National Institute of Standards and Technology, Technology Administration, Building 101, Room A430, Gaithersburg, MD 20899

A -- PUBLIC MEETING SOL SOL Q POC POC Customer Representative 1-800-287-3863 REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS AND NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING: The NIST Advanced Technology Program (ATP) is soliciting second-round proposals under its focused program competition, Manufacturing Composite Structures (95-11) and announces a public meeting (Proposers' Conference) for all interested parties. An estimated $20 million in ATP funding is available for the first year of this focused program competition 95-11. The ATP reserves the right to utilize for this competition more or less funding than the amount stated above, depending on the quality of the proposals received. The actual number of proposals funded will depend on the quality of the proposals received and the amount of funding requested in the highest ranked proposals. Outyear funding is contingent on the approval of future Congressional appropriations and satisfactory program performance. This is the second of three competitions planned for this ATP focused program. A third competition is planned and should occur 12 to 18 months after this second competition. The follow-on competition is intended to fill technical gaps and provide opportunities for further customer- supplier integration. Award recipients will be required to share non-proprietary information at workshops which will be held throughout the duration of the program. The ATP operates under program procedures published at Part 295, Title 15, of the Code of Federal Regulations. The ATP Proposal Preparation Kit dated November 1994 (containing proposal cover sheets, other required forms, background material, and instructions for submission of proposals) and the focused program paper entitled ''Manufacturing Composite Structures, Supplemental Information Program Competition 95-11,'' may be obtained by phone (1-800- ATP-FUND), fax (301-926-9524), e-mail (atp@micf.nist.gov), or written request at the address shown below. Only FULL proposals are being solicited under this focused program competition 95-11. Abbreviated/pre-proposals WILL NOT be accepted. Proposals submitted by facsimile or electronic mail WILL NOT be accepted. If a proposer's proposal is judged to be of high enough quality to be invited in for an oral review, ATP reserves the right to submit a list of questions to the proposer that must be addressed at the oral review. The due date for submission of full proposals is 3 p.m. eastern time on Wednesday, May 24, 1995. Should the NIST facility be closed on the specified due date, ATP proposals will be due at 3 p.m. eastern time on the next business day that the NIST facility is open. Proposals received after this deadline WILL NOT be considered. Decisions on the awards for this competition should be made within three months after full proposals are received. Send proposals to: Advanced Technology Program, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Administration Bldg. 101, Rm. A430, Quince Orchard & Clopper Roads, Gaithersburg, MD 20899-0001. Mark envelope Focused Program 95-11. The goal of the Manufacturing Composite Structures focused program is to promote U.S. economic growth by supporting sustained, high-risk research and development, which will accelerate the use of structural polymer composites in surface transportation, infrastructure, and offshore oil. The vision of this focused program is to create a first and second tier high performance commercial composite parts manufacturing infrastructure in the United States early in the 21st Century. The infrastructure would support significant sustainable U.S. commercial business in new markets including surface transportation, civil infrastructure, and offshore oil production. By the end of the five-year ATP program, the technical objectives are to demonstrate commercial benchmarks in the following three business sectors with sufficient cost and performance detail to allow subsequent business decisions: (a) lower investment cost automobiles and other land-based transportation vehicles; (b) accelerated code and commercial acceptance of large primary and secondary structures in civil infrastructure construction and repair; (c) reduction in capital required for oil production from deep water reserves. The technical scope of this program is to include high risk generic research and development projects which address the following topics in ways which are specifically and directly linked to the business objectives and commercial opportunities noted above: (a) integrated design and simulation methodologies which accurately address life prediction, failure modes, and manufacturing process variables to promote user friendly materials selection and design protocols; (b) extrinsic and intrinsic sensors for manufacture and performance monitoring of composite structures in order to reduce risk derived from material variability and service loading in realistic environments; (c) commercial manufacturing processes which enable low cost, large scale, complex, modular or continuous shape production in either fixed or on-site facilities. Polymer matrix composites with the potential to meet these applications needs are the subject of this competition; constituents include fibers of carbon, polymer and glass, and thermoset or thermoplastic resin systems. Continuous fibers, chopped strands, fabric and other forms of these fibers may be investigated. Although the improvement of existing materials to hasten lower cost manufacturing of composites are in scope, such ideas as fundamentally new classes of fibers or resins, non-polymeric composites, basic studies of failure mechanisms which are decoupled from design methodologies, and generation of databases on current classes of materials will not be considered for funding. Similarly, applications which are distinct from those noted above such as electronic packaging, aerospace structures, and aerospace engines will not be considered. A public meeting (Proposers' Conference) for potential proposers and other interested parties will be held from 9 a.m.-12 p.m. and 2-5 p.m. eastern time on April 17, 1995, in the Green Auditorium at NIST, Administration Bldg. 101, Quince Orchard & Clopper Roads, Gaithersburg, MD (exit I-270 at exit 10 northbound or exit 11B southbound). The morning session will provide an opportunity for attendees to ask questions on the scope and technical and business goals of this focused program. The afternoon session will provide general information on the ATP and hints on preparing good proposals (covering the same material presented at previous ATP Proposers' Conferences). Attendance at this public meeting is not required. No registration fee will be charged. In case of severe weather, please call NIST's Facilities Status Line 301-975-6478, for a pre- recorded message of the status of NIST opening. If NIST is closed, the meeting will be rescheduled. To register for this public meeting or for further information, contact ATP, by phone: 1-800-ATP-FUND; fax: 301-926-9524; or e-mail: atp@micf.nist.gov. (0058)

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