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The Department of Defense (DoD) Science, Mathematics, and Research for Transformation (SMART) Program, managed under the Office of the Undersecretary for Research and Engineering (OUSD(R&E)), hosted its fourth annual symposium on July 13-15, 2021.

A highly competitive scholarship-for-service program focused on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), SMART is one of the largest STEM education and workforce initiatives effort under DoD STEM. DoD STEM is the Department’s comprehensive K-20 STEM education and talent development effort, which inspires, cultivates, and develops talent to address the Nation’s technological challenges, now and into the future. 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 that the Department has identified as critical to national security and DoD’s future. Since its inception in 2006, the program has awarded over 3,000 scholarships.

This year’s three-day virtual symposium entitled “Creating Leaders of the Future” consisted of keynote speeches by DoD leadership, a science communication workshop for SMART scholars, lightning talk presentations by 13 nominated SMART scholars representing each DoD Component, presentations by Junior Science and Humanities Symposia national oral presentation winners, and an inspiring presentation by the SMART leadership team of Ms. Karrin Felton and Dr. Brandon Cochenour. Among the DoD speakers who kicked off each day of the event were Ms. Barbara McQuiston, who is now performing the duties of the Deputy Undersecretary at OUSD(R&E), and Dr. Kevin T. Geiss, Director of Science and Technology at OUSD(R&E).

DoD leaders are invested in developing current and future STEM talent to meet the Department’s unique mission. This STEM strategic plan, coupled with its follow-on implementation plan, provides an overarching framework for achieving the DoD STEM mission and vision, which are framed by Federal-wide priorities while focusing on DoD’s unique missions, needs, and resources.

The Department’s STEM strategic plan addresses critical challenges using evidence-based approaches and evaluation, laying out the goals and objectives, as included in the plan, to build a deep, diverse STEM talent base. The four main goals laid out in this plan are:

• Goal 1: Inspire community engagement in DoD STEM education programs and activities to provide meaningful STEM learning opportunities for students and educators.
• Goal 2: Attract the Nation and DoD’s current and future STEM workforce through multiple pathways to educational and career opportunities.
• Goal 3: Increase participation of underserved and underrepresented groups in STEM education and workforce development programs, activities, and outreach.
• Goal 4: Advance the efficiency and effectiveness of STEM education and workforce development programs, activities, and outreach through evaluation and assessment.

The exceptional scientists and engineers in the Department of Defense, along with those working for our industrial and academic partners, are the reason the United States of America is a world leader in the science and technologies that will determine nations security and prosperity in the 21st century, said Dr. Robert Irie, Acting Director of Defense Research and Engineering for Research and Technology. The Department is cultivating the future STEM workforce by providing unique education opportunities to students and educators of all ages and across all demographics throughout the country. These efforts are vitally important to maintaining our Nation’s competitive advantage, ensuring we are prepared for the ever-changing global technology landscape.

In order to achieve the goals and objectives outlined in the strategic plan and to make progress toward the Department’s vision of a diverse, ready, and sustainable STEM talent pool, OUSD(R&E) will release a STEM implementation plan in the future. The purpose of this implementation plan will be to provide specific steps for achieving the DoD STEM mission, vision, goals, and objectives across the Department and within the DoD Components.

Click to access the DoD STEM Strategic Plan OPEN PDF.

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Arlington, VA – The Department of Defense (DoD) has announced an additional $10 million in funding awards to 4 teams that participated in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) competition, managed by the Basic Research Office (BRO) in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (OUSD(R&E)). The winning teams, which represent 16 academic institutions nationwide, will receive three-year grants”contingent upon satisfactory research progress and the availability of funds” to pursue basic research that spans multiple scientific disciplines.  The Department previously announced $179 million in MURI awards to 25 research teams from the same FY21 MURI competition.

Please click here to download the list of winning teams.

On March 2, 2021, the Department of Defense (DoD), through the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (OUSD(R&E)), launched a $7.5 million Center of Excellence in Advanced Quantum Sensing (COE-AQS) at Delaware State University, a Historically Black College and University (HBCU). The COE-AQS will stimulate research and innovation leading to the development of novel quantum sensing technologies and methodologies. The Center was awarded through the OUSD(R&E)’s HBCU and Minority-Serving Institutions (MSI) Research and Education Program and is administered by the Army Research Laboratory.

The COE-AQS research will focus on realizing entanglement-enhanced quantum sensing in the form of spin-squeezing in atomic clocks and magnetometers using cold atom platforms. Delaware State University and collaborative partner, Northwestern University, will lead research to further explore precision rotation sensing and accelerometry using a spin-squeezed, light pulse atom interferometer.

“Quantum information science is a recognized priority leading to the critical technologies we see today from global positioning systems to securing our nation’s sensitive infrastructures from cyber attacks.” said Dr. Jagadeesh Pamulapati, acting Deputy Director of the Office of Research, Technology, and Laboratories in OUSD(R&E). “Through collaborations with our academic partners, the Department continues to deliver on the modernization priority roadmap in achieving technological dominance against our adversaries.”

Complementing the Center’s research capabilities, the COE-AQS is dedicated to prioritizing quantum information science education to enable a diverse and capable science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce. The COE-AQS received acknowledgement for the research, education, and scholarship opportunities made available to scholars during a congressional delegation visit from Senators Chris Coons (D-DE) and Tom Carper (D-DE) as well as Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE At-large). The Center will support undergraduate and graduate scholars in addition to provide internships at defense laboratories with collaborations from DoD researchers to address science and technology challenges. To foster early awareness of DoD research priorities, the Center will also offer training to K-12 students to strengthen the talent pool entering the STEM pipeline.

“DoD has a longstanding relationship with HBCUs/MSIs,” said Ms. Evelyn Kent, Director of HBCU/MSI Program in OUSD(R&E). “The resources offered through the Center will drive quantum skills development for traditionally underrepresented students and support building a diverse and inclusive quantum workforce. We look forward to the enduring impact STEM graduates will contribute to quantum science research and technology transition in quantum sensing areas.”

The Department’s investment through the Center represents the third largest grant received in Delaware State University’s history. In addition to partnering with the Army Research Laboratory, the COE-AQS will collaborate with the Naval Research Laboratory, and Harvard University to further enhance the center’s research and education objectives.

The DoD officially announced the COE-AQS award to Delaware State University on October 1, 2020, along with three other COEs under the HBCU/MSI Program, including at Tuskegee University, Howard University, and University of California, Riverside.

Click the link for more information on the DoD HBCU/MSI Program.

On January 28, 2021, the Department of Defense (DoD), through the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (OUSD(R&E)), launched a $7.5 million Center of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (COE-AI/ML) at Howard University. The COE-AI/ML will focus on developing and evaluating trustworthy, reliable, and robust ML algorithms and AI systems for mission critical applications.

A competition conducted through the DoD Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Minority-Serving Institutions (HBCUs/MSIs) Research and Education Program and administered by the Army Research Laboratory selected Howard University, an HBCU, to lead the research in developing AI/ML applications for multi-domain operations.

In support of the National Defense Strategy priorities, the COE-AI/ML will address current and future research and engineering challenges for safe, robust and trustworthy, AI for DoD’s modernization applications. By focusing on techniques for real-time response to rapid data changes, the Center will conduct five-year research projects examining AI/ML for Internet of Battlefield Things, electronic warfare, counterterrorism, cybersecurity, machine vision, and biotechnology. The COE-AI/ML includes a research collaboration with Old Dominion University that will enable the development of a computational model for trustworthy AI and further the exploration of deep learning for machine vision for multi-agent cooperative systems.

“The Department maintains a continued focus on enabling and accelerating the development of key AI/ML applications to support the DoD’s technology priorities” said Dr. Jagadeesh Pamulapati, acting Deputy Director of the Office of Research, Technology, and Laboratories in OUSD(R&E). “Leveraging AI/ML research to explore deep neural networks and adversarial learning to combat cyber attacks allows the Department to address science and technology challenges unique to the Department while meeting our warfighter needs.”

“In addition to the Center’s research objectives, the COE-AI/ML is dedicated to increasing the presence of underrepresented minorities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Alongside prioritizing AI/ML infrastructure for research, experimentation, and validation, STEM scholars and early-career faculty will receive integrated training by way of curriculum enhancements, summer outreach programs, and internships at defense laboratories to cultivate the next generation of STEM talent,” said Ms. Evelyn Kent, Director of HBCU/MSI Program in OUSD(R&E).

Centers of Excellence provide a unique opportunity to sharpen fundamental research while also primarily focusing on promoting a new generation of STEM leaders. These collaborative partnerships encourage scholars to conduct research in scientific disciplines critical to national security and aids the Department in achieving our STEM workforce goals.

The DoD officially announced the COE-AI/ML award to Howard University on October 1, 2020, along with three other COEs under the HBCU/MSI Program, including at Tuskegee University, Delaware State University, and University of California, Riverside.

Click the link for more information on the DoD HBCU/MSI Program.

Manufacturing Engineering Education Program partners, such as NextFlex, play an important role in developing and fostering the advanced manufacturing workforce our Nation depends upon to maintain our technological superiority for years to come.

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Section 1640 of the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 authorized the Secretary of Defense to carry out a “Program to Establish Cyber Institutes at Institutions of Higher Learning for purposes of accelerating and focusing the development of foundational expertise in critical cyber operational skills for future military and civilian leaders.” Under the “Virtual Institutes for Cyber and Electromagnetic Spectrum Research and Employ” (VICEROY) Program, the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, in collaboration with the Air Force Research Laboratory and the Griffiss Institute, will work with academia to form new Virtual Institutes that will provide high-impact, experiential learning opportunities capable of imbuing students with the needed skills.

To find out more about the Call for Proposals, please go here.

With an acute skilled-labor gap facing U.S. industry, the Department of Defense (DoD) is moving aggressively to help build an educated, technology-enabled workforce that can support the development of a world-leading manufacturing sector. For the full article, read here.
For the full article, read here.

As the 2021 scholarship season kicks off, degree-seekers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) will be hard-pressed to find an opportunity with better terms than this: full tuition plus stipend paid for a college and/or graduate degree, with guaranteed placement at a world-class research institution upon graduation. Find out more here.