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Office of Naval Research · Department of Defense

Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 Department of War Multidisciplinary Research Program of the University Research Initiative (MURI)

Open

Key facts

Deadline
Due Apr 9, 2027 · 183 days left
Award size
Up to $7.5M
Match ?
Not required · Work out your budget and match
Who can apply
Set by the official notice: see Who can apply below
Where
Anywhere in the U.S., including Tennessee

How this fits you

  • Available in Blount County (nationwide program)
  • No match required
  • Past Tennessee awards on file: 51

Tell us who you are to see whether you're eligible.

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About this grant

Established in 1985, the Department of War Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) program funds U.S. academic research teams to conduct high-impact basic research that addresses future challenges faced by the Department of War. The MURI program specifically supports U.S. university teams investigating complex, DoW-relevant problem sets at the intersection of multiple scientific disciplines. MURI teams bring together world-class faculty, postdoctoral researchers, and graduate students—helping to develop a technically advanced, defense-aware scientific workforce and strengthen the U.S. defense industrial base.

Who can apply, from the official notice

This MURI competition is open only to, and proposals are to be submitted only by, U.S. institutions of higher education (universities) with degree-granting programs in science and/or engineering, including DoW institutions of higher education. To the extent that it is a part of a U.S. institution of higher education and is not designated as a Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC), a University Affiliated Research Center (UARC) is eligible to submit a proposal to this MURI competition and/or receive MURI funds. Ineligible organizations (e.g., industry, DoW laboratories, FFRDCs, and foreign entities) may collaborate on the research but may not receive MURI funds directly or via subaward.

Ask a partner for a letter

Your schedule, working back from the deadline

  1. Oct8
    Check that your SAM.gov registration is active (or start it now)
    Grants.gov: allow up to 10 business days for SAM registration, weeks or months if information isn't verified. It must be renewed every year. Grants.gov
  2. Mar19
    Ask partners for letters of support or commitment
    Suggested: partners need about three weeks to write and sign letters.
  3. Apr2
    Finish a complete draft for a final review
    Suggested: leave about a week for someone else to read the draft.
  4. Apr7
    Submit
    Grants.gov: submit at least 24–48 hours before the deadline: uploads fail, systems slow down, errors need fixing. Grants.gov blog
  5. Apr9
    Deadline
    From the funder.

Save this grant to put these dates in My grants and your private calendar.

Writing the need statement? Blount County facts with citations.

What the official notice requires

Pulled from the official notice FY27_MURI_NOFON0001426SF002v09.21.26-FINAL.pdf (82 pages) so you can see the requirements at a glance. Each item shows the notice's own words. Open the page to read it in context.

Award size and project length

  • Award amounts here are per year · p. 49
    “Recipients that have Federal contract, grant, and cooperative agreement awards with a cumulative total value greater than $10,000,000 must disclose semiannually any information about the criminal, civil, and administrative proceedings. c.” Open page 49

Registrations you need first (3)

  • Grants.gov · p. 6
    “Amendments to the original NOFO will be posted to the Grants.gov webpage: https://www.grants.gov/” Open page 6
  • SAM.gov · p. 19
    “In addition, the Financial Assistance General Certifications and Representations must be completed in SAM.gov (https://sam.gov/content/home).” Open page 19
  • Unique Entity ID (UEI) · p. 26
    “Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) and System for Award Management (SAM) All applicants submitting proposals or applications must: a) Be registered in SAM prior to submission; b) Provide a valid UEI number in each application or proposal it submits to the…” Open page 26

Registration is free but can take weeks, so start now, not when the deadline is close. Get-ready checklist

What to submit

  • Project abstract or summary · p. 6
    “A project abstract is required with the application and must be publicly releasable as specified in the section Project Summary/Abstract.” Open page 6
  • Resumes or bios of key staff · p. 17
    “The white paper shall provide: o Identification of the research and issues o Proposed technical approaches o Potential impact on DoW capabilities o Potential team and management plan o Summary of estimated costs o Curriculum vitae of key investigators (see…” Open page 17
  • Form SF-424 · p. 18
    “Mandatory SF-424 Research and Related (R&R) Family Forms The mandatory forms are found at https://www.grants.gov/forms. i.” Open page 18
  • Form SF-LLL · p. 19
    “For AFOSR, if you check “I agree” on SF424 block 17 and do NOT upload a completed SF-LLL Disclosure of Lobbying Activities, you are certifying that you do NOT have any lobbying activities to disclose.” Open page 19
  • Data management plan · p. 21
    “All proposals generating scientific data are required to submit a data management plan.” Open page 21
  • Audit or financial statements · p. 23
    “A separate Adobe.pdf document must be included in the application that provides appropriate justification and/or supporting documentation for each element of cost proposed and include a link to the current single audit report.” Open page 23
  • Budget narrative / justification · p. 24
    “Budgets proposing direct charging of administrative or clerical salaries must be supported with a budget justification which adequately describes the major project and the administrative and/or clerical work to be performed.” Open page 24

Length limits

  • Page limit (see quote): 4 pages max · p. 16
    “White paper pages beyond the 4-page limit may not be evaluated or read. ii.” Open page 16
  • Page limit (see quote): 2 pages max · p. 21
    “DoD Instruction 3200.12.  In no more than 2 pages, discuss the following: o The types of data, software, and other materials to be produced. o How the data will be acquired. o Time and location of data acquisition, if scientifically pertinent.” Open page 21

Formatting rules

  • single-spaced · p. 16
    “Spacing – single-spaced” Open page 16
  • 12-point font · p. 16
    “Font – Times New Roman, 12-point” Open page 16

Mistakes that get applications rejected (3)

  • Could get your application rejected: The demographic information may be accessible to the reviewer, but will not be considered in the evaluation. · p. 26
    “The demographic information may be accessible to the reviewer, but will not be considered in the evaluation.” Open page 26
  • Sent the wrong way or format: Proposals with attachments submitted in word processing, spreadsheet, or any format other than Adobe... · p. 29
    “Proposals with attachments submitted in word processing, spreadsheet, or any format other than Adobe Portable Document Format will not be considered for award.” Open page 29
  • Late or not validated: Applications received by Grants.gov after the established due date for the program will be considered late... · p. 31
    “Applications received by Grants.gov after the established due date for the program will be considered late and will not be considered for funding by the Office of Naval Research.” Open page 31

Who in Tennessee has won this program

28 awards to Tennessee groups in 4 counties since 2018 · 0 in Blount County. Largest shown:

Past Tennessee winners
Past winnerWhereAmountFiscal year
University of TennesseeKnoxville, Knox County$7.4M2018
University of TennesseeKnoxville, Knox County$5.2M2025
Vanderbilt UniversityNashville, Davidson County$5M2023
Collaborative Composite Solutions CorporationKnoxville, Knox County$5M2020
State of TennesseeNashville$4.9M spent that year2025
Vanderbilt UniversityNashville$2.6M spent that year2025
University of MemphisMemphis, Shelby County$2.2M2023
University of TennesseeKnoxville, Knox County$1.6M2020
Vanderbilt UniversityNashville, Davidson County$1.2M2021
Tennessee State UniversityNashville, Davidson County$1.2M2024
University of TennesseeKnoxville, Knox County$1.1M2021
Vanderbilt University Medical CenterNashville, Davidson County$849K2022

Source: USAspending.gov, Federal Audit Clearinghouse. Past awards show who this program funds. They don't guarantee future awards.

Tennessee groups that got this money through a state agency or another organization

This federal money also reaches local groups as pass-through grants. 23 pass-through grants on file · 0 in Blount County. Largest shown:

Tennessee pass-through grant winners
Past winnerWhereThroughAmountFiscal year
Collaborative Composite Solutions CorporationKnoxville, Knox CountyOffice of Naval Research$2M spent that year2024
State of TennesseeNashvilleCollaborative Composite Solutions Corporation$732K spent that year2024
University of TennesseeChattanooga, Hamilton CountyGeorgia Tech Research Corporation$630K2024
Vanderbilt UniversityNashvillePrecise Systems, Inc$509K spent that year2023
State of TennesseeNashvilleOregon State University$397K spent that year2023
Vanderbilt UniversityNashville, Davidson CountyThe Pennsylvania State University$291K2026
University of MemphisMemphis, Shelby CountyVirginia Polytechnic Institute & State University$263K2026
Vanderbilt UniversityNashville, Davidson CountyRegents of the University of Minnesota$199K2026
State of TennesseeNashvilleGeorgia Institute of Technology$197K spent that year2025
State of TennesseeNashvilleStrategic Ohio Council for Higher Education$195K spent that year2024
Vanderbilt UniversityNashville, Davidson CountyThe Pennsylvania State University$194K2025
University of TennesseeKnoxville, Knox CountyUniversity of Kentucky Research Foundation, the$126K2026

Source: USAspending.gov pass-through reports (the first recipient reports each one of $30,000 or more).

About the federal program

Basic and Applied Scientific Research
Program number 12.300 (the federal Assistance Listing number) · U.S. Department of Defense, ONR · Cooperative agreement (a grant with close agency involvement), project grant

How applications are judged

Award decisions will be based on a competitive selection of proposals resulting from a scientific and cost review. Evaluations will typically be conducted using the following evaluation criteria: 1. Overall scientific and technical merits of the proposal; 2. Potential Naval relevance and contributions of the effort to the agency's specific mission; 3. The offeror's capabilities, related experience, facilities, techniques or unique combinations of these which are integral factors for achieving the proposal objectives; 4. The qualifications, capabilities and experience of the proposed Principal Investigator (PI), team leader and key personnel who are critical in achieving the proposal objectives; and 5. The realism of the proposed costs and availability of funds.

Match

None required (federal program listing).

Examples of funded projects

Fiscal year 2018: Properties and Performance of Compositionally Complex AlCrFeMn Alloys for Marine Applications Fiscal year 2019: Generalized Computations for Learning, Memory, and Decision Making in Artificial and Biological Neural Networks Fiscal year 2021: 100 drifting wave buoys were deployed in the Southern Ocean. Storms in the Southern Ocean generate energetic waves that radiate across the Pacific, Atlantic , and Indian ocean. Progress in ocean Internet of Things (IoT) technology enables the grantee to collect unprecedented data densities, which directly improves ocean and wave theories, validate and constrain ocean and atmospheric models, and provide a ground truth for satellite remote sensing data. The technology deployed by the grantee was developed with ONR sponsorship. It represents a shift in global ocean sensing toward a distributed paradigm with massive arrays of low-cost internet-connected nodes. Fiscal year 2025: Data Fusion and Assimilation for Multiscale 3D Velocity and Wall Stress Reconstructions in a Tip Gap Flow. The overarching goal of the proposed work is to advance knowledge of flow physics and cavitation inception in tip gap flow fields through the...

This program on SAM.gov

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Source: Federal grants from Grants.gov · the official federal record. Last checked by GrantMe Oct 8, 2026.

Reference numbers: official notice number N0001426SF002 · program number 12.300