NPPS Leadership Team

["Kirby, Michael" <mkirby AT bnl.gov>]

I got the message below forwarded to me about the Genesis Mission, and the timeline for proposals is going to be very short. Would it be interesting to have a global discussion of strategy concerning Genesis Mission within NPPS? within Physics? within BNL?
  Obviously, the last two discussion are bigger than NPPS, so maybe request something from higher ups for that.

Cheers,

Kirby

Hi everyone,

Here is an update on the Genesis Mission:

The Genesis Mission organizing committee met on Wednesday, March 4. From that meeting, I can share the following information publicly:

The DOE Office of Science expects to post a request for applications for the Genesis Mission around Friday, March 13, or shortly thereafter. The current plan is to give a six-week deadline to submit short proposals for small pilot teams consisting of about three or four people. These pilot teams must involve institutions from at least two of the following three categories:

1. Universities and non-profits
2. Industry
3. National laboratories

The lead institution can belong to any one of these three categories. The pilot teams must propose a viable solution to one of the Lighthouse Challenges:

https://www.energy.gov/documents/genesis-mission-science-and-technology-challenges

For this first call in 2026, some of the Lighthouse Challenges involving national security may not be included. The selected pilot teams must demonstrate progress toward solving their Lighthouse Challenge during the first year. The most successful pilot teams will be allowed to continue and receive augmented funding in subsequent years to allow the teams to grow in size.

The funding will be issued through an “Other Transaction Agreement” call instead of a “Funding Opportunity Announcement” or “Notice of Funding Opportunity.” This mechanism makes financial support for private companies simpler and more flexible.

I have no information on whether there will be institutional limits on the number of submitted proposals. The amount of funding for this first call in 2026 will be quite limited, and the competition is expected to be intense. Funding for the second call in 2027 should be more substantial, and the DOE plans to make some effort in 2027 to connect researchers from universities, non-profits, industry, and national laboratories to help form teams.

This is all the information I have at this time regarding the request for applications.

       Best,
            Dean

________________________________
Dean Lee
Theoretical Nuclear Science Department Head

Professor of Physics
Facility for Rare Isotope Beams &
Department of Physics and Astronomy
Michigan State University

On Mar 6, 2026, at 08:18, Johannes Elmsheuser <Phys-npps-mgmt-l AT lists.bnl.gov> wrote:

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Hi phys-npps-mgmt-l,

do you have agenda suggestions for talks at next weeks NPPS group meeting ? Please let us know here ideally before this evening.

Cheers, Johannes

Michael Kirby (he/him/his)

Senior Physicist

NPPS/Physics Department

Brookhaven National Laboratory

mkirby AT bnl.gov

Cell: +1 630 965 1456