STEWARDSHIP SCIENCE ACADEMIC ALLIANCES (SSAA) | DE FOA 0001831

Opportunity Information: Apply for DE FOA 0001831

The Stewardship Science Academic Alliances (SSAA) funding opportunity (DE-FOA-0001831) is a Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration (DOE/NNSA) grant program run through the Office of Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation within Defense Programs. It seeks university-led, unclassified fundamental research that directly supports the scientific foundations of the Stockpile Stewardship Program, especially in areas that are not typically covered by other federal research sponsors. The program has been in place since 2002 and is positioned as both a research investment and a workforce pipeline effort, strengthening connections between academic researchers and the DOE/NNSA national laboratories while training students in mission-relevant science.

At a high level, SSAA is designed to do three things: fund cutting-edge basic science at U.S. universities that ties to stockpile stewardship needs, encourage sustained collaboration and scientific exchange between universities and NNSA laboratory scientists, and build a long-term recruiting pipeline by supporting graduate students and early-career researchers who may later work at the national labs. The announcement emphasizes that proposals with strong experimental components are preferred, but theory is also welcome when it is clearly connected to experiments and measurable outcomes. A key boundary condition is that all proposed work must be UNCLASSIFIED; classified proposals are not accepted under this opportunity. Like most federal financial assistance, any awards are contingent on the availability of appropriated funds.

The technical scope is organized into three topical research areas, each focused on fundamental physical science with practical relevance to stewardship. The first area covers properties of materials under extreme conditions and/or hydrodynamics, spanning condensed matter physics, materials science, and fluid dynamics. The opportunity defines "extreme conditions" in concrete terms, such as very high pressures (greater than 100 kbar), temperatures near melting, and very high strain rates (greater than 10^4 per second). Within this topic, the program invites experimental work on static and dynamic material behavior, including shock loading and isentropic compression, with emphasis on thermodynamic and mechanical responses like equation of state, phase diagrams and transformations, plasticity and strength, fracture and failure, anisotropy, and hysteresis or loading-path dependence. It also encourages hydrodynamic experiments in regimes where material strength and damage can dominate behavior, as well as studies of instabilities, turbulence, mixing, and interface physics. A notable priority within this area is special consideration for studies involving additively manufactured materials (3D-printed or otherwise additively produced), particularly when tested in the same high-pressure, high-temperature, or high-strain-rate environments. The first topic also includes development of advanced diagnostics, such as improved neutron and X-ray detectors and measurement techniques capable of resolving key phenomena at relevant time and length scales.

The second research area focuses on low energy nuclear science. Here, the program is looking for work that improves the accuracy and reliability of fundamental nuclear data and measurement capabilities that underpin stewardship-relevant modeling and experiments. Specific interests include improving knowledge of low-energy cross sections and reaction rates for stable and unstable nuclei for neutron-, gamma-, and ion-induced reactions; creating advanced simulations and measurement approaches to improve radiation and particle detection (including better energy, timing, and spatial resolution); and deepening understanding of the fission process itself, such as how mass and charge split with excitation energy, how energy is produced, and the properties of prompt fission products. The topic also highlights new diagnostic methods relevant to radiographic techniques (including proton and X-ray radiography), as well as diagnostics connected to laser or pulsed-power implosion systems and experiments involving unstable nuclei. Overall, the emphasis is on experimental and diagnostic innovation paired with analysis or modeling that measurably advances what can be observed and quantified.

The third research area is radiochemistry, with a clear emphasis on heavy elements and actinides. The solicitation calls for research on the environmental chemistry of plutonium and other actinides and for the development of improved radioanalytical techniques capable of measuring actinides in environmental samples. It also seeks fundamental studies in technetium chemistry, including synthesis, separations, and materials science aspects; broader chemical separations science and coordination chemistry involving actinides and fission products, particularly lanthanides; and work that improves the accuracy of high-energy cross section data for plutonium and other actinides, including reducing or better characterizing systematic uncertainties. In addition, it supports production methods and procedures to fabricate pure targets and short-lived nuclei (with americium given as an example), which are often critical enablers for high-quality nuclear measurements.

From an applicant and administrative standpoint, the opportunity is a discretionary grant in the Energy funding activity category (CFDA 81.112). Eligible applicants include U.S. public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, private institutions of higher education, and nonprofit organizations with 501(c)(3) status (other than institutions of higher education). The posted award ceiling is $900,000, and the announcement anticipated roughly 30 awards. The original application deadline for this specific FOA was April 6, 2018 at 11:59 PM Eastern Time, reflecting a time-limited solicitation, though the SSAA program itself is recurring and has historically offered new and renewal opportunities through separate announcements over time.

• The Department of Energy, NNSA in the energy sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "STEWARDSHIP SCIENCE ACADEMIC ALLIANCES (SSAA)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 81.112.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jan 25, 2018.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Apr 06, 2018 Applications are due by April 6, 2018 by 1159 PM Eastern Standard Time. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $900,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 30 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education.

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