Inertial Confinement Fusion Program University Assistance

The goal of the Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) program is to create nuclear weapons relevant conditions in the laboratory without the need to return to underground nuclear testing. The objectives of this assistance listing are: (1) To support the

The nuclear weapons stockpile is a cornerstone in the foundation of U.S. national security. Ensuring that the U.S. nuclear deterrent is safe, secure, and reliable requires the best science and technology, especially in the absence of underground nuclear testing. Having top tier scientists and engineers in the areas of ICF and HED science is critical to stockpile stewardship of the present and future. The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) supports this effort through the Inertial Confinement Fusion Program within the Office of Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation within Defense Programs.

Institutions of higher education

U.S. public and private institutions of higher education. The Federal government will also benefit from the research.

No Credentials or Documentation are required. 2 CFR 200, Subpart E - Cost Principles applies to this program.

Higher Education (includes Research), Science and Technology, Training Financial support in whole or in part may be provided for such purposes as the salaries, materials and supplies, equipment, travel, publication costs, training costs, and services required for conducting research, training, related activities, and advanced technology projects or assessments. Funding is provided for basic and applied research in the field of ICF and HED science in support of the DOE stockpile stewardship program. Restrictions on use of funds depend on cooperative agreement provisions. Funding is provided for the purpose of exploring an idea that does not unnecessarily duplicate work already in progress or contemplated by DOE, is not already known to DOE, or has previously unrecognized merit. Some solicitations are open to institutions of higher education only.

Cooperative Agreements typically have five-year project periods and are funded one year at a time. Method of awarding/releasing assistance: The NNSA Grants Officer will make determination of method of funding release at the time of award.

2 CFR 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards applies to this program. Proposals should be submitted unsolicited or as specified in the funding opportunity announcement posted at http://www.grants.gov/.

(1) Alignment with the areas of technical scope; (2) Scientific/technical merit of the proposal, including innovativeness and originality; (3) Expected impact on the area of technical scope addressed; (4) Consistency with the objective of the ICF program to focus on advanced experimental investigations; (5) Qualifications of the Applicant's personnel and adequacy of proposed resources; (6) Feasibility of plans for carrying out the proposed research, considering such factors as: appropriateness of the technical method and approach, facility compatibility, other commitments, competition and timing; (7) For projects currently receiving funding under this program, the scientific impact of recent results and accomplishments; (8) Level of interaction with NNSA/DP laboratory personnel and the potential to train students in scientific areas defined by the technical scope in order to build a long-term recruiting pool for the NNSA/DP laboratory complex. Generally, a higher degree of interaction both quantitatively and qualitatively is considered desirable; (9) Leverage provided by cost sharing with other funding sources.

Applications will receive an administrative screening to determine if they are complete and in compliance with the terms of the solicitation or requirements for unsolicited applications. Proposals will be screened for stewardship relevance and then reviewed for scientific and technical merit by qualified individuals. The review and selection process for each funding opportunity are included in the solicitation. Decisions to approve are made by a DOE/NNSA Headquarters program official within the ICF Program Office. Selected proposals will be forwarded to the NNSA Office of Partnership and Acquisition Services for cooperative agreement development, negotiation, and award.