# 1) Physical Sciences

**R-2A activity** of project PS1 — Physical Sciences (Basic Research)  
**Program element:** 0601384BP — Chemical and Biological Defense Program  
**Component:** Defense-Wide · **Budget Activity:** 1  
**Vintage:** President's Budget PB2027  
**Canonical URL:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/0601384BP/PS1/a0  
**Parent:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/0601384BP/PS1

## Summary

This activity requests $11.3M in FY2027, 100% of project PS1, up 6.9% on FY2026. The R-2A exhibit describes it across FY2025–FY2027, including what the FY2027 money is planned to buy.

## What the FY2027 request buys

**FY2027 planned work.** - Continue to identify and characterize innovative materials for next generation protection and detection proof-of-concept for chemical and biological defense. - Continue to employ artificial intelligence and machine learning approaches for material discovery and design parameters to synthesize new materials that destroy chemical and biological threats on contact.

**FY2026 to FY2027 change.** Funds increase to meet the demand to accelerate materials development via both artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) discovery and High Throughput Experimentation.

## Before the request year

**FY2026 plans — current year.** - Multifunctional Materials – Begin synthesis of membranes with multiple catalytic sites and begin development of composite with mixed selective binding capacity. Characterizing porosity and moisture transport with rejection of simulants. Understanding how molecules bind certain chemicals allows for future development of better protective equipment, that has lower thermal burden and better selective capture of threats. - Design Rules for Materials – Complete feasibility of scaling 2D film deposition methods and operational limits. Complete mechanistic studies to evaluate structural characters and reactivity of fibers with impregnated metal organic framework composites. Investigate potential of spray technology for deposition of graphene fibers. Understanding how to incorporate new decontamination molecules can help in future development of protective equipment, that has lower thermal burden and better selective capture of threats. - Biomimetic – Develop and characterize enzyme functionalized algae based biomotors. Evaluate enzyme loading in conjunction with motor properties. Understanding how enzyme bonding to molecules can help in the future development of decontamination agents that are environmentally friendly and more efficient. - Photocatalysis – Complete characterization of chemical reactivity. Complete studies of simulants and modeling energetic effects. Begin synthesis of plasmonic nanoparticles and characterization of sensor memory units to evaluate limits of detection. Understanding how light can be used to aid in the detection and decontamination of chemicals can reduce energy requirements in future sensors.

**FY2025 accomplishments.** - Continued development of Multifunctional Materials for chemical and biological defense to demonstrate surface agnostic coatings with selective moisture vapor transport. - Continued to identify and characterize materials that destroy chemical agent simulants with high throughput assay. - Began testing feasibility of scaling 2D film deposition methods and operational limits. - Began mechanistic studies to evaluate structural characters and reactivity of fibers with impregnated metal organic framework composites. Utilize microscopy to evaluate elasticity of graphene fibers coated onto garment surfaces. - Completed studies of biomimetic materials to establish scalability of protein designs and test membrane-protein against simulants for repellency and moisture vapor transport. - Completed synthesis and characterization of materials that store natural sunlight to destroy chemical agents in the dark. - Investigated artificial intelligence and machine learning computational approaches for material discovery, design, and parameters for catalytic and reactive decomposition of chemical threats. - Began development of visual indicator for blister agents for equipment contamination mapping and decontamination assurance.

## Funding

| Fiscal Year | Estimate Type | Amount ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | Actual | 16.5 |
| FY2026 | Enacted | 10.6 |
| FY2027 | Request | 11.3 |

> Prior, current and budget year only — an R-2A activity carries no five-year plan. It sums exactly into its project in the request year and not necessarily in any other.

## Source & machine access

- **Source:** FY2027 Office of the Secretary of Defense RDT&E Budget Justification, Exhibit R-2A, PE 0601384BP project PS1 (PB PB2027). Narrative is the government's own text.
- **No marks, no contractors at this grain** — congressional marks land on the program element and R-3 performers on the project.
- **MCP:** `mcp.hitchintel.com` — `budget_get_activity`.

*HitchAI is an independent intelligence service, not affiliated with the U.S. Department of Defense. Budget figures are requests/estimates, not obligations.*