ONHS Report: FA9453-23-R-A004

Neutron Strategic Technology Advanced Research (Neutron-STAR) Advanced Research Announcement (ARA)

Solicitation ID: FA9453-23-R-A004

Agency: AFRL

Type: Solicitation

Deadline: 2026-10-01T02:00:00 ET

Eligibility: Maybe (OTA/Consortium)

Funding: Unrestricted ceiling for the overarching announcement. Individual Solicitations may provide an estimated value.

Doc Type: BAA

Clearance: No

Program Manager: Mr. Ever Orozco-Perea

Last Updated: 2025-11-24 13:06

Analyzed File: API_Description.txt

Eligibility Reasoning

This is an Open ARA announcement pursuant to the authority of 10 U.S.C. §4023 Procurement for Experimental Purposes... The Government reserves the right to award the instrument best suited to the nature of the research proposed. Accordingly, the Government may award any appropriate contract, agreement or assistance instrument type under the authorities below: ...10 U.S.C. §4021 "Other Transaction for Research” 10 U.S.C. §4022 "Other Transaction for Prototype" 10 U.S.C. §4023 "Procurement for Experimental Purposes"

Note: This is an AI-generated summary...

Summary

[Analyzed from API Fallback] The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) is soliciting white papers and proposals for the Neutron Strategic Technology Advanced Research (Neutron-STAR) program, an open Advanced Research Announcement (ARA) under the authority of 10 U.S.C. §4023. This hybrid solicitation seeks R&D in nuclear-related technologies to support national defense. Key topic areas include nuclear system development, integration, flight experimentation, explosion monitoring, and command and control (NC3). The announcement employs a flexible acquisition strategy, utilizing open calls for white papers as well as one-step (proposal only) and two-step (white paper then proposal) individual solicitations. A wide range of award instruments is available, including FAR-based contracts, Other Transactions (OTs), and assistance agreements. The program has an unrestricted funding ceiling and anticipates making multiple awards.

Overall Technical Areas

Nuclear-Related R&DRe-entry Environment SimulationNuclear Materials CharacterizationNuclear Explosion MonitoringNuclear Delivery System DesignExperimental System FabricationNuclear Surety TechnologiesNuclear Systems IntegrationFlight System ExperimentationNuclear Detonation CharacterizationSecure C3 ArchitecturesContested Environment CommunicationsInnovative Technology Development

Probable LBNL Areas

CSAEESAESAETALDPSA

Focus Areas

Example Priorities:

Develop foundational capabilities, requirements, strategies, and identify candidate technologies for enhanced nuclear surety.
Integration nuclear and non-nuclear components of future U.S. nuclear experiment units for development and delivery to various U.S. integration and test organizations.

Specific Technical Skills:

Nuclear EngineeringSystems EngineeringRequirements AnalysisTechnology MaturationSystems IntegrationNuclear SuretyComponent DesignModeling and Simulation

Potential PIs for this Area:

Name	Score	Organization
Hannah Parrilla	0.72	PSA \| NSD \| ANP
Mauricio Ayllon Unzueta	0.71	PSA \| ATAP \| FS&IBT
Shawn Tornga	0.71	LD \| LD \| ONHS
Reynold Cooper	0.70	PSA \| NSD \| ANP
Jayson Vavrek	0.70	PSA \| NSD \| ANP
Matthias Sulzer	0.70	ETA \| Building Technology & Urban Systems \| Bldg Technologies Dept
Peter Hosemann	0.70	ESA \| MSD \| Material Physics
Patrick Huck	0.69	ESA \| MSD \| Material Physics
Alex Newkirk	0.69	ETA \| Building Technology & Urban Systems \| Bldg & Industrial App Dpt
Bethany Goldblum	0.69	PSA \| NSD \| Nuclear Data

Example Priorities:

Development and delivery of nuclear systems to various U.S. test organizations.
Improve capabilities to detect, locate, discriminate and characterize the depths, yields and other emplacement conditions of nuclear explosions.

Specific Technical Skills:

Test and EvaluationFlight ExperimentationNuclear Explosion MonitoringSensor DevelopmentSignal ProcessingData AnalysisGeophysicsSeismology

Potential PIs for this Area:

Name	Score	Organization
Julia Correa	0.73	EESA \| EG \| Geophysics Dept
Yuxin Wu	0.72	EESA \| EG \| Geophysics Dept
Florian Soom	0.72	EESA \| EG \| Geophysics Dept
Chet Hopp	0.72	EESA \| EG \| Geophysics Dept
Thomas Daley	0.72	EESA \| EG \| Geophysics Dept
Andre Santos	0.72	EESA \| CESD \| Integrated Ecosystem Sciences
Craig Ulrich	0.72	EESA \| EG \| Geophysics Dept
Nori Nakata	0.71	EESA \| EG \| Geophysics Dept
Stanislav Glubokovskikh	0.71	EESA \| EG \| Geophysics Dept
Linqing Luo	0.71	EESA \| EG \| Geophysics Dept

Example Priorities:

Enable uninterrupted delivery of strategic and critical conventional data within contested and nuclear environments, via innovative new technologies and architectures.

Specific Technical Skills:

Secure CommunicationsNetwork EngineeringSystems ArchitectureCybersecurityHardened ElectronicsSATCOMRF EngineeringContested Environments

Potential PIs for this Area:

Name	Score	Organization
Sean Peisert	0.71	CSA \| SciData \| Data Science Applications
Adam Slagell	0.69	CSA \| Scientific Networking (ESNET) \| Security
Shawn Tornga	0.69	LD \| LD \| ONHS
Tiffany Connors	0.69	CSA \| NERSC \| Data Center Department
Vinay Sawal	0.68	CSA \| NERSC \| Data Center Department
John Wu	0.68	CSA \| Scientific Networking (ESNET) \| Tech Adv and Engagement
Sunhee Baik	0.68	ETA \| Energy Analysis & Environmental Impacts \| Energy Markets & Policy
Alp Sipahigil	0.68	ESA \| MSD \| Material Physics
Meriam Gay Bautista-Jurney	0.68	CSA \| AMCR \| Computer Science
Georgios Michelogiannakis	0.68	CSA \| AMCR \| Computer Science

Potential LBNL PIs (Overall)

Note on PI Matching: These suggestions are generated through an AI-driven semantic analysis of LBNL staff profiles.

Name	Score	Organization
Peter Hosemann	0.78	ESA \| MSD \| Material Physics · Nuclear Materials Characterization
Yuan Mei	0.77	PSA \| PHY \| Atlas · Experimental System Fabrication
Igor Jovanovic	0.75	PSA \| NSD \| ANP · Nuclear Surety Technologies
Didier Perrodin	0.75	ESA \| MSD \| Material Physics · Innovative Technology Development
Bethany Goldblum	0.75	PSA \| NSD \| Nuclear Data · Nuclear-Related R&D
Han Lee	0.75	PSA \| Engineering \| Electronic Engineering · Secure C3 Architectures
Mauricio Ayllon Unzueta	0.74	PSA \| ATAP \| FS&IBT · Re-entry Environment Simulation
Hannah Parrilla	0.74	PSA \| NSD \| ANP · Contested Environment Communications
Jayson Vavrek	0.74	PSA \| NSD \| ANP · Nuclear Explosion Monitoring
Robert Jacob	0.74	PSA \| ATAP \| BELLA Center · Nuclear Delivery System Design

Fundamental Research Exemption (FRE)

Not Mentioned