CENTER OF EXCELLENCE (COE): Intelligent Structures for Morphing High Speed Vehicles | FOA AFRL AFOSR 2023 0006

Opportunity Information: Apply for FOA AFRL AFOSR 2023 0006

The Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR), within the Department of Defense, is seeking unclassified grant proposals from U.S. educational institutions to establish a University Center of Excellence (CoE) focused on Intelligent Structures for Morphing High Speed Vehicles. This effort is being run jointly with multiple directorates of the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), specifically the Munitions Directorate (AFRL/RW), Aerospace Systems Directorate (AFRL/RQ), and Materials and Manufacturing Directorate (AFRL/RX). The purpose of the center is to expand AFRL research capability in this area while building a strong academic pipeline that helps train and develop the next generation of U.S. scientists and engineers who can contribute to United States Air Force (USAF) and United States Space Force (USSF) needs.

The opportunity is structured as a discretionary research grant under CFDA 12.800 (Science and Technology and other Research and Development). The funding opportunity is identified as FOA AFRL AFOSR 2023 0006, titled "CENTER OF EXCELLENCE (COE): Intelligent Structures for Morphing High Speed Vehicles." The government anticipates making at least one award, and the competition is aimed at a single team proposal rather than many smaller standalone awards. A key teaming constraint is that the proposal team may include no more than two universities, and while multi-investigator collaboration is encouraged, the government will not help applicants form teams or match partners.

In terms of funding and period of performance, AFOSR will consider proposals covering up to five years total, organized as a three-year base period with a potential two-year option period. The maximum award amount (ceiling) is listed as $5,000,000, signaling a large center-style effort intended to support a sustained, multidisciplinary research program rather than a short-term single-PI study. The solicitation emphasizes that this will be a coordinated research effort requiring a mix of expertise, reflecting the complexity of designing intelligent structures capable of morphing while operating in high-speed flight environments, where materials behavior, structural dynamics, thermal effects, controls, and manufacturability can be tightly coupled.

Eligibility is limited to U.S. institutions of higher education, including public/state-controlled and private universities, with an additional eligibility category noted as "Others (see text field...)" in the listing, though the primary target is clearly educational institutions. The proposal content must be unclassified, and the solicitation explicitly prohibits inclusion of proprietary information, which is important for applicants when selecting what technical details, background IP, or industry-partner contributions to include. Applicants should assume the government intends to handle the resulting research in a way consistent with open, non-proprietary academic work, even though it is mission-driven and aligned to defense needs.

Applications will be evaluated through peer review panels using the criteria laid out in Section E of the FOA (Application Review Information). While the specific criteria are not reproduced in the text provided, the statement indicates a formal panel-based technical review process rather than informal or sole-source selection. The solicitation also references that the schedule and award specifics are provided in Section B (Federal Award Information), with an original closing date of April 14, 2023, and a creation date of February 13, 2023, which helps place the timeline for when proposals were due under this particular announcement.

Overall, this CoE call is looking for a coherent, center-level research agenda that advances intelligent, morphing structural concepts applicable to high-speed vehicles, supported by a multidisciplinary team and executed within a university (or two-university) framework. The expected outcome is not just publications, but also sustained capability building for AFRL-aligned research areas and workforce development for future USAF and USSF technical needs, with the work kept unclassified and free of proprietary constraints.

• The Department of Defense, Air Force Office of Scientific Research in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "CENTER OF EXCELLENCE (COE): Intelligent Structures for Morphing High Speed Vehicles" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 12.800.
• This funding opportunity was created on Feb 13, 2023.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Apr 14, 2023. (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 $5,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for FOA AFRL AFOSR 2023 0006

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