November 8, 2021, Yerevan
Dear colleagues,
The delegation of the US Office of Naval Research Global is in Armenia on a one-week visit initiated by FAST.
During the press conference jointly organised by RA Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport (RA MoESCS) and the Foundation for Armenian Science and Technology (FAST) Patrick Rose, Program Manager at US Office of Naval Research Global also introduced the goals of their liaison visit and, presented the research funding opportunities that Armenian researchers can receive for cutting-edge research.
Patrick Rose also introduced the funding opportunities for the blue sky ideas, disruptive to conventional science and technology thinking.
The RA Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport Karen Trchunyan mentioned that the implementation of these programs of the US Global Naval Research Office will give an opportunity to carry out fundamental research, to generate ideas that will have a research result, and will be turned into certain specific products.
"It is no secret that developed science and an educated society are among the guarantees of a strong, secure state. Similar initiatives stem from that strategy; it is commendable that there are people and organizations that support the implementation of these programs. I am sure that we have very good scientists and professors in Armenia who can apply to this program with their interesting and innovative ideas. As the MoESCS, we will do our best to make this cooperation possible, so that as many scientists and startups as possible are informed about this initiative."
The US Office of Naval Research Global (ONRG) and the Army International Technology Center (ITC) are the international grant funding programs for the US Navy and US Army. ONRG and ITC are internationally focused organizations and the team conducts over 200 liaison visits across more than 47 countries in any given year.
The aim of the visits is to seek out promising, emerging scientific research and advanced technologies, and invest in high-payoff technologies. With this, it targets to foster collaborations and support cutting-edge research through various funding mechanisms.
"We are looking for ideas that no one may believe in, that at first glance seem impossible and too unrealistic," said Patrick Rose, Program Manager at US Office of Naval Research Global and added.
"One of the attraction for cooperation in Armenia is the rich history of science and education in Armenia, the prospects for the development of science, the potential is the existence of ecosystems such as the FAST Foundation. We invite the most strange ideas and technically sound scientific research ideas that Armenian scientists will offer. We will work directly with scientists to better understand what resources are needed to bring those ideas to life. This is the first cooperation with Armenia, but I hope it will be just the beginning of our collaborations."
During the visit to Armenia, organized by the FAST Foundation, represent...
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