THRUST AREA 5 – SCIENCE TO SECURE WMD

Thrust Area 5 focuses on basic research for verification of treaties, as well as assuring safeguards, storage and accounting for inventories, and general approaches in support of non-proliferation efforts. The research advances capabilities for safe and verifiable control of materials, systems, and facilities that underpin greater confidence for entering, exiting, or sustaining multinational WMD-related agreements with emphasis on providing for future needs. This research will also help to provide transparency and assurance in handling of weapons and related materiel. The following capabilities are sought:

Awareness and Characterization: Monitoring and Verification

Tools for monitoring and/or surveillance related to arms control and nonproliferation, in particular for verification of compliance or to provide the basis to identify violations of agreements or provocative actions by adversaries. Focus areas include on-site inspection activities, monitoring non-nuclear WMD threats, and anticipating emerging threats in a rapidly evolving geopolitical climate.

Oversight and Control: Securing Weapons, Installations, & Materials

Tools to retain control of WMD and related equipment on facilities. Examples include means to assure that seals or monitors are secure and have not been tampered with, means to tag and control materiel, and means to assure security of WMD in areas where access for inspection is denied. Unconventional indicators leveraging materials science, quantum mechanics, and other fields are sought.

For a list of what we have funded in the past, see our Complete Award History (Excel).


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