FUNDING-DARPA
-- ADVANCED PLANT TECHNOLOGIES (APT) PROPOSERS DAY; December 6, 2017
Agency
Defense
Advanced Research Projects Agency
Description
The
Biological Technologies Office (BTO) of the Defense Advanced Research Projects
Agency (DARPA) is hosting a Proposers Day for the potential proposer community
in support of a planned Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for the Advanced Plant
Technologies (APT) program. The Proposers Day will be held on December 12, 2017
at The Westin Arlington Gateway hotel in Arlington, VA. Advance registration is
required. The event will be webcast for those who would like to participate
remotely. Advance registration is required for both the physical meeting and
the webcast. Note, all times listed in this announcement and on the
registration website are Eastern Time. The Proposers Day objectives are: To
introduce the science and technology community (industry, academia, and
government) to the Advanced Plant Technologies program vision and goals; To
explain the logistics of DARPA contract awards as well as the objectives of the
Advanced Plant Technologies program; To facilitate interaction between
investigators that may have capabilities to develop elements of interest and
relevance to Advanced Plant Technologies goals; and To encourage and promote
teaming arrangements among organizations that have the necessary expertise,
facilities and capabilities to meet research objectives established by the
Advanced Plant Technologies program. The goal of the APT program is to control
and direct plant physiology to detect chemical, biological, radiological,
and/or nuclear threats, as well as electromagnetic signals. Plant sensors
developed under the program will sense specific stimuli and report these
signals with a remotely recognized phenotype (e.g., modified reflectance,
morphology, phenology, etc.). Modern plant biotechnology holds significant
promise for addressing a range of Department of Defense (DoD) needs; plants are easily deployed, self-powering, and
ubiquitous in the environment, and the combination of these native abilities
with specifically engineered sense-and-report traits will produce sensors
occupying new and unique operational spaces. The long-term success of engineered
plant sensors requires the ability to ensure plant survivability for months or
years in a natural environment subject to stresses not present in a laboratory
environment. Meeting both the sensor and survivability technical goals of the
APT program will require a combination of plant genomics emerging technologies,
precision gene editing tools, and novel methods for engineering new sensing
capabilities and physiological responses. Proposing teams should include
experts in diverse fields including plant physiology, gene editing,
biochemistry, modelling, phenotyping, remote sensing, and plant ecology.
Proposers to APT are expected to advance plant synthetic biology for the
purpose of bioengineering plant varieties for sensor use. DARPA strongly
encourages teaming to ensure the expertise and capabilities necessary to meet
program goals. Each established team is free to suggest their own potential
stimulus-response pairs and applications.
The
Proposers Day will include overview presentations by government personnel, an
information session to respond to questions from participants, "lightning"
talks (three minutes, one PowerPoint slide) and posters for potential proposers
to highlight technical capability or interest to promote
teaming.
Attendance
at this event is not a requirement for submission of a proposal or selection
for funding. Information relayed during the Proposers Day will be made
available on the BTO section of the DARPA Opportunities page: http://www.darpa.mil/work-with-us/opportunities.
Proposing teams should include at least one team member with expertise in the
proposed operational environment for the stimulus response capability.
Interested attendees are invited to present a brief one-slide PowerPoint
summary of their interests and capabilities. These will be presented during
3-minute "lightning" presentations at Proposers Day. Presentations consisting
of multiple slides will not be granted a time slot. Attendees may also choose to
present a poster (see Attachment 2) describing their research interests that
will be available for viewing and interaction for the duration of Proposers Day
- those interested may submit both a lightning talk and a poster. Lightning talk
and/or poster submissions will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis
until time constraints (lightning talks) or physical capacity (posters) is
reached. Lightning talk submissions are restricted to those attending the
physical meeting. Interested parties are also invited to submit a one-page
profile describing technical competencies and facility capabilities as it
relates to the program and desired technical competencies in other potential
teammates (Attachment 3). All profiles, presentations, and posters must be
emailed to DARPA-SN-18-05@darpa.mil
no later than 12:00 PM EDT on December 7, 2017. Following the deadline, a
consolidated list of all profiles (not presentations or posters) will be sent
via email to the proposers who submitted a valid profile (following the format
provided and not exceeding the single page limit). Specific content,
communications, networking, and team formation are the sole responsibility of
the participants. Neither DARPA nor the Department of Defense (DoD)
endorses the information and organizations contained in the consolidated teaming
profile document, nor does DARPA or DoD exercise any responsibility for improper
dissemination of the teaming profiles. Registration Information:
PLEASE
NOTE:
Registration for physical participation will close on December 6, 2017 at 12:00
PM EST or when capacity is reached and webinar participation will close on
December 11, 2017 at 12:00 PM EST or when webinar capacity is reached.
Registration is limited by the venue capacity, and early registration is
strongly recommended. There will be no on-site registration. Participants must
register in advance through the registration website. There will an optional
$54 meal fee for the Proposers Day. Early registration is strongly recommended.
Due to space limitations, attendance for the Proposers Day will be limited to
the first 125 registrants. Remote participation via webcast is limited to 500
participants. Interested parties are encouraged to coordinate attendance
internally within their organizations prior to
registration.
Physical
attendance is limited to no more than two representatives per
division/department.
Announcement
Number:
DARPA-SN-18-05
Closing
Date:
PLEASE
NOTE:
Registration for physical participation will close on December 6, 2017 at 12:00
PM EST or when capacity is reached and webinar participation will close on
December 11, 2017 at 12:00 PM EST or when webinar capacity is reached.
Registration is limited by the venue capacity, and early registration is
strongly recommended.
Link
to Full Announcement
https://www.fbo.gov/?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=1856b21d30482fa92551915ec0d1e4b8&tab=core&_cview=0
Contact
Information
Dr.
Blake Bextine