DoD FY23 Multidisciplinary Research Program of the University Research Initiative (MURI)
Sponsor Deadline for White Papers (strongly encouraged): May 16, 2022
FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: September 1, 2022
Sponsor Deadline for Full Proposals: September 9, 2022
Award Amount: Typical annual funding per grant is in the $1.25M to $1.5M range for up to 5 years

The MURI program supports high-risk basic research in science and engineering at U.S. institutions of higher education that is of potential interest to DoD. The program is focused on multidisciplinary research efforts where more than one traditional discipline interacts to provide rapid advances in scientific areas of interest to the DoD. The program was initiated over 25 years ago and it has regularly produced significant scientific breakthroughs with far reaching consequences to the fields of science, economic growth, and revolutionary new military technologies. Key to the program’s success is the close management of the MURI projects by Service program officers and their active role in providing research guidance.

This Department of Defense program is administered by three agencies. Each agency posts its own Funding Opportunity Announcement:

• Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR)
• Army Research Office (ARO)
• Office of Naval Research (ONR)

White papers and proposals addressing the following topics should be submitted to the relevant agency:

ARO

• Topic 1: Integrated Bio-Hybrid Actuators
• Topic 2: Neuro-Inspired Distributed Deep Learning (NIDDL)
• Topic 3: Chemical and Microbial Indicators of Permafrost Degradation from Changes in Climate
• Topic 4: Dynamically Tunable and Enhanced Thermal Conductivity in Polymeric Materials
• Topic 5: The Stranger Within: The Ecology of the Brain
• Topic 6: Control Theory for Novel Quantum Error Correction
• Topic 7: Emergent Refractory Behaviors in Earth and Extraterrestrial Materials

ONR

• Topic 8: Supremacy over Quantum: Efficient Real-World Optimization on Stochastic Binary Networks
• Topic 9: Identifying the Fundamental Properties of Biological Soft Structures Subjected to High Hydrostatic Pressure that Preserve Structural and Functional Integrity of Deep-Sea Organisms
• Topic 10: Advance Mixed-Precision and Deep Learning Algorithms for Computation of Multiscale-Multiphysics and Optimization Models
• Topic 11: Fundamental Processes in Solid-Fuel Combustion
• Topic 12: Climate Change Risk and Decision Superiority
• Topic 13: Twist on Photonics (TOP): Light-Matter Interactions Defined by Novel Degrees of Freedom
• Topic 14: Building Overall Cognitive Capability through Attention Control
• Topic 15: Assessing the Role of Marine Biology in Driving Ocean Mixing Using Autonomous Sampling of Microstructure and eDNA (BIOMIX)
• Topic 16: Spatially Programmed Material Properties via Designed Meso-Structures
• Topic 17: Excited State Chemistry of Preceramic Polymers

AFOSR

• Topic 18: Fluid-(Sub-) Surface Material Interactions for Passive Flow Control
• Topic 19: Quantum Spin Effects in Chiral Matter
• Topic 20: Cognitive Security
• Topic 21: Open Hybrid Dynamical Systems: Compositions, Invariants, and Computation
• Topic 22: Dislocations as One Dimensional Quantum Matters
• Topic 23: Quantum Phononics
• Topic 24: Fundamental Limits of Nanoscale X-ray Microscopy in Radiation Sensitive Materials

It is strongly recommended that applicants communicate with the Research Topic Chiefs before the submission of formal proposals. All pre-proposal inquiries and questions must be submitted by May 2, 2022.