DTRA Basic Research

Abstract

The Basic Research for Countering WMD project, as the nation’s primary basic research portfolio solely dedicated to countering weapons of mass destruction (CWMD), is a core strategic investor in future scientific progress across the spectrum of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency's (DTRA) CWMD mission areas. This project concentrates on high risk, high-payoff research, leveraging world-class expertise in academia, government, and industry to increase the foundational body of scientific knowledge supporting DTRA’s Applied Research and Advanced Technology Development budget projects. This project aligns with DTRA’s strategic objectives that support policy and planning guidance from the Office of the President, the Department of Defense (DoD), and the broader WMD threat reduction and consequence management communities. The portfolio addresses this guidance through S&T investments that support CWMD and reduce global nuclear dangers. Program managers drive interdisciplinary portfolios primarily drawing from physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, and information and network sciences. The portfolios themselves are broadly focused on fundamental, exploratory research to support the development of: standoff radiological/nuclear detection capabilities; countermeasures and defenses to non-traditional agents; nuclear detection in-depth understanding of the capabilities, values, intent, and decision making of potential adversaries, whether they are states, networks, or individuals; WMD agent defeat technologies; and biologically-based and -inspired materials for DoD applications. This project maintains a robust, forward-looking portfolio targeting mission-focused research demonstrating scientific merit, technical quality, and the potential for breakthrough discoveries.

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Document Details

Document Type
R2 Budgetary Justification
Publication Date
Oct 01, 2020
Source ID
0601000BR_1_0400_PB_2020
Change Summary Explanation
The decrease in FY 2020 is due to reduced investment in basic research to fund increased investment in technical reachback and quick reaction capabilities in Project RA-CWMD Cross-Cutting Technical and Information Sciences in Program Element 0603160BR. The Basic Research portfolio was restructured to establish a University Partnership (UP) model with a new prioritization process. This process will focus novel UP research on high-priority CWMD gaps, to include energetics and reactives, nuclear data, weapons effects, materials science, machine learning, radiation biology, advanced analytics, and other critical areas. This model reduces administrative burdens and increases technical collaboration with partners focused on current and emerging areas of interest thereby allowing for reduced investment in FY 2020.
Service Agency Name
Defense Threat Reduction Agency

Entities

Organizations

  • Defense Threat Reduction Agency

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Counter WMD

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Chemistry
  • Communities
  • Department Of Defense
  • Detection
  • Engineering
  • Governments
  • Guidance
  • Information Science
  • Investments
  • Materials
  • Materials Science
  • Mathematics
  • Network Science
  • Procurement
  • Universities
  • Weapons
  • Weapons Of Mass Destruction

Readers

  • Critical Infrastructure Protection in CBRN and WMD Threats.
  • Defense Technology Research and Development.

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