<nettime> Darpa's Living Foundries

["Michael Gurstein" <gurstein@gmail.com>]

Bryan Bishop <kanzure@gmail.com> Jun 07 02:26PM -0500 ^
 
https://www.fbo.gov/spg/ODA/DARPA/CMO/DARPA-SN-11-44/listing.html
 
Synopsis:
Added: Jun 03, 2011 4:42 pm
Special Notice (SN) DARPA-SN-11-44
SUBJECT: Living Foundries Industry Day
DATE: June 28, 2011
REGISTRATION DEADLINE: June 21, 2011
Registration Website: https://safe.sysplan.com/mto/livingfoundries
TECHNICAL POC: Dr. Alicia Jackson, DARPA/MTO
 
Living Foundries Industry Day, DARPA-SN-11-44
 
The Microsystems Technology Office (MTO) of the Defense Advanced Research
Projects Agency (DARPA) is sponsoring an Industry Day for "Living
Foundries," a new DARPA program. The goal of the Living Foundries program is
to apply an engineering framework to biology to harness its use as a
technology and drive its advance as a manufacturing platform. In turning
biological production into an engineering space where the only limit is the
creativity of the designer, Living Foundries aims to enable on-demand
production of new and high-value materials, devices and capabilities for the
Department of Defense and establish a new manufacturing capability for the
United States.
 
Because of the multidisciplinary nature of Living Foundries, DARPA is
looking to engage the wider research community from fields both outside and
inside the biological sciences to develop new ideas, approaches and tools to
overcome current limitations and to create revolutionary capabilities.
 
Current, primitive examples of engineering biology rely on an ad hoc,
laborious, trial-and-error process, wherein one successful project does not
inform subsequent, new designs. This approach combined with the complexity
of biological systems restricts current, one-off efforts to modifying only a
small set of genes and constructing simple, isolated genetic circuits and
metabolic pathways. Consequently, we are limited to producing only a small
fraction of the vast number of possible chemicals, materials, and living
systems that would be enabled by the ability to truly engineer biology.
Through an engineering-driven approach to biology, Living Foundries aims to
create a rapid, reliable manufacturing capability where multiple cellular
functions can be fabricated, mixed and matched on demand and the whole
system controlled by integrated circuitry, opening up the full space of
biologically produced materials and systems. Key to success will be the
democratization of the biological design and manufacturing process, breaking
open the field to those outside the biological sciences.
 
In order to achieve the vision of Living Foundries, new tools, technologies
and methodologies must be developed to transform biology into an engineering
practice, decoupling design from fabrication and speeding the biological
design, build, test cycle. These include: design tools that span from
high-level description to fabrication in cells; modular genetic parts that
allow a combination of systems to be designed and reproducibly assembled;
methods for developing and fine-tuning new genetic parts and systems;
well-understood test platforms, "cell-like" systems and chassis that readily
integrate new genetic designs in a predictable fashion; next generation DNA
synthesis and assembly techniques; and tools that allow for routine system
characterization and debugging, among others. Further, these technological
advances and innovations must be integrated to prove-out and push the
boundaries of biological design towards the ultimate vision of point-of-use,
on-demand, mass-customization biological manufacturing.
 
The Industry Day will be held at the Capitol Conference Center in Arlington,
VA on June 28, 2011. Directions to the Capital Conference Center can be
found at http://www.thecapitalconferencecenter.com/.
 
The goals of the Industry Day are: (a) to introduce the research community
(industry, academia, and Government) to the Living Foundries vision and
goals; (b) to encourage and promote teaming arrangements among potential
research organizations that have the relevant expertise, facilities, and
capabilities for executing research and development responsive to the Living
Foundries program goals; and (c) to facilitate interaction between
investigators who may have capabilities to develop elements of interest and
relevance to the Living Foundries goals. The Industry Day will include
overview presentations, a poster session to facilitate interaction and team
building among participants, and an opportunity to interact and present
capabilities and concepts to government personnel in closed-door sidebar
sessions.
 
There is no fee for any Industry Day activities. Registration is limited by
the venue capacity (maximum of 100 attendees) and early registration is
strongly recommended. Organizations are limited to two attendees; however,
in the event that the Industry Day is oversubscribed, DARPA reserves the
right to limit participation to 1 attendee per organization. The
registration cutoff date is June 21, 2011, at noon ET, or once attendance
capacity is met, whichever comes first. An on-line registration form,
preliminary workshop agenda, citizenship verification form, foreign national
visit request form, meeting details, and hotel information for the workshop
can be found at the following registration website,
https://safe.sysplan.com/mto/livingfoundries. There will be no on-site
registration.
 
Posters: Appropriate teaming will be a critical element in responding to an
anticipated DARPA Living Foundries solicitation. Industry Day participants
are strongly encouraged to prepare poster abstracts describing areas of
capabilities in order to facilitate communications, interactions, and
teaming discussions during the poster session. Poster abstracts must be
submitted by June 21, 2011, at noon ET. Poster abstracts must include a
brief (1 page) narrative description of capabilities. Responders may find
abstract submission guidance at the registration website. Poster abstracts
submitted in response to the Special Notice will be considered public
information and will be provided on a public website.
 
Sidebars: Attendees who wish to describe their capabilities in a closed-door
session with government personnel are required to submit an abstract
describing their research and capabilities using the guidelines provided
below; there will be a limited number of sessions depending on schedule,
with each session lasting no more than ten minutes.
 
Areas of interest include new tools, technologies and methodologies to
transform biology into an engineering practice and manufacturing platform,
decouple biological design from fabrication and speed the biological design,
build, test cycle. Examples include: design tools that span from high-level
description to fabrication in cells; modular genetic parts that allow a
combination of systems to be designed and reproducibly assembled; methods
for developing and fine-tuning new genetic parts and systems;
well-understood test platforms, "cell-like" systems and chassis that readily
integrate new genetic designs in a predictable fashion; next generation DNA
synthesis and assembly techniques; tools that allow for routine system
characterization and debugging; and the integration of these capabilities
for the rapid design and development of new biological systems and products,
among others.
 
DARPA appreciates responses from all capable and qualified sources including
but not limited to universities, university affiliated research centers, and
private or public companies.
 
Sidebar session abstract responses should adhere to the following
instructions:
1. All submissions must be made electronically (as described below), and be
in either Adobe PDF or Microsoft Word format.
2. Cover Page (1 page)
a. Title
b. Organization
c. Responders technical and administrative points of contact (names, mailing
and e-mail addresses, phone and fax numbers)
3. Technical Ideas (up to 2 pages of text with up to 4 pages of appended
figures and diagrams)
a. Executive summary
b. A discussion of the capability/challenge addressed (from your
perspective) that is key to realizing the vision of Living Foundries
c. Technical response. Your discussion should address the following: What is
your proposed innovative technology/concept? How does it address the
specific capability/challenge that you identified? What is its improvement
over SOA? What extensions or advances are needed to achieve the Living
Foundries vision?
4. An optional list of citations, including URLs, if available.
5. Company brochures and promotional materials are not of interest.
 
DARPA will employ an electronic upload process for response submissions. NO
CLASSIFIED INFORMATION SHALL BE INCLUDED IN THE SPECIAL NOTICE (SN) ABSTRACT
RESPONSE. Responses to this SN are due no later than noon ET on June 21,
2011. Responders may find submission guidance at the registration website.
 
This SN is issued solely for information and potential new program planning
purposes; the SN does not constitute a formal solicitation for proposals or
proposal abstracts, any so sent will be disregarded. In accordance with FAR
15.201(e), responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by
the Government to form a binding contract. Submission is voluntary and is
not required to propose to subsequent Broad Agency Announcements (if any) or
research solicitations (if any) on this topic. DARPA will not provide
reimbursement for costs incurred in responding to this SN. Respondents are
advised that DARPA is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the
information received, or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any
information submitted under this SN.
 
DARPA intends to publish the Living Foundries BAA prior to the scheduled
Industry Day. However, DARPA is not obligated to publich the BAA prior to
conducting the Industry Day or to publich an associated BAA at all. If and
when published, the BAA will be made available - at a minimum - on the
Federal Business Opportunies (FBO) website.
 
Questions regarding this event may be directed to DARPA-SN-11-44@darpa.mil.
Please refer to the "Living Foundries Industry Day" in the subject line.
Contracting Office Address:
3701 North Fairfax Drive
Arlington, Virginia 22203-1714
Primary Point of Contact.:
Dr. Alicia Jackson
DARPA-SN-11-44@darpa.mil
 
- Bryan
http://heybryan.org/
1 512 203 0507 <tel:1%20512%20203%200507> 


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