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title: "MavOps Spring 2026 Issue #04"
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MavOps Focused Funding Opportunities for UNO College of IS&T ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­    ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­  

| View in browser MavOps Focused Funding Opportunities and Informational Updates for The College of Information Science &Technology Spring 2026 issue #4 JSYK: Just So You Know! 18th Annual Research and Creative Activity Fair (RCAF)   SAVE THE DATE! March 27, 2026   Click the link above to learn about RCAF   Intelligence Community Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Program For PhD Students/Graduates   The Intelligence Community (IC) Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Program offers scientists and engineers from a wide variety of disciplines unique opportunities to conduct research in a range of topics relevant to the Intelligence Community. The research is conducted by postdocs, while in partnership with a research advisor and collaborating with an advisor from the Intelligence Community.   Postdoc Eligibility Details: U.S. citizenship required Ph.D. in a relevant field must be completed before beginning the appointment and within five years of the appointment start date. Proposal must be associated with an accredited U.S. university, college or U.S. government laboratory. Deadline: March 31, 2026   ORCA Open Writing Sessions Join a session for time to dedicate to writing your current proposal! Click on the link above to sign up for the session(s) you plan to attend.  Tuesday, March 31 8:30 to 10:00 A.M. \| 306 MBSC   Thursday, April 23 12:30 to 2:00 P.M. \| 306 MBSC   Monday, April 27 12:00 to 1:30 P.M. \| 306 MBSC Foundation/Corporate Funding Opportunities Google   Impact Challenge: AI for Science #AI&ACS #BIO&HEALTH-INFO (potentially #ALL)   Application deadline: April 17, 2026 Supports ambitious, high-impact scientific research that uses AI as a core part of the solution. While the call emphasizes health and climate, the program remains open to exceptional projects in other domains with strong alignment and measurable impact.   Focus Areas Aligned to CIST AI-enabled scientific discovery Foundation models, agents, and open datasets for research Applied machine learning for health, environmental, or interdisciplinary science Scalable research cyberinfrastructure and data workflows Award Summary Total initiative: $30M globally Individual awards: $500K-$3M Additional support: optional Google.org Accelerator participation, technical support, and Google Cloud credits Impact Challenge: AI for Government Innovation #AI&ACS #HCC   Application deadline: April 3, 2026   This opportunity is for academic institutions, nonprofits, and social enterprises partnering with governments to propose generative or agentic AI projects that improve public services. This is a particularly strong match for CIST teams working at the intersection of civic technology, AI, data systems, and public-sector innovation.   Focus Areas Aligned to CIST AI for public-service delivery Decision support for public infrastructure and community resilience Government-facing data systems and analytics Human-centered AI for high-impact service context Award Summary Total initiative: $30M globally Individual awards: $1M-$3M Additional support: Google.org Accelerator, pro bono technical support, and cloud credits Schmidt Sciences   #AI&ACS #CYBRSEC #HCC   Science of Trustworthy AI   Informational Webinar: April 15, 2026 Register to attend: https://schmidtentities.zoom.us/webinar/register/   Deadline: May 17, 2026   Supports technical research that improves our ability to understand, predict, and control risks from frontier AI systems while enabling trustworthy deployment. Tier I: A focused, technically rigorous trustworthy-AI research project at a smaller funding scale. Tier II: A more ambitious, high-impact, field-shaping project at larger scale, with stronger expectations around depth, focus, and PI commitment. Either or both tiers can be applied for. The scientific goals are the same across both tiers. Both tiers are meant to advance Schmidt’s trustworthy AI research agenda, especially around: Characterizing and forecasting misalignment in frontier AI systems. Developing generalizable measurements and interventions with credible validity. Overseeing superhuman AI systems and addressing multi-agent risks. Focus Areas Aligned to CIST Trustworthy AI AI evaluation and measurement AI safety, oversight, and control Multi-agent systems and frontier-model risk analysis Award Summary Tier 1: up to $1M for 1-3 years Tier 2: $1M-$5M+ for 1-3 years Federal Funding Opportunities (Time Sensitive) Department of Energy (DOE) DE-FOA-0003612 #AI&ACS #HCC #BIO&HEALTH-INFO   Informational Webinar: Mar 26, 2026 Register to attend: https://science-doe.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN\_cByyhWASR72Do7yIDpe3\_g#/registration   Deadlines: Phase I application due: April 28, 2026 Phase II LOI due: April 28, 2026 (strongly encouraged) Phase II application due: May 19, 2026   The Genesis Mission: Transforming Science and Energy with AI This opportunity supports interdisciplinary teams using novel AI models and frameworks to accelerate scientific discovery and R&D workflows across DOE-relevant challenge areas. Topics include advanced manufacturing, biotechnology, critical materials, nuclear fission, nuclear fusion, quantum information science, semiconductors and microelectronics, discovery science, and energy.   This is a two-phase AI-for-science/AI-for-energy opportunity focused on building interdisciplinary teams that can demonstrate meaningful “AI advantage” in research workflows. Phase I is a smaller, shorter effort intended to demonstrate a concrete workflow and quantify why the approach merits further investment. Phase II is the larger effort for teams pursuing the most promising directions, with substantially more effort and budget. Phase I projects are anticipated to run about 9 months; Phase II projects about 3 years. Phase I is not required to apply for Phase II projects.   Eligibility/Team notes This is a multi-institutional team opportunity. Phase I: team must include partners from at least two of these categories: DOE/NNSA National Laboratory or Scientific User Facility; Industry; IHE/Non-profit/Other. Phase II: team must include at least one institution from DOE/NNSA National Laboratory/Scientific User Facility and Industry; IHE/Non-profit/Other partners are strongly encouraged but not required. Consortium membership is not required to apply or receive funding. Award Summary Phase I ~ $500,000 to $750,000 for ~ 9 months Phase II ~$1,500,000 to $3,750,000 ~3 years DARPA (Defense Sciences Office)   #AI&ACS #HCC #CYBRSEC   CLARA Disruption Opportunity   Deadlines: Abstract (recommended) March 2, 2026; Proposal April 10, 2026   DARPA is seeking innovative basic or applied research to create high-assurance “AI systems of systems” by developing a theory-driven architectural foundation for hierarchical composition of Machine Learning (ML) and Automated Reasoning/Knowledge Representation & Reasoning (AR/KR&R) subsystems. Emphasis is on verifiability and strong explainability grounded in automated logical proofs and reusable logic “building blocks,” with solutions that remain computationally scalable (and not just incremental improvements).   Two Technical Areas: TA1 (primary): Develop new high-assurance ML/AR approaches—tightly coupling AR + ML, with theory/algorithms, open-source implementations, scalability, and rapid adaptation to new data (including human-editable knowledge updates). TA2: Build a software composition/integration library (APIs, interfaces, common data formats, end-to-end explanatioed TA1 tools; TA2 emphasizes integration expertise and interoperability across diverse performer software stacks. Focus Areas Aligned to CIST Trustworthy AI Knowledge representation & automated reasoning Explainable/interpretable AI Neuro-symbolic AI Scalable AI systems engineering Award Summary Mechanism: DARPA Other Transaction (OT) – Prototype Total funding: up to $2.0M across both phases Period: up to 24 months (Phase 1 base 15 months + Phase 2 option 9 months) Rolling or Recurring Federal Funding Opportunities NSF 25-543 #ALLCOLLABS Computing Research (Future CoRe) Proposal Target Dates (no hard deadline): February 05, 2026, First Thursday in February, annually; Second Thursday in September, annually Future CoRe is the main umbrella for CISE “core” research. It covers algorithms, systems, networks, AI, HCI, data/ML, cyber-physical systems, and foundations of emerging technologies—essentially the full IS&T research spectrum. NSF 25-515 #CYBRSEC Security, Privacy, and Trust in Cyberspace (SaTC 2.0) Proposal Target Dates (no hard deadline): Jan 26, 2026, Last Monday in January, annually;  Last Monday in September, annually Flagship program for cybersecurity, privacy, resilience, and “trust in cyberspace,” spanning computing, AI, social/behavioral, mathematics, and education. Ideal for work in security, usable privacy, trustworthy AI, and socio-technical security.  NSF 24-561  #AI&ACS #3DI&SIM #BIO&HEALTH-INF Foundations for Digital Twins as Catalyzers of Biomedical Technological Innovation (FDT-BioTech) Proposal Deadlines: May 4, 2026, First Monday in May, annually  Foundational methods for biomedical/healthcare digital twins and synthetic data/synthetic humans, emphasizing interdisciplinary mathematical and engineering foundations. NSF 22-586 #ALLCOLLABS Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) Proposal Deadline: Fourth Wednesday in July, annually Early-career faculty submit CAREER proposals to a disciplinary program (e.g., a Future CoRe subprogram like SHF or HCC, or SaTC 2.0).   CAREER proposals are evaluated within those core programs but under the CAREER expectations (integrated research and education plan, career development trajectory). Please send any leads you think should be included in MavOps! Kelly L. Hughes Proposal Development Manager PKI 222 402.554.3383 kellyhughes@nebraska.edu The University of Nebraska does not discriminate based on race, color, ethnicity, national origin, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, disability, age, genetic information, veteran status, marital status, and/or political affiliation in its education programs or activities, including admissions and employment. The University prohibits any form of retaliation taken against anyone for reporting discrimination, harassment, or retaliation for otherwise engaging in protected activity. Read the full statement. University of Nebraska Omaha, 6001 Dodge Street, Omaha, NE 68182, United States, 402.554.2800 Manage preferences |
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