Continued Debate in Congress Regarding the NDAA
The FY 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) authorizes programs, topline funding levels, and DOD policies annually.  The House passed its version of the bill on September 23, and the Senate is not planning to debate its version until October 18.  The Senate recently released a public version of the NDAA the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) approved through a closed markup in July.  Both House and Senate versions would authorize funding increases for defense science and technology (S&T), including basic research (6.1), applied research (6.2), and advanced technology development (6.3), restoring cuts proposed in the President's budget request (PBR).  Both bills significantly invest in research and development (R&D) for key areas like climate resilience, cybersecurity, space, quantum computing, microelectronics, undersea vehicles, and polar operations.
 
The House NDAA would authorize a budget of $739.5 billion, $24 billion above the PBR.  The Senate's version would authorize $740 billion, about $25 billion above the PBR.  The Senate still needs to debate and pass its version.  The House and Senate must then negotiate their policy differences in conference for a final version.  With a continuing resolution (CR) now in place until December 3, Congress will now likely conference the NDAA sometime in October in hopes of passage shortly thereafter.  The full analysis of the NDAA by Lewis-Burke can be found here.

NATIONAL SECURITY NEWS

Defense Innovation Unit Announces $15 million for Hardware Startups
The Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) created a new $15 million fund to help hardware startups develop innovative technology that serves both the commercial market and the national security interest.  The National Security Innovation Capital (NSIC) fund received its first annual appropriation of $15 million in 2021 and has already invested in companies developing hypersonics, hydrogen technology, and next generation batteries.  NSIC intends to help link private venture capital funding with DOD research and development (R&D) investment, while also helping fledgling companies seek American investors, avoiding inherent risks associated with foreign investment.  DIU Director Michael Brown designed the fund to stop countries like China from funneling money into startups and thus exerting control over how those companies’ innovations are owned and operated.  DIU hopes to counter such foreign economic warfare tactics with robust American investment in early-stage U.S. startups focused on key technology areas.  Through the NSIC, DIU aims to bridge the divide between late-stage science and technology (S&T) and commercialization where DOD has suffered massive challenges over the past decade.
 
DOD Increasing Focus on Climate; Will Highlight Investments in Next Budget Request
Climate is increasingly becoming the centerpiece of President Biden’s agenda, and in no place is that more evident than DOD.  President Biden’s January executive order and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin’s subsequent guidance kicked DOD’s climate efforts into high gear.  Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks said in September that DOD’s FY 2023 budget request will clearly lay out the Department’s climate spending plans.  Hicks also talked about climate change effects, saying that DOD spends billions every year on maintaining installations against increasingly harsh climates.  Natural disasters disrupt military training activities whether due to air quality issues or low visibility.  In-house environmental programs like the Strategic Environmental Research and Defense and Environmental Security and Technology Certification Programs (SERDP/ESTCP) will likely see increased attention and funding for FY 2023 and beyond.  SERDP and ESTCP release annual R&D topics in late October and January respectively with instructional webinars to follow.  Stay tuned to Lewis-Burke for future intelligence about these opportunities as they develop.
 
Secretary Austin Announces Restart of 16 Defense Advisory Boards
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin announced the restart of 16 Defense Advisory Boards after halting operations and removing all board members shortly after taking office in February 2021.  At the time, Austin called for a review to assess the boards’ value and alignment with strategic Administration priorities and the National Defense Strategy.  Of the 42 Defense Advisory Panels under review, those cleared to resume operations are as follows:

1. Defense Business Board
2. Defense Policy Board
3. Defense Health Board
4. Defense Board of Actuaries
5. Medicare-Eligible Board of Advisors
6. Defense Science Board
7. Defense Advisory Committee on Investigation, Prosecution, and Defense of Sexual Assault in the Armed Forces
8. Uniform Formulary Beneficiary Advisory Panel
9. Inland Waterways Users Board
10. Defense Department Wage Committee
11. Board on Coastal Engineering Research
12. Marine Corps University Board of Visitors
13. Department of the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board
14. U.S. Strategic Command Strategic Advisory Group
15. Army Science Board
16. Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services

Notably absent is the Defense Innovation Board, however, more announcements are expected in the coming weeks.  Pentagon spokesman John Kirby mentioned recommendations for board members are currently under consideration, while reports indicate that the DOD staff assigned to these boards are still intact. 
 
U.S. Companies Continuing to Focus on Critical Supply Chain Issues
Since the White House released its 100-day supply chain review report in June, U.S. companies have continued to make progress developing a fully domestic supply chain, especially on critical or “rare earth” minerals.  While not altogether rare in abundance, these minerals do present challenges related to sourcing, and their use in technology like electric vehicles (EVs) and weapons systems along with the lack of critical domestic refinement capabilities has boosted their strategic importance to both DOD and U.S. industry.  National Defense Magazine profiled three companies currently trying to stand up that domestic supply chain.  The challenges they face could show what’s to come as the U.S. moves to onshore and secure its domestic capabilities.  Most companies are focusing on building in-house refinement as the U.S. either lacks the facilities or lost the skilled talent needed to run them.  This is especially apparent in the light rare earth market used to make high powered magnets.  DOD and other federal agencies are now investing in domestic refining, including a $200 million grant to construct a light rare earth refinement facility.  However, relying purely on government investment and sales will not allow the domestic supply chain to flourish.  Industries reliant on rare earth products like EVs and wind turbines will need to invest domestically if the U.S. wants to stop relying on countries like China.

CHIPS and Agency Efforts Aspire to Stimulate Microelectronics Research and Production
The Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) for America Act was authorized in the FY 2021 NDAA to galvanize flagging U.S. microelectronics research and manufacturing.  Though signed into law, funding for CHIPS will not be fulfilled until the passage of the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act (USICA), which passed the Senate but has since stalled in the House.  If funded, CHIPS would provide $52 billion to onshore the microelectronics industry and advance new R&D at DOD, the Department of Energy (DOE), the National Science Foundation (NSF), and other agencies.  Additionally, the House Science, Space and Technology Committee approved a markup of FY 2022 reconciliation instructions in September 2021, which included an amendment providing $150 million for a new Manufacturing USA Institute focused on semiconductors.  This provision mimics one of the key CHIPS Act authorizations, and, if funded, would be executed by the Department of Commerce.

Executive Branch agencies currently invest in microelectronics research and production in the following ways: 

• The Defense Advanced Projects Agency (DARPA) continues to enhance onshore microelectronics manufacturing through its Electronics Resurgence Initiative (ERI) and will conduct its ERI Summit from October 19 - 21, 2021. 
• The Defense Microelectronics Activity (DMEA) office boosts rapid semiconductor production for fielded military operations through novel contracting capabilities, such as trusted foundries, and partnership engagements. 
• Through its Engineering Directorate (ENG), NSF leads basic research in next generation semiconductors and microelectronics. 
• DOE allocated about $5 million for microelectronics R&D in FY 2020 and 2021, a number that is expected to grow to $45 million in FY 2022. 

 
More information on the state of microelectronics can be found in Lewis-Burke's September 2021 update here.

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ONR Releases FOA for Young Investigators Program
The Office of Naval Research (ONR) released a funding opportunity announcement (FOA) for its FY 2022 Young Investigator Program (YIP), which seeks to support the careers of newly tenured researchers.  YIP identifies outstanding university faculty who have the potential for conducting innovative and creative research.  YIP empowers scientists and engineers in their first or second tenures who have received a PhD on or after January 2014.  The program supports ongoing awardee investigation versus funding new research.  Awardees can receive $510,000 over a 36-month period, allowing applicants to request up to $170,000 every year.  The FY 2022 solicitation makes $18 million available and anticipates 15 to 35 awards.  Proposals should address ONR’s research areas, which can be found here.  All proposals must include at least one Letter of Support: a long-term commitment made by university officials to the proposer and their research.  Proposals will be selected based on technical merit, relevance to ONR’s research areas, and funding availability.  All applications must be received by 11:59 PM ET on October 29, 2021.  The full solicitation can be found here or on ONR’s website.  Questions must be received by 12:00 PM ET on October 15, 2021.  Technical inquiries can be directed to ONR Program Officers, and questions regarding eligibility must be sent to  ONRYIP@navy.mil.
 
DARPA Releases Young Faculty Award
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Defense Sciences Office (DSO) released its research announcement (RA) for the fiscal (FY) 2022 Young Faculty Award (YFA) program.  This program seeks to identify and support “rising stars in junior research positions” at higher education and non-profit institutions.  DARPA especially hopes to engage with researchers who have no prior DARPA funding, to expose them to DARPA’s mission and critical DOD needs.  The RA includes 25 topics from across DARPA’s six offices, details of which can be found in the full announcement. 

Proposers must be “current tenure-track assistant/associate professors, current tenured faculty with 3 years of their tenure date,” at a U.S. institution or hold an equivalent position at a non-profit research institution, and are within 12 years of receiving their Ph.D.  DARPA anticipates granting multiple awards, each with a maximum of $500,000 in funding for a base period of 24 months, with an optional 12-month period also funded at a maximum of $500,000.  In addition to funding, awardees will receive mentorship from a PM with experience in topics closely related to their proposed research area, who will act as their project manager.  DARPA strongly encourages applicants to submit an “executive summary” that addresses the relevance of their proposed research to the program before submitting a full proposal, however this is not required.  Executive summaries are due via baa.darpa.mil by November 4, 2021 at 4:00 PM ET and full proposals are due by January 25, 2022 at 4:00 ET.  The full solicitation can be found at sam.gov under notice ID “DARPA-RA-21-03” or here.

DARPA BTO Announces BAA for Arcadia Program
DARPA’s Biological Technologies Office (BTO) released a broad agency announcement (BAA) for the Arcadia program, which will use naturally occurring microorganisms to develop probiotics for biofouling.  Biofilms tend to form in hard-to-reach areas, and current solutions are expensive.  DARPA is seeking solutions focused on the following tracks:

1. Drag on Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (UUVs)/Gliders
2. Commercial Glider/UUV Corrosion
3. Fuel-Tank Corrosion
4. Black Mold Inhibition

 
Applicants must address both Technical Area 1 (TA), Modeling & Analysis of Community Interactions, and TA2, Engineering a Functional and Resilient Biofilm, in their proposals.  The program will be split into two phases, each with a period of performance of 24 months.  Further details on the tracks and the expected goals for each phase can be found in the full BAA.  DARPA is expected to grant multiple awards but has not announced expected funding levels.  Abstracts are due by October 25, 2021, at 4:00 PM ET, and full proposals are due no later than December 15, 2021, at 4:00 PM ET.  The full BAA can be found on www.grants.gov under funding opportunity number “HR001121S0039” or here.
 
DARPA DSO Announces AIE Opportunity for ACTM
DARPA’s Defense Sciences Office (DSO) released an Artificial Intelligence Exploration (AIE) opportunity for AI-assisted Climate Tipping-point Modeling (ACTM).  ACTM will employ the latest methods in AI and machine learning (ML) to model the complex and interconnected processes in earth’s systems.  ACTM will use a mix of AI/ML models and conventional physics modeling to “capture missing physical, chemical, or biological processes and identify causal factors with sufficient computational efficiency to explore decadal scale effects and characterize tipping points and bifurcations.”
 
ACTM will be divided into two phases: phase 1 focusing on model development (12 months), and phase 2 focusing on using the models to make specific forecasts (6 months).  DSO expects to begin work on ACTM 90 days after release of the announcement.  Proposals should be submitted through baa.darpa.mil by October 14, 2021, at 4:00 PM ET.  Abstracts will not be solicited for this opportunity.  The full opportunity can be found on sam.gov under notice ID “DARPA-PA-21-04-02” or here.
 
DARPA MTO Announces BAA for QuICC
DARPA’s Microsystems Technology Office (MTO) released a broad agency announcement (BAA) for its Quantum-Inspired Classical Computing (QuICC) program which will develop “quantum-inspired (QI) solvers” for hard optimization problems calculated in real-world environments.  QuICC will not focus on developing quantum computing hardware but will instead focus on a classical computing hybrid or “mixed-signal” processing using analogue hardware and digital logic to emulate the interactions of a dynamic system and process the results.  QuICC will also look for systems that demonstrate computational efficiency at scale.
 
Applicants must separately address both Technical Area 1 (TA), Solver Co-design and Mission Relevant Benchmarking, and TA2 Analog Hardware Prototyping, in their proposals. QuICC will further be divided into three phases, each covering multiple technical challenges (TC).  Full details on each TA and TC can be found in the full BAA.  DARPA anticipates $58 million in total funding will be available and multiple awards are expected.  While not required, abstracts are highly encouraged and will be due via baa.darpa.mil by October 25, 2021, at 1:00 PM ET.  Full proposals will be due December 8, 2021, by 1:00 PM ET.  The full BAA can be found on sam.gov under notice ID “HR001121S0041” or here.
 
NAVSEA Announces FY 2022 Naval Engineering Education Consortium
On behalf of the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA), the Naval Surface Warfare Center Indian Head Division (NSWC IHD) released a BAA for the FY 2022 Naval Engineering Education Consortium (NEEC).  The BAA seeks basic, applied, and advanced research proposals of interest to specific warfare centers.  The research topics of interest include AI/ML, photonics, vehicle autonomy, quantum, hypersonics, and unique research like the development of materials for arctic conditions.  NAVSEA will grant multiple awards with funding varying from $100,000 to $150,000 for one year of performance and $300,000 to $450,000 if funded for three years of performance, depending on topic and warfare center.

This BAA is only open to colleges and universities.  Applicants may submit multiple proposals under one topic of interest or across warfare centers but may not submit the same proposal for more than one warfare center.  Proposals are due no later than November 1, 2021, at 11:59 PM ET, and awards are anticipated to be announced by April 1, 2022.  The full BAA can be found on www.grants.gov under funding opportunity number “N00174-21-0001” or here.
 
DHS S&T Releases RFI for Spectrum Interference
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Science and Technology (S&T) released a Request for Information (RFI) on currently available technologies that identify, locate, and mitigate spectrum interference.  DHS S&T seeks to identify interest from federal, industry, and academic partners to participate in the JamX 22 counter-jamming event scheduled for April 2022 at the White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico.  JamX 22 prepares first responders and federal law enforcement to face jamming threats that could degrade or disable mission-critical communications.  JamX 22 is organized into two simultaneous activities: Operation Trinity and Project Resilience.  The RFI will inform selection of participants for Project Resilience.  Proposed technologies should function at Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 6 or higher.  During the experiment, selected participants will have an opportunity to test their technology solutions in a rarely held open-air jamming test environment under controlled and authorized conditions.
 
DHS S&T seeks solutions in three specific technology categories for Project Resilience:

• Counter-Jamming Technologies
• Commercial Wireless Networks
• Interference Signal Sources

 
Submissions are due by October 7, 2021, at 5:00 PM ET, and must be submitted via the VULCAN platform, developed by the U.S. Government to serve as an innovation ecosystem for the discovery of U.S. National Security capabilities.  Questions about this RFI may be sent to Jamming.Exercise@hq.dhs.gov with “JamX 22 RFI” in the subject line.  The full RFI can be found on sam.gov under notice ID “2022_TST_JamX” or here.
 
Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP) Research Topics
CDMRP is DOD’s premier extramural biomedical research opportunity and can be a successful pathway for biomedical researchers to engage with DOD.  There are solicitations currently open for the following research topics:

• Traumatic Brain Injury and Psychological Health Research Program
• Melanoma Research Program

 
A full list of funding opportunities and announcements can be found here.  Interested applicants can subscribe to real time updates, including pre-announcements, here.

MOMRP and NIAAA Release RFI on Unhealthy Alcohol Use in Active Duty Military
The Military Operational Medicine Research Program (MOMRP) and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) have released a request for information (RFI) on alcohol misuse among active duty military personnel.  MOMRP and NIAAA are interested in receiving information on the aspects of military culture that affect alcohol misuse, as well as effective programs and interventions to prevent alcohol misuse among service members.  Responses to this RFI are due via email to sarah.e.maggio.ctr@mail.mil and jenica.patterson@nih.gov by December 1, 2021.  The full RFI is available at grants.nih.gov under notice number "NOT-AA-21-042" or here. 

WHAT WE'RE READING
 
Misinformation Is About to Get So Much Worse: An Interview with Eric Schmidt
Eric Schmidt believes artificial intelligence (AI) will usher societal change of a type not seen since the Renaissance gave us an age of reason.  The former Google CEO and National Security Commission on AI chairman spoke to The Atlantic about how he thinks AI can, should, and should not emerge as this transformative force in the world.  Schmidt posits humanity's ethical and moral compass is not yet ready to conceive of a world where AI-equipped toys influence children's decision-making about what entertainment they consume or algorithms decide which enemies get killed by autonomous systems.  Despite these challenges, Schmidt warns, AI is coming: the U.S. cannot slow its development of new and better AI with other near-peer competitors investing in similar research.  Schmidt also warns about unrestricted AI and its potential for harm to be unleashed on unsuspecting populations, proposing scenarios where human biases are exploited by AI-deployed misinformation because those algorithms already see how well that works in today's dystopian disinfo-scape. --Chris Dufour