Class of 2025 Vannevar Bush Faculty Fellowship (VBFF)
Agency: Office of Naval Research
- 12.300 -- Basic and Applied Scientific Research
Archived opportunityLast Updated: May 13, 2026
View version history on Grants.gov
Description
Background
Before World War I, Dr. Vannevar Bush (1890-1974) was a professor and Dean of Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and founded a large defense and electronics company. He was a forward-thinking policymaker who, during World War II, went on to serve as the director of the U.S. Defense Department’s Office of Scientific Research and Development, coordinating the work of thousands of scientists in the service of ending the war. In his 1945 report to the President of the United States, Science, “The Endless Frontier”, Bush called for an expansion of government support for science, and he pressed for the creation of the National Science Foundation (NSF). Dr. Bush was concerned about how the scientific research supported by the Department of Defense (DoD) during WWII could be sustained with a focus on peacetime goals. He believed that basic research was “the pacemaker of technological progress”. “New products and new processes do not appear full-grown”, Bush wrote. “They are founded on new principles and new conceptions, which in turn are painstakingly developed by research in the purest realms of science”.
...
Dr. Bush’s life work embodies the spirit of this research program, formerly known as the National Security Science and Engineering Faculty Fellowship (NSSEFF). Therefore, in his in his honor, the name was changed to the Vannevar Bush Faculty Fellowship (VBFF) program (https://www.defense.gov/News/Article/Article/955536/dod-debuts-vannevar-bush-faculty-fellowship).
Research Objectives
The VBFF program is sponsored by the Basic Research Office, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (USD (R&E)). VBFF supports innovative basic research within academia, as well as opportunities intended to develop the next generation of scientists and engineers for the defense workforce.
The Office of Naval Research (ONR) manages the VBFF program for USD (R&E). To accomplish this task, ONR is soliciting proposals for the VBFF program through this FOA. This FOA seeks distinguished researchers for the purpose of conducting innovative basic research in areas of interest to the DoD and fostering long-term relationships between the VBFF Fellows and the DoD.
Eligibility
Eligible applicants
Education
- Public and state institutions of higher education
- Private institutions of higher education
Additional information
Grantor contact information
Description
Business Point of Contact
Documents
| File name | Description | Last updated |
|---|---|---|
| N0001424SF007_Amendment_2.pdf | N0001424SF007 Amendment 2 | Jan 16, 2025 07:17 PM UTC |
| N0001424SF007-Amendment_1.pdf | N0001424SF007-Amendment 1 | Nov 15, 2024 12:46 PM UTC |
| N0001424SF007_FY25_VBFF.pdf | N0001424SF007 FY25 VBFF | Jul 29, 2024 01:28 PM UTC |
Link to additional information
Archived: March 16, 2025
Award
$30,000,000
Program Funding
10
Expected awards
$1,000,000
Award Minimum
$3,000,000
Award Maximum
Funding opportunity number:
N0001424SF007
Cost sharing or matching requirement:
Funding instrument type:
Grant
Opportunity Category:
Discretionary
Opportunity Category Explanation:
Category of Funding Activity:
Science technology and other research and development
Category Explanation:
History
Version:
4
Posted date:
July 29, 2024
Archive date:
March 16, 2025
