Research NewsletterIssue: ORN-2025-39

Announcement

Appointment of Robert Ramussen as Director for Export Controls

We are pleased to announce the appointment of Robert Ramussen as our new director for export controls in the office of research.  Robert brings a wealth of experience in export control and international policy, which will be invaluable to our university. Most recently, he served as a foreign affairs officer (technology policy coordinator) at the U.S. Department of State, where he worked in the Office of Defense Trade Controls Policy, Bureau of Political-Military Affairs in Washington, DC.  Prior to that, Robert held key roles at other U.S. government agencies, including as a foreign affairs specialist at the National Nuclear Security Administration, U.S. Department of Energy and export enforcement intelligence & investigations analyst at the Bureau of Industry & Security, U.S. Department of Commerce.  Please join me in welcoming Robert to NJIT. His contact information is posted on the Office of Research – Contact Us website.

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M-25-34 Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 Administration Research and Development Budget Priorities and Cross-Cutting Actions 

(September 23, 2025)

OMB Director Russell Vought and OSTP Director Michael Kratsios issued OMB MEMORANDUM FOR THE HEADS OF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES: M-25-34 I NSTM-2 highlighting the Administration’s Research and Development Budget Priorities for FY27. These are similar areas of focus that we saw in the President’s Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Proposal. The following are specific quotes from the memo.

America' s science and technology (S&T) engine is-and must remain-the greatest in the world. Long before rockets reached the moon or microchips powered our economy, the outcomes of Federal research and development (R&D) won World War II and laid the foundations for technological breakthroughs that secured our military dominance, built our industries, and improved the everyday lives of the American people. America's post-war recognition of the strategic importance of R&D investments, and its deliberate reshaping of the R&D ecosystem, transformed the United States into the most innovative, prosperous, and powerful nation in history.

Recognizing new circumstances and new challenges, the Trump Administration is aligning the Federal Government's role in the S&T enterprise to once again drive R&D that is bold, missiondriven, and unapologetically in service of the American people. In a world where .American dominance is not guaranteed and our adversaries pursue whole-of-nation approaches to S&T competition, federally funded R&D must focus on targeted, transformational investments in areas such as artificial intelligence (Al), quantum science, nuclear energy, biotechnology, national security technologies, and ambitious space exploration.

Today, America's innovation ecosystem is built on a unique partnership between government, academia, industry, and nonprofit research institutions. Universities have served as vital centers of scientific discovery and technical talent development. The private sector plays an increasingly central role, not only in late-stage development and commercialization, but also in applied research, bringing speed and scale to tum basic research into real-world products and platforms. And nonprofit research institutions can pilot novel models of collaboration and inquiry. Across this ecosystem, it is the role ofthe Federal Government to set clear priorities, align incentives, and ensure that public investments translate into strategic advantage.

For detailed information on the R&D Budget Priorities, please read the full memo here.

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Recent NJIT Provisional Patent Applications (Filed)

Patent Title:    Portable Microfluidic-Based Sensor for pFAS Detection

NJIT Ref No.:   25-021

Inventor(s):    Lee, Eon Soo / Wang, Yudong  

Patent Application Status:   Filed Provisional Patent Application

Patent Application Filing Date:  9/23/2025

Application Filing No.:   63/886,191

Technology Licensing Status:  Available 

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Patent Title:    Systems and Methods for Sorption-Ultrasonic Measurements

NJIT Ref No.:   26-005

Inventor(s):    Karunarathne, Ashoka / Rangana, Supun / Gor, Gennady / Khalizov, Alexei

Patent Application Status:   Filed Provisional Patent Application

Patent Application Filing Date:  9/25/2025

Application Filing No.:   63/887,939

Technology Licensing Status:  Available 

NSF: Accelerating Research Translation (ART); NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP)

NIH: Forecast: Bioengineering Research, Innovation and Technology Education (BRITE) Program (R25); BRAIN Initiative: Theories, Models and Methods for Analysis of Complex Data from the Brain (R01); NIDCD Clinical Research Center Grant (P50)

Department of Defense/US Army/DARPA/ONR: US Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Broad Agency Announcement

Department of Energy: Magnetic Acceleration Generating New Innovations and Tactical Outcomes (MAGNITO)

NASA: ROSES 2025: B.4 Space Weather Science Application Research-to-Operations-to-Research

NSF and UKRI launch $10M quantum chemistry collaborative research effort: The U.S. National Science Foundation and United Kingdom Research and Innovation (UKRI) are investing in eight joint research projects that could open the door to breakthroughs in quantum computing, ultra-precise navigation and secure communications. The effort is supported by $4.7 million from NSF and £4.2 million from UKRI's Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). Each project brings together U.S. and U.K. researchers to tackle an underexplored area in science: how quantum information affects chemical reactions and molecular systems, and how that knowledge can be put to use.

By harnessing the inherent complexity of chemical systems, the teams aim to surpass today's quantum technologies, which primarily rely on atoms and photons. The partnership underscores the growing international momentum in quantum research, with the potential to create new and different types of molecular-based qubits and other fundamental components useful for quantum computing, quantum sensing and quantum communications.

"Through a dynamic partnership, the U.S. National Science Foundation and UKRI are uniting top researchers to unravel the mysteries of quantum in chemical systems," said White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Director Michael Kratsios. "Building upon the President’s U.S.-UK Technology Prosperity Deal, this visionary partnership will reshape our knowledge of quantum mechanics and open new frontiers in quantum computing, sensing, and communicating." More information is posted on the NSF Website.

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Pentagon sets start date for CMMC implementation: Circle Nov. 10 as when the Defense Department’s new cyber and supply chain security standard for the entire industrial base starts to be implemented, almost six years after Pentagon leadership began talking about it. The final rule for the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification 2.0 standard went into effect in December 2024, while the next step to implement the program into contracts started Tuesday with a regulation released for public inspection. Also called the 48 CFR rule, its publication amends the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement that governs all Pentagon contracts. Industry now has two months’ notice before CMMC 2.0 begins to appear in DOD solicitations.

CMMC 2.0 is the Pentagon’s new set of requirements for companies that house controlled unclassified information or federal contract information in their systems. Companies have up to three levels of compliance they can be certified under, depending on how sensitive the information is.

DOD plans to roll out the program in a four-phase process over the next three years. In the first phase starting Nov. 10, solicitations will require self-assessments at certification Levels 1 and 2 where applicable. Some Level 2 certifications will require a verification check done by a certified third-party assessor organization if the data is considered more sensitive. Any and all Level 3 applicants will require certification from the Defense Industrial Base Cybersecurity Assessment Center. More information is posted on the NextGov website.