DARPA
DARPA Expands Opportunities for Computer Science Researchers with New Post-doc Program
Through its Young Faculty Award program, DARPA has provided funding opportunities since 2006 as a forward-looking way to familiarize rising researchers in junior positions with national-security-relevant work within the Department of Defense (DoD). The agency announced it would broaden the scope of its commitment to talented young scientists, engineers, and mathematicians through a new fellowship program focused specifically on postdoctoral researchers in the field of computer science with grants sized to support each fellow for up to two years.
“Because the pandemic has disrupted research and teaching at institutions of higher education, the employment prospects of the current cohort of Ph.D. graduates has been severely impacted,” said Dr. Bill Scherlis, director of DARPA’s Information Innovation Office. “If left unaddressed, these adverse impacts will result in a shortfall in research-qualified individuals in computer-science fields such as cybersecurity, software engineering, artificial intelligence, machine learning, data science, human-machine interaction, social-network engineering, and other areas that are critical to U.S. national security and economic competitiveness.”
Those who submit proposals must clearly explain an addressable DoD problem they intend to investigate, show an understanding of what is currently the state-of-the-art in the relevant research space, and suggest the types of new insights or findings that could be explored to tackle the problem. Submissions should also include a credible research plan and schedule, as well as critical, quantitative milestones to be pursued and met over the research period.
“In particular, we would like to see proposals that seek to expand core technical foundations, design novel application concepts based on these foundations, and explore the intersection of technical fields,” said Scherlis. “Novel combinations of cyber, artificial intelligence, and information technologies are encouraged, especially if they provide unique approaches to de-escalate or deter conflict.”
DARPA’s new program is open to current U.S. citizens or permanent residents who have received a Ph.D. degree no earlier than June 2019 or who will have received a Ph.D. prior to the date of award, and who will be appointed to a postdoctoral position at a U.S. institution of higher education during the 2021-22 academic year. The solicitation includes special provisions that allow technical proposals to be submitted by current Ph.D. graduates in anticipation of appointment to postdoctoral positions.
Award Amount:
$300,000
Due Date:
Technical Volume I Due Date: December 14, 2020
Full Proposal Due Date: March 18, 2021