LUCI: Laboratory University Collaboration Initiative
Defense-University Partnerships Driving Innovation

LUCI is a pilot program that supports collaboration between DoD lab scientists and DoD-funded academics. An important objective of this pilot phase of LUCI is to engage leading university scientists and their students, introduce them to the DoD research environment, and facilitate collaborative work that addresses long-term DoD basic research needs.

Historically, basic research in universities is often the source and engine for technological advancements and innovations. The LUCI program strives to capitalize on the unfettered curiosity driven research and innovative spirit of universities by focusing their energy and ideas on defense research. This is realized by a partnership with a scientist at a DoD research laboratory, whose primary job is to bring better capabilities to the Future Warfighter. The scientific topic areas that LUCI supports are in applied mathematics, cognitive neuroscience, engineering biology, novel engineered materials, quantum information science, manufacturing science, and other areas of interest.

The LUCI program adds value to the defense enterprise by funding high risk basic research projects and providing adequate time to DoD researchers to cultivate their ideas for long term research. This investment results in new knowledge and insight that can be used to fill capability gaps, generate patents, bring in human capital to the defense research enterprise, and build stronger relationships with academic researchers.

FY21 LUCI Competition

The FY2021 Laboratory University Collaboration Initiative (LUCI) Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is now open. For more information, click here.

Meet the LUCI Fellows

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2016 LUCI Fellows

Bryn Adams Army Research Laboratory Synthetic Biology	Blair Connelly Army Research Laboratory Photonics	Charles R. “Chip” Eddy, Jr. Naval Research Laboratory Novel Semiconductor Growth	Patrick Folkes Army Research Laboratory Topological Insulators
Anindya Ghoshal Army Research Laboratory High-Temperature Propulsion Materials	Sarah Glaven Naval Research Laboratory Synthetic Biology	C. Stephen Hellberg Naval Research Laboratory Electronic Materials	Berend “Berry” Jonker Naval Research Laboratory Spintronics
William Mattson Army Research Laboratory Quantum Simulation	Igor Medintz Naval Research Laboratory DNA Based Nanomaterials	Joseph S. Melinger Naval Research Laboratory Light Harvesting and Transfer	Mike Osofsky Naval Research Laboratory Electronic Materials
Ronald Polcawich Army Research Laboratory Piezoelectric Structures	Marc Raphael Naval Research Laboratory Biophysics	Manuel Vindiola Army Research Laboratory Neuromorphic Processing	Amir I. Zaghloul Army Research Laboratory Meta-Materials

2017 LUCI Fellows

Noam Bernstein Naval Research Office Electronic Materials	Jared Culbertson Air Force Research Laboratory Applied Math/ Robotics	Derek Doyle Air Force Research Laboratory Additive Manufacturing	Cameron Good Army Research Laboratory Biocompatible Electronics
Danhong Huang Air Force Research Laboratory Applied Math/ Quantum Materials	Lance Kaplan Army Research Laboratory Network Science	Brittany Lynn Space and Naval Warfare Optics	Igor Mazin Naval Research Office Electronic Materials
Richard A. McKinley Air Force Research Laboratory Cognitive Neuroscience	Frank Narducci Naval Postgraduate School Quantum Information Science/ Sensing	Colin Olson Naval Research Laboratory Applied Math/ Compressive Sensing

2018 LUCI Fellows

Nathaniel Bridges Air Force Research Laboratory Cognitive Neuroscience	Katherine Brodie ERDC Oceanography/Remote Sensing	Matthew Dickerson Air Force Research Laboratory Additive Manufacturing & Self-Assembly	Alexander Efros Naval Research Laboratory Nanophotonics/2D Materials
John Lyons Naval Research Laboratory Nanophotonics/2D Materials	Elizabeth Goldschmidt Army Research Laboratory Quantum Sensing	Michael Goodson Air Force Research Laboratory Synthetic Biology	Mark Griep Army Research Laboratory Nanoplasmonics
Michelle Johannes Naval Research Laboratory Topological Materials	Keith Knipling Naval Research Laboratory High-temperature Structural Materials	Matthew Marge Army Research Laboratory Human-Machine Interaction	Gordon Briggs Naval Research Laboratory Human-Machine Interaction