BTO is interested in engaging first-time or non-traditional proposers; this is a chance to learn what we do and how to work with us. We seek revolutionary approaches to emerging DoD challenges. This opportunity supports short-term efforts with the potential to grow into groundbreaking new programs.

BTO aims to promote an understanding of funding opportunities along with ways to connect with the DARPA community. Attendees will:

• Get to know BTO Program Managers

BTO program managers and office leadership support a broad range of concepts across biological disciplines. Program managers will introduce their portfolios along with future visions and interests. There will be opportunities for 1:1 engagement with program managers.

• Learn about a special funding opportunity and invitation only event (based on submitted concepts)

BTO leadership will introduce an exciting special event to be held in November/December where program managers will compete for your innovative ideas to address AI/ML challenges in the bio space! Details will be forthcoming.

• Discover a new and exciting vision for the office

BTO leadership will introduce 5 new overarching topics that align with AI/ML applications:

1. Prediction and Health:

Develop transformational tools that improve health outcomes through early exposure risk models; predictive disease assessments; personalized counterfactual prediction and explanation based on fine-grained individual data; and rapid, safe interventions that avoid human or animal subject research. Devise novel experimental approaches to validate that AIxBio tools perform as intended. Formulate models to envision potential risks and benefits of future AIxBio democratization.

2.   Autonomous Science

Enable multiple areas of autonomy that increase data generation and curation by orders of magnitude compared with standard techniques, including disruptive autonomy, new cloud lab instances, and improved human-machine teaming.

3.   Biomanufacturing/Synthetic Biology

Discover new techniques and algorithms to design bespoke proteins and other biomolecules based on desired material properties, function, or enzymatic activity. Improve protein and biomolecule design using closed loop inferences that link sequence, structure, and function. Design tools to scale and accelerate bioproduction that prioritize both biofidelity and economy.

4.   Challenges with Scale

Devise mechanisms to handle challenging or sparse data sets for predictive models, including ecosystem-scale data across disparate databases, or extreme environment data with limited availability in space and time; and develop digital twins across size and complexity scales from microbes to mammals.

5.   Exciting Frontiers

Create biomolecules with ‘new to nature functionality’ such as novel mechanisms of catalysis or fluorescence. Predict and design new multicellular communities to generate and maintain desired collaborative functions.

Develop capabilities that allow for modeling and prediction in entirely new areas ofAIxBio, from biological data validation and constraints to explainability and trustability. Develop operational analyses to assess the tactical or strategic impact of biotech capabilities in DoD scenarios. Promote development of unique biomimicry capabilities through advanced models of biological systems.

REGISTRATION

Registration closes (in person attendance): Wednesday, September 4, 2024 at 5:00 pm Eastern Time, or when capacity is reached, whichever comes first. Advance registration via the above website is required for attending the event in person. Due to the limitations of the conference facility space, in-person attendance is restricted to the first 220 registrants with a maximum of five(5) individuals from any one organization and no more than two(2) representatives per division/department of that organization. Interested parties are encouraged to coordinate attendance internally within their organizations prior to registration. DARPA may modify the in-person organization restriction as needed.

Registrants in excess of the maximum capacity limitations may be added to a waitlist. If slots become available due to cancellations, the slots may be filled on a first come, first served basis from the waitlist.

ELIGIBILITY

All registrants who are not U.S. citizens must complete and submit either a DARPA Form 60 (U.S. Permanent Resident and Foreign National Visit Request – e.g., industry or academia) or an Official Visit Request (foreign government personnel, only) through the U.S. Embassy based in Washington, DC, no later than 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday, September 4, 2024. Form 60 submission instructions are provided on the registration website and in the registration confirmation email. Contact your Embassy staff for assistance in submitting the Official Visit Request. Upon entry to the physical meeting, all attendees must present valid, Government-issued photo identification.

DISCLAIMERS AND IMPORTANT NOTES

Attendance at AI BTO promotional events is voluntary and is not required to propose to any DARPA BTO solicitation. Interested parties are cautioned that nothing herein obligates the Government to issue a solicitation. AI BTO promotional events do not constitute a formal solicitation for proposals or abstracts. This announcement is issued solely for information and program planning purposes and is not a Request for Information (RFI). Since this is not an RFI, the Government will not accept submissions against this notice. No classified, International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) controlled, or proprietary information shall be presented by the Government at AI BTO promotional events. DARPA will not provide reimbursement for costs incurred to participate in AI BTO events. Recording these events are not permitted.

Participation in the November/December invitational event may result in immediate funding awards. Interested parties must have a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number and must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) at SAM.gov prior to the invitational event in order to receive an AI BTO award. Due to the compressed timeline, interested parties are advised to register on SAM.gov as early as possible. It is highly recommended that registration is completed prior to attendance at the September AI BTO promotional events.

POC: Dr. Michael Koeris, DARPA/BTO, E-mail: AIxBTO@darpa.mil