JUMP Research Announcement

• Program Objectives and Description
• Timetable and Deadlines
• "Vertical" Application-Focused Centers
• "Horizontal" Disciplinary-Focused Centers
• Research Needs
• White Paper Guidelines
• Program Scope
• General Information
• Evaluation Criteria

Program Objectives and Description

The Joint University Microelectronics Program (“JUMP”), a consortium of industrial participants and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (“DARPA”), (the “Consortium”), solicits white papers from U.S. universities for collaborative, multidisciplinary, multi-university research in selected areas of principal interest.

The goal of this collaborative effort between the Department of Defense and the industrial participants is to substantially increase the performance, efficiency, and capabilities of broad classes of electronics systems for both commercial and military applications. These research and development efforts should benefit both the military and industrial sectors by providing the Department of Defense with an unmatched technological edge in advanced radar, communications, and weapons systems, and provide the U.S. economy with unique information technology and processing capabilities critical to commercial competitiveness and future economic growth.

The Consortium seeks to address existing and emerging challenges in electronics and systems technologies by concentrating resources on high-risk, high-payoff, long-range innovative research to accelerate the productivity growth and performance enhancement of electronic technologies and circuits, sub-systems, and multi-scale systems. To this end, JUMP is focused on exploratory research on an 8-12 year time horizon that is anticipated to lead to defense and commercial opportunities in the 2025-2030 timeframe.

Timetable and Deadlines

A two phase selection process will be used following this timeline:

Phase I : White Paper Submission

First, our primary goal is to accept white papers that outline a university team’s proposal for the conversion of one of the six themes listed below into a JUMP research Center. These Center white papers will be reviewed by the Consortium, and the most promising will be selected to submit a full Center proposal in Phase II. The university teams selected to submit full proposals may be given feedback by the Consortium on ways they could strengthen their full proposal to meet the research goals.

During this initial whitepaper phase, the consortium will provide a separate, ‘seventh’ mechanism that allows for the submission of whitepapers for individual task(s) from individual PIs or very small teams. This mechanism is made available to encourage researchers who may have an innovative individual idea but may currently lack connectivity into one of the proposed Center whitepapers above. These individual proposals will be reviewed by the Consortium and considered in the context of the JUMP mission and proposed Center whitepapers. While the Consortium will only fund research that is submitted as part of a successful full center proposal, the Consortium will look to connect promising innovators that submit a high quality individual whitepaper with prospective Center directors that have been invited to submit a full Center proposal. Ultimately, these individual task(s) must be included as part of a full Center proposal or will not be considered for funding.

In order to assist potential Center directors, university teams, and rising individual PIs with the quality of their JUMP whitepapers, a "Proposers’ Day Workshop" will be held to review this solicitation with Consortium members, to make connections between interested parties, and discuss the general logistics surrounding the six JUMP research Centers. Both center proposals and individual submissions can be presented at this event. Event details and registration can be found at https://www.src.org/calendar/e006128/.

Phase II : Full Center Proposals

Full proposals for multi-university Centers will then be submitted, reviewed, and selected for award by the JUMP Governing Council of the Consortium.

General Considerations

JUMP will be administered on behalf of the Consortium by SRCco, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC). SRCco is a not-for-profit, special purpose entity established to support the Consortium participants. It operates under the direction of the JUMP Governing Council and in support of the JUMP Science Advisory Board. The Consortium participants will evaluate all proposals submitted in accordance with this Research Announcement. Selection of proposals for award shall be made by the Governing Council of the Consortium.

This solicitation is open to all U.S. universities and shall be conducted on a competitive basis. Universities are encouraged to join together to achieve the depth and scope needed to address the technical content of this Research Announcement. Proposed collaboration among PIs and universities, in the form of Centers or otherwise, should identify a lead university and lead PI for purposes of an award and consummation of a sponsored research agreement with the Consortium.

This Research Announcement represents a new program. The Consortium intends to continue with the solicitation, contracting and reporting requirements that it has used in earlier MARCO-related research programs such as FCRP and STARnet.

Cross-sharing between universities is strongly encouraged, but only U.S. institutions of higher education or their associated research institutions will be considered for funding.

The Consortium seeks proposals for Centers that address one of the following six focused technology areas. These Centers are organized into two Center types - (1) “Vertical,” application-focused centers and (2) “Horizontal,” discipline-focused centers. Note details in Needs Document.

"Vertical" Application-Focused Centers

“Vertical” research Centers emphasize application-oriented goals that focus on key issues facing the industry by addressing the full span of multi-disciplined science and engineering required to achieve breakthrough technologies and products. The centers will create complex systems with capabilities well beyond those available today and that will be ready for transfer in the 5 year time frame and implementation in ~10 years. Proposers for these Centers are expected to define a grand challenge in the research space addressed by the proposed center that will be achieved by the center before the end of the JUMP program. Technology areas of interest for the JUMP “vertical” Centers include:

1. RF to THz Sensor and Communication Systems. This theme seeks research in two general, synergistic application areas - RF Sensors and RF Communications Systems – that operate at microwave, millimeter wave or THz frequencies in support of consumer, military, industrial, scientific and medical applications. To address these applications, centers focusing on this vertically integrated application must drive breakthrough research in materials, devices, components, circuits, integration and packaging, connectivity, architectures (e.g., subsystems/arrays), and algorithms that are aimed at efficiently generating, modulating, manipulating, processing (mainly in or very closely coupled to the RF/mm wave /THz domain), communicating (transmitting) and sensing/detecting radiated signals.
2. Distributed Computing and Networking. The use of computing to support enterprises and communities in social interaction, commerce, defense, and governance requires distributed computing systems. Centers focusing on this theme must explore the challenges of extremely large- scale distributed architectures and address both evolutionary and revolutionary (non-traditional) approaches to such architectures. Multi-tier, wired and wirelessly-connected heterogeneous systems are of particular interest, comprised of a sensor/actuator tier and one or more aggregation tiers. This theme will primarily focus on digital computing. All tiers are expected to be highly scalable, and heterogeneity is expected both within and across the tiers.
3. Cognitive Computing. This theme seeks novel solutions for systems that can learn at scale, perform reasoning and decision making with purpose, and interact with humans naturally. Researchers should explore multiple approaches for building cognitive computing systems by exploring alternatives to the von Neumann model, such as analog computing, stochastic computing, Shannon inspired computing, approximate computing, and bio/brain-inspired models such as neuromorphic computing. A full-system approach is required to achieve the goals of this theme. In addition, the proposed research should address the technology advances that are needed for fundamental improvements in performance, capabilities, and energy efficiency through improvements in programming paradigms, algorithms, architectures, circuits, and device technologies.
4. Intelligent Memory and Storage. This research vector seeks a holistic, vertically-integrated, approach to high-performance Intelligent Storage systems encompassing the operating system, programming models, memory management technologies, and a prototype system architecture. A primary focus area for this center will be in establishing an operating system framework allowing run-time optimization of the system based on system configuration preferences, programmer preferences, and the current state of the system.

"Horizontal" Disciplinary-Focused Centers

“Horizontal” research centers will drive foundational developments in a specific discipline, or set of like-minded disciplines, will build expertise in and around key disciplinary building blocks, and create disruptive breakthroughs in areas of interest to JUMP members. These centers have a mission to identify and accelerate progress for new technologies that look beyond traditional CMOS. Proposers are expected to define a set of key metrics that their center will use to benchmark and drive efforts in their research space. Technology areas of interest for our JUMP “horizontal” Centers include:

5. Advanced Architecture and Algorithms. This theme will address the physical implementation of integrated circuit and architecture advances required to implement novel computation, communication, and storage applications, including those researched in the application-focused centers. Centers focused on this area must develop scalable heterogeneous architectures with the relevant circuit primitives. Novel architectures should bridge hardware to algorithms. Centers should address the design and integration challenges of: systems composed of on-chip and off-chip accelerators, computation in and/or near data, and non-traditional computing. Employing novel co-design to bridge the gap between architectures and algorithms for optimization, combinatorics, computational geometry, distributed systems, learning theory, online algorithms, cryptography, etc. are within scope. Benchmarking of the novel architectures is expected. Modeling and software innovations should be used to remove barriers to hardware implementation or mass adoption.
6. Advanced Devices, Packaging, and Materials. This theme will address advanced active and passive devices, interconnect, and packaging concepts, based on physics of new materials and unconventional syntheses. This technology is needed to enable the next breakthrough paradigms in computation (including analog) and information sensing, processing, and storage that will provide further scaling and energy efficiencies. These new materials and devices will provide new functionalities and properties that can augment and/or surpass conventional semiconductor technologies, and will potentially enable novel 3D options. Material development, device demonstration and viable process integration are all within scope. Experimental demonstrations as well as ab-initio material and process modeling are expected.

Each of these areas is of equal technical importance for proposal purposes. Offerors may propose innovative research in one or more areas but each Center should focus on meeting the needs of a single theme. Additional information on these technology areas is provided in the areas of interest section of the Needs Document.

Additionally, the Consortium plans to hold separate solicitations at a later date for exploratory, individual project proposals in areas related to these thrusts.

Research Needs

Research needs are outlined in the JUMP Needs Document.

White Paper Guidelines

JUMP Center White Paper Guidelines (Categories 1 through 6)

JUMP Center White Papers are limited to 6 pages total, using a minimum of 10-point font size, and must be submitted via the SRC web-site by March 6, 2017 no later than 3PM EDT/ 12PM PDT. We encourage early submission as we will not review material received after the deadline. Submissions not in compliance with all guidelines will be excluded from consideration.

Please include the following identifying information in your Center White Paper:

• Center title
• JUMP theme addressed by this Center White Paper
• Center Director, Assistant Director, and Lead University
• Principal Investigator(s) and their associated Universities.
• Contacts of all proposed Center staff (telephone number, mailing address, and e-mail address).

Please address the following topics in your Center White Paper:

• Targeted Theme: Emphasize the area and problems to be addressed.
• Approach: Present your strategy for addressing the problem. Describe important findings from any associated research to date. Describe how your proposed research would advance the state-of-the-art and be useful to JUMP sponsoring companies and DARPA.
• Objectives and Results: What do you plan to accomplish in the 5-year period. Please specify clearly what is expected to be accomplished in the first 3-years of the center’s charter. What are the anticipated outputs of a successful effort?
• Vertical Centers – Grand Challenge: Define a grand challenge in the research space addressed by the proposed center that will be achieved by the center before the end of the JUMP program
• Horizontal Centers – Metrics and Benchmarking: Define a set of key metrics that the center will use to benchmark and drive efforts in this research space
• Center Organization: We recommend that Center research be divided into several meaningful themes ( < 4) with staffed / specific research tasks (~5) therein. Please indicate how you envision the Center’s organization.
• Logistics: Please describe how this multi-university, multi-discipline research Center will tackle distance and time to innovate at a mind-numbing pace. Consider co-location and / or an ‘increased mind share’ of Center researchers in order to better amplify the efforts of JUMP funding.
• Funding Request and Participants: Plan for yearly budget should include overhead charges by your institution. Besides faculty, please estimate the number of students and post docs supported and their degree affiliations. A detailed approved budget is not required at this time as it will be part of selected full proposals.
• Funding Leverage: Please illustrate how leveraged funding will be helpful towards the center goals and objectives.
• Background IP: Identify any blocking pre-existing intellectual property on which new results will be based.
• Research Disclaimer: We are looking for original, innovative research proposals. Please inform us if the research you are proposing has a dependency on other funded work or if the proposed research is under consideration elsewhere.

Contract Awardees will be expected to:

• Drive and deliver meaningful annual project reviews and topical workshops. This should include participation from within and across JUMP research Centers.
• Define deliverables and provide updates that help JUMP members easily assess how the research is progressing.
• Interact with JUMP liaisons.
• Submit publications, posters, thesis, etc. resulting from the sponsored research.
• Provide e-Workshops that update the JUMP community on topics of keen interest.
• File patents in promising areas of research.
• Submit reports required for program compliance.
• Manage the center budget.
• Put forward a top-tier research agenda while also being mindful of the STEM-education and employment initiatives of JUMP members.

JUMP Single Task White Paper Guidelines (Categories 1 through 6)

JUMP Single Task White Papers are limited to 2 pages total, using a minimum of 10-point font size, and must be submitted via the SRC web-site by March 6, 2017 no later than 3PM EDT/ 12PM PDT. We encourage early submission as we will not review material received after the deadline. Submissions not in compliance with all guidelines will be excluded from consideration.

Please include the following identifying information in your Single Task White Paper:

• White Paper title
• A primary and secondary JUMP theme addressed by this Single Task White Paper
• Principal Investigator(s) and their associated Universities.
• Contacts of all proposed PIs (telephone number, mailing address, and e-mail address).

Please address the following topics in your Single Task White Paper:

• Targeted Theme: Emphasize the area and problems to be addressed.
• Approach: Present your strategy for addressing the problem. Describe important findings from any associated research to date. Describe how your proposed research would advance the state-of-the-art and be useful to JUMP sponsoring companies and DARPA.
• Objectives and Results: What do you plan to accomplish in the 5-year period. Please specify clearly what is expected to be accomplished in the first 3-years of the center’s charter. What are the anticipated outputs of a successful effort?
• Funding Request and Participants: Plan for yearly budget should include overhead charges by your institution. Besides faculty, please estimate the number of students and post docs supported and their degree affiliations. A detailed approved budget is not required at this time as it will be part of selected full proposals.
• Funding Leverage: Please illustrate how leveraged funding will be helpful towards the center goals and objectives.
• Background IP: Identify any blocking pre-existing intellectual property on which new results will be based.

Following the white paper review phase, JUMP leadership will look to facilitate relationships between the PIs that submitted single task white papers of interest to the consortium and potential JUMP center leaders that have been invited to submit a full center proposal. Contracts will not be awarded for single task white papers that are not successfully incorporated into an awarded full center proposal. At that time PIs will be expected to comply with the center guidelines.

By submitting a white paper (center or single task) to the JUMP research announcement, you authorize SRC to share contact information (name, university, email, address, and phone number). The contents of white papers will not be shared by the SRC as this information is confidential and proprietary.

Program Scope

Following proposal selection, awards pursuant to sponsored research agreements with the Consortium will be made as appropriate, for base periods of up to five years, to accommodate student education and provide adequate time for discovery and progress in new areas. The research is expected to start on January 1, 2018. There will be a checkpoint at 2.5 years to allow for re-direction as needed within the Centers; this will not be a re-competition. Overall program funding may reach a level of $4.0M to $5.5M per annum per Center, depending on research progress and availability of funds. The funds may not be equally divided among Awardees. The technical point-of-contact for this effort is the JUMP Executive Director: e-mail deactivated 12/18/2017

General Information

Proposers should review the Needs Document, which provides further information on areas of interest, the submission, evaluations, funding processes, proposal formats, and other general information. White papers and subsequent proposals not meeting the format described in the pamphlet may not be reviewed. Offerors must submit all white papers and proposals as a single PDF document via the SRC JUMP Web Site.

This notice, in conjunction with the JUMP Research Announcement, constitutes the total Research Announcement. No additional information is available, nor will a formal Request for Proposals (RFP) or other solicitation regarding this announcement be issued. Requests for the same will be disregarded. The Consortium reserves the right to select for award all, some, or none of the proposals received. All responsible sources capable of satisfying the JUMP needs may submit a proposal, which shall be considered by the Consortium. Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) and Minority Institutions (MI) are encouraged to submit proposals and join others in submitting proposals; however, no portion of this RA will be set aside for HBCU and MI participation.

Any objections to the terms of the JUMP Research Announcement must be presented in writing within the ten (10) calendar days of the date the objector knows or should have known the basis for its objection. Objections must be provided in letter format, clearly stating that it is an objection or protest to this Research Announcement or to the conduct of evaluation or award of a contract, and providing a clearly detailed factual statement of the basis for objection. Objections must be received at the address stated above for delivery of proposals within the times indicated in order to be considered. Other administrative correspondence and questions related to this Research Announcement, including requests for information on how to submit a proposal, should be directed to: e-mail deactivated 12/18/2017

Evaluation Criteria

Evaluation of white papers and later proposals will be accomplished through a technical review of each white paper and proposal using the following criteria, which are listed in descending order of relative importance:

1. Overall scientific and technical merit
2. Ingenuity, novelty, and impact of overall Center
3. Impact of proposed research on needs of the Consortium Industry Members and DARPA
4. Capabilities of proposed investigators
5. Cost effectiveness, realism

Please direct all questions to: e-mail deactivated 12/18/2017

A list of frequently asked questions is available and will be refreshed periodically.