HR001123S0012: Ceres
Closed
This grant is closed. A newer notice from the same program is open now: Young Faculty Award (YFA) 2027 (DARPARA2701). Status: Closes January 13, 2027 (67 days left). It is in our archive of DARPA - Biological Technologies Office notices from 2022.
DARPA - Biological Technologies Office offered grants to the applicants described in the notice. Applications closed on January 11, 2023.
From the official notice on Grants.gov, last changed November 8, 2022. Checked November 7, 2026.
- Award amountsNot given on Grants.gov
- Cost sharingNot required
- Funding typeCooperative Agreement, Other, Procurement Contract
Key dates
| Posted | October 13, 2022 |
|---|---|
| Deadline | January 11, 2023 |
| Archived by Grants.gov | February 10, 2023 |
Who can apply
This opportunity was open to the applicants described in the notice.
- Others (see text field entitled "Additional Information on Eligibility" for clarification)
All responsible sources capable of satisfying the Government's needs may submit a proposal that shall be considered by DARPA. See the Eligibility Information section of the BAA for more information.
Is this a realistic fit?
- Most of the program's money (93% over five years) went to colleges and universities.
- No cost sharing or match is required.
What the grant funds
Conventional soil bioremediation is laborious, inefficient, and expensive, requiring soil preparation, nutrient delivery to remediating organisms, and continuous site monitoring. Plants and their rhizosphere microbiomes have innate potential to inexpensively perform the costliest aspects of bioremediation—soil preparation, nutrient augmentation, and site monitoring—without routine human intervention. Leveraging the inherent plant-rhizosphere community, Ceres will enhance community performance by engineering synthetic communities to achieve autonomous bioremediation of a fuel, JP-8, and an explosive, TNT, from soil while overtly reporting the status of this remediation. Advances in both synthetic biology and synthetic ecology will be used to create and optimize these sophisticated synthetic communities.
Who has won Research and Technology Development grants before
From fiscal 2021 to 2025, Research and Technology Development (12.910) awarded $1.5 billion across 739 grant awards, an average of $2.1 million per award.
| Recipient | State | Awards | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| University of Southern California | California | 26 | $84.5 million |
| Clemson University | South Carolina | 2 | $82.2 million |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Massachusetts | 29 | $63.1 million |
| Regents of the University of Michigan | Michigan | 21 | $59.6 million |
| The Regents of the University of California, San Francisco | California | 5 | $44.4 million |
Applying now
This notice no longer takes applications. Apply under the newer notice, DARPARA2701, which is open now.
The notice on Grants.gov keeps its full text and attachments, which is useful for planning a resubmission.
Questions people ask
Is HR001123S0012 still open?
No. It closed on January 11, 2023. A newer notice is open: DARPARA2701, closes January 13, 2027 (67 days left).
Who can apply for Ceres?
DARPA - Biological Technologies Office accepted applications from the applicants described in the notice. The notice adds further conditions, so read its eligibility section.
What is the deadline for Ceres?
Closed January 11, 2023. Applications are no longer accepted; the program's newer notices are on this page when there are any.
Who has won Research and Technology Development grants before?
The largest recipients over five fiscal years were University of Southern California, Clemson University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The program made 739 awards worth $1.5 billion in that time.