IR&D Program Call for Proposals
Proposals due by 5:00 pm February 23, 2009
IR&D Program
SDL management develops an annual strategic plan that outlines SDL’s primary long– and short–term goals and thrusts. Strategic thrusts are defined as emerging and/or existing areas that require further study in order to enable the development of technologies, skills, or tools that will give SDL a competitive edge. SDL has implemented the IR&D Program to develop and advance such competitive innovations.
The IR&D Program funds research grants intended to satisfy the continuing need to stay current with the present and anticipated needs of the US Government, as well as to strengthen SDL’s ability to conduct space science and engineering missions.
Call for Proposals
SDL is seeking proposals from SDL staff and USU faculty with emphasis on thrust areas and strategic interests as outlined below. These examples are not all–inclusive and should be considered as starting points for proposal concepts that would advance a strategic thrust area. The IR&D committee is strongly encouraging SDL staff and USU faculty to collaborate on research opportunities where possible. This collaboration is seen as a win–win relationship for both SDL and USU.
Listed by each thrust area, is the name of the technical advocate for that specific strategic thrust. It is strongly suggested that you contact the technical advocate prior to submitting your proposal to ensure your idea meets the strategic needs of the advocate and the lab. This will prevent you from spending time writing a proposal that may have little opportunity of getting funded.
Proposals will be evaluated based on:
- Potential for return on investment
- Correlation with one or more of the strategic thrust areas
- Technical merit
- Quality of the proposal
- PI qualifications and experience
While a maximum funding limit has not been specified, it is envisioned that most awards will be in the $50 – $80 K range.
Thrust Areas
Small Satellite Systems
- Miniaturized attitude control hardware and related algorithms
- Reduced size, weight and power spacecraft subsystems
- Rendezvous and proximity operations technologies
- Modular subsystems and payloads
- Cubesat sized space environment sensors that tie to environmental sensor thrust area
IR Sensors & Enabling Technologies
- Hypertemporal & hyperspectral sensors
- Infrared & visible sensors
- Related sensor studies, concepts, and technologies
- Low mass, low cost, long life improvements to sensor systems
- Next generation optics
C4ISR
- UAV sensors
- Data visualization
- Data processing
- Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR)
- Cyber security tools
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Calibration
- NIST traceability
- Space qualifiable blackbody designs
- Transfer radiometry
- Data processing and visualization algorithms
- Smart calibration technologies
Environmental Sensors
- Atmospheric/Ionospheric sensors
- Space based environmental sensors
- Swarm technologies
- Sparse Aperture sensors
- Lidar
- Space weather
Other areas of interest
- Scan/pointing mirror technology
- Fast steering mirror technology
- Innovative cryogenic cooling concepts
- Vibration isolation systems
- Novel electronic system designs
- Any novel concept presented to the IR&D committee which might enhance SDL’s capability will be accepted and considered for funding
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Proposal Process
Submit proposals via email to the technical advocates by 5:00 p.m. February 23, 2009.
Please follow the 4 steps below:
- Those applying for a second grant must have submitted a year–end report
for their previous grant or be current on their existing IR&D status report
- Although several people may contribute to a proposal, only one person may
be listed as the Principal Investigator (PI)
- Use the provided proposal and budget summary templates located in the templates
and guidelines section
- Attach budget summary and submit with proposal
 Templates & Guidelines
Please review all guidelines carefully. Proposals that do not conform
to the proposal guidelines will be rejected.
Funding
A funding announcement is scheduled for April 24, 2009. Proposals will be funded for 12 consecutive months and funding may not be carried over. Special schedule arrangements are possible for USU faculty. The amount of funding for each proposal depends on how well it fits into SDL’s strategic plan and on potential return on investment.
IR&D funding may be used for the following purposes:
- Employing personnel during the research period
- Purchasing supplies and/or equipment
- Employing undergraduate or graduate research assistants
- Attending training seminars or conferences
- Travel or paper presentations
- Demo Day
Program Requirements
Proposals that do not conform to the proposal guidelines will be rejected.
By submitting a proposal, PIs agree to the following program requirements:
- Monthly Financial Status
Monthly financial information should be emailed to Scott Jensen and Gayle Bowen by the 3rd of
each month. These reports should consist of a simple account of the progress
made during the previous month as well as any unresolved issues or anticipated
problems.
- Quarterly Progress Meeting
Quarterly meetings with Scott Jensen and Gayle Bowen will be scheduled to
discuss project status and unresolved issues. Gayle Bowen will contact you
to schedule the meetings.
- Final Report Draft
A draft of your final report will be due the first week of July at your last
quarterly meeting. Placeholders may be used for test data.
- Final Report
Final reports are due August 2010. Final reports should be in the form of
a journal–ready paper, submitted to SDL in both hard copy and electronic format.
This report should discuss your findings and include any supplemental information.
Following an intellectual property review by SDL, the author should submit
the paper to an appropriate publication.
- Final Presentation
The PI (or team) will present their research project to SDL personnel during
the Annual IR&D Demo Day, currently scheduled to take place in July
2010.
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