Defense Sciences Research and Technology

The summary for the Defense Sciences Research and Technology grant is detailed below. This summary states who is eligible for the grant, how much grant money will be awarded, current and past deadlines, Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) numbers, and a sampling of similar government grants. Verify the accuracy of the data FederalGrants.com provides by visiting the webpage noted in the Link to Full Announcement section or by contacting the appropriate person listed as the Grant Announcement Contact. If any section is incomplete, please visit the website for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, which is the U.S. government agency offering this grant.

Defense Sciences Research and Technology: SELF-DECONTAMINATING SURFACES, SOL BAA04-12, Addendum 1, DUE 051504, POC: DR. LEONARD BUCKLEY, DARPA/DSO, Ph: (571) 218-4695. Email: [email protected], URL: www.darpa.mil/dso. Website Submission: http://www.sainc.com/dso0412/. The Defense Sciences Office is soliciting innovative research proposals detailing research, design, demonstration, and validation of coating systems that are biocidal, renewable, and self-cleaning. These self-decontaminating materials or coatings must be robust enough to withstand military applications. The ultimate goal of this effort is to produce revolutionary, self-decontaminating systems that will supercede or supplement existing military decon systems. It is envisioned that surfaces developed under this effort will allow for continuous decontamination of biological agents from external, as well as internal, surfaces on military equipment. This new capability will improve troop readiness and significantly reduce their risk of exposure to biological agents. Current approaches do not allow for continuous decontamination of surfaces and require enormous amounts of supplies to be transported to the battlefield to support military equipment being deployed. The biocidal mechanism(s) proposed in this effort should employ a zero effluence system. Furthermore, the material system(s) used must be compatible with sensitive military equipment (electronics, optics, sensors, etc), the exterior of military equipment, as well as the interiors of personnel carriers. This is anticipated to be a two-phase program where Phase I, the development and demonstration of new materials and coating capabilities, is 18 months in duration with quantifiable intermediate milestone. Milestone goals encompass three (3) thrust areas: surface modification, self-cleaning and renewal, and sporicide development. First, the surface modification thrust must demonstrate biocidal activity on the surface with less than 0.5 percent additive. This implies that a very small percentage of the bulk material will contain the biocidal compound and that most of the effective biocide will reside at the surface. Second, the self-cleaning thrust requires the biocidal surface properties be persistent over ten (10) challenge/renewal cycles. The third thrust, on sporicide development, requires the demonstration of a surface capable of killing or rendering spores harmless. These milestones should encompass technologies that address the entire coating system including the self-renewable/self-cleaning aspect. The two-year optional Phase II effort would integrate the material and coating advancements made in Phase I into a demonstration coating system. This coating system must have direct utility in a military system and must be compatible with all military surfaces such as metals, ceramics, polymers, and urethane-based paints. The submission of proposals that address each of the following areas integrated within a single program is encouraged: (a) New concepts for biocidal activity in a coating system; (b) Approaches that are compatible with existing resin systems; and (c) Concepts for self-renewable/self-cleaning. Full proposals only are being accepted with the technical proposals being no more than thirty (30) pages, this includes cover sheet information. It is essential that the following areas are covered in the proposal: (1) A clear statement of how the proposal addresses each of the three areas mentioned above; (2) A concise statement of the research challenges, approach, and potential anticipated solutions to the challenges that will be addressed. This statement should include a clear set of program objectives; and (3) A specific set of quantitative milestones for the 18 month Phase 1 program. Phase 2 milestones should be included as an option. Please put the phrase SELF-DECONTAMINATING SURFACES in the title of the proposal. For complete details on writing a full proposal please see original FEDBIZOPS solicitation, BAA04-12 (http://www.darpa.mil/dso/solicitations/solicit.htm). To facilitate the submission process, a website has been established, http://www.sainc.com/dso0412/.