DOE Traineeship in Robotics

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The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Environmental Management (EM), through this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), seeks to award one or more cooperative agreements (anticipated to be for a term of up to five years) to accredited United States (U.S.) Colleges and Universities (hereafter referred to as “Universities”) to train graduate students in specific disciplines or sub-disciplines aligned with DOE science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) workforce needs in the area of Robotics, particularly as they apply to the mission of EM. Robotics engineers with education and advanced degrees in hardware, software, and integration of robotics are needed to enable the design, manufacturing, and deployment of advanced radiation robotics. This DOE Traineeship program will support innovative proposals for graduate level training that leverage DOE assets and capabilities and strategic partnerships, and address emerging needs in graduate training to enable preparedness for STEM careers beyond those in academia. DOE has mission-specific workforce needs in STEM fields and a responsibility to support the training of the next generation of STEM professionals who will serve that mission. The complex nature of the scientific and technical work supported by DOE and carried out by the DOE laboratories, colleges and universities, and the private sector generally requires advanced graduate level training. Historically, the DOE’s primary mechanism for supporting the training of graduate students has been through the inclusion in standard research awards to universities and DOE laboratories. This FOA will establish DOE-sponsored University-led traineeships as a mechanism for graduate-level training critical to DOE mission-driven workforce needs. This will be accomplished through a focused academic graduate program that delivers unique, innovative curriculum, coupled with a rigorous thesis or dissertation research requirement, in the desired DOE-relevant scientific or technical discipline(s). The DOE-sponsored University-led traineeships will strategically address identified STEM workforce training needs in the area of Robotics as they apply to: nuclear environmental remediation; radioactive waste retrieval, treatment, processing, storage, transportation, and disposal; stewardship of spent nuclear fuel and special nuclear materials; nuclear facility and infrastructure operations, maintenance and sustainment; facility/infrastructure deactivation and decommissioning; occupational (worker) safety; industrial and nuclear facility safety; and other activities related to the handling and management of high-hazard, high-consequence materials and waste. This FOA is available at Fedconnect (https://www.fedconnect.net) under reference number DE-FOA-0001374. Any Government obligation under this program is contingent upon the availability of appropriated funds from which payment for award purposes can be made. No legal liability on the part of the Government for any payment may arise until funds are made available to the Contracting Officer, notice of award is made to the recipient by the Contracting Officer, and the recipient receives notice of such availability of funds, to be confirmed in writing by the Contracting Officer. Applications in response to this FOA must be submitted through grants.gov. DOE intends to allow for approximately 57 days for applicant response to this FOA. The application due date is September 30, 2015.

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