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Special Seminar Topic: Kenneth Caster, Air Force Office of Scientific Research
September 25, 2023 @ 10:00 am – 11:00 am
Working with DoD Funding Agencies – A Program Officer’s Perspective
Abstract
The US Government funds basic and applied research across many disciplines using multiple funding agencies. This presentation will focus on funding processes used by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) but will also be relevant to other DoD funding agencies (Army Research Office, ARO; Office of Naval Research, ONR). The presentation will address topics related to the Broad Agency Announcement, BAA; white papers; proposal submission; funding timelines; program reviews; reports; domestic and international collaboration; and communications all from the mindset of the program
officer.
Biography
Dr. Caster received a B.S. degree (cum laude) in chemistry with a minor in physics from Stetson University in 1979 and a Ph.D. degree in organic chemistry from Duke University in 1983 (w/Prof. Louis D. Quin). He then moved to the University of Florida as a National Institute of Health (NRSA, NIH-NEI) postdoctoral fellow (w/Prof. Alan Katritzky). In 1985, he joined Union Carbide Corporation where he performed exploratory research on homogeneous catalytic processes. In 1994, he moved to Lord Corporation where he managed a Controllable Materials R&D program within the Materials Division. There, as principal scientist and inventor, he created an intellectual property portfolio centered on innovative olefin metathesis-based adhesion and coatings technology. In 2003, he spent one year as a visiting scientist at the Center for Biological Inspired Materials and Material Systems (CBIMMS) at Duke University before joining the US Army Research Office (ARO). There he provided technical and scientific support to the Polymer Science Program and two UARCs (Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies – ISN, and Institute for Collaborative Biotechnologies – ICB). In late 2009, he moved to the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) as a program officer to create and manage a synthetic chemistry portfolio. In 2012, he transferred to an international assignment in Japan at AFOSR’s Asian Office of Aerospace Research and Development (AOARD) to manage Materials, Chemistry, and USAF-Taiwan
Nanoscience Programs and serve as AOARD Technical Director. In 2017, he returned to AFOSR as Program Officer to manage the Organic Materials Chemistry basic research program. From 2007-2009, he was an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at North Carolina State University.
