Research NewsletterIssue: ORN-2023-33

Department of Energy Announces $11 Million for Research for Exploratory Research in Extreme-Scale Science

Projects Span Advanced Digital, Analog, and Quantum Computing

Today, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced $11 million in funding for 15 projects in exploratory research for extreme-scale science that will leverage emerging trends and advances in high-end computing, massive datasets, scientific machine learning, artificial intelligence, and novel computing architectures.

“There is a wide expanse of exciting opportunities as we reach beyond exascale computing,” said Ceren Susut, DOE Acting Associate Director of Science for Advanced Scientific Computing Research. “These projects will help us find promising directions to realize the full potential of scientific computing from emerging technologies.”

Disruptive technology changes are occurring across science applications, algorithms, and computer architectures and ecosystems, and these projects will explore exciting directions in advanced digital, analog, and quantum computing. Projects include modeling cryogenic and photonic beyond-exascale supercomputing systems. Projects will also develop innovative techniques for converting quantum circuits into dynamic quantum walks and map the converted circuits onto different kinds of quantum computers.

The projects were selected by competitive peer review under the DOE Funding Opportunity Announcement for EXPRESS (Exploratory Research for Extreme-Scale Science), DE-FOA-0002950.

Total funding is $11 million for projects lasting up to two years in duration, with $8.4 million in Fiscal Year 2023 dollars and outyear funding contingent on congressional appropriations. The list of projects and more information can be found on the Advanced Scientific Computing Research program homepage.

______________________________________

NIH Blueprint MedTech Incubator Hubs

CIMIT’s CINTA and NeuroTech Harbor, through the NIH Blueprint MedTech program

Awards up to $500K will be made available to the most promising and innovative neurotechnologies to help accelerate their development toward commercialization.

Pre-proposals are due no later than: August 25th, 2023.

We are seeking pre-proposals from academic and industry applicants who have emerging preventative, therapeutic, or diagnostic medical devices focused on disorders of the nervous system. In addition to funding, awardees will also have access to mentors with deep expertise in commercializing medical devices to help address project related business, regulatory, clinical, and technical aspects of their projects. Finally, an important element of this program is to create opportunities for diverse innovators, including those who have been traditionally underrepresented in the neurotech space. We welcome your help in spreading the word about this transformative opportunity to ensure it reaches a wide range of innovators from every community. If you or any of your colleagues would like to learn more about this opportunity or to apply, please visit our website.­­­ If you have questions about the program, register for one of our informational webinars.

NSF: Division of Physics: Investigator-Initiated Research Projects (PHY); Smart Health and Biomedical Research in the Era of Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Data Science (SCH); Division of Materials Research: Topical Materials Research Programs (DMR:TMRP); Division of Materials Research: Condensed Matter and Materials Theory (DMR:CMMT);  National Artificial Intelligence (AI) Research Institutes: Accelerating Research, Transforming Society, and Growing the American Workforce

NIH: National Centers for Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NCBIB) (P41); NIH Blueprint and BRAIN Initiative Program for Enhancing Neuroscience Diversity through Undergraduate Research Education Experiences (BP BRAIN-ENDURE) (R25)

Department of Defense/US Army/DARPA/ONR: Synthetic Quantum Nanostructures (SynQuaNon); BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT (BAA) for Extramural Biomedical Research and Development; FY23 Science & Technology for Advanced Manufacturing Projects (STAMP)

Department of Commerce/EDA:  Climate Program Office FY2024; Measurement Science and Engineering (MSE) Research Grant Programs

Department of Energy: Bipartisan Infrastructure Law: Silicon Solar Manufacturing, and Dual-use Photovoltaics Incubator; Fiscal Year 2024 Distinguished Early Career Program

National Endowment of Humanities: Humanities Initiatives; Dangers and Opportunities of Technology: Perspectives from the Humanities; Spotlight on Humanities in Higher Education

NSF aims to drive democratization of AI with its funding: The National Science Foundation is taking a holistic approach to promoting and utilizing trustworthy artificial intelligence systems in its research and education programming, as generative technologies stand to shake up the scientific landscape.

Speaking during a media briefing on Thursday, five officials working in different NSF departments discussed the current programs that are prioritizing the use of trustworthy systems in industries where AI is slated to make a new impact. A partnership with the National Institute for Standards and Technology is one standout among such programs. Michael Littman, the director for NSF’s Division of Information and Intelligence Systems, said that the program, called the Institute for Trustworthy AI in Law and Society — or TRAILS — works to inform the public on how AI systems have been analyzed by the government for implementation. “This government partnership with academia will contribute to the national discussion of standards and benchmarks by providing the needed underpinnings in foundational research and the participation of the broader AI research community and the establishment of societally beneficial practices,” Littman said.  Researchers in the TRAILS program will specifically help develop metrics to gauge trustworthiness in AI systems, analyze the government’s role in promoting trust in AI technologies and develop incentives for more inherent, trustworthy designs features in AI softwares. More information is posted on the NextGov website.

________________________

The future of CDM is in data governance, proactive threat detection: For government agencies, keeping pace with emerging cyber threats while also maintaining vigilant oversight of existing vulnerabilities is a tall order, especially considering budget constraints and the massive amounts of sensitive data public sector agencies must maintain. Though there is no one-size-fits-all solution for eliminating threats altogether, one effective way to mitigate their impact is transitioning data management to a unified dashboard, where vulnerabilities can be correlated and triaged all at once. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation program aims to make this approach more accessible to participating agencies by delivering capabilities to improve their overall cyber posture.  Late last year, CISA’s CDM program celebrated its 10-year anniversary. Today, the CDM dashboard is deployed across the federal government, providing agencies with the tools needed to effectively analyze and visualize their security posture, prioritize cyber threats, and improve vulnerability protection. More information is posted on the NextGov website.

________________________

NATO creates 1B euro investment fund to target tech startups: It's not just appearances: everyone across the entire public sector ecosystem of government and industry wants in on the art of scouting for emerging technologies and the promising companies that make them. We will have to think globally about that constant search for "what's next and will be next" now that around two dozen NATO members have collectively committed 1 billion euros in capital for the alliance's new fund to invest in startup firms. The initial 23 countries involved in the fund are Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Turkey and the U.K. Sweden is also poised to join the group following its full admission into NATO. More information is posted on the NextGov website.

Question:       How can I add another investigator or my research ambassador to my proposal in order to help on budget preparation and edit proposal details?

Answer:         Select the “Permissions” link from the left hand side of the main proposal screen in any proposal development document. From the Permissions screen you will be able to search for the person you wish to add and grant them a specific level of permission (aggregator, budget creator, viewer). After you select the appropriate person, click “Add” and they will be added to your proposal.

More FAQs on Streamlyne: Please visit http://www.njit.edu/research/streamlyne/