TIME-VARYING NUCLEAR DECAY PARAMETERS | CRNBAA16 006

Opportunity Information: Apply for CRNBAA16 006

This grant opportunity, titled "Time-Varying Nuclear Decay Parameters" (Funding Opportunity Number CRNBAA16 006), is a basic research solicitation issued by NSWC Crane under CFDA 12.300 and categorized as Science and Technology and other Research and Development. It supports exploratory work investigating reports and observations that certain nuclear decay parameters may exhibit time dependence, even though the underlying mechanisms for any such variation are not currently well understood. The central purpose is to fund research that can rigorously explore whether physical mechanisms exist that could modulate nuclear decay behavior, and to better characterize what those mechanisms might be if they are real and reproducible.

The opportunity frames the importance of this research in two main ways. First, if time-varying effects in decay parameters occur, they could represent an additional or poorly characterized source of "noise" in radiation environments, which is directly relevant to microelectronics operating in such conditions. For defense systems, microelectronics often must perform reliably in the presence of ionizing radiation, and unexpected variability tied to nuclear decay processes could complicate radiation effects modeling, risk assessments, calibration methods, and system design margins. Research that clarifies whether decay-rate variability exists, under what conditions, and how large the effect might be would help the community separate true physical effects from measurement artifacts and improve confidence in radiation environment predictions and electronics hardening strategies.

Second, NSWC Crane highlights the potential upside if new physical mechanisms are identified. Any verified mechanism that can influence or modulate decay behavior could open pathways to new sensing or detection concepts. That could translate into novel detection technologies with meaningful impacts to Department of Defense applications, particularly where improved sensitivity, selectivity, stability, or new measurement modalities would provide operational advantages. In other words, the program is not only about resolving an open scientific question, but also about probing a frontier that could yield practical technology dividends if the physics supports it.

Administratively, this is a discretionary grant with unrestricted eligibility, meaning any qualified applicant type may apply (subject to standard federal grant requirements). The agency anticipated making a single award, with an award ceiling of $80,000. The opportunity was created on April 1, 2016, and the original closing date was April 29, 2016. Overall, the solicitation is a small, targeted basic research award aimed at determining whether nuclear decay modulation is physically real and, if so, how it could be understood and leveraged in ways that matter for radiation-relevant microelectronics and future DoD detection technologies.

• The NSWC - CRANE in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "TIME-VARYING NUCLEAR DECAY PARAMETERS" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 12.300.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2016-04-01.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2016-04-29. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $80,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted.

Apply for CRNBAA16 006

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: