Research NewsletterIssue: ORN-2024-27

U.S. Department of Energy

Connect with the Fusion Energy Sciences Program

The Office of Science would like to remind you of our monthly virtual office hours to share information and provide opportunities to ask questions about our Fusion Energy Sciences (FES) Program. Researchers at all institutions are welcome to attend and learn more about our programs; no existing relationship with DOE or the DOE national laboratories is required to attend. Research administrators are also encouraged to attend.  

FES will hold virtual office hours on the first Wednesday of the month, 2-3 pm ET, with the exception of July due to the Fourth of July holiday. Topics will vary each month. The office hour will be in the form of a zoom meeting, starting with a brief presentation on the monthly topic, followed by questions. Program managers will be available to answer questions from the community. Click on the topic below to register for the office hour.  Upcoming topics include:

• Tuesday, July 2, 2024, at 2pm ET– How to work with a Program Manager.
• Wednesday, August 7, 2024 – How to Navigate the DOE Funding Process.

For more information on FES office hours, including registration, upcoming topics, slides, and recordings, please visit https://science.osti.gov/fes/officehours.

NSF: Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) Program: Instrument Acquisition or Development; Privacy-Preserving Data Sharing in Practice (PDaSP); Advanced Technological Education (ATE); Advanced Computing Systems & Services: Adapting to the Rapid Evolution of Science and Engineering Research 2.0; Partnerships for Innovation (PFI); Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS)

NIH: NINDS Faculty Development Award to Promote Diversity in Neuroscience Research (K01); Summer Research Education Experience Program (R25)

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

Army plans multiple AI industry partnerships:  The U.S. Army is pushing to integrate third party algorithms into its operations through multiple upcoming engagements with industry, part of the military branch’s larger play to modernize its warfighter operations.  Speaking at the Amazon Web Services Washington D.C. Summit on Wednesday, Young Bang, the principal deputy assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics and technology, detailed the department's ambition to work with industry partners in bringing advanced algorithms to Army operations. “One of the things that we want to do is we want to adopt third party-generated algorithms as fast as y'all are building,” he said. “We realized, while we had tons of data…we're not gonna develop our algorithms better than y’all.” Bang said that as one of the largest consumers of AI and algorithm technologies, the Army is anxious to generate partnerships with industry and incorporate newer proprietary technology. More information is posted on the NextGov website.

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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.