Collaborative Research Alliance (CRA) for MultiScale multidisciplinary Modeling of Electronic materials (MSME)

The U.S. Army Contracting Command – Aberdeen Proving Ground (Soldier, Chemical, Research & Test), RTP Contracting Division, on behalf of the U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL), is issuing a FINAL Program Announcement (PA), W911NF-11-R-0002, for the establishment of a Collaborative Research Alliance (CRA) for MultiScale multidisciplinary Modeling of Electronic materials (MSME). The purpose of this MSME CRA PA is to solicit offers that will help fulfill the research and development goals of the U.S. Department of the Army. The Army envisions the Alliance will bring together government, industrial, and academic institutions to undertake the fundamental research necessary to enable the quantitative understanding of electronic materials from the smallest to the largest relevant scales. Resulting models are needed to create new understanding and improved electronic device applications to include sensors and electronics for enhanced battlespace effects, and efficient power and energy devices. The objective of this Alliance is to conduct fundamental research to create MSME to support development of future electronic materials and devices for the Army. To achieve this, the Alliance is expected to advance the fundamental science, understanding, and state-of-the-art (SoA) for Multiscale Multidisciplinary Models in each of the following Electronic Materials Research Areas: 1) Electrochemical Energy Devices, 2) Hybrid Photonic, Spintronic Devices, and 3) Heterogeneous Metamorphic Electronics. The intent is for the Multiscale Models to be developed by the MSME Team. The experimentation for validation and verification for these models will be performed by ARL scientists in each of the three Electronic Materials Research Areas, which is expected to be part of a continual process to improve and create new models through collaboration between ARL and MSME Team. Programmatically, the CRA should initiate and execute a fundamental, cohesive, multidisciplinary collaborative research program that links MSME across length and time scales with validated modeling. Responses to the PA are expected to provide a plan to perform materials by design by addressing the following Multiscale Modeling Research Core elements for each of the Electronic Materials Research Areas above: 1) Modeling and Simulation, 2) Bridging the Scales, 3) Multiscale Material Metrics, 4) Validation and Verification, and 5) Processing and Synthesis. Innovative crosscutting themes across both the Electronic Materials Research Areas and Multiscale Modeling Research Core Elements are envisioned to advance the SoA as part of this initiative. The MSME CRA PA can be found at: http://www.arl.army.mil/CRAMSME To accomplish the objectives of this CRA, the Army envisions the PA will establish an environment for the Alliance to advance technology by conducting a number of individual, coordinated and collaborative research tasks based upon a series of consistent, yet flexible annual research plans that will be highly responsive to the needs of the Army and Department of Defense (DoD). These plans will include the interchange of scientists and engineers from among the Alliance participants, as well as educational opportunities that will serve to strengthen the ability of the Alliance and the larger research community to create new understanding and improved electronic device applications to include sensors and electronics for enhanced battlespace effects and efficient power and energy devices. This PA will result in the award of one Cooperative Agreement (CA) as defined at 31 U.S.C. 6305 for execution of the program. The CA will be awarded to a Recipient that must be an academic institution. Additionally, it is required that “covered educational institutions” (to include Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Minority-Serving Institutions or HBCU/MSIs receive 5-10% of the annual funding under the cooperative agreement. Under this PA, proposals are sought to select the recipient for the MSME CRA. Planned funding levels for the CA are set forth in the MSME CRA PA. Contingent upon available funding, the Army expects to support the MSME CRA for five years with an option for an additional five years. An Opportunity Conference for the Multiscale Research CRA projects was held on 19 November 2010 and an Open House was held on 9 December 2010. Briefings, Posters, Q&A’s, and links from these events can be found at: http://www.arl.army.mil/www/default.cfm?page=532 Proposals for the Multiscale Multidisciplinary Modeling of Electronic Materials (MSME) Collaborative Research Alliance are due 07 March 2011 with an award expected in February 2012.