The Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) program supports research by teams of investigators who intersect more than one traditional science and engineering discipline in order to accelerate research progress.  The team's award will be made by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR). 

"MURIs are an important vehicle for engaging the brightest researchers on ideas with major impact for the department," said Zachary J. Lemnios, the assistant secretary of defense for research and engineering. “These projects constitute significant investments in multidisciplinary research with the potential for making rapid progress in cutting-edge science."

The highly competitive MURI program complements other DoD basic research programs that support traditional, single-investigator university research by supporting multidisciplinary teams with larger and longer awards.  The current awards are for a five-year period subject to availability of appropriations and satisfactory research progress.  Consequently, MURI awards can provide greater sustained support than single-investigator awards for the education and training of students pursuing advanced degrees in science and engineering fields critical to DoD, as well as for associated infrastructure such as research instrumentation.

The project, entitled "Managing the Mosaic of Microstructure" will "...change how people think about microscopy," according to Bouman.