OCTOBER 1, 2025 – The Department of War yesterday announced $19.2 million in awards to 29 collaborative academic teams under the Defense Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (DEPSCoR). DEPSCoR is a capacity-building program designed to strengthen the basic research infrastructure at institutions of higher education in underutilized states/territories.
“The Department’s technology progress relies on a network of creative and insightful academics in every state of the nation. DEPSCoR aims to enhance the science and engineering foundations for these researchers and their institutions, while encouraging more researchers to pursue investigations in DoW-relevant areas. It is crucial that we build defense research infrastructure that strategically develops and uses the vast capabilities found across the country,” said Dr. David Montgomery, acting director of DoW’s Basic Research Office.
Today’s awards follow two fiscal year 2024 competitions – the DEPSCoR Research Collaboration competition and the DEPSCoR Capacity Building competition.
The DEPSCoR Research Collaboration competition is open to tenured and tenure-track faculty members with appointments in the 37 states/territories eligible to compete for program funds. The competition helps these prospects understand DoW’s unique research challenges and introduces them to the Department’s supportive research ecosystem.
DoW received over 120 white papers for the FY 2024 Research Collaboration competition. Subject matter experts in the military services selected the final 27 collaborative teams, led by universities in Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Connecticut, Hawai’i, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin. Each team will receive up to $600,000 over a three-year period of performance to pursue science and engineering projects in areas relevant to DoW initiatives.
Click here for the list of winning Research Collaboration teams.
The DEPSCoR Capacity Building competition supports the strategic objectives of institutes of higher education (either individually or in partnership with others) in DEPSCoR-eligible states/territories, enhancing their competitiveness as research and development centers.
DoW received over 30 white papers for the FY 2024 Capacity Building competition, from which DoW subject matter experts selected two finalists. The executive offices at Boise State University and the University of Iowa will lead the selected teams. Each team will receive up to $1.5 million over a two-year period of performance to pursue capacity-building activities that will help them achieve basic research excellence in areas relevant to DoW.
About USW(R&E)
The Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering (USW(R&E)) is the Chief Technology Officer of the Department of War. The USW(R&E) champions research, science, technology, engineering, and innovation to maintain the U.S. military’s technological advantage. Learn more at www.cto.mil, follow us on X @DoWCTO and @USWREMichael, or visit us on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/ouswre.