Stewardship Science Academic Alliances

Background
The Defense Programs’ Office of Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation within the Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), directs research and development activities to maintain the safety, security, and effectiveness of the nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile. This nuclear deterrent remains a vital part of our national security infrastructure. It maintains strategic stability, deters potential adversaries, and reassures our allies and partners of our security commitments.

Since 1992, the United States has observed the moratorium on underground nuclear testing while significantly decreasing the size of its nuclear arsenal. National Policy required NNSA and its weapons laboratories to institute the science-based Stockpile Stewardship Program (SSP) to ensure the safety, security, and effectiveness of the stockpile, while allowing the country to pursue a variety of nonproliferation and disarmament goals.

Grant Details
The Stewardship Science Academic Alliances (SSAA) Program was established in 2002 to support state-of-the-art research at U.S. academic institutions in areas of fundamental physical science and technology of relevance to the SSP mission. The SSAA Program provides the research experience necessary to maintain a cadre of trained scientists and engineers at U.S. universities to meet the nation’s current and future SSP needs, with a focus on those areas not supported by other federal agencies.

It supports the DOE/NNSA’s priorities both to address the workforce specific needs in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics and to support the next generation of professionals who will meet those needs. The Office of Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation announce their interest in receiving applications for new or renewal financial assistance awards for research grants in the SSAA Program. Researchers seeking renewals of their current SSAA grant should apply to this FOA.

The research areas of interest in the SSAA Program for this announcement are: properties of materials under extreme conditions and energetic environments; hydrodynamics, instabilities and hydrosonics; low energy nuclear science; and radiochemistry.

Eligibility Requirements
Eligibility is restricted to domestic organizations located in the United States or its territories including U.S. Universities/academic institutions providing education beyond secondary education accredited by a nationally or regionally recognized accrediting agency or association; not-for-profit scientific research organizations; and Principal Investigators who are U.S. Persons defined as citizens or permanent residents.

Period of Performance
DOE/NNSA anticipates making awards with an estimated project period of three years which will be subdivided into annual budget periods.

Grant Value
Approximately $8,000,000 annually is anticipated to be available for new or renewal awards under this announcement with individual awards ranging from $50,000 to $300,000 per year for a total three year project period.

Place of Performance
The grant is open to U.S.-based academic institutions and scientific research organizations.