Defense Research Sciences

Defense Research Sciences under the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), aims to provide the technical foundation for long-term national security enhancement through the discovery of new phenomena and exploration of their potential for defense applications. The program supports scientific study and experimentation in information, electronic, mathematical, computer, and materials sciences. It also focuses on innovation and robust transition planning in the technology cycle by working with entrepreneurs to increase the likelihood that DARPA-funded technologies take root in the U.S. and provide new capabilities for national defense.

Specific projects within this program include Math and Computer Sciences, which supports scientific study and experimentation on new mathematical and computational algorithms, models, and mechanisms in support of long-term national security objectives. The program aims to leverage emerging mathematical and computational capabilities including artificial intelligence (AI), computational social science, machine learning and reasoning, data science, quantum science, complex systems modeling and simulation, and theories of computation and programming. The Electronic Sciences project focuses on basic exploration of electronic and optoelectronic devices, circuits, and processing concepts to meet the military's need for near real-time information gathering, transmission, and processing. Other projects within this program include Beyond Scaling Sciences, Materials Sciences, and Transformative Sciences which support investigations into materials, devices, architectures to provide continued improvements in electronics performance with or without the benefit of Moore's Law (silicon transistor scaling), fundamental research that underpins the design, development, assembly, optimization of advanced materials for DoD applications, as well as research leveraging converging technological forces in information-intensive subareas of life sciences, data sciences, and manufacturing.

Overall, these projects aim to produce breakthroughs that enable new capabilities for national and homeland security while addressing multiple DoD challenges such as identification of emerging threats and access to critical materials for manufacturing and warfighter readiness.