Naval Research Laboratory, Attn: Code 3230, 4555 Overlook Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20375-5326

A -- PASSIVE POLARIMETRIC REMOTE SENSING RESEARCH SOL NRL BAA 02-98 POC Contact John W. Adams III, Contracting Officer Code 3230 (202)767-2356 WEB: click here, http://heron.nrl.navy.mil/contracts/home.htm. The Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) is seeking proposals (Technical and cost) for applied scientific research. The primary aim of all proposals submitted shall be to advance the state-of-the-art in the area of polarimetric radiometry. In anticipation of the launch of the SSMIS and WindSat systems, we are interested in significantly improving our understanding of the partially polarized emission at 6.8, 10.7, 18.7/19.35, 22.23/23.8, 37.0, 91.655, 50.3, 150.0, and 183.31 GHz from the ocean surface and atmosphere. Proposals should address innovative methods of making these measurements with radiometric sensitivities and absolute accuracy's on the order of 0.2K. This BAA covers one topic of interest to NRL Code 7223, particularly related to the SSMIS and WindSat systems. The announcement will remain open from date of publication for a period of 60 days. Proposals may be submitted any time during the 60-day period. Information packages concerning this research topic and proposal preparation mentioned in this announcement may be obtained from the following Web Site:http://heron.nrl.navy.mil/contracts/home.htm. This notice constitutes a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) as contemplated in FAR 6.102(d)(2). More than one award or none at all may be made depending on the merits of the proposals. This announcement is an expression of interest only and does not commit the Government to pay any response preparation cost. Proposals may be evaluated as they are received or they may be collected and reviewed periodically by Government evaluation team(s) consisting of a group of scientists or scientific peers. Selection will be based on scientific evaluation of the proposals received (technical and cost as it relates to the technical effort) to determine the relative merit of the technical approach in response to any portion of this announcement or the information package referred to in this announcement. Innovative solutions, approaches, or techniques which address the stated objective will be ranked highest in the evaluation process. Cost will be weighted less than technical factors. The evaluation of proposals will take the following into consideration: (a) Technical merits of the proposal; (b) Potential contribution of the effort to the overall program objectives; (c) Offeror's approach for achieving the proposal objectives; (d) Qualifications, capabilities, and experience of the proposed Principal Investigator, team leader, or key personnel who are critical in achieving the proposal objectives; (e) Realism of the proposed cost; (f) Potential contribution of the proposed effort to fulfilling one or more parts of the program objectives over a period of time; and (g) Criticality of the proposed effort to demonstration experiments. Proposal preparation instructions are stated in the information package mentioned above. The typical range of funding for award under this NRL BAA is $500K to $1M. It is estimated that contracts awarded as a result of this NRL BAA will be one to two years in duration. Proposals must reference NRL BAA02-98 and be submitted in an original and three copies not later than 60 calendar days from the date of this publication. Acknowledgment of receipt of proposals will not be made. Offerors are advised that only Contracting Officers, acting within the scope of their authority, are legally authorized to commit the Government regarding this announcement. Posted 09/03/98 (W-SN245395). (0246)

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