Office of Naval Research, 800 North Quincy Street Arlington, VA 22217-5660

A -- RESEARCH TO REPLICATE BIOLOGICAL SONARS POC Point of Contact: D. Van Metre, ONR 251B (703) 696-4525. The Office of Naval Research (ONR) and the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) are developing a joint research program to characterize the performance capabilities of biological sonars (bats, dolphins) and replicate those capabilities in engineered sonars. Specific areas of interest include, but are not limited to, sonar signal production and transmission, detection and classification of buried objects, signal extraction in high clutter environments, and three dimensional target imaging. Successful preproposals must clearly identify how the researcher(s) will: (1) derive mechanisms of biological sonar signal production, transmission, reception, or signal processing from the proposed research project, (2) transition software and hardware implementations derived from biological systems to achieve improved performance in engineered sonar systems, and/or (3) structure an investigative approach to provide innovative insights into unique capabilities that bats, dolphins, and other species may employ in locating and identifying objects in cluttered environments. Due to the interdisciplinary nature of this program collaborative efforts among biologists, psychoacousticians, underwater acousticians, signal processing engineers, or researchers representing other relevant scientific/engineering disciplines at different academic, industrial and government research institutions are strongly encouraged. It is not the intent of this program to establish new facilities: rather, proposals are sought from institutions having demonstrated biosonar research capability and requisite facilities. Institutions meeting these criteria are invited to submit six copies of a preproposal consisting of the following: (1) a title page listing the preproposal title, principal investigator(s), institutional address(es) and telephone number(s), duration of the proposed project and a total annual budget for each year of the project, (2) no more than three pages of text that describes: (a) the research objective, (b) the proposed research approach, (c) related work by the proposer, and (d) the anticipated contribution to the ONR/ARPA Biosonar Program, and, (3) a budget page containing an estimate of overall costs (including indirect) for each year of the proposed project. A curriculum vitae of the principal investigator(s) should be appended together with supporting information such as reprints or preprints which assist in the evaluation of the preproposal. Preproposal submissions will be evaluated on the basis of innovativeness, personnel qualifications, existence of necessary facilities, focus, multidisciplinary team strengths where relevant, realism of proposed cost, and availability of funds. Full formal proposals for competitive review will be requested based on these criteria. The same criteria will be used in evaluating formal proposals. Formal proposal deadline dates and format instructions will be provided at the time the formal proposals are requested. The initial deadline for preproposals will be 30 days following publication of this announcement. This is a Broad Agency Announcement as contemplated in FAR 6.102(b)(2), and it will remain open for a period of one year following its publication. Preproposals should be sent to the Joint ONR/ARPA Biosonar Program, 4301 N. Fairfax Drive, Suite 700, Arlington, VA 22203. Telephone inquiries should be addressed to Drs. Harold Hawkins (703) 696-4323 or Robert Gisiner (703) 696-2085 at ONR or Dr. Bill Carey (703) 696-2355 at ARPA (0013)

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