevant to national defense.

For the FY 2022 competition, the Service research offices received 685 proposals requesting $456 million in total funding. Selections made by the Service research offices are subject to successful completion of negotiations with the academic institutions.

Click Here For A List of Selected Projects

FY 2022 SMART Scholar SEED Grant Program Awardees

The Department of Defense (DoD) Science, Mathematics, and Research for Transformation (SMART) program recently announced awards to 21 SMART PhD scholars as part of its competitive SMART Scholar SEED Grant program for Fiscal Year (FY) 2022. The SMART Scholar SEED Grant Program awards research grants worth up to $100,000 per year for a maximum of three years to promising SMART scholars as they transition from the pursuit of their PhDs to become active Department of Defense (DoD) professionals. The grants help scholars establish foundational research/engineering projects in their areas of expertise.

A highly competitive scholarship-for-service program, SMART is one of the largest science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)-focused education and workforce initiatives under DoD STEM, the Department’s comprehensive K “20 STEM education and talent development effort. SMART is empowered to make full-tuition awards during any phase of a scholar’s education in a regionally accredited U.S. university or college. The program sponsors undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral studies in 21 academic disciplines critical to national security and DoD’s future. Upon graduation, students move directly into employment at DoD facilities. Awards can be made during any phase of a scholar’s education and vary in length from a minimum of one to a maximum of five years. The service commitment is one year of DoD employment for each academic year of SMART funding. Since its inception in 2006, the program has awarded over 3,700 scholarships.

The SMART Scholar SEED Grant program aims to develop a cadre of future DoD subject matter experts who will conduct high-impact research at SMART sponsoring facilities. It provides opportunities for scholars who have pursued PhDs through the SMART program to deepen their expertise in targeted, strategically important STEM areas, allowing them to lead their own research efforts while receiving valuable mentoring within their sponsoring facilities.

The SMART Scholar SEED Grant program’s FY 2022 proposals were reviewed by a panel of science and technology experts from across the DoD Components, who evaluated them according to scientific and technical merit, relevance to the DoD mission, developmental potential, and justification of budget. The funding opportunity announcement received 39 eligible proposals, with 21 grant awardees named from across the Army, Navy, Air Force, and other DoD Components. The FY 2022 ‘garden’ of SEED grant awardees joins 20 investigators selected in FY 2021, the inaugural year of the SEED Grant program.

The mentoring of SEED Grant awardees by established members of the DOD science and technology workforce is a key component of the SEED Grant initiative. This year, to illustrate SMART’s commitment to mentoring, SEED applicants were able to request an additional $25,000 to support mentoring activities. Not only does this assist the mentor in their technical support of the SEED investigator, but it also encourages mentor-mentee activities like jointly attending conferences or program reviews that help the SEED investigator grow their network and improve their understanding of the DoD science and technology enterprise.

“I am impressed with the caliber of proposals that the program received, and I am especially proud of our outstanding awardees,” said Ms. Heidi Shyu the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering. “The 21 awards this year really highlight the type of mission-driven work DoD employees perform. They showcase the unique research that helps the DoD accomplish its overall mission to defend the Nation and promote the safety and success of its military personnel.”

To learn more about the SMART Scholarship-for-Service program and the participating DoD sponsoring facilities, visit: www.smartscholarship.org. Information on the SMART Scholar SEED Grant program can be found at: https://www.smartscholarship.org/smart.

Interested in becoming a SMART scholar? The application period for the 2022 SMART scholar cohort began August 1, 2021, and ends December 1, 2021. More information can be found on the website: https://www.smartscholarship.org/smart

The Department of Defense (DoD), through the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (OUSD(R&E)), is pleased to announce more than $47 million to 15 awardees under the National Defense Education Program (NDEP) in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), Biotechnology, and Enhanced Civics Education.

Awardees, consisting of a local education agency, institutions of higher education, and non-profits, are focused on activities related to STEM, including specific efforts geared toward biotechnology, a DoD modernization priority area. These organizations will receive a total of $43 million over three- or four-year periods, depending on the award. The goals for these awards are to (1) engage students and educators through STEM education, outreach, and workforce initiatives from early childhood through post secondary education and (2) expand biotechnology outreach and workforce development activities.

“The Department of Defense is not only developing emerging technologies but also investing in the STEM workforce pipeline, which is critical to the Department and our Nation’s security,” said Ms. Heidi Shyu, the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering. “These recognized awardees are helping to widen the pipeline of STEM talent to ensure that the talent is diverse, providing opportunities for students of all ages and educators of all grade levels, including those in under served and underrepresented communities, military-connected students, and veterans. These programs will implement innovative approaches to STEM education and outreach while providing awareness of the Department’s STEM career pathways.”

Activities will support the DoD STEM Strategic Plan, Fiscal Year 2021–2025, and align to the 2018 Federal STEM Strategic Plan. Several of these efforts will include participation with the Department’s laboratories and military installations from across the country.

In addition, section 234 of the Fiscal Year 2020 National Defense Authorization Act required OUSD(R&E) to implement a pilot program on enhanced civics education in collaboration with the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) and/or Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC). Enhanced Civics Education awardees will receive $4 million over two years to prepare the next generation to better understand the U.S. Government and their role as citizens in civic engagement.

The 15 awardees are listed by category as follows:

STEM Education, Outreach, and Workforce Development

• Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas: The primary goal of “Project Learning, Exploration, and Application for Prospective Engineering Students” (LEAPES) is to engage students in awareness, exploration, and preparation activities related to careers in aerospace engineering, AI, and computer science, as well as to contribute to long-term student retention in these degree programs.
• Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts: “LabXchange,”  a data-driven curricula developed at Harvard University, will apply data science to real-world challenges in biotechnology and sustainability while engaging a wide range of students with diverse interests and backgrounds in data science.
• Malcolm X College, Chicago, Illinois: “Advancing Opportunities for Women in STEM (AOWS) seeks to address the shortfall of African American, Black, Hispanic, and Latina women¯in STEM¯by¯ creating a robust pipeline of women STEM leaders with the passion, creativity, and technical skills to serve their country and advance knowledge and innovation in their fields.
• Mobile County Public School System, Mobile, Alabama: The Mobile County Public School System will scale up its JROTC STEM Leadership Academy to 14 JROTC programs across the Nation, thereby expanding the JROTC STEM Leadership Academy as a hybrid Junior Cadet Leadership Challenge impacting over 5,000 cadets, 350 cadre, and 275 STEM instructors. STEM activities will focus on maritime, advanced manufacturing, and aviation.
• Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma: The new DISCOVERY center, in the heart of the Oklahoma City Innovation District, will scale up its first to fifth grade STEM summer and after school programs and sixth to eighth grade teacher training focused on trans disciplinary teaching and learning at three school districts adjacent to Tinker Air Force Base, the state’s largest military base. These programs and training will prepare military-connected and underrepresented students for DoD STEM career pathways.
• Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana: The goal of this project is to create a broad, flourishing community of students, engineers, and scientists who collaborate in open-source learning activities on quantum technology concepts by 1) developing learning modules; 2) partnering with leading quantum companies; and 3) establishing cross-disciplinary professional degrees to help close the gap between quantum technology and education.
• Space Foundation, Colorado Springs, Colorado: The “Innovative Space, STEM, and Entrepreneurship Inspired Learning: Empowering an Agile STEM Talent Pool” (SSEL) project marries entrepreneurship and STEM to cultivate the skills needed by students and educators in local education districts that includes students from low socioeconomic backgrounds and where 12.5 percent of the students are military-connected thereby expanding equity and access to under served communities.
• University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut: The University of Connecticut, will create the Navy STEM Coalition to establish a long-term STEM pipeline program in Southeast New England. The program will engage STEM talent K-12 through graduate school in innovative naval-focused activities and hands-on projects through participation from the regional Navy community to provide early and frequent interaction and, ultimately, retention of students from this community.
• University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina: “Our Place in Space!” (OPIS!) is an undergraduate laboratory/observing curriculum designed to accompany survey-level astronomy courses.
• University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: The BRIDGE program will expand access to graduate education that is focused on artificial intelligence, autonomy, and robotics to broaden the pool of advanced degree candidates from historically underrepresented groups in STEM fields, including student veterans and children of veterans.

Biotechnology Outreach and Workforce Development

• Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona: Implementation of a zero-cost K-12 pipeline will immediately engage 10 Arizona secondary schools (with 8 Title I programs), 20 teachers, and nearly 300 students in inquiry-based biotechnology education every year.
• Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts: “STEM Pathways” will develop a high school education and outreach program using Boston-area universities, companies, and non-profit organizations in a collection of yearly activities, including networking events, short courses, laboratory “rotations,” industrial internships, hackathons, and global science competitions.
• University of California “Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California: “SciTrek^Biotech” engages teams of K-12 students in structured but self-driven explorations of bio-science/technology questions, using multi-tiered mentoring involving peers, K-12 teachers, and university students and faculty, while simultaneously targeting distinct groups in the STEM pipeline, from K-12 students, to teachers and teachers in training, to university students.

Enhanced Civics Education

• Education Development Center, Waltham, Massachusetts: Supporting Readiness through Vital Civic Empowerment (SRVCE) represents a unique effort to engage students from military-connected schools in robust civic inquiry.
• iCivics, Cambridge, Massachusetts: Civics, Service, and Leadership (CSL) will bring civics to life while teaching students how the U.S. Government works. CSL will use a new innovative program of educational video games and classroom resources designed for DoDEA and JROTC students.

To read the selected awardee abstracts and learn about other DoD STEM partners, visit: https://dodstem.us/about/partners.

For more information about the Department’s comprehensive Pre-K “20 STEM education and workforce development efforts, visit: www.dodstem.us and be sure to follow @DoDSTEM on major social media platforms.

About OUSD(R&E)

The Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (OUSD(R&E)) is responsible for research, development, and prototyping activities across DoD. OUSD(R&E) fosters military technological dominance to ensure the unrivaled superiority of the American joint force. Learn more at: www.cto.mil/ or follow us on Twitter: @DoDCTO.

The Department of Defense (DoD) Science, Mathematics, and Research for Transformation (SMART) Program recently announced awards to 416 SMART scholars as part of its 2021 cohort.  The 2021 cohort is comprised of students representing 184 colleges and universities, and is the largest and most diverse in the program’s 15 year history.

SMART is a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) focused scholarship-for-service program and is one of the largest education and workforce initiatives under DoD STEM – the Department’s comprehensive K-20 STEM education and talent development effort.

SMART is empowered to make full-tuition awards during any phase of a scholar’s education in a regionally accredited U.S. university or college.  The program sponsors undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral study in 21 academic disciplines critical to national security and DoD’s future.  Upon graduation, students move directly into employment at DoD facilities.  Awards can be made during any phase of a scholar’s education and vary in length from a minimum of one to a maximum of five years.  The service commitment is one year of DoD employment for each academic year of SMART funding.  Since its inception in 2006, the program has awarded more than 3,700 scholarships. 

While the SMART Program does not make awards directly to DoD modernization priority areas, the majority of its scholars are pursuing foundational academic studies in disciplines that directly feed into modernization efforts. Upon graduation, scholars from the 2021 cohort will be employed at one of more than 100 selecting DoD laboratories or agencies.

“We are very proud of all the 416 recipients of this prestigious scholarship,” said Mr. Louie Lopez, DoD STEM Director “I look to forward to seeing these next generation of STEM leaders contributions to the Department and the Nation.”

To learn more about the SMART Scholarship-for-Service Program and the participating DoD sponsoring facilities, visit:  www.smartscholarship.org.

To learn more about the Department’s comprehensive K-20 STEM education and talent development effort, visit:  www.dodstem.us.

Interested in becoming a SMART scholar?  The application period for the 2022 SMART scholar cohort begins August 1, 2021 and ends December 1, 2021. More information can be found on the website:www.smartscholarship.org.

The Director of Defense Research and Engineering for Research and Technology (DDRE(R&T)) in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (OUSD(R&E)) is pleased to announce the second quarter Fiscal Year 2021 winners of the following awards:

Department of Defense (DoD) Laboratory Scientist of the Quarter Dr. Kevin Masser, U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) Army Research Laboratory

Dr. Masser, an expert in the field of polymer networks, is recognized for his work on advancements in transparent armor materials, which has helped to solve a key source of transparent armor delamination, and his innovation of novel vehicle hatch-protection solutions. Dr. Masser also designed and implemented a custom gas gun that fires inert rounds. The custom gas gun is coupled with high-speed cameras and flash X-rays to characterize the critical threat/armor interaction phase. Dr. Masser’s technical leadership continues to advance the mission of the U.S. Army and increase the reach and impact of DoD research and development programs.

DoD Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Advocate of the Quarter Mr. Wayne Jordheim, Naval Sea Systems Command Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) Division, Keyport

Mr. Jordheim is recognized for his leadership in fostering STEM education and outreach for NUWC Division, Keyport, and Kitsap County, Washington. He has acted as a sponsor for Olympic College senior design projects at local community colleges, served as a FIRST Robotics mentor, and provided NUWC Keyport-area students with unparalleled opportunities to gain real-world technical skills while increasing awareness about workforce opportunities at NUWC. His positions on local educational advisory committees are ensuring that students in northwest Washington are prepared for the jobs of the future. Community colleges are an integral piece of the STEM pipeline, and his efforts to help establish Olympic College go far beyond his scope of work in the laboratory. Mr. Jordheim exemplifies the impact DoD scientists and engineers can have on the next generation of STEM talent.

DoD Technology Transfer Advocate of the Quarter Mr. Matthew Jones, U.S. Army DEVCOM Chemical Biological Center

Mr. Jones is recognized for successfully establishing cooperative research and development agreements (CRADAs) with partners ranging from a Fortune 500 company to small businesses, including minority- and veteran-owned businesses. Through these agreements, Warfighters and the public now have access to improved personal protective equipment, improved detection capabilities, and more effective decontamination technologies for equipment and spaces. Such improvements provide the U.S. Government and its partners with better means to combat the deleterious health and socioeconomic effects of COVID-19. Mr. Jones trailblazing efforts in executing these CRADAs will strengthen the Department’s ability to access and build upon the research and development expertise of its partners.

“I am impressed with the caliber of award nominations that OUSD(R&E) received, and I am especially proud of our outstanding awardees Dr. Masser, Mr. Jordheim, and Mr. Jones, said Dr. Robert Irie, the acting DDRE(R&T). “We are thrilled to recognize their excellent contributions to the Department and the Nation, which amplify the DoD science and technology innovation enterprise and help build the next generation of STEM leaders.“

Each of the winners will have an opportunity to present his work at an upcoming DoD Innovators Spotlight Series virtual webinar. These webinars are open to the public. To learn more about the DoD Innovators Spotlight Series and to register, visit: https://dodstem.us/meet/innovators/.