The U.S. Office of Naval Research (ONR) Global, in its sustained mission to become the partner of choice for the worldwide international science and technology (S&T) community, has launched the second round of Global-X, a nine-month international science challenge worth up to $500,000, to encourage groundbreaking research from all around the world.

The decision comes after a successful 2020 inaugural Global-X Challenge that selected four winning teams with members from Australia, Denmark, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States. These teams are now preparing for innovative concept demonstrations later this year.

The purpose of the Global-X Challenge is to discover, disrupt and ultimately provide a catalyst through basic and applied research for later development and delivery of revolutionary capabilities to the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps, the commercial marketplace, and the public.

ONR Global is interested in receiving whitepapers and proposals on the following challenge topics:

·       Alternate navigation at high latitude

·       High-latitude, high-bandwidth communications

·       Persistent polar perception

Researchers from academia and industry may participate. ONR Global expects, but does not require, that multinational teams will consist of at least two research entities outside of the U.S., whether from academia, industry and/or the broad research community. Researchers from U.S. research entities may also participate, but are not required.

Significant dates and times:

·       Whitepaper submission date: May 28, 2021, by 11:59 p.m. EDT

·       Notification of whitepaper valuation: June 11, 2021, by 5 p.m. EDT

·       Full proposal submission: July 9, 2021, by 11:59 p.m. EDT

·       Notification of selection: full proposals: July 30, 2021, by 5 p.m. EDT

·       Grant awards: September 24, 2021, by 5 p.m. EDT

Learn more here.