Stewardship Science Academic Alliances (ssaa)

The summary for the Stewardship Science Academic Alliances (ssaa) 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 NNSA, which is the U.S. government agency offering this grant.

Stewardship Science Academic Alliances (ssaa): The Office of Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation, under Defense Programs within the Department of Energy's (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), announce their interest in receiving grant applications for new or renewal awards for research in the Stewardship Science Academic Alliances (SSAA) Program. The SSAA Program, established in 2002, was developed to support state-of-the-art research at U.S. academic institutions in areas of fundamental physical science and technology of relevance to the Stockpile Stewardship Program mission, with a focus on those areas not supported by other federal agencies. For purposes of this FOA, the research areas of interest are: properties of materials under extreme conditions and/or hydrodynamics (condensed matter physics and materials science, and fluid dynamics); low energy nuclear science; and radiochemistry. Any financial assistance awarded as a result of this FOA will be contingent upon the availability of appropriated funds. B. Program Objectives The objectives of the SSAA Program are to: • Support the U.S. scientific community by funding research projects at universities (see Section IV.A for eligibility requirements) that conduct fundamental science and technology research that is of relevance to Stockpile Stewardship; • Provide opportunities for intellectual challenge and collaboration by promoting scientific interactions between the academic community and scientists at the DOE/NNSA laboratories; and • Develop and maintain a long-term recruiting pipeline to the DOE/NNSA laboratories by training and educating the next generation of scientists in the fundamental research of relevance to Stockpile Stewardship and thereby increasing the visibility of the DOE/NNSA scientific activities to the U.S. academic communities. C. Technical Scope and Topical Research Areas The DOE/NNSA will consider applications for university-led research in one or more of the fundamental areas of physical sciences outlined below. Consideration will be given to proposals that emphasize experimental efforts, although proposals to advance theory that have a strong, demonstrable connection to experimental efforts will be considered. All proposed work to be funded through this SSAA program announcement is to be UNCLASSIFIED. No proposals for CLASSIFIED work will be accepted. 1. Topic Research Area # 1: Properties of Materials under Extreme Conditions and/or Hydrodynamics Research proposals are solicited in the area of fundamental properties and response of materials under extreme conditions and/or hydrodynamics (condensed matter physics and materials science, and fluid dynamics). Extreme conditions include material response when subjected to one or more of the following: high-pressure (> 100 kbar), high-temperature (near melt), or high-strain-rate (>104 per second). Special consideration will be given to proposals that propose the study of additively manufactured materials in the regimes described below. The specific sub-areas of interest include, but are not limited to: a) Experimental investigations of the static and dynamic (e.g., shock-loaded or loaded by isentropic compression) properties of materials under conditions of high-pressure, high-temperature, high-strain and/or high-strain-rate. Materials properties of interest include thermodynamic properties (equation-of-state, high-pressure phase diagram, pressure-induced phase transformation, etc.), mechanical constitutive properties (plasticity and strength, failure, fracture, etc.), material anisotropy and those properties that impact material dependence on loading profile and hysteresis. b) Hydrodynamic experiments in low energy density physics, high-temperature-pressure and strain-rate regimes where constitutive properties (strength, damage, failure, etc.) may dominate. c) Experimental investigations of the physics of hydrodynamic instabilities, turbulence, mixing, and interfaces. d) Development and application of novel advanced diagnostics, including advanced detectors for neutron and x-rays and measurement techniques leading to the observation of physical phenomena at relevant length and time scales. 2. Topic Research Area # 2: Low Energy Nuclear Science Research proposals are solicited in the area of low energy nuclear science. The specific sub-areas of interest include, but are not limited to: a) Investigations leading to greater accuracy in the knowledge of low energy cross sections of stable and unstable nuclei and corresponding reaction rates for neutron, gamma, and ion-induced reactions. b) Development of advanced simulations and measurement techniques leading to improved radiation and particle detection methods, in terms of energy, temporal and spatial resolution. c) Physics of the fission process, including division of mass and charge as a function of excitation, production of energy, and the reaction properties of prompt-fission products. d) Development of advanced nuclear physics experimental diagnostic methods relevant to proton, X-ray or other radiographic techniques, laser or pulsed power implosion systems, or to support the study of the structure of, and reactions involving, unstable nuclei. e) Development and application of experimental techniques and diagnostics for advancing nuclear science. 3. Topic Research Area # 3: Radiochemistry Research proposals are solicited in the area of radiochemistry with an emphasis on studies of the heavier elements and the actinides. The specific sub-areas of interest include, but are not limited to: a) Environmental chemistry of plutonium and other actinides, and development of advanced radio-analytical methods to measure actinide elements in environmental samples. b) Investigations of fundamental aspects of technetium chemistry, with emphasis on synthesis, separations, and materials science. c) Chemical separations science and coordination chemistry of actinides and fission products (mainly lanthanides). d) Investigations leading to greater accuracy (e.g., addressing systematic uncertainties) in the knowledge of high energy cross sections of plutonium and other actinides. e) Production procedures and techniques to manufacture pure targets and short-lived nuclei such as americium.