Researchers at the College of Engineering and Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources have achieved “Awardable” status through the DARPA Expedited Research Implementation Series (ERIS) Marketplace.
The ERIS Marketplace — under the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency — is a transformative digital platform designed to accelerate acquisition velocity and advance national security innovation. This repository houses 7-minute pitch videos of awardable solutions that have undergone rigorous assessment through competitive procedures and are available to government customers with an ERIS Marketplace account.
Nebraska’s solutions are designed to advance technologies for defense against potential biological threats, human-made or naturally occurring. The researchers are working in coordination with the National Strategic Research Institute (NSRI) at the University of Nebraska, the University Affiliated Research Center designated by the U.S. Department of War and sponsored by U.S. Strategic Command, to deliver actionable solutions that enhance operational readiness against emerging biological threats.
“Our low-cost, passive sampler design aims to advance environmental surveillance technologies for defense against livestock and crop pathogens,” said Xu Li, Dale Jacobson and Debra Leigh Professor of Environmental Engineering. “Our solutions can help producers safeguard the bioeconomy critical to national security, and can be expanded to monitor endangered and invasive species for resource conservation and resilience”
Nebraska’s video, “An AI-Assisted Early Warning Systems for Simultaneous Surveillance of Animal and Crop Pathogens at the Watershed Scale,” accessible only by government customers on the DARPA ERIS Marketplace, presents an actual use case in which researchers couple novel sample collection with real-time detection of pathogens, both known and emerging, enabled by federated AI models, said Li.
The Nebraska team was recognized among a competitive field of applicants to the ERIS Marketplace, whose solutions demonstrated innovation and potential impact on DoD missions. Government customers interested in viewing the video solution can create an ERIS Marketplace account at www.darpaconnect.us/eris.
About the College of Engineering and IANR at Nebraska
The College of Engineering embraces its unique role as the sole intellectual and cultural college for engineering instruction, research and outreach in Nebraska. Through the Complete Engineer® initiative, students receive a strong technical foundation in engineering, computing and construction while developing other essential nontechnical competencies sought by industry. The college offers academic programs on three campuses in Lincoln and Omaha, driving economic development in the state while solving problems of global importance.
In the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources (IANR), we are all about people and the food, water and natural resources that sustain them. IANR innovation in research, teaching, and extension education places Nebraska on the leading edge of food production, environmental stewardship, human nutrition, business development, and youth engagement. Composed of the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources (CASNR), the Agricultural Research Division (ARD), Nebraska Extension, and the ARD and Extension components of three departments in the College of Education and Human Sciences; IANR is committed to growing the future of Nebraska's people, businesses, and communities.
Media contact: J.S. Engebretson, jengebretson2@unl.edu
About the ERIS Marketplace
The DARPA Expedited Research Implementation Series (ERIS) Marketplace is a transformative digital platform designed to accelerate acquisition velocity and advance national security innovation. All 7-minute awardable solutions housed in the repository have been assessed through complex scoring rubrics and competitive procedures and are readily available for selection, negotiation, and award by Government customers with a Marketplace account. By streamlining the procurement process, the ERIS Marketplace empowers DoD organizations to rapidly acquire disruptive technologies that address the evolving challenges of defense and security. Industry and academia are encouraged to showcase their innovative solutions, connecting directly with DARPA and other government customers seeking revolutionary research and technology. Learn more at: www.darpaconnect.com/eris.
For media requests, please contact outreach@darpa.mil; for all other requests related to the ERIS Marketplace, please contact eris@darpa.mil.
