UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Penn State Center for Security Research and Education is now accepting proposals for its 2023 Grant Program, which will provide funding of up to $30,000 for security-related research projects.

Proposals are due by March 13 and should be submitted through Penn State’s InfoReady portal.

The anticipated award notifications will be sent on May 15 for performance beginning on July 1. The periods of performance are flexible but are typically 12 to 24 months.

Any full-time Penn State faculty member (as defined by Penn State Academic Policy AC21) or full-time Penn State research and engineering staff members (see Penn State Human Resources, Research, and Engineering for a non-exclusive list of job titles) may submit proposals as a Principal Investigator, or PI. There are no specific eligibility restrictions for Co-PIs or key personnel.

CSRE is seeking proposals featuring innovative concepts with high risk/high reward approaches. Proposals must demonstrate inter-, multi-, or trans-disciplinarity; teams with representation from multiple units across the University and partners with other universities and research centers, industry, and/or government organizations, are highly encouraged.

While any proposal relevant to CSRE’s mission is welcome and will receive full consideration, the center is particularly interested in supporting research in five specific areas:

1. Biosecurity/Biodefense. Suggested topics include actions to counter or reduce biological threats, and prepare for or recover from bio-incidents that potentially impact human, animal, plant, or environmental health. Also, proposals relating to ways to advance science and policy to address emerging pandemics and global catastrophic biological risks, whether natural or man-made.
2. Climate Change and Environmental Security. Suggested topics include rapid climate change and increasing weather extremes; depletion of natural resources and geological hazards; environmental security issues that lead to humanitarian disasters, and regional tensions; environmental risks to military activities; environmental risks to energy supplies, food supplies, and water security; loss of livelihoods and forced migration or displacement.
3. Shared Security Challenges. Suggested topics include international cooperation on shared challenges such as arms control and nonproliferation, state-actor aggression, terrorism, and transnational crime (e.g., human trafficking, cybercrime, illegal fishing or mining, and drug trafficking).
4. Next-Gen Technologies. Suggested topics include blockchain, cyber security, artificial intelligence and machine learning, quantum computing, new materials, biotechnology, drones, and hypersonics.
5. Space/Counter-Space. Suggested topics include threats to civil or military space architectures, space domain awareness, improved spatial and temporal detection of threats, improving space access, space policy, space and terrestrial weather, space commerce defense, integration of space/air/land/sea/cyber operations, and space junk.

Visit the CSRE website for more information about the 2023 Grant Program, including eligibility and submission requirements, the application and selection process, and expectations of grant recipients.

CSRE encourages coordination and open discussion during the proposal development process. Potential applicants may contact CSRE Associate Director John Hodgson at jgh161@psu.edu.