The Department of Defense (DoD) announced the awarding of $52.5 million to support the purchase of university research equipment. The 222 awards to 107 academic institutions are being made under the Defense University Research Instrumentation Program (DURIP). These fiscal 2009 DURIP awards are expected to range from $50,000 to $1 million and average approximately $235,000. Prof. Seth Marder from the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, has received one of these awards for his proposal (Surface Characterization of Thin Films of Organic & Organic/ Inorganic Materials) through the Office of Naval Research.

The DURIP is designed to fill a critical need of scholars by purchasing state-of-the-art equipment that augments current university capabilities or develops new capabilities to perform cutting edge defense research. Academic institutions generally have difficulty purchasing instruments costing $50,000 or more under most research contracts and grants.

These awards are the result of a merit competition for DURIP funding conducted by the Army Research Office (ARO), Office of Naval Research (ONR), and Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR). Each office requested proposals from university investigators conducting research of importance to the DoD. This includes research related to information technology, remote sensing, propulsion, electronics and electro-optics, advanced materials, and ocean science and engineering. The DoD research offices collectively received more than 700 proposals requesting $224 million in equipment support.

Congratulations, Prof. Marder!