Announcements

Federal Funding Update

UMD continues to monitor the evolving federal funding situation closely, including the impact of executive orders, agency budget and staff reductions, and grant terminations on UMD faculty and staff. The Division of Research’s webpage (research.umd.edu/federalupdates) contains information, FAQs, and leadership guidance.  

Events

Center for Advanced Research Training & Innovation (CARTI)

The mission of the Center for Advanced Research Training & Innovation (CARTI) is to nurture and grow an expanded cadre of biomedical and clinician scientists. In addition, the Center will help identify and facilitate access to advanced research training and research career development. There also will be a special mission focus on professional development for underrepresented minorities and women.

• Benefits of Serving as an NIH Reviewer
  Thursday, March 27 @ 9am | Zoom - This 30-minute session will introduce attendees to the role of an NIH reviewer and how to identify review opportunities, including the NIH Early Career Reviewer (ECR) Program.
• NIH Basics: Understanding Grant Mechanisms, Funding Announcements, and using NIH RePORTER.
  Tuesday, Apr. 15, 2025 @ 9am | Zoom - This session will provide an overview of the NIH grants process and helpful resources for early stage faculty not familiar with NIH funding.
   

On The Horizon

The UMD Research Development Office, RD Capture Director, and Strategic Intelligence Analyst support our faculty by providing pre-competition intelligence with recommended actions and support.

Did You Know

Proactively engaging with new government program managers can significantly enhance your research visibility and funding opportunities. By presenting your technologies using a quad chart, you can effectively communicate your innovations and their potential impact. Schedule a time with Patrick M. Mendez, UMD’s Research Development Capture Director, to discuss your technology and identify potential federal customers who might align with your research interests. Let's collaborate to bring your research to the forefront!

New and Upcoming Programs

Department of Defense
New Funding Opportunity

• DARPA-SN-25-42:Securing AI for Battlefield Effective Robustness (SABER)
  The SABER program aims to enhance the security and resilience of AI-enabled battlefield systems by developing an AI red teaming capability that systematically assesses vulnerabilities against adversarial threats. While AI has the potential to improve decision-making, autonomy, and operational efficiency, its susceptibility to attacks such as data poisoning, adversarial patching, model-stealing, and cyber exploitation presents significant risks in combat environments. Currently, these threats have only been explored in controlled research settings, leaving DoD systems largely untested in real-world operational scenarios. SABER will develop a comprehensive suite of AI adversarial assessment tools, focusing on physical, digital, cyber, and electronic warfare attack vectors to evaluate AI robustness under battlefield conditions. The program will engage performers to survey, develop, and integrate these techniques into a scalable and interoperable AI red teaming framework, ensuring DoD’s AI-enabled platforms can withstand adversarial manipulation. Additionally, the initiative will establish a sustainable AI red teaming model, equipping the military with the capability to conduct continuous security assessments as AI technologies evolve.
  Researchers across campus may find this program highly relevant. The Maryland Cybersecurity Center (MC2) focuses on AI security, adversarial machine learning, and cyber warfare. The Robotics Center and Institute for Systems Research (ISR) have expertise in AI-driven autonomy and operational security for autonomous ground and aerial systems. The University of Maryland Institute for Advanced Computer Studies (UMIACS) houses research on machine learning security, AI robustness, and adversarial AI. Additionally, the Applied Research Laboratory for Intelligence and Security (ARLIS) specializes in AI vulnerability assessment, red teaming, and operational security. SABER presents a key opportunity for UMD researchers working at the intersection of AI, cybersecurity, machine learning, autonomy, and electronic warfare to engage in high-impact research aimed at securing military AI systems. (I2O PM LTC Nathaniel Bastian
• DARPA-PS-25-10: Anticipatory and Adaptive Anti-Money Laundering (A3ML) 
  The A3ML program aims to transform how the U.S. detects and disrupts adversaries’ illicit financial operations. With adversaries using the global financial system to fund activities like weapons proliferation, violent extremism, and drug trafficking, A3ML seeks to make it prohibitively expensive to launder value. The program will develop cutting-edge algorithms and prototype systems capable of identifying illicit financial flow tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) from heterogeneous transaction data, while adapting to evolving adversarial methods. Key objectives include integrating algorithms into operational systems for automated detection and exploring novel approaches like graph convolutional networks, federated learning, and game theory to revolutionize AML strategies.
  Researchers within START, ARLIS, CS, MC2, and the UMIACS may find this program highly relevant, particularly those focusing on graph algorithms, AI-driven analytics, and financial data security. The A3ML program aligns with our expertise in advanced data science, cybersecurity, and AI applications, offering opportunities to contribute to high-impact research in financial intelligence and national security. With a focus on real-world financial systems and operational integration, this program opens new avenues for cross-disciplinary research and collaboration with the U.S. government and private financial institutions. 

Upcoming Proposer’s Day/Engagement Events
A Proposer’s Day is an event held by government agencies or organizations to share information about upcoming opportunities, answer questions, and engage potential collaborators, contractors, or researchers. It fosters a better understanding of requirements, encourages networking, and ultimately improves the quality of submitted proposals. 

• DARPA-SN-25-40: MTO Spark Tank 
  DARPA’s MTO Spark Tank event is a unique venue for university researchers and technologists to directly engage DARPA program managers and shape the future of defense-oriented microsystems research. The event supports MTO’s mission to achieve military and economic dominance in the microsystems domain through disruptive advancements in circuits (photonic, quantum, bio/organic), sustainable manufacturing, and dual-use microsystem technologies. Researchers can request one-on-one sidebar meetings with program managers whose portfolios include topics such as energy harvesting, advanced cryogenics, embedded cybersecurity, heterogeneous integration, synthetic biology for sensing, and adaptive camera-AI systems. MTO emphasizes innovations that are not merely evolutionary but that offer 10x or more improvements in performance, scale, or functionality.
  Faculty and research groups across the Clark School of Engineering, particularly in ECE, MSE, BIOE, are strongly positioned to participate. Researchers affiliated with the Maryland NanoCenter, QTC, Fischell, and MC2 will find relevant entry points for collaboration and funding. For example, topics such as photonic-electronic integration, molecular bio-computation, secure embedded systems, and cryogenic energy technologies directly map to ongoing UMD strengths. New and early-career faculty, or those unfamiliar with DARPA, are especially encouraged to leverage DARPAConnect to prepare for meaningful engagement. Interested researchers must register by June 30 and submit a concise 500-word Capability Summary to be considered for sidebar meetings. Please contact UMD’s Research Development Office for support with DARPA engagement strategies or capability summary refinement. (Register HERE)
• DARPA-SN-25-52: MTO Pitch Day 
  DARPA’s MTO Pitch Day event is a strategic opportunity for researchers, particularly from small businesses and academic institutions, to present bold new ideas in microsystems directly to DARPA leadership. The 2025 event seeks concept pitches that may evolve into full DARPA programs, with emphasis on unconventional computing architectures, bio-inspired microsystems, and pathways for commercial-military technology convergence. This format is designed to reduce entry barriers for first-time DARPA performers, and supports rapid evaluation and possible funding for disruptive innovations that reimagine how microsystems are designed, manufactured, and deployed.
  This aligns directly with expertise across the Clark School of Engineering, especially in ECE, BIOE, CS, and MSE. Faculty affiliated with the Maryland NanoCenter, QTC, and Fischell are well-positioned to propose in areas such as quantum computing, hybrid bio-electronic interfaces, and bio-integrated microsystems. Investigators in UMIACS, IBBR, and MC2 may also find opportunities for engagement. I strongly encourage early-career researchers and labs pursuing novel microsystem concepts to consider submitting an abstract for this unique, fast-track funding pathway.

Air Force Research Laboratory
New Funding Opportunity

• FA2377-25-S-1207: Autonomous Decisions, Algorithms, and Modeling (ADAM) 
  The Autonomous Decisions, Algorithms, and Modeling (ADAM) MAA is AFRL/RYA’s strategic vehicle for maturing S&T across autonomous decision systems, covering concept development through transition. The solicitation targets six technical areas, including multi-domain sensemaking, sensing autonomy, effects analysis, behavioral and physical knowledge generation, and advanced ISR orchestration. Specific areas of interest include edge-deployable sensor fusion, ML-enabled ISR asset management, contextual reasoning algorithms for contested domains, and cyber-secure autonomy embedded in software-defined sensing platforms. The emphasis on AI/ML, M&S, cloud/edge integration, and operational ISR makes ADAM a critical pathway for applied autonomy research aligned with the Air Force’s digital transformation.
  This opportunity is highly relevant for faculty in the ECE and the ISR, especially those working on sensor fusion, distributed autonomy, and ML for ISR. The Center for Machine Learning (CML) and the Maryland Robotics Center (MRC) are positioned to lead efforts in sensing and autonomy, while experts at ARLIS may contribute to sensemaking and behavioral inference in mission-critical environments. 

National Science Foundation
New Funding Opportunities

• PD-16-1266: Applied Mathematics
  The Applied Mathematics program at NSF funds projects that advance mathematical methods inspired by challenges in science and engineering. Successful proposals must articulate a dual impact: novel contributions to the mathematical sciences and meaningful influence on application areas, such as physics, biology, computer science, or engineering. This program welcomes single-investigator efforts as well as interdisciplinary team-based projects, and emphasizes opportunities to train the next generation of applied mathematicians. In addition to research grants, NSF also considers proposals for conferences and workshops in the mathematical sciences, particularly those that foster community-building and knowledge exchange.
  This program is highly aligned with faculty in the Department of Mathematics, Department of Computer Science, and Institute for Physical Science and Technology (IPST), particularly those working in areas like partial differential equations, dynamical systems, scientific computing, and stochastic modeling. Researchers from the Applied Mathematics & Statistics, and Scientific Computation (AMSC) graduate program may find excellent opportunities to lead or collaborate on proposals that bridge theoretical math with application domains such as fluid dynamics, materials science, machine learning, or quantum systems. Those planning math-focused workshops or conferences should note NSF’s early submission deadlines and the November window for proposals over $50K.
• PD-25-345Y: Fire Science Innovations through Research and Education
  The NSF FIRE program is a cross-sectoral initiative focused on transforming how science, technology, and education address wildland fire. It invites multi-disciplinary and multi-sector collaborations to tackle the increasing scale and complexity of wildland fires through three focus areas: FIRE-MODEL emphasizes next-gen coupled modeling and simulation of fire dynamics using AI, ML, and digital twins; FIRE-WUI supports research on fire resilience in the wildland-urban interface, including risk modeling, public perception, infrastructure testing, and governance; and FIRE-NET encourages building research networks that support data integration, training, workforce development, and inclusive knowledge sharing across boundaries.
  This opportunity is highly aligned with the Department of Fire Protection Engineering (FPE), the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE), and the Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center (ESSIC), where faculty are advancing work on fire-structure interactions, environmental modeling, and climate-driven risk analysis. Researchers at the Maryland Transportation Institute (MTI) and iSchool may also find FIRE-WUI relevant for modeling community evacuation, communication, and behavioral response. This program further offers a rich platform for transdisciplinary collaboration across engineering, atmospheric science, public policy, and Indigenous community partnerships.
   

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