Research NewsletterIssue: ORN-2024-26

2024 Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Minority-Serving Institutions (HBCUs/MIs) Opportunities Workshop

Thursday, July 25, 2024: 9:00 AM – 4:30 PM Eastern

Friday, July 26, 2024: 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM Eastern

Location: Crystal Gateway Marriott, 1700 Richmond Highway, Arlington, VA 22202

Join us for the 2024 Department of Defense (DoD) Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Minority-Serving Institutions (MIs) Opportunities Workshop and Intern Seminar aimed at expanding awareness of DoD opportunities! Explore funding opportunities from DoD and other Federal Agencies through engaging panel discussions. 

This free workshop is designed to increase collaboration among the DoD, HBCU/MI faculty, students, and stakeholders. The goal is to partner with the DoD to increase the research and educational capacity of HBCUs/MIs and foster workforce diversity and entry of underrepresented minorities into Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines important to national defense. Find more information about why you should attend see the About Page.
Workshop participants will:

• Have the opportunity to engage and network with DoD program staff.
• Attend panels to learn about DoD opportunities for engagement and collaboration.
• Gain insight into DoD processes for partnerships, grants, and careers.
• Learn best practices for the preparation of proposals and resumes.
• Learn about faculty and student research, internship, and fellowship opportunities.

NSF: Partnerships for Innovation (PFI); Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS); Hispanic-Serving Institutions: Enriching Learning, Programs, and Student Experiences; Hispanic Serving Institutions: Equitable Transformation in STEM Education (ETSE)

NIH: Summer Research Education Experience Program (R25); T32 Training Program for Institutions That Promote Diversity (T32)

Department of Defense/US Army/DARPA/ONR: FY24 Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division Office-Wide Broad Agency Announcement; C4ISR, Information Operations, Cyberspace Operations and Information Technology System Research, Cryogenics and Quantum Broad Agency Announcement (BAA)

Department of Energy: Geothermal Resources’ Value In Implementing Decarbonization (GRID); Collaboration Opportunity Announcement (COA) for Parties Interested in Partnering with the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) under FY 24 Energy and Emissions Intensive Industry FOA

National Endowment of Humanities: Humanities Connections; Summer Stipends

Lawmakers look to amend CHIPS Act to cover manufacturing gear: Leaders on the House Science, Space and Technology Committee introduced legislation on Tuesday to amend the CHIPS and Science Act to prevent American businesses from obtaining semiconductor manufacturing equipment from China and other adversarial nations.  Introduced by Reps. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., and Frank Lucas, R-Okla., the Chip Equipment Quality, Usefulness, and Integrity Protection Act of 2024 builds on the Biden administration’s efforts to spur a strong domestic semiconductor manufacturing sector. Sens. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., and Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., are sponsoring the legislation in the Senate. If passed into law, the Chip EQUIP Act would ban semiconductor manufacturers funded under the CHIPS and Science Act from using a variety of specialized manufacturing equipment sourced to a “foreign entity of concern” in any U.S.-based operations. “As the United States revitalizes its domestic semiconductor manufacturing industry, we must do everything in our power to stop China and other foreign entities of concern from compromising our microchip manufacturing facilities,” said Kelly in a press release. “The Chip EQUIP Act will strengthen our national security and ensure that America’s advanced semiconductor tools remain the world’s best.” The legislation comes as China is looking to boost its own semiconductor industry with billions in government investments in an effort to build a self-sufficient supply chain amid global shortages and a U.S.-led effort to limit technology exports to rivals. More information is posted on the NextGov website.

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TMF announces new round of awards amid funding uncertainty: The $1 billion Technology Modernization Fund boost from the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act is running out, and it remains to be seen whether Congress will keep the program afloat. The General Services Administration announced $31 million in funding for modernization projects at three federal agencies on Tuesday. These latest Technology Modernization Fund investments may be among the last underwritten by a $1 billion plus-up in the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act — and among the last issued by the TMF program if it's not renewed by Congress.The Department of Energy is tapping a $17 million award to modernize its obsolete human resources infrastructure. According to the TMF announcement, the system last received a sizable investment more than 20 years ago. The new funding will take DOE's human resources operations across multiple systems into the cloud. David Turk, the agency's deputy secretary, said that the move to a commercial, cloud-based system means that  DOE’s human capital solutions are future-proofed and will keep pace with global standards."The fund, which boasts $950 million in ongoing projects across 60 agencies, was created in 2017 out of the Modernizing Government Technology Act. Historically, obtaining funding for the revolving fund has been a struggle, with appropriators from both parties taking issue with increasingly flexible payback requirements offered to agencies who dip into the fund. TMF has nearly exhausted its Rescue Plan Act funding. More information is posted on the NextGov website.