Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for Research

Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for Research is sponsored by United States Air Force Academy (USAFA). USAFA invites white papers and proposals for research in many broad areas, including basic science relevant to recovery and adaptation from physical exertion, wound healing, tissue regeneration, and transplantation.

BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT (BAA) 1. Agency Name United States Air Force Academy (USAFA), US Air Force Academy, CO 2. Funding Opportunity Number- USAFA-BAA-2021 3.

Funding Opportunity Title- Research Interests of the United States Air Force Academy 4. Types of Instruments Awarded- Research and development contracts, grants, cooperative agreements and other types of agreements 5. Announcement Type- Initial Announcement 6.

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Numbers- 12. 800 USAFA’s Dean of Faculty Research Office is announcing to business and academia the intent to solicit white papers/proposals for USAFA research efforts through this BAA.

This strategy provides USAFA an acquisition tool with the flexibility to solicit proposals and make awards to develop technologies to meet present and future Air Force research needs as technology issues are identified. USAFA invites white papers and proposals for research in many broad areas. These areas are described in detail in Section I, Funding Opportunity Description.

Additional information regarding USAFA Research Centers, Departments and Institutes may be found at www. usafa. edu.

USAFA is seeking unclassified research white papers and proposals that do not contain proprietary information. Requests for white papers/proposals are also transmitted via calls which may be published separately from the BAA at various times during the open period of the BAA.

It is anticipated awards will be made in the form of any appropriate contract type under the FAR or Non-FAR instruments (i.e., Other Transaction (OT) for research efforts, or grants and cooperative agreements). USAFA reserves the right to select and fund for award all, some, or none of the white papers/proposals in response to this announcement. All awards are contingent upon funds availability for the program areas identified.

Unless specifically indicated in a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a call, cost sharing is permitted and encouraged, but not required. Awards based on responses to this BAA are considered to be the result of full and open competition.

The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code, unless otherwise stated in the BAA amendments shall be: 541714, Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) and 541715, Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology).

Interested offerors should be alert for any BAA amendments, calls, or other changes to the requirements of this BAA or its subsequent amendments. Amendments to and/or calls on this BAA will be posted to the beta. sam.

gov and Grants. gov website and published when they occur. Interested parties are encouraged to periodically check these websites for updates and amendments.

White papers and proposals submitted in response to this BAA shall be in accordance with the requirements of this BAA and its appropriate amendments. 2 USAFA will not issue paper copies of this announcement. The costs of white papers and/or complete proposals in response to this BAA are not considered an allowable direct charge to any award resulting from this BAA or any other award.

Technical and cost proposals, or any other material, submitted in response to this BAA will not be returned. This publication constitutes a competitive BAA as contemplated in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 35. 016, Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation (DFARS) 235.

016, FAR 6. 102(d)(2) and the DoD Grants and Agreements Regulation (DoDGARs) Subpart 22. 315(a), 2 CFR 200.

319. This BAA supersedes USAFA-BAA-2015, which limited research to basic and applied, fundamental studies. USAFA-BAA-2021 uses DFARs 235.

016 to expand research areas to the following: 1. Basic Research (budget activity 6. 1) 2.

Applied Research (budget activity 6. 2) 3. Advanced technology development (budget activity 6.

3) 4. Advanced component development and prototypes (budget activity 6. 4).

This announcement remains open until superseded. White papers are reviewed and evaluated as they are received and may be submitted at any time. The white paper/proposal submission process is discussed in sections IV and V of this BAA.

Proposals will be due according to specific instructions contained in a separate RFP notice resulting from favorable white paper evaluations or calls issued against this BAA. Calls may be placed against this BAA and specific information related to due dates will be provided in each call.

Proposals or white papers submitted in response to calls should be submitted according to directions contained within each individual call and in accordance with this BAA. Late bid and proposal provisions in accordance with (IAW) Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) 52. 215-1(c) (3)) will apply to this BAA.

3 I. OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION ....................................................................................................... 4 a.

Research Centers ................................................................................................................................ ... 4 1.

Aeronautics (Aeronautics Research Center) .......................................................................................... 4 2. Aeronautics (High Performance Computing Research Center) .............................................................

5 3. Aeronautics (Hypersonic Vehicle Simulation Institute) ....................................................................... 6 4.

Astronautics (Space Systems Research Center) .................................................................................... 6 5. Biosystems and Natural Materials (Life Sciences Research Center) ....................................................

7 6. Chemistry (Chemistry Research Center) ............................................................................................... 8 7.

Computer Science (Academy Center for Cyberspace Research) .......................................................... 9 8. Mechanical Engineering (Center for Aircraft Structural Life Extension) .............................................

9 9. Laser and Optical Physics (Laser & Optics Research Center) ............................................................ 10 10.

Physics (Space Physics & Atmospheric Research Center).................................................................. 11 11. Center for Physics Education Research (CPER) .................................................................................

12 12. Academy Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Research (UAS) ................................................... 13 13.

Civil and Enviromental Engineering Research .................................................................................... 13 14. Electrical and Computer Engineering Research ..................................................................................

14 15. Center for Space Situational Awareness Research (Department of Physics) ...................................... 15 b.

Research Institute ................................................................................................................................ 15 1. Institute for Information Technology Applications .............................................................................

15 2. Institute for National Security Studies ................................................................................................ .

16 3. Eisenhower Center for Space and Defense Studies ............................................................................. 17 c.

Other .................................................................................................................................................... 18 1. Department of Behavioral Sciences and Leadership ...........................................................................

18 2. Department of Foreign Languages and the Office of International Programs .................................... 19 3.

Interdepartmental Program of Operations Research and Analytics ..................................................... 19 4. Air Force CyberWorx ..........................................................................................................................

20 5. Digital Humanities Center ................................................................................................................... 20 6.

Military and Strategic Studies (Center for Airpower Studies) ............................................................ 22 II. AWARD INFORMATION ................................................................................................................

22 III. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION ...................................................................................................... 23 IV.

APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION ................................................................ 23 V. APPLICATION REVIEW INFORMATION ..................................................................................

34 VI. AWARD ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION ........................................................................... 36 4 I.

Opportunity Description The USAFA invests in an active research program for three main reasons. First and foremost, research significantly enhances the cadet learning experience. Our research is done by, for and with cadets who work alongside fellow cadets and faculty mentors.

Research provides cadets with rich independent learning opportunities as they tackle ill-defined problems and are challenged to apply their knowledge and abilities. Second, our research program provides opportunities essential for faculty development. Research broadens and deepens the experience base of the faculty.

This infuses current, relevant, state-of-the-art and cutting-edge applications and examples into the curriculum. This also helps our faculty remain current in their respective fields. Third, at USAFA we strive to conduct research to enhance the ability of the Air Force to perform its mission.

There are ongoing research projects spanning topics as diverse as super hypersonics, cyber security, spatial disorientation, athletic performance and homeland defense. This BAA offers a vehicle for research to be performed to satisfy these three objectives, while also meeting research needs of industry counterparts/serve a public purpose.

USAFA’s partnerships with non-Government firms enables development in the public arena, stimulating the studies in the greater technical community. All awards issued against this BAA must serve to benefit the objectives identified above. 1.

Aeronautics (Aeronautics Research Center) The Aeronautics Research Center (ARC) performs a range of aeronautical research tasks in support of Air Force (AF), Department of Defense (DoD), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and other government and commercial sponsors.

Making use of the highly diverse and advanced experimental facilities housed in the USAFA Department of Aeronautics, the ARC pursues a range of aeronautic and propulsion research efforts. The research program in this center is geared toward providing all undergraduates with a rich, relevant research experience while answering critical research needs of our highly varied customer base.

Researchers may expect extensive access to premier facilities, tremendous latitude of pursuits and single-minded focus on research tasks, but must seek to incorporate student participation in their projects, typically two to four students per semester.

Substantial effort in this center is directed toward the solution of multi-disciplinary problems which may require skills beyond classical aeronautics disciplines, including plasma and laser physics, optics, automatic controls and applied mathematics.

The ARC, in partnership with the USAFA High Performance Computing Research Center, is a leader in the complementary employment of experiment and simulation to solve complex fluid, aerodynamic and control problems. Current research strengths include several complementary thrusts. Closed loop flow control efforts focus on aero-optic control and control of flexible structures under aerodynamic loading.

There is extensive effort in the development of automatic control algorithms and techniques, experimental flow control methodologies, fluid-structure interactions and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. Well-developed and modern force and moment measurement capabilities in low speed (M < 0. 1) and subsonic (up to Mach 0.

6) wind tunnels are employed in the investigation of numerous air vehicle modifications as well as development of new aircraft and Unmanned Aerial Systems 5 (UAS) designs. Flight test of small air vehicles using USAFA facilities is a strength of the program. A Mach-6 Ludwieg tube is now available, complementing an existing Mach 4.

4 blow down facility for supersonic and hypersonic investigations, emphasizing shock wave-boundary layer interactions. Operating engines, including an F-109 turbo fan and several internal combustion engines, are used for fuels and flow quality investigations, with a current emphasis in ejectors, ducted fans, and propellers for small air vehicles.

Researchers are encouraged to propose topics in these areas and other allied aeronautics subjects. USAFA is a pioneer in arranging for wind tunnel concepts to be field tested in flight vehicles, both “test mules” and small air vehicles designed and built in-house. Vehicles are then flown in USAFA-controlled airspace.

A list of current and available research facilities can be found at www. usafa. edu.

Thomas E. McLaughlin, Ph. D.

Director, Aeronautics Research Center USAFA Department of Aeronautics 2.

Aeronautics (High Performance Computing Research Center) The High Performance Computing Research Center (HPCRC) is a multi-disciplinary center which shares a dual mission of providing high performance computing resources to USAFA cadets and research/teaching personnel, as well as conducting physics-based modeling and simulation research tasks in support of AF, DoD, NASA and other government and commercial sponsors.

Making use of distributed/shared memory computing systems and a dedicated research network, the Center pursues a range of computational research efforts. The research program in this center is geared toward providing undergraduates with scientific computing experience supported by the DoD High Performance Computing Modernization Program and projects which answer critical research needs of our highly varied customer base.

Researchers may expect extensive access to premier facilities, tremendous latitude of pursuits and single-minded focus on research tasks, but must seek to incorporate cadet participation in their projects, typically two to four cadets per semester.

The HPCRC, in partnership with the USAFA Aeronautics Research Center, is a leader in the complementary employment of experiment and simulation to solve complex fluid, aerodynamic and control problems.

Current fluid/aerodynamic research interests include:  Massively-separated flow aerodynamics, including turbulence modeling  Reduced-order modeling for aircraft stability and control characterization  Fluid-structure interaction as applied to aero-elasticity as well as other linear and non-linear problem sets  Non-equilibrium gas dynamics typical of high-altitude, rarefied flows as well as hypersonic atmospheric re-entry  Gas turbine propulsion devices (including inlets, compressors, turbines and nozzles), high-speed propulsion devices such as ramjets and scramjets  Other topics of interest involving the use of high performance computing resources for the solution of complex scientific and engineering problems.

The HPCRC also works in partnership with other USAFA academic departments and research centers to develop computational simulation capabilities using high performance computing (HPC) resources.

Current research interests in this area include: 6 • Development of tools and techniques to ease the delivery of HPC services to users and researchers without a significant computational background (including undergraduate students) • Development of software methods, processes, tools and utilities to solve complex science and engineering problems using HPC resources (including General Purpose Graphical Processing Units or GPGPUs) • Development of parallel software processes and tools to improve maintainability, efficiency and scalability Director, High Performance Computing Research Center USAFA Department of Aeronautics 3.

Aeronautics (Hypersonic Vehicle Simulation Institute) The Hypersonic Vehicle Simulation Institute (HVSI) funds and performs a range of hypersonic research tasks in support of the DoD High Performance Computing Modernization Program (HPCMP). HPCMP desires to improve computational simulations of hypersonic vehicles in support of Department of Defense goals by accelerating the successful development of HPC software and hardware.

HVSI has the objectives to: facilitate the development and documentation of a national vision for hypersonic vehicle simulation; co-fund projects in the gaps of current DoD, DoE, NASA, and Industry research efforts critical to achieving DoD hypersonic vehicle simulation; facilitate transition of hypersonic research into production quality simulation software available to government, academic, and industry acquisition partners; create a national repository for hypersonic simulation verification and validation data; provide computational resources to provide a measurable leap forward in hypersonic system simulation capability for DoD hypersonic system acquisition.

The HVSI improves computational simulation approaches including numerical methods, modeling approaches, and simulation of a variety of aerothermodynamic and propulsion aspects of hypersonic flight. Specific science and technology areas include turbulence, boundary layer transition, fluid-structure-thermal interactions, non-equilibrium chemistry, ablation, and combustion, among others. Russell M.

Cummings, Ph. D. Director, Hypersonic Vehicle Simulation Institute USAFA Department of Aeronautics 4.

Astronautics (Space Systems Research Center) The Space Systems Research Center performs a wide range of activities involving the design, assembly, integration, test, launch and flight of small satellites to conduct research for the AF and the DoD. The goal of the SSRC is to provide opportunities for cadets to “learn space by doing space” and to facilitate on-orbit technology demonstration.

This unique program blends science, technology and organizational skills like none other at the USAFA. The Center is currently operating FalconSAT-6 (launched 2018) and FalconSAT-8 (launched 2020) and developing FalconSAT-X. All three spacecraft host experiments sponsored by the Air Force Research Lab.

Other research 7 areas are educational nanosatellites of the CubeSat form factor. Designing a satellite is a complex, multi-disciplinary undertaking requiring expertise across a number of technical disciplines. Department of Astronautics, in partnership with the Space System Research Center, aims to extend this expertise through researching and applying design experiences and examples to support the AF and DoD.

Currently available facilities, instrumentation and research efforts can be found at www. usafa. edu.

Lt Col Daniel Showalter, Ph. D. Director, Space Systems Research Center USAFA Department of Astronautics Daniel.

Showalter@usafa. edu 5. Biosystems and Natural Materials (Life Sciences Research Center) The Life Sciences Research Center’s (LSRC) primary mission is to support United States Air Force (USAF) and DoD research directives, especially those within the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) and Air Force Research Laboratories (AFRL).

Within the Department of Biology at USAFA, LSRC is seeking research partnerships to investigate changes in metabolism towards improving human performance. Probing the cellular response of this process is very germane to basic science and relevant to recovery and adaptation from physical exertion, wound healing, tissue regeneration, and transplantation.

Further, our center also wishes to uncover the unique adaptation properties of select organisms in terms of providing natural materials. Additional study may include molecular biology/genetic engineering methods, which allow for further insights concerning property/structure relationships to enhance biomaterial products. Critical aspects of human performance and physiology are controlled by metabolic circuits that provide cellular ATP.

These circuits are especially responsive to O2 levels (influenced by exertion or altitude), reactive O2 species (ROS), and the types/levels of dietary biochemical fuels. The DoD is interested in rapidly modulating human cell metabolic rates in response to a myriad of physiological and environmental cues.

This can enable high-levels of ATP production in stressful conditions, even when energetic constraints exist because of sleep/caloric limitations (especially fatigue prevention). Despite extensive characterizations of the primary protein/enzyme machinery contributing to cellular ATP production, very little is known.

To illustrate, much needs to be understood how this machinery is controlled or how these pathways are dynamically regulated in response to signaling events and alterations in cellular redox status. There is growing interest in establishing fundamental mechanisms of metabolic regulation by redox sensors in model systems.

One such approach could involve using bacterial, yeast and mammalian cell systems in parallel, to probe how cells respond to physiological changes brought about by varying levels of oxygen (the “Crabtree Effect”) and nutrients. This would involve interrogating the control mechanisms cells use to regulate energy transformation when faced with dynamic redox conditions, e.g., fluctuating levels of energy carriers and/or O2.

The LSRC is also intrigued by biomaterials found in nature, which use unique biologic design principles and processes to form novel structures. In certain instances, these novel structures are the basis for highly resilient biomaterials capable of withstanding harsh environmental conditions. For example, the USAF requires lighter, tougher materials, which can hold up under extreme temperature, pressure or loading conditions.

Research would essentially reveal mechanisms of existing natural systems, methods to incorporate present biological materials in nature, or disclose 8 new capabilities within existing systems and/or materials.

Unraveling the complexities behind the aforementioned areas could perhaps be accomplished through molecular biology/genetic engineering, which may lead to more expedient understanding of property and structure relationships within the biomaterial.

Research activities in these areas could be carried out by a commercial or academic partner with experience in conducting and participating in R&D relating to the previously mentioned areas along with placing an exceptional research scientist at USAFA.

Applications for on-site USAFA research are encouraged from individuals from a variety of backgrounds; microbiology, biochemistry, molecular biology, electrochemistry, genetic engineering, and materials science. We are currently examining select microorganisms that have resilient proteins which help form the basis of many biomaterials.

Our scientists are centered on isolation and identification of these robust microorganisms, and are developing methods for making them tractable to genetic manipulation. These research thrusts have applications for the U.S. Air Force ranging from protein stability under harsh conditions to energy transfer across biotic/abiotic interfaces to the development of biosensors for threat detection and mitigation.

Collaboration should include leadership and guidance on the proposed research areas for laboratory technicians/students, partner scientists, biologists, chemists and engineers on experimental work at the intersection of chemistry, biology, and biochemistry.

Because of the USAFA mission to prepare young men and women for leadership positions within the Air Force, cadet participation with researchers is expected as part of our independent study projects (499s) and cadet summer research program (visiting partner labs).

Additionally, there is potential for cross-disciplinary involvement from a number of academic departments other than Biology, such as Chemistry (biochemistry), Engineering (model development), and Management (project analysis). There are also potential collaboration opportunities with other academic institutions, private companies and other Air Force research agencies.

Interested inquiries should contact the LSRC POC before submission to ensure proposals are feasible for funding and of technical interest to the Air Force and the DoD. Director, Life Sciences Research Center USAFA Department of Biology 6. Chemistry (Chemistry Research Center) The opportunity to participate in basic and applied research by faculty, staff, and cadets is important to the overall mission of the Air Force Academy.

The Chemistry Research Center (CRC) provides for professional development of faculty members and resident researchers in addition to enhanced education of cadets through research programs in support of the Air Force as well as DoD R&D directives.

In order to accomplish a portion of this, the CRC has had proven success by external partnering with academia, industry, and national laboratories in order to leverage an expanding technology base. Current topics of interest in the CRC are renewable materials, light harvesting organic electronics, fluoropolymers, energetic composites, smart coatings, liquid crystalline elastomers, and high temperature composite resins and fibers.

Research partnerships usually take place on-site using the laboratories and analytical instrumentation located in the Department of Chemistry at USAFA. 9 Interested inquiries should contact the CRC POC before submission to ensure proposals are feasible for funding and of technical interest to the CRC. A short description of the CRC research and capabilities is available at www.

usafa. edu/research/research-centers/chemistry-research-center/ Director, Chemistry Research Center USAFA Department of Chemistry 7. Computer Science (Academy Center for Cyberspace Research) The Academy Center for Cyberspace Research (ACCR) conducts research in a wide range of areas within the fields of Computer and Cyber Science in support of the AF, DoD and other government and commercial sponsors.

All cadets in the Computer Science and Cyber Science majors receive research experience through independent studies, course projects and summer research opportunities. ACCR has four primary research focus areas: system security analysis, immersive environments (augmented and virtual reality), artificial intelligence and autonomy, and big-data analytics.

In addition to these four primary focus areas, ACCR can conduct research in any topics related to the field of Computer and Cyber Science provided there is sufficient faculty and cadet interest.

State of the art facilities are available to students and researchers providing capabilities for network and platform vulnerability analysis; industrial control system/supervisory control and data acquisition security analysis and development; provably secure software development; network security stack analysis; virtual and augmented reality applications; high-performance computing; robotics and unmanned systems design, analysis, and operation; unmanned aerial swarms and multi-vehicle cooperation.

ACCR is especially interested in research that incorporates proposed student projects.

Current topics of research include operational network penetration testing techniques and tools, provably secure network applications, network security stack capability and shortfall analysis, virtual reality exposure therapy, augmented reality for distributed command and control, emergency response augmentation through virtual reality, counter-unmanned aerial systems swarm techniques, unmanned aerial swarm behaviors, and business process automation.

Researchers are encouraged to propose topics in these areas as well as other cyberspace and computer science topics. Currently available facilities, publications and research efforts can be found at www. usafa.

edu. Director, Academy Center for Cyberspace Research USAFA Department of Computer Science 8. Mechanical Engineering (Center for Aircraft Structural Life Extension) The Center for Aircraft Structural Life Extension (CAStLE) has a two-fold mission in support of the safe, economical sustainment and improved readiness of aging systems and other material degradation related fields.

10 The first aspect of the CAStLE mission is to perform a wide range research and technology development projects focused on delivering science and technology (S&T) products required to understand material degradation in structures and systems to various government, academic and commercial sponsors.

Making use of the extensive experimental and computational facilities housed in the USAFA Department of Mechanical Engineering and elsewhere, CAStLE pursues a range of research projects in a wide variety of fields. These fields include engineering mechanics, mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, corrosion engineering, and material science.

CAStLE places more emphasis on applied research and that part of development not related to the development of a specific system or hardware procurement. CAStLE is a leader in the complementary employment of experiment and simulation to solve complex static stability, static strength and fracture mechanics problems.

Current research strengths include advanced barrier coatings; static strength and static stability design; corrosion modeling, prevention and control; validation testing, analysis and methods development; computational structural and fracture mechanics; root-cause (failure) analysis; flight data acquisition system development, installation, maintenance and data analysis; educational curriculum research and development; structural risk analysis; forensic structural teardown analysis and research tied to the USAF Aircraft Structural Integrity Program (ASIP).

The interaction between corrosion, cracking, and other material degradation/damage mechanisms and their effect on structural integrity has been a long-standing interest of CAStLE. There is DoD-level interest in material degradation in structures—to include corrosion, cracking and other service-related damage mechanisms.

The second and no less important aspect of the CAStLE mission is to educate, train, inspire, and otherwise prepare future generations that might become the core of the S&T community within the government and the general professional population.

To this end CAStLE seeks to leverage research and S&T products to provide inspirational educational experiences in relevant fields that support obtaining solutions to material degradation issues in structures. Past research programs have provided service academy cadets, college students, primary students, and faculty with rich, relevant research experiences while answering critical research needs of our highly varied customer base.

New research projects must likewise seek to directly incorporate students or in some way educationally benefit students. Besides student participation elements in our S&T product development projects, CAStLE has education-based projects in distance learning, primary education curriculum research, science center education programs, and the creation of a wide variety of web-based video-delivered educational products.

Producing individuals to form the material degradation technical core naturally requires those individuals to be prepared in the sciences, math and other technical areas related to engineering and technical topic areas which are appropriate to the age and background of the target audience.

There is DoD-level interest in educationally preparing and inspiring future generations to pursue careers in material degradation of systems—to include corrosion, cracking and other service-related damage mechanisms. Gregory A. Shoales, Ph.

D. , P. E.

, Director, Center for Aircraft Structural Life Extension (CAStLE) USAFA Department of Mechanical Engineering Gregory. Shoales@usafa. edu 9.

Laser and Optical Physics (Laser & Optics Research Center) The Laser and Optics Research Center (LORC) performs a range of research tasks in support of the AF, DoD, DARPA, National Science Foundation and other government and commercial sponsors. 11 Making use of the extensive experimental facilities housed in the USAFA Department of Physics, the Center pursues a range of research efforts.

The research programs in this center are geared toward providing all undergraduates with a rich, relevant research experience while answering critical research needs of our highly varied customer base.

Researchers may expect extensive access to premier facilities, tremendous latitude of pursuits and single-minded focus on research tasks, but must also seek to incorporate student participation in their projects, typically one to four students per semester. The Laser and Optics Research Center at the Air Force Academy is involved in a variety of experimental AMO physics basic research.

Current projects include precision measurement of atomic lifetimes, atomic polarizabilities and matrix elements of atoms, laser cooling of metastable inert gases, diode pumped alkali lasers (DPAL), and nuclear spectroscopy of Th 229m. Future possible projects might include high harmonic generation, atom interferometry and quantum computing. Research projects are dependent on obtaining external funding.

Interested inquiries should contact the LORC POC before submission to ensure proposals are feasible for funding and of technical interest to the LORC. Researchers are encouraged to propose topics in the above areas and other related subjects. USAFA Department of Physics Casey.

pellizzari@usafa. edu 10. Physics (Space Physics & Atmospheric Research Center) The Space Physics and Atmospheric Research Center (SPARC) studies the natural environment from the troposphere to the sun in support of AF, DoD, NASA, NSF and other government and commercial sponsors.

Making use of the extensive experimental facilities housed in the USAFA Department of Physics, the SPARC pursues a range of efforts. The research program in this center is geared toward providing all undergraduates with a rich, relevant research experience while answering critical research needs of our highly varied customer base.

Researchers may expect extensive access to premier facilities, tremendous latitude of pursuits and single-minded focus on research tasks, but must seek to incorporate student participation in their projects, typically two to four students per semester.

Substantial effort in this center is directed toward the solution of multi-disciplinary problems which may require skills beyond classical physics disciplines, including plasma and laser physics, advanced miniaturization techniques, use of Micro-Electro-Mechanical-Systems, development of miniaturized automated satellite constellations and advanced data mining techniques for large data systems.

The SPARC is a leader in the development of miniaturized payloads for small satellites, and the application of data provided by these payloads to relevant Department of Defense problems. SPARC research interests vary depending on the sponsoring agencies interests. Current research strengths include several complementary thrusts.

Space physics and space weather study the relationship of the space environment and the effects this environment have on mankind. Topics in space weather can range from experimental, such as developing new instrumentation to measure the space environment, to theoretical, such as developing assimilative models which can be used to predict the space environment into the future.

Linked with space physics and space weather, the micro- and nano-satellite thrust develops aggressively miniaturized spacecraft for use in small 12 inexpensive constellations devoted to exploiting the entire range of space activities of interest to sponsors. The applied physics thrust considers all applications of physics to the practical applications of technology of interest to sponsors.

In the past, research has included studies of plasma actuators, high speed spectroscopy in support of brief duration phenomena in the troposphere, mesosphere and the ionosphere, studies of the aurora and applications of weather modeling to highly dynamic small scale areas such as the USAFA. Finally, the Department supports a wide range of basic research in astronomy and astrophysics in support of the USAFA observatory.

Director, Space Physics and Atmospheric Research Center USAFA Department of Physics (719) 333-2460 (Desk), Phone: (719) 333-3510 (Front Office) 11. Center for Physics Education Research (CPER) The Center for Physics Education Research (CPER) was founded in 1994 to build a USAFA center of gravity providing impetus, opportunities and pedagogical tools for physics faculty at USAFA.

The CPER also engages in and applies Scholarship of Teaching and Learning-like (SoTL) research activities within the Department of Physics and across the institution, to include science and mathematics faculty at the Preparatory School. The CPER maintains extensive ties and collaborations with similar research programs nationwide.

The primary goals of the CPER are to: • Engage in research initiatives that quantify gains in student understanding and appreciation of physics. Efforts in this category leverage the random assignment of students within Core Physics sections to categorize and assess student learning gains in performance within a single semester and across multiple semesters.

In addition to analyzing performance on standardized assessments, there is considerable interest in analyzing student response patterns, developing assessment rubrics and understanding prior student knowledge and correlating learning gains with other metrics such as instruction techniques and student engagement. • Develop and share tools for enhancing teaching and student learning in physics.

Of particular interest is the research and development related to pedagogical techniques