2027 Department of War (DoW) Defense University Research Instrumentation Program (DURIP)

Website: https://simpler.grants.gov/opportunity/cb2e8072-dfd4-4101-9004-c4f1e1ccbad7
Sponsor: Department of Defense (Army Research Office, on behalf of ARO / ONR / AFOSR)
Sponsor Deadline: Pre-proposal inquiries due October 16, 2026; full proposals due November 6, 2026, 5:00 PM ET
Award Amount: $50,000–$3,000,000 per award ($28M total program funding)
Pitt Select Funder: No.

About the Program

DURIP funds research equipment and instrumentation — not direct research costs — at U.S. institutions of higher education, in areas of interest to the Army Research Office (ARO), Office of Naval Research (ONR), and Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR). The goal is to advance defense-relevant research and supporting the training of the students who work with the equipment.

DURIP does NOT fund: direct research costs, PI or student salaries, or general-purpose computing. A competitive proposal needs to show impact on both defense-relevant research and student education.

Note: Federal solicitation timelines are subject to ongoing disruption this cycle due to a government-wide review process (Executive Order 14332). Check agency-specific links below for the most current status.

Eligibility

• Open to accredited U.S. institutions of higher education with degree-granting programs in science, mathematics, or engineering
• For-profit institutions are not eligible
• University Affiliated Research Centers (UARCs) may participate

What the Sponsor Will Not Fund

• Direct research costs
• PI or student salaries
• General-purpose computing

Getting Started

Because DURIP requires proposals to name the correct Program Officer/Technical Point of Contact for the relevant research topic, faculty should:

• Identify the closest-matching topic area above
• Contact that agency's Program Officer directly to confirm fit before drafting
• Confirm the topic and PO are still current on the agency's live BAA site — these lists are updated on a rolling basis

Research Interests by Agency

DURIP is a joint NOFO, but each service — ARO, ONR, and AFOSR — runs its own underlying solicitation with its own topics, program officers, and submission requirements. Proposals go directly to whichever service best matches the research area; there's no single combined application. The lists below are a first-pass screening tool for identifying that match — each agency's list changes periodically, so always verify against the live source before finalizing a specific proposal (page 10 of the solicitation).

• Army Research Office (ARO): Ten scientific divisions spanning engineering, physical, life, and information sciences. Representative areas: Advanced Learning-Enabled Intelligent Cyber Physical Systems, Atomic and Molecular Physics, Biochemistry, Biomathematics (including neuromathematics/TBI-relevant modeling), Bionic Electronics, Complex Dynamics and Systems, Electronic Sensing, Genetics, Information Assurance, Knowledge Systems, Materials Design, Neurophysiology of Cognition, and more. 

• Office of Naval Research (ONR): Areas most likely relevant to health/human-performance-focused faculty sit under Code 34 (Warfighter Performance): Basic Physiological Sciences, Cognitive Science for Human-Machine Teaming, Naval Force Health Protection, Undersea Medicine and Performance, Biotechnology for Naval Applications, Human Performance/Training/Education. Other codes cover cyber, AI/ML, materials, ocean sciences, energetics, and autonomy.

• Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR): Three branches: Engineering/Info Science/Math (RESA), Physical Sciences (RESB), and Bio-Cognitive (RESC) — the branch most relevant to Pitt's biomedical, health, and neuroscience faculty. RESC areas include Biophysics, Human Performance and Biosystems, Natural Materials and Systems, Space Biosciences, Symbiotic Systems, Computational Cognition and Machine Intelligence, Trust and Influence, and Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience. 
  
  The AFOSR BAA that previously covered this program (FA9550-25-S-0001) closed March 23, 2026, as part of a mandatory federal review process under Executive Order 14332. A new "Open BAA" has been announced but was not yet posted as of this writing, with no confirmed release date. Contact AFOSR directly (afosr.baa@us.af.mil) to ask directly whether a new Open BAA is expected before the November DURIP deadline.

Key Dates