The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) has awarded 150 university researchers a total of $50 million for work to be performed during fiscal year 2021 (FY 2021) under the Defense University Research Instrumentation Program (DURIP). The researchers are based in 85 different institutions across 33 different states. DURIP, which is part of the University Research Initiative (URI), not only serves the future scientific needs of the U.S. military but helps boost this country’s scientific ecosystem, strengthening the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) university workforce and inventory of scientific and test equipment.
Regarding the DURIP awards, Dr. Bindu Nair, Director, Basic Research Office, Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, explained: “DURIP awards help maintain the cutting-edge capabilities of our universities and provide research infrastructure to enable the most creative scientific minds in the country to extend the boundaries of science and technology. The awards will facilitate scientific advances that will drive unparalleled military capabilities for our country and help train our future STEM workforce.” The Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering is responsible for the research, development, and prototyping activities across the Department of Defense.
The DURIP awards are determined by a highly competitive annual process as part of a process administered by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, Army Research Office, and Office of Naval Research. The awards are made with the intention of supporting engineering research relevant to the U.S. national defense. A total of 742 proposals were made as part of the FY 2021 competition, seeking $297 million in funding.