About the Defense Sciences Office
The mission of the Defense Sciences Office (DSO) is to identify and spearhead the next generation of scientific discovery to fuel innovation in research and development for the DOW. DSO serves DARPA by developing and executing an aggressive and forward-leaning portfolio that expands the art of the possible across a broad set of technical areas. DSO aims to create strategic surprise advantage for the DOW by pushing technology toward its fundamental scientific limits.
We work to prevent technological surprise by understanding the path commercial research and development (R&D) is taking, anticipating that our adversaries will exploit available technology to develop new capabilities in the coming decades. In addition, DSO looks for transformative trends at the global scale and their potential impact on our nation.
To support its mission, DSO is interested in engaging with the R&D community to tackle complex challenges and develop impactful capabilities. DSO organizes its research portfolio into the high-interest thrust areas described below.
Thrust Areas
Materials, Manufacturing, and Energy Systems
Breaking the tensions between performance and efficiency for new materials, manufacturing flexibility, propulsion, and energy availability.
Sensing, Measuring, and Affecting
Pushing the fundamental limits for orders-of-magnitude improvement in awareness, communications, and control.
Math, Computation, and Processing
Enabling quantum, and reimagining classical, computing for enhanced efficiency and new capabilities.
Complex, Dynamic, and Intelligent Systems
Revolutionizing scientific methods for harnessing complex and adaptive systems, from materials to human-AI ecosystems.
Leadership
DSO Technical Office leadership is responsible for guiding and overseeing the research and development activities within specific technical areas.
Opportunities
Opportunities to engage include R&D programs and efforts, challenge competitions, and technology transition efforts for the Defense Sciences Office. | See all DARPA Opportunities | RSS feed for Opportunities
Use these filters to narrow your results by research topic or date. Search by keyword to find your specific DSO opportunity.
Search our Programs
Use these filters to narrow your results by research topic or status. Search by keyword to find your specific DSO program.
Brightest Minds in Science and Engineering
Our DSO program managers are visionary leaders whose experience spans industry, government, and academia. They conceive, plan, and oversee the high-risk R&D efforts for which we are best known. | See all DARPA program managers
Search our Program Managers
Use these filters to narrow your results by research topic or date. Search by keyword to find a specific DSO program manager or their research interests.
