US Army Research Office, AMXRO-PR, PO Box 12211, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709-2211

A -- MULTIDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH PROGRAM SOL DAAH04-96-R-BAA5. Due 030196. POC Technical POC, Dr. George A Neece, (919) 549-4204, Contracting Officer, Anna G. McLaughlin, (919) 549-4375. The US Army Research Office announces the FY 1996 supplemental competition of the Multidisciplinary Research Program, an element of the University Research Initiative (URI). The URI is a Department of Defense (DoD) initiative to enhance universities' capabilities to perform research and related education in science and engineering areas critical to defense. The Multidisciplinary Research Program of the URI (MURI) supports research teams whose efforts intersect more than one traditional science and engineering discipline. Multidisciplinary team efforts can accelerate research progress in areas particularly suited to this approach and can also help to hasten the transition of research findings to practical application. By supporting team efforts, MURI complements other DoD programs that support university research principally through single investigator awards. Proposals may be submitted only by U.S. institutions of higher education (other than the federal government) with degree granting programs in science and/or engineering, or by consortia led by such institutions (``universities''). Through this supplementary MURI competition, the Department of Defense expects to make awards in nine specific research areas, subject to the availability of appropriations. All awards will be based on merit competition. This notice constitutes a Broad Agency Announcement as stated in FAR 6.102(d)(2). The awards will be made by three sponsoring agencies: the Army Research Office, the Office of Naval Research, and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research. Research topics to be addressed are as follows: (1) Demining - improved capabilities for locating, identifying, and neutralizing mines and mine fields, (2) Rapid, Affordable Generation of Terrain and Detailed Urban Feature Data, (3) Predictive Capabilities Based on Performance Metrics for Automatic Target Recognition (ATR) for military applications, (4) Biomimetics and Biomimetic Processing, (5) Detection and Prevention of Corrosion, (6) High-Power, Broadband, Linear Solid-State Amplifiers, (7) Intelligent Assistants for Command and Control, (8) Real-time Interaction and Collaboration, and (9) Information Systems Security. The awards based on the above topics will typically be: (1) for a base period of three years (funded incrementally or as options), with two additional years possible as options for a possible total of five years, subject to the availability of funds, and (2) funded as high as $1 million per year with size of each award depending on the topic and agency's technical goals. Proposal submission will involve a two-step process wherein a white paper will be submitted and upon successful evaluation and selection, a full proposal will be requested. White papers should be no longer than five typed pages and should outline: (1) proposed objectives and approach, (2) expected outcomes, (3) credentials of key project members and (4) costs, summarized and broken down by Year. White papers must be received by the appropriate agencies by 4:00 pm on Friday, 1 March 1996. Invitations for follow-up proposals will be communicated directly to the proposed Principal Investigators on or about Wednesday, 27 March 1996. Institutionally approved, signed, completed proposals must be received by the agency at the address shown in each research topic by 4:00 pm Eastern Daylight Time on Monday, 27 May 1996. Potential offerors must note that each grant awarded under this announcement or solicitation to an institution of higher education will include the following clause: ``As a condition for receipt of funds available to the Department of Defense (DoD) under this award, the recipient agrees that it is not an institution that has a policy of denying, and that it is not an institution that effectively prevents, the Secretary of Defense from obtaining for military recruiting purposes: (A) entry to campuses or access to students on campuses, or (B) access to director information pertaining to students. If the recipient is determined, using procedures established by the Secretary of Defense to implement section 558 of Public Law 103-337 (1994), to be such an institution during the period of performance or this agreement, and therefore to be in breach of this clause, the government will cease all payment of DoD funds under this agreement and all other DoD grants and cooperative agreements, and it may suspend or terminate such grants and agreements unilaterally for material failure to comply with the terms and conditions of award. If your institution has been identified under the procedures established by the Secretary of Defense to implement section 558, then: (1) no funds available to DoD may be provided to your institution through any grant, including any existing grant, (2) as a matter of policy, this restriction also applies to any cooperative agreement, and (3) your institution is not eligible to receive a grant or cooperative agreement in response to this solicitation.'' A brochure describing the research interests on which the nine topics stated above are based and which lists the technical and procurement points of contact, proposal preparation, evaluation criteria and deadlines may be downloaded from the Federal Information Exchange, an on-line information system accessible via computer and modem. No hard copies will be available. Call the FEDIX computer at (301) 258-0953 or (800) 783-3349. There is no charge for accessing the information. The FEDIX helpline is (301) 975-0103. Also, FEDIX is accessible via Internet at the following address: fedix.fie.com. World Wide Web users can access the system by using the following address: HTPP://web.fie.com. (022)

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