A -- RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT, THE INTENT IS TO CREATE AN ARMY CENTER OF RESEARCH IN NANOSCIENCE FOR THE SOLDIER

Notice Date

May 31, 2001

Contracting Office

U.S. Army Research Office, AMSSB-ACR, P.O.Box 12211, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709-2211

ZIP Code

27709-2211

Solicitation Number

DAAD19-01-R-0007

Point of Contact

QA@arl.aro.army.mil

E-Mail Address

QA@arl.aro.army.mil (QA@arl.aro.army.mil)

Description

1. The Army announces its intention to create a research center of excellence to develop nanometer-scale science and technology solutions for the soldier. A single university will host this center, which will emphasize revolutionary materials research toward an advanced uniform concept. This uniform will integrate a wide range of functionalities, including personal protection against ballistics, sensory attack, chemical and biological agents; responsive passive cooling and insulating, chameleonic garments; biomedical monitoring; integrated sensors and antennas; and perhaps energy harvesting and water reclamation. The objective is to lighten the soldier's load through system integration and multifunctional devices while increasing his survivability and lethality. Research solutions that respond to, supplement, or augment the soldier's performance level are desired and should be characterized by realistic computational models predicting the soldier's performance. Research solutions must be compatible with other requirements, including soldier performance, limited power generation, integrated sensor, communication, and display technologies, a variety of weapons systems, and rugged insensitivity or adaptive responsivity to extremes of temperature, humidity, storage lifetimes, damage, and soilage. 2. The single university host will be selected through a limited competition with the intention of creating a unique national asset in revolutionary materials research. The Army will invest $10M annually for this University Affiliated Research Center (UARC) to concentrate on innovative materials research for the soldier. It is anticipated that the single university host will provide a dedicated facility for this UARC and will commit significant infrastructure, resources, and personnel to match the government's investment. The Army will also require the UARC to create cooperative partnerships with industry so that these technical innovations made by the university will result in the production by industry of integrated prototypes that may be assessed and eventually manufactured in large scale. Because of the large potential for commercial spin-offs, the Army anticipates significant industrial cost sharing with the UARC and will likely provide direct support of the industrial activities to support this integration effort. The award is anticipated in March 2002. Other terms of the competition will be stipulated in a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) to be issued in mid-July. 3. In anticipation of the BAA, the Army will host two pre-competition informational meetings. One will be located at the Westin San Francisco Airport Hotel, San Francisco, CA on June 18, 2001; the other will held at the North Carolina Biotechnology Center in Research Triangle Park, NC on June 21, 2001. Universities are allowed to send no more than 5 representatives, each of whom must pre-register to attend. Pre-registration information and directions are available at the ARO web site: http://www.aro.army.mil/soldiernano/. Questions regarding the center may be posed by contacting QA@arl.aro.army.mil. Both questions and answers will be posted at the ARO web site. In addition, the proceedings of a recent ARO workshop on "Nanoscience for the Soldier" are posted at the web site.

Web Link

http://www.aro.army.mil/soldiernano/ (http://www.aro.army.mil/soldiernano/)

Record

Loren Data Corp. 20010604/ASOL007.HTM (W-151 SN50N5M4)