Research NewsletterIssue: ORN-2024-48

Startup Certification Training Course

United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)

This two-hour, self-paced course will help startups identify and protect their IP. The flexible online format is convenient for entrepreneurs and small business owners on the go.

The course includes videos organized around:

• IP 
• Trademarks
• Patents
• Cybersecurity for small businesses
• How to avoid suspicious funding

Upon completion, you'll receive your certificate and all resources provided throughout the training. Visit our Startup resources page to take the next step for your business with IP tools, funding sources, and more. The USPTO created this course to help startups identify and protect their intellectual property. The course is meant to provide general information and is not intended to provide legal advice to any individual or entity. If you have legal questions, please consider consulting with legal counsel.

Questions? Email the Innovation Outreach Division (IOD) at InnovationOutreach@uspto.gov for more information on the course.

NSF: Coupling, Energetics, and Dynamics of Atmospheric Regions (CEDAR); Emerging Mathematics in Biology (eMB); Equitable and Transformative Approaches to Educating the Semiconductor Workforce (ETA-ESW); Growing Research Compliance Support and Service Infrastructure for Nationally Transformative Equity and Diversity; Designing Materials to Revolutionize and Engineer our Future (DMREF)

NIH: Cellular and Molecular Biology of Complex Brain Disorders (R21); Catalyze: Product Definition for Small Molecules, Biologics and Combination Products - Target Identification and Validation, and Preliminary Product/Lead Series Identification (R61/R33); Advancing Research Careers (ARC) Predoctoral to Postdoctoral Transition Award to Promote Broad Participation (F99/K00); NIDCR Small Grant Program for New Investigators (R03); NCMRR Early Career Research Award (R03); Technology Development Research for Establishing Feasibility and Proof of Concept (R21); Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Institutional Research Training Grant (Parent T32); Digital Health Technology Derived Biomarkers and Outcome Assessments for Remote Monitoring and Endpoint Development (UG3/UH3); BRAIN Initiative: Development and Validation of Novel Tools to Probe Cell-Specific and Circuit-Specific Processes in the Brain (R01)

Department of Defense/US Army/DARPA/ONR: Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for the Joint Airborne Mission Survivability IPT; Information Innovation Office (I2O) Office-Wide

National Endowment of Humanities: Fellowships; Institutes for Higher Education Faculty and K-12 Educators

Lawmakers propose electronic tracking system for federal grant applications:  A trio of House Republicans proposed legislation this week that would create a new electronic tracking system — and look into leveraging artificial intelligence capabilities — to review federal grant applications for identical or fraudulent submissions. The bill — the Decreasing Overlapping Grants Efficiently, or DOGE, Act — is a nod to President-elect Donald Trump’s announced commission for reducing federal waste, known as the Department of Government Efficiency. The measure’s main focus is to limit grant awards to recipients who have already received a grant from another agency for similar or identical purposes, or who have submitted a fraudulent application. Within one year of the bill’s enactment, the Office of Management and Budget would have to establish a tracking and deconfliction system for federal grant applications that can be accessed by the heads of executive agencies or inspectors general before any grants are awarded.

The legislation would also require OMB — in consultation with the Department of Energy, the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Standards and Technology — to submit a report to relevant congressional committees “on the feasibility of leveraging artificial intelligence to rapidly identify” similar or identical grant applications.

____________________________

NIST sets up new task force on AI and national security: The National Institute of Standards and Technology set up a new task force within its existing Artificial Intelligence Safety Institute on Wednesday focusing on evaluating the myriad security implications of artificial intelligence models with inter-agency participation. Dubbed the Testing Risks of AI for National Security Taskforce, or TRAINS, the group consists of members from the Department of Defense — including its Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office and the National Security Agency — the Department of Energy and its national labs; the Department of Homeland Security and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency; and the National Institutes of Health within the Department of Health and Human Services. 

Members from these entities will assist in measuring and evaluating AI models based on their areas of expertise, including national security, radiological and nuclear security, cybersecurity, critical infrastructure and more. More information is posted on the NextGov website.

_______________________________

Bipartisan quantum funding bill advances from committee: A bill that would accelerate the Department of Energy’s quantum information sciences research efforts advanced through the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Tuesday, signaling ongoing congressional interest in pushing emerging technology-centric legislation through both chambers.  The Department of Energy Quantum Leadership Act of 2024 — a bipartisan bill authored by Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Steve Daines, R-Mont. — contains multiple provisions related to quantum technology and sciences research, namely funding federal efforts in quantum networking research and development, establishing domestic foundry programs and conducting industry outreach efforts. Pursuant to the bill’s name, these research efforts will be helmed by Energy through a budget of $2.5 billion distributed over the next five years, should the bill pass into law. The DOE Quantum Leadership Act’s advancement comes during a lame duck session in Congress ahead of the incoming 2025 Trump administration. As another key piece of quantum tech legislation — the National Quantum Initiative Reauthorization Act — still awaits House approval, the advancement of the senators' bill could help continue authorizing federal funding for advancements in the quantum technology industry. More information is posted on the NextGov website.