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

A -- ADVANCED COATING TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT SOL N00014- POC Lawrence T. Kabacoff, ONR 332, (703)696-0283. The Materials Division of the Office of Naval Research announces an Affordability Initiative program in the area of advanced nanoscale coatings technology in support of reduced acquisition and/or life cycle cost for ships and airplanes. Nanoscale materials have been shown to exhibit unusual and, often, outstanding properties such as extremely high hardness and wear resistance. In addition, significant progress has been made in the processing of nanoscale powder into dense coatings and structures. For example, HVOF thermal spray hs been used to fabricate fully dense n-WC/Co coatings. The program seeks to exploit these advances to: (1)develop advanced nanoscale coatings, primarily via thermal spray processing, which will extend the life of components experiencing extreme wear or erosion, (2) replace other coating methods which are expensive (e.g. weld overlays) or have adverse environmental impact (e.g. chrome plating), and (3) develop thermal barrier coatings which are more robust and exhibit lower thermal conductivity than currenlty used materials. This will be accomplished by an integrated science and technolgoy effort incorporating basic research (6.1), exploratory development (6.2), and advanced development (6.3). Readers should note that this is an announcement to declare ONR's intent to competitively fund research and that no request for proposals (RFP), solicitation or other announcement of this opportunity will be made. Innovative research and development which will result in the realization of these objectives should be summarized in a three to five page concept paper that describes the nanoscale coatings research proposed as well as its expected impact on the three target applications areas. Along with a rough order of magnitude of the proposed program's cost, these concept papers should be submitted to Dr. Lawrence T. Kabacoff, Office of Naval Research, ONR 332 (BAA ONR 96-020), 800 North Quincy Street, Arlington, VA 22217-5660, Phone 703-696-0283, FAX 703-696-0934, Submission of proposals is not restricted in any way to any particular entity. Team proposals which include participants from industry, academia, and/or Navy or other Government laboratories are desired, but not necessary. Cost proposals where a government lab is included in the proposal as part of a team should be predicated on separate awards to the government lab and the team partners. Government agencies will not be in direct competition with industry. The following criteria, listed in descending order of importance, will be used to evaluate the concept papers: (1) general scientific, technical or socioeconomic merits of the paper, (2) potential contribution of the effort to the overall mission, (3) the offerer's capabilities, related experience, facilities, techniques, or unique combinations of these that are integral factors for achieving the proposed objectives, (4) the qualifications, capabilities, and experience of the proposed investigator, team leader, or key personnel who are critical in achieving the proposed objectives, (5) realism of the proposed cost and availability of funds. Selected participants will be invited to submit full technical and cost proposals for evaluation by ONR personnel using the above noted evaluation criteria. An invitation to submit a full proposal does not guarantee funding. Proposers should state in their proposal that it is submitted in response to this BAA. This announcement is open for one year from date of publication. Although concept papers wil be accepted throughout the year, the evaluation of those papers initially will begin two (2) months after publication of this notice. Papers received more than two (2) months after the publication of this notice will not be considered for funding in the 1997 fiscal year under this Innitiative, but will be considered for funding under other existing programs or held for consideration in the following year. The standard industrial classification code is 8731 with the small business standard of 500 employees. In addition, contract proposals that exceed $500,000 submitted by all but small businesses, must be accompanied by a Small, Small Disadvantaged and Women-Owned Small Business Subcontracting Plan in accordance with FAR 52.219-9. For awards made as contracts, evaluation of the socio-economic merits will include the extent of commitment in providing meaningful subcontracting opportunities for small business, small disadvantaged business, woman-owned small business concerns, and historically black colleges and universities. This is to notify potential proposers that each grant or cooperative agreement that may be awarded under this announcement or solicitation to an institution of higher education must 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 directory 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 of this agreement, and therefore to be in breach of this clause, the Government will cease all payments 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 coopertive agreement, and (3) your institution is not eligible to receive a grant or coopertive agreement in response to this solicitation. This announcment constitutes a Broad Agency Announcement as contemplated by FAR 6.102(d)(2). (0240)

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