Defense Sciences Office

**About the Defense Sciences Office** The Defense Sciences Office (DSO) works to identify and create the next generation of scientific discovery to fuel innovation throughout the Agency and beyond. Known as “DARPA’s DARPA,” DSO develops and manages an aggressive and forward-leaning portfolio that expands the art of the possible across a broad set of technical areas. By pushing science toward fundamental operational limits, our programs create a strategic advantage for the DOD. Our work is global in scale, as we monitor and drive the technological landscape and potential impacts on our military and our nation. The DSO portfolio ranges from early idea development and scientific validation to prototype demonstration. Our primary solicitation mechanisms include Advanced Research Concepts (early idea scouting), Disruption Opportunities (validation of scientific and technical challenges), and Broad Area Announcements (capability demonstrations). **Thrust areas** **Novel Materials and Structures** - Science and technology in quantum devices - Atomic scale systems - Functional and structural materials **Sensing and Measurement** - Science and technology in quantum sensing and metrology - Seeing (sensing) the unseen - Novel light sources **Computation and Processing** - Science and technology of quantum computing - Cryptography, and modeling of complex systems **Enabling Operations**? - Technologies to support space-based operations - Tactically remote environments - Resource assurance **Collective Intelligence** - Exploration of complex social systems - Adaptable artificial intelligence (AI) - AI-accelerated learning **Emerging Threats** - National security concerns related to global issues associated with raw material availability - Environmental catastrophes - Digital societies The above samples under each thrust are not exhaustive.