Binational Industrial Research and Development (BIRD) Foundation: Bird Energy 

FAS/SEAS/OSP Executive Summary Deadline: June 23, 2020

Sponsor Executive Summary Deadline: June 30, 2020

FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: August 6, 2020

Sponsor Deadline: August 13, 2020

Award Amount: Up to $1M, but no more than 50% of the R&D costs associated with the joint project. This award provides 5% in overhead costs, which falls short of the 15% overhead required by FAS/SEAS policy. Please discuss with your grants administrator before preparing an application.

 

"BIRD Energy" is the implementation of a cooperation agreement between the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), the Israel Ministry of Energy jointly with the Israel Innovation Authority, and the BIRD Foundation.

 

To be considered, a project proposal should include:

 

The Greenwall Foundation: Making a Difference in Real-World Bioethics Dilemmas *

Sponsor Letter of Intent Deadline: June 24, 2020

FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline (if invited): August 21, 2020

Sponsor Full Proposal Deadline (if invited): August 28, 2020

Award Amount: Unspecified; recent awards have been made in the $50K - $330K range. The Greenwall Foundation will fund 10% indirect costs for salary and benefits only. Please discuss with your grants administrator before preparing an application.

 

The Greenwall Foundation is requesting proposals for its bioethics grants program to support research to help resolve an important emerging or unanswered bioethics problem in clinical, biomedical, or public health decision-making, policy, or practice. While all innovative proposals that will have a real-world impact are welcome, the foundation is particularly interested in proposals that address the ethical and policy issues raised by the following priority topics:

Grantees will be expected to disseminate their research through practical articles in peer-reviewed journals that reach the appropriate audience for the topic studied, through presentations in relevant professional meetings, and in other ways that will increase real-world impact

 

Paralyzed Veterans of America Research Grants

FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: June 24, 2020

Sponsor Deadline: July 1, 2020

Award Amount: Varies; see below. This award provides 8% in overhead costs, which falls short of the 15% overhead required by FAS/SEAS policy. Please discuss with your grants administrator before preparing an application.

The mission of the Paralyzed Veterans of America Research Foundation is to promote innovative research to find better treatments and cures for paralysis; support efforts to improve the quality of life of individuals with spinal cord dysfunction until treatments are found; and train post-doctoral fellow investigators and encourage them to specialize in the area of spinal cord research. 

 

The Foundation supports one or two-year grants in four areas of emphasis:

1. Laboratory research in the basic sciences related to spinal cord injury or disease. Grants funded up to $75,000 for 1 year or up to $150,000 for 2 years.
2. Clinical and functional studies of the medical, psychosocial, and economic effects of spinal cord injury or disease, and/or interventions proposed to alleviate these effects. Grants funded up to $75,000 for 1 year or up to $150,000 for 2 years.
3. Design and development of new or improved rehabilitative and assistive devices to improve function for individuals with spinal cord injury or disease. Funding may be used to develop drawings, schematics, or prototypes, and for the testing necessary to further the design of assistive technology devices. Grants funded up to $75,000 for one year or up to $150,000 for 2 years.
4. Fellowships for postdoctoral students in basic science, clinical applications, or design and development, intended to encourage training and specialization in the field of spinal cord research. Grants funded up to $50,000 for 1 year or up to $100,000 for 2 years.

BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Awards

FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: Review by Harvard OSP not required

Sponsor Nomination Deadline: June 30, 2020

Award Amount: 400,000 euros, a diploma, and a commemorative artwork

 

The BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Awards recognize fundamental contributions in a broad array of areas of scientific knowledge, technology, humanities, and artistic creation. The name of the award is intended to denote not only research work that substantially enlarges the scope of our current knowledge-pushing forward the frontiers of the known world-but also the meeting and overlap of different disciplinary areas and the emergence of new fields.  

 

The disciplines and domains of the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Awards are:

Any scientific or cultural organization or institution may nominate more than one candidate, but no candidate may be nominated in more than one award category. The awards are also open to scientific or cultural organizations that can be collectively credited with exceptional contributions. Candidates may be of any nationality. Self-nomination is not permitted.

American Association for the Advancement of Science: Early Career Award for Public Engagement with Science *

FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: Review by Harvard OSP not required

Sponsor Nomination Deadline: June 30, 2020
Award Amount: A monetary prize of $5,000, a commemorative plaque, complimentary registration to the AAAS Annual Meeting, and reimbursement for hotel and travel expenses to attend the meeting to receive the prize are given to the recipient.

 

The AAAS Early Career Award for Public Engagement with Science recognizes early-career scientists and engineers who demonstrate excellence in their contribution to public engagement with science activities. For the purposes of this award, public engagement activities are defined as the individual's active participation in efforts to engage with the public on science- and technology-related issues and promote meaningful dialogue between science and society. Types of public engagement activities might include: informal science education, public outreach, public policy, and/or science communication activities, such as mass media, public dialogue, radio, TV and film, science cafés, science fairs, and social and online media.

 

Candidate must be an individual scientist or engineer who has completed their terminal degree within seven years of the deadline for nominations. Nominations may be made by individuals, universities, government agencies, media, research organizations, and AAAS affiliate organizations. One nominator can nominate multiple candidates. Self-nominations are allowed. One scientist or engineer will be chosen to receive the award each year.

Research Corporation for Science Advancement: Cottrell Scholar Award

FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission

Sponsor Deadline: The proposal target date is July 1, 2020. However, due to the COVID-19 emergency, the submission portal will remain open until August 15, 2020 midnight PDT. 

Award Amount: $100,000 over three years

Eligible Applicants: Early career faculty who started their first tenure-track appointment anytime in calendar year 2017 who hold an appointment in a chemistry, physics, or astronomy department. Accommodations are made for faculty who have taken maternity or paternity leave, or who have experienced medical conditions that prompted a tenure clock extension.

 

The Cottrell Scholar Award develops outstanding teacher-scholars who are recognized by their scientific communities for the quality and innovation of their research programs and their academic leadership skills. The Cottrell Scholar Award provides entry into a national community of outstanding scholar-educators who produce significant research and educational outcomes. Proposals must contain a research plan, an educational plan and a clear statement on how the Cottrell Scholar Award will help applicants become truly outstanding teacher-scholars and future academic leaders. The ability of applicants to mount a strong and innovative research program and achieve excellence in education and their academic citizenship skills are key criteria in the selection of the awards. The primary criterion for research funding in the Cottrell Scholar Award program is to add to fundamental scientific knowledge in one of the three core disciplines (Chemistry, Physics, and Astronomy) and hence, applied research without a significant fundamental component is not funded.

 

Sample proposals are available at  https://rescorp.org/cottrell-scholars/examples-of-educational-proposals .

Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Imaging Scientists Program *

FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: July 23, 2020

Sponsor Deadline: July 30, 2020

Award Amount: The maximum total budget (including indirect costs) is $250,000 per year, with an initial three-year period followed by a potential two-year renewal. No more than $200,000 can apply to the salary and fringe benefits of the Imaging Scientist, and no more than $20,000 to teaching and travel expenses.

 

The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) seeks to support the work of up to 15 Imaging Scientists who will work at the interface of biology, microscopy hardware, and imaging software at imaging core facilities across the world. Imaging Scientists might be engineers, physicists, mathematicians, computer scientists, or biologists who have focused on technology development in either light or electron microscopy, medical imaging, or data analysis fields. The primary goal of the program is to increase interactions between biologists and technology experts. A successful Imaging Program will employ an Imaging Scientist who: a) works collaboratively with experimental biologists on projects at the imaging core; b) participates in courses that disseminate advanced microscopy methods and analysis; c) trains students and postdocs in imaging technology; d) participates in a network of CZI Imaging Scientists to identify needs and drive advances in the imaging field; e) attends twice-yearly CZI scientific workshops and meetings in imaging and adjacent biomedical areas.

Beckman Young Investigator Program

SEAS Deadline to Request Institutional Endorsements: July 24, 2020

Sponsor LOI Deadline: August 3, 2020

Award Amount: $600,000 over four years

Eligible Faculty: Assistant professors within the first three years of a tenure-track position, or an equivalent independent research appointment. Tenure track dates for the 2021 program must start after August 6, 2017 AND before August 6, 2020. Candidates must be citizens or permanent residents of the United States at the time of application.

 

The Beckman Young Investigator (BYI) Program provides research support to the most promising young faculty members in the early stages of their academic careers in the chemical and life sciences, particularly to foster the invention of methods, instruments and materials that will open up new avenues of research in science. Projects proposed for the BYI program should be truly innovative, high-risk, and show promise for contributing to significant advances in chemistry and the life sciences. They should represent a departure from current research directions rather than an extension or expansion of existing programs. Proposed research that cuts across traditional boundaries of scientific disciplines is encouraged. Proposals that open up new avenues of research in chemistry and the life sciences by fostering the invention of methods, instruments and materials will be given additional consideration.  

 

Investigators can have no more than $225,000 in direct, annualized external funding grants during any BYI Program Year (Aug-July) at the time of application. Start-up funds, department-wide instrumentation grants, and "Transition" grants (such as NIH K99/R00) are not counted toward this total. No individual may apply for a Beckman Young Investigator award more than two times.

 

Past award recipients from Harvard FAS/SEAS include Jarad Mason (CCB, 2019), Kang-Kuen Ni (CCB, 2015), Hopi Hoekstra (OEB, 2006), Xiaowei Zhuang (CCB, 2003), and David Liu (CCB, 2002).

 

This is not a limited submission opportunity but does require the electronic endorsement of Dean Frank Doyle and Colleen Shanahan ("Chief Academic Officer or authorized signatory"). The deadline to request the required endorsements is July 24, 2020.

 

The process to obtain the required endorsements is as follows:

1. Prepare the LOI using the application instructions at the Beckman website. The LOI should be complete before requesting the required institutional endorsements.
2. For the endorsement of the Chief Academic Officer or authorized signatory:

• Send an email to Colleen Shanahan, Manager of Grants and Contracts Operations (colleen_shanahan@harvard.edu). This email should include a PDF of the LOI and a brief note alerting Colleen that an automated email will be forthcoming from the Beckman application portal.
• The online portal will have a section to provide the email address for the Chief Academic Officer or authorized signatory, and applicants should provide colleen_shanahan@harvard.edu as the recipient address for this endorsement.

3. To obtain endorsement from Dean Frank Doyle:

• Send an email to dean@seas.harvard.edu with cc to Erin Hale (erin_hale@fas.harvard.edu), and Susan Gomes (sgomes@fas.harvard.edu). This email should include a PDF of the LOI and a brief note alerting the Dean's Office that an automated email will be forthcoming from the Beckman application portal.
• The online portal will have a section to provide an email address for the dean, and applicants should provide dean@seas.harvard.edu as the recipient address for this endorsement.

Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Essential Open Source Software for Science *

FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: July 28, 2020

Sponsor Deadline: August 4, 2020 at 8 PM

Award Amount: $50,000-$250,000 (including indirect costs)

 

The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) seeks applications for software projects that are essential to biomedical research, have already demonstrated impact, and can show potential for continued improvement. CZI currently supports several areas of basic science and technology with the goal of making it possible to cure, prevent, or manage all diseases by the end of this century. This program aims to support software tools that are essential to this mission.

 

Applications for two broad categories of open source software projects will be considered in scope:

Grants will be for a one-year period with a projected start date no earlier than January 1, 2021. Proposals may request funding for multiple related software projects.

Searle Scholars Program

Harvard Pre-Proposal Deadline: July 27, 2020 by 11:30 PM
Sponsor Deadline: September 30, 2020
Award Amount: $100,000 per year for three years
Eligible Faculty: Applicants should have begun their appointment as an independent investigator at the assistant professor level on or after July 1, 2019 but not later than September 29, 2020. The appointment must be their first tenure-track position (or its nearest equivalent).

The Searle Scholars Program is a limited submission award program which makes grants to selected academic and research institutions to support the independent research of outstanding early-career scientists who have recently been appointed as assistant professors on a tenure-track appointment. Applicants for the competition are expected to be pursuing independent research careers in biochemistry, cell biology, genetics, immunology, neuroscience, pharmacology, and related areas in chemistry, medicine, and the biological sciences. This program does not ordinarily support purely clinical research but has supported research programs that include both clinical and basic components. The Searle Scholars Program Scientific Advisory Board is primarily interested in the potential of applicants to make innovative and high-impact contributions to research over an extended period of time.

This is a limited submission opportunity and Harvard may submit only three proposals to this program. The Office of the Vice Provost for Research will conduct the internal competition to select the Harvard nominees. To be considered for the Harvard nomination, eligible applicants must submit an internal pre-proposal via the link above.

John Templeton Foundation: Small and Large Grants *

FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline for Online Funding Inquiry: August 7, 2020

Sponsor Deadline for Online Funding Inquiry: August 14, 2020

Award Amount: up to $234,800 (Small Grants); over $234,800 (Large Grants);

the typical grant duration is up to three years

   

The Templeton Foundation offers grants in support of research and public engagement in the following major funding areas:

• Science & the Big Questions
• Character Virtue Development
• Individual Freedom & Free Markets.
• Exceptional Cognitive Talent & Genius
• Genetics
• Voluntary Family Planning

The Foundation generally funds specific projects and favors proposals where the applicant has sought or secured partial funding from other sources. Grant consideration begins with an initial Online Funding Inquiry and, if invited, a detailed Full Proposal.

Sloan Research Fellowships *

FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: September 8, 2020
Sponsor Deadline: September 15, 2020
Award Amount: $75,000 for two years
Eligible Applicants: Candidates must be tenure-track, though untenured, as of September 15, 2020. Candidates must hold a Ph.D. or equivalent degree in chemistry, computer science, economics, mathematics, molecular biology, neuroscience, ocean sciences, physics, or a related field.

 

The Sloan Research Fellowship Program recognizes and rewards outstanding early-career faculty who have the potential to revolutionize their fields of study. These two-year fellowships are awarded yearly to 126 researchers in recognition of distinguished performance and a unique potential to make substantial contributions to their field. Successful candidates for a Fellowship generally have a strong record of significant independent research accomplishments that demonstrate creativity and the potential to become future leaders in the scientific community. Nominated candidates are normally several years past the completion of their Ph.D. in order to accumulate a competitive record of independent, significant research. Fellowship funds may be used by the fellow for any expense judged supportive of the fellow's research including staffing, travel, lab expenses, equipment, or summer salary support. Fellowship funds may not be used for indirect costs.

 

In order to be considered for a Sloan Research Fellowship, a candidate must have a letter of nomination from a department head or other senior researcher officially nominating the candidate and describing his or her qualifications, initiative, and research. No more than three candidates may be nominated from any one department.

 

Recent recipients include Emily Breza (Economics, 2020), Gabriel Chodrow-Reich (Economics, 2020), Nicholas Bellono (MCB, 2019), Christina Woo (CCB, 2019), Finale Doshi-Velez (SEAS, 2018), Yaron Singer (SEAS, 2018), Stefanie Stantcheva (Economics, 2018), Tristan Collins (Math, 2018), Samuel Gershman (Psychology, 2018), Amanda Pallais (Economics, 2017), Demba Ba (SEAS, 2016), Melissa Dell (Economics, 2016), Nathaniel Hendren (Economics, 2016), Shmuel Rubinstein (SEAS, 2016), Ariel Amir (SEAS, 2015), and Kang-Kuen Ni (CCB, 2015).

Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships 2020-2021 *

Deadline to Request Harvard Institutional Endorsement: September 14, 2020 by 12:00 PM

Sponsor Deadline: October 1, 2020 
Award Amount: $70,000 per year for two years (taxable)

 

The objective of the   Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships Program , offered by the Government of Canada, is to attract and retain top-tier postdoctoral talent, to develop Fellows' leadership potential and to position them for success as research leaders of tomorrow, positively contributing to Canada's economic, social and research-based growth through a research-intensive career. Applications are accepted from all fields in the humanities, social sciences, health research, natural sciences and engineering.

 

This program is open to Canadian citizens, permanent residents of Canada and non-Canadian citizens. Candidates to be hosted by Harvard must be Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada who have obtained or will obtain their PhD or equivalent from a Canadian university. Applicants must fulfill or have fulfilled all degree requirements for a PhD, PhD-equivalent or health professional degree between September 15, 2017 and September 30, 2021 (inclusively), and before the start date of their award. Applicants who are not Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada may apply to hold a Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship at a Canadian institution. Applicants who are Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada and who obtained their PhD, PhD-equivalent or health professional degree from a non-Canadian university may also apply to hold a Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship at a Canadian institution. The program's full eligibility criteria can be viewed  here .   

 

There are no limits to the number of applicants that may apply to the Banting Fellowship opportunity, but those who wish to be hosted by Harvard University must include with their application an  Institutional Letter of Endorsement   signed by the Vice Provost for Research. To request this endorsement letter, candidates must submit their contact information and a copy of their proposed supervisor's statement  here   no later than 12:00 PM on September 14, 2020. 

 

Eppley Foundation for Research: Support for Advanced Scientific Research *

Sponsor LOI Deadline: September 15, 2020

FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline (if invited): October 7, 2020

Sponsor Full Proposal Deadline (if invited): October 15, 2020

Award Amount: Unspecified; the foundation disburses up to $460,000 a year; recent past awards have ranged from $11K to $28K

 

The Eppley Foundation for Research was incorporated in 1947 for the purpose of "increasing knowledge in pure or applied science...in chemistry, physics and biology through study, research and publication." Particular areas of interest include innovative medical investigations, climate change, whole ecosystem studies, as well as research on single species if they are of particular significance in their environments, in the U.S. and abroad. The proposal is expected to be concise and incorporate clear statements of significance, objectives, novelty, methods, expectations of success, and why the researcher believes the work cannot reasonably expect federal support, or support from other conventional funding sources. It is important to the Foundation that the work proposed be novel in its insights and unlikely to be underway elsewhere. The Foundation is prepared to take risks.

 

The Eppley Foundation supports advanced, novel, scientific research by PhDs or MDs with an established record of publication in their specialties. Travel and fringe benefits do not qualify for overhead allocation.

The Franklin Institute Bower Award & Prize for Achievement in Science

FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: Review by Harvard OSP not required

Nomination Deadline: December 31, 2020 

Prize Amount: $250,000

 

The Franklin lnstitute seeks nominations for the 2021 Bower Award and Prize for Achievement in Science of individuals who have made significant contributions to the scientific understanding of decision-making. The interdisciplinary field of decision-making integrates theory and methods from economics, psychology, neuroscience, computer science, and related areas to understand the mechanisms through which individuals and groups choose among competing possibilities and how these mechanisms guide behavior.

 

Nominations from any individual or organization will be accepted, including self-nominations. Nominations are encouraged in, but not limited to, the following subtopics and their intersections:

Brigham Health - The Gillian Reny Stepping Strong Center for Trauma Innovation: 2020 Stepping Strong Innovator Awards *

Deadline: August 14, 2020 at 12 PM

Award Amount: up to $100,000

 

The Stepping Strong Center funds patient-centric, innovative projects with an emphasis on advancing new approaches to trauma research and clinical care; training current and future generations of healthcare professionals in the treatment of complex traumatic injuries; creating programs that educate society about traumatic injury and its prevention; and furthering advocacy efforts to expand research, raise awareness, and prevent traumatic injuries from occurring. The Center expects to provide several Innovator Award grants in 2020 in the following areas:

 

* Clinical innovation

* Injury prevention

* Basic science

* U.S. Military Priorities

 

Teams will ideally consist of researchers, a trauma clinician (if the Principal Investigator is not a clinician), external experts, and engineers knowledgeable in healthcare. Research teams that have strong multi-disciplinary expertise will receive preference. Preferential assessment will be given to proposals that include collaborators based at Brigham and Women's Hospital and/or Massachusetts General Hospital.

Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study: Exploratory Seminars *

Deadline: October 13, 2020

Award Amount: up to $18,000 to support one- to two-day, by-invitation-only seminars

 

The Radcliffe Exploratory Seminar Program provides funding to scholars, practitioners, and artists for collaboration in an interdisciplinary exploration of early-stage ideas. The program encourages intellectual risk taking as participants gather in an intensive seminar setting to explore new fields of research and inquiry. Applications are currently being accepted for seminars to be held between July 2021 and June 2022. The program welcomes proposals that:

Proposals that connect research to law, policy, pressing social issues, and/or seek to actively engage audiences beyond academia are of special interest. Reflecting Radcliffe's unique history, proposals that focus on women, gender, and society or draw on the Schlesinger Library's rich collections are also of special interest.

 

Lead applicant must be either a Harvard ladder (tenured or tenure-track) faculty member from any school or a former or current Radcliffe fellow; co-applicants may apply with lead applicants who meet eligibility requirements.

Harvard Data Science Initiative Faculty Special Projects Fund

Deadline: Rolling

Award Amount: Up to $5,000

Target Applicants: Applications are invited from individuals who hold a faculty appointment at a Harvard school and who have principal investigator rights at that school.

 

 

Amazon Web Services Diagnostic Development Initiative (DDI)

FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: June 23, 2020

Sponsor Deadline: June 30, 2020

Award Amount: Awarded amounts will vary depending on the research proposal and usage requirements documented in the proposal and will be in the form of promotional credits applicable to AWS services. The credits can be used for up to one year.

 

The AWS Diagnostic Development Initiative (DDI) provides support for innovation in rapid and accurate patient testing for 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19), and other diagnostic solutions to mitigate future outbreaks. Although vaccine and treatment development research is generally funded by private foundations and government agencies, fast and reliable diagnostic techniques are slow to be developed. Accurate testing and diagnosis at point-of-care or regional locations for patients with COVID-19 is critical to early intervention and treatment. AWS is offering technical support and providing AWS promotional credits to support the use of AWS services to advance diagnostic research for selected institutions and companies.

Semiconductor Research Corporation: Nanomanufacturing Materials and Processes *

Sponsor White Paper Deadline: July 1, 2020

SEAS/FAS/OSP Deadline: August 25, 2020

Sponsor Full Proposal Deadline: September 1, 2020

Award Amount: $90,000/year for 3 years

 

Semiconductor Research Corporation Global Research Collaboration is soliciting white papers in the Nanomanufacturing Materials and Processes research program. The principal goals of this program are to explore new materials and processes for scaled digital and analog device fabrication.  This call, issued to universities worldwide, may be addressed by an individual investigator or a research team. Each researcher may be involved in at most two white papers.

 

 

Semiconductor Research Corporation: Logic & Memory Devices *

Sponsor White Paper Deadline: July 1, 2020

SEAS/FAS/OSP Deadline: August 26, 2020

Sponsor Full Proposal Deadline: September 2, 2020

Award Amount: $87,500/year for 3 years

 

Semiconductor Research Corporation Global Research Collaboration is soliciting white papers in the Logic and Memory Devices (LMD) research program. The principal goal of this discovery-driven program is to explore augmenting the advanced CMOS technology with emerging alternative concepts such as multiferroics, spintronics, photonics, and their 3D monolithic integration. This call, issued to universities worldwide, may be addressed by an individual investigator or a research team. Each researcher may be involved in at most two white papers.

 

Semiconductor Research Corporation: Environment, Safety, and Health *

Sponsor White Paper Deadline: July 1, 2020

SEAS/FAS/OSP Deadline: August 25, 2020

Sponsor Full Proposal Deadline: September 1, 2020

Award Amount: $90,000/year for 3 years

 

Semiconductor Research Corporation Global Research Collaboration is soliciting white papers in the Environment, Safety, and Health (ESH) research program. The principal goal of this discovery-driven program is towards enabling sustainability and environmentally benign processing in integrated-circuit manufacturing. Research needs include ESH impact analysis of materials, aqueous effluent management, air emissions management, and alternative materials analysis. This call, issued to universities worldwide, may be addressed by an individual investigator or a research team. Each researcher may be involved in at most two white papers.

Microsoft AI for Earth Grants

FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission

Sponsor Deadlines: July 6, 2020 and October 5, 2020

Award Information: Azure compute credits worth $5,000, $10,000, or $15,000, plus additional resources including technical advice and support, online Azure training materials, and invitations to the AI for Earth Summit for networking and education opportunities.

AI for Earth grants provide access to Microsoft resources to support projects that change the way people and organizations monitor, model, and manage Earth's natural systems. Researchers who already have access to a labeled dataset and are ready to start using Azure AI tools and cloud computing, may apply for Azure compute credits through this grant. Microsoft's areas of focus for AI for Earth are agriculture, food, biodiversity, and/or climate change. Microsoft recommends that the main applicant has a demonstrated background in environmental science and/or technology (such as a PhD degree), and that at least one member of the team has strong enough technical skills to complete the project successfully.

Pfizer Competitive Grants Program Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning Research in Hemophilia

FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: July 23, 2020

Sponsor Deadline: July 30, 2020

Award Amount: $350,000-$450,000

 

Pfizer Global Medical Grants support the global healthcare community's independent initiatives (e.g., research, quality improvement or education) to improve patient outcomes in areas of unmet medical need that are aligned with Pfizer's medical and/or scientific strategies. Projects that will be considered under this RFP will focus on Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning in the areas mentioned below. Projects with a focus on emerging potential one-time treatments such as genetic medicine/gene transfer will be preferentially considered.

Merck 2020 Research Grants

FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: August 24, 2020

Sponsor Deadline: August 31, 2020

Award Amount: 100,000 EUR - 500,000 EUR per year for up to 3 years

 

In 2020, Merck is offering a series of research grants to stimulate innovative research in challenging areas of future importance. Grants are available in the following areas:

Amazon Machine Learning Research Awards

FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission

Sponsor Deadline: Rolling

Award Amount: The amount awarded is at the discretion of the awards panel and may be based on the number of applicants and number of awards granted during an award cycle. Awards can include funding and AWS Promotional Credits. 69% overhead is required per FAS/SEAS policy.

 

The AWS Machine Learning Research Awards (MLRA) program funds eligible universities, faculty, PhD students and post-docs under the supervision of faculty, that are conducting novel research in machine learning (ML). The goal is to enable research that accelerates the development of innovative algorithms, publications, and source code across a wide variety of ML applications and focus areas. Selected applicants will receive awards that include unrestricted cash funding as well as AWS Promotional Credits. Award recipients will receive an invitation to attend an annual research seminar and may receive live one-on-one training sessions with Amazon scientists and engineers.

 

Full-time faculty members and university departments leading a team of students and postdocs at education institutions in North America and Europe which are conducting innovative research related to Machine Learning are eligible to apply. Awards provided to faculty or university institutions will support the researchers identified in the application conducting research under the guidance of this PI.

DARPA Artificial Intelligence Exploration (AIE) Opportunity: COnstructive Machine-learning Battles with Adversary Tactics (COMBAT) *

FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: June 18, 2020

Sponsor Deadline for Full Proposals: June 26, 2020

Award Amount: The total award value for the combined Phase 1 base and Phase 2 option is limited to $1M ($300,000 for Phase 1 and $700,000 for Phase 2).   The periods of performance for these phases are 6 months for the Phase 1 feasibility study and 12 months for the Phase 2 proof of concept.

 

DARPA is issuing a new Artificial Intelligence Exploration (AIE) Opportunity entitled COMBAT, which invites submissions of innovative basic or applied research concepts in the technical domain of Artificial Intelligence, Modeling, and Simulation. COMBAT will develop artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms to generate models of adversary (Red Force) brigade behaviors that challenge and adapt to U.S. Forces (Blue Force) in simulation experiments. This effort will investigate how an adversary may evolve from current to future tactics based on Blue Force actions and responses. If successful, COMBAT will rapidly develop multiple feasible Red Force Courses of Action (COA), identify optimal solutions, and provide reasoning to support recommendations. In future war games, COMBAT will deliver an AI Red Force capable of reacting in ways not easily replicated by human role-players, challenging Blue role-players and stimulating the development of new Blue tactics.

 

This AIE Opportunity is issued under the Program Announcement for AIE, DARPA-PA-19-03 .

DARPA Disruption Opportunity (DO): Investigating Adaptive Modal Bases for Intelligent Classification (IAMBIC) *

FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: July 1, 2020

Sponsor Deadline for Full Proposals: July 9, 2020

Award Amount: The total award value for the combined Phase 1 base (6 month Feasibility Study) and Phase 2 option (12 month Proof of Concept) is limited to $1M. Phase 1 is limited to $200,000, and Phase 2 is limited to $800,000.

 

DARPA's Defense Sciences Office (DSO) is issuing a Disruption Opportunity (DO) to invite submissions of innovative basic or applied research concepts for efficiently and accurately extracting useful information from a complex multidimensional physical system. Teams selected as part of the Investigating Adaptive Modal Bases for Intelligent Classification (IAMBIC) DO will develop a cohesive and general theoretical framework for adaptively varying measurement bases in response to initial measurement data. Each funded team will define and explore one or more performer-defined measurement tasks that can be analyzed using their adaptive measurement framework; successful teams must show their adaptive measurement strategy provides a significant real-world impact on at least one important proposer-defined problem. Proposers should be specific and quantitative about why their chosen problem is important. In addition, all teams must apply their adaptive basis selection strategy to the specific problem of imaging groups of unresolved sources beyond the Rayleigh resolution limit, in order to quantitatively bound the conditions under which adaptive modal imaging provides a positive real-world impact for the specific problem of sub-Rayleigh resolution imaging.

 

All teams must address the following two technical areas:

This DO is issued under the Program Announcement for Disruptioneering, DARPA-PA-20-01 .

Army Applications Lab (AAL) Special Topic: Vision Aided Navigation Protoypes *

Sponsor Deadline for White Papers (required): July 2, 2020

FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission

Sponsor Deadline for Full Proposals (if invited): TBA

Award Amount: The award amount is unspecified. Awards will be contingent on whether funds are available, the specific topic, and the scope of the proposed work. The Government anticipates a 12-18 month period of performance, but may negotiate for longer duration upwards of 36 months.

 

The Army Applications Lab (AAL) along with Command Power and Integration Directorate (CP&ID) - Position Navigation & Timing (PNT) Division, are seeking technologies related to vision-based navigation for dismounted Soldiers. AAL is interested in Vision Aided Navigation solutions and associated technologies that will enable U.S. Army Soldiers operating in dismounted operations to continue to obtain Position, Navigation, and Timing in areas with limited or no GPS signal. Because dismounted operations include operating without immediate access to vehicle support, devices carried by a Soldier should be small, lightweight, and capable of operating with low power consumption. The intent of this special topic is to develop Vision Aided Navigation capabilities, including component, sub-component, and associated technologies, to allow dismounted Soldiers to continue to operate utilizing limited or no GPS signals, which will enhance dismounted capabilities while reducing the need to overpower jamming systems.

 

White Papers must be submitted in accordance with the guidelines found in the AAL Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for Disruptive Technology .

 

• Tailored Material and Manufacturing
• Multifunctional Maritime Films for Persistent and Survivable Platforms and Warfighters
• Object Detection and Identification in any Medium (Air, Water, Sand/Earth) 

FY20 Funding Opportunity Announcement for the Department of Navy (DoN) Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics (STEM), Education and Workforce Program administered by the Office of Naval Research (ONR) *

Sponsor Deadline for White Papers (required): July 10, 2020 (Updated Deadline)

FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission

Sponsor Deadline for Full Proposals (if invited): October 16, 2020 (Updated Deadline)

Award Amount: Maximum of $250,000 per year for up to 3 years. Applications for larger amounts will be considered on a case-by-case basis and will be dependent on availability of funds.

 

ONR seeks a broad range of applications for augmenting existing or developing innovative solutions that directly maintain, or cultivate a diverse, world-class STEM workforce in order to maintain the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps' technological superiority. The goal of any proposed effort must provide solutions that will establish and maintain pathways of diverse U.S. citizens who are interested in uniformed or civilian Department of Navy (DoN) STEM workforce opportunities. This announcement explicitly encourages projects that improve the capacity of education systems and communities to create impactful STEM educational experiences for students and workers. While this announcement is relevant for any stage of the STEM educational system, funding efforts will be targeted primarily toward projects addressing the following communities or any combination of these communities: secondary education communities; post-secondary communities; informal science communities; and current Naval STEM workforce communities.

 

The technical content of any idea must establish Naval relevance within the priority areas as outlined in the "Naval Research and Development Framework and Addendum", https://www.onr.navy.mil/our-research/naval-research-framework . Broad priority areas are:

• Augmented Warfighter
• Integrated & Distributed Forces
• Operational Endurance
• Sensing & Sense-Making
• Scalable Lethality

CDMRP Vision Research Program*

Sponsor Deadline for Pre-Applications (required): July 28, 2020

FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission

Sponsor Deadline for Full Proposals (if invited): November 18, 2020

Award Amount: See below for details. The FY20 appropriation for the VRP is $20M.

 

The Vision Research Program (VRP) was initiated in 2009 to fund impactful military-relevant vision research that has the potential to significantly improve the healthcare and well-being of military Service members, Veterans, their family members and caregivers, and the American public. The FY20 VRP challenges the scientific community to design innovative research that will significantly advance the understanding, prevention, diagnosis, mitigation, and/or treatment of eye injury or visual dysfunction associated with military-relevant trauma.

 

To meet the intent of the program, applications to the FY20 VRP must address research in one or more of the following Focus Areas:

Three award mechanisms are available under this program:

DARPA Resilient Networked Distributed Mosaic Communications (RN DMC) *

FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: July 28, 2020

Sponsor Deadline for Full Proposals: August 4, 2020

Award Amount: The amount of resources made available under this BAA will

depend on the quality of the proposals received and the availability of funds. The program will have a Phase 1 Base effort (Design & Prototype) of 18 months, Phase 2 (Option 1) effort (System Demonstration) of 15 months, and Phase 3 (Option 2) effort (Service Implementation) of 12 months.

 

DARPA's Strategic Technology Office (STO) is soliciting innovative proposals in the following technical area: distributed coherent communications with an emphasis on developing a bi-directional mosaic element system that works with current tactical radios operational waveforms. The program, Resilient Networked Distributed Mosaic Communications (RN DMC), is a vital part of the Mosaic Warfare end-state vision. The RN DMC program's objective is to provide long range communications through 'mosaic' antennas composed of spatially distributed low size, weight, power, and cost (SWaP-C) transceiver elements or 'tiles'. The RN DMC approach replaces high powered amplifiers and large directional antennas with mosaics of spatially dispersed tile transceivers. Transmit power is spatially distributed amongst the tiles, and gain is achieved through signal processing rather than the use of a physical antenna aperture to concentrate energy. Individual tiles can use radio frequency (RF) sounding to estimate channel responses and adjust transmit carrier phases. This enables the distributed mosaic antenna to form directional beams and/or spatial nulls in desired directions.

 

The RN DMC program will include three focus areas:

The RN DMC performers will be primarily responsible for the first two areas. An independent Verification and Validation (V&V) Team will help support the third area. The RN DMC program is planned as a three phase, 45-month effort. Proposers must propose to all three Phases in a single proposal.

 

Multiple awards are anticipated.

CDMRP Peer Reviewed Medical Research Program Clinical Trial Award

Sponsor Deadline for Pre-Applications (required): July 29, 2020

FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: August 6, 2020

Sponsor Deadline for Full Proposals: August 13, 2020

Award Amount: Varies by award type (see below for details)

 

The vision of the FY20 Peer Reviewed Medical Research Program (PRMRP) is to improve the health, care, and well-being of all military Service members, Veterans, and beneficiaries, and its mission is to encourage, identify, select, and manage medical research projects of clear scientific merit and direct relevance to military health. Thus, the proposed research must be relevant to active duty Service members, Veterans, military beneficiaries, and/or the American public. The PRMRP challenges the scientific and clinical communities to address at least one of the FY20 PRMRP Topic Areas (see the solicitation for complete list) with original ideas that foster new directions. The PRMRP Clinical Trial Award supports the rapid implementation of clinical trials with the potential to have a significant impact. Clinical trials may be designed to evaluate promising new products, pharmacologic agents (drugs or biologics), devices, clinical guidance, and/or emerging approaches and technologies. Proposed projects may range from small proof-of-concept trials (e.g., pilot, first in human, Phase 0), to demonstrate feasibility or inform the design of more advanced trials, through large-scale trials to determine efficacy in relevant patient populations.

 

Two different application categories, based on the phase of planning for the clinical trial, are available under this Program Announcement:

• Planning Phase with Clinical Trial: This is intended to support the final phase of regulatory activities necessary to initiate the planned clinical trial. For the Planning Phase, anticipated direct costs will not exceed $500,000 and the maximum period of performance is 18 months. In addition to the Planning Phase, the proposed clinical trial work is not restricted to a predetermined cost and has a maximum period of performance of 4 years.
• Clinical Trial Only: This is intended to support a clinical trial having either FDA (or other regulatory agency) approval or an exemption; the clinical trial is expected to begin no later than 9 months after the award date. Applications are not restricted to a predetermined cost limit and the maximum period of performance is 4 years.

The CDMRP expects to allot approximately $45M to fund approximately 11 Clinical Trial Award applications (5 Planning Phase with Clinical Trial and 6 Clinical Trial Only).

DARPA Polyplexus Pilot Topic Opportunity Notice - Modeling and Prediction of Complex Dynamical Events (Topic 23) *

Sponsor Deadline for Abstracts (strongly encouraged): July 29, 2020

FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission

Sponsor Deadline for Full Proposals: September 1, 2020

Award Amount: Up to $100,000 for 1 year

 

The purpose of this Polyplexus Pilot Topic Opportunity Notice is to provide public notification of a research and development funding opportunity on the Polyplexus online platform. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Defense Sciences Office (DSO) invites participation in Polyplexus, which is an online, professional, technical conversation between the research community and DARPA Program Managers that will lead to the opportunity to submit abstracts and full proposals for a research and development project. The shared task of this group is to rigorously explore the trends and possible applications of emerging science and technology in a specific technical area defined by a participating Program Manager. The online discussion culminates in an opportunity to submit an abstract and subsequently a proposal describing a proposed research project. The initial technical area under consideration in this announcement is to explore analytic techniques that enable accurate prediction of nonstationary dynamical processes. The topic will be refined as the incubator conversation evolves. The updated topic can be found in the "Modeling and Prediction of Complex Dynamical Events (Topic 23)" incubator located on the polyplexus.com website.

 

The process, evaluation criteria, abstract submission instructions, and proposal submission instructions are described in the most recent amendment of the BAA for Polyplexus Pilot 3 (HR001119S0075) .

NRC Research Associateship Program (RAP)

FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: Review not required for awards made directly to individuals

Sponsor Deadlines for Full Proposals: August 1, 2020 and November 1, 2020

Award Amount: Awards include stipends ranging from $45,000 to $80,000, health insurance, professional travel, and relocation. Awards are for up to 12 months (Summer Faculty awards are for 8-14 weeks), with the possibility of extension through a second or third year.

 

The NRC Research Associateship Programs (RAP) promote excellence in scientific and technological research conducted by the U.S. government through the administration of programs offering graduate, postdoctoral, and senior level research opportunities at sponsoring federal laboratories and affiliated institutions. In the NRC Research Associateship Programs, prospective applicants select a research project or projects from among a large group of  Research Opportunities . Prior to completing an application, prospective applicants should contact the Research Adviser listed with the selected Research Opportunity(ies) to assure that funding will be available if the application is recommended by NRC Research Associateship Programs panels.

 

Prospective applicants should carefully read the details and eligibility of the program to which they are applying. Some laboratories have citizenship restrictions (open only to U.S. citizens and permanent residents), and some laboratories have Research Opportunities that are not open to senior applicants (more than 5 years beyond the Ph.D.). When searching for Research Opportunities, applicants may limit their search to only those laboratories which match their eligibility criteria. In addition, applicants should note application deadlines, as not all laboratories participate in all reviews.

Special Program Announcement for 2020 Office of Naval Research Research Opportunity: Communications and Networks Applied Research *

Sponsor Deadline for White Papers (required): August 3, 2020

FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission

Sponsor Deadline for Full Proposals (if invited): September 25, 2020

Award Amount: Approximately $300,000 to $500,000 per year for 1-3 years. ONR anticipates an annual budget of approximately $2M for awards under this program.

 

The goal of the Communications and Networking Program within ONR is to support the Navy's Information Warfare vision by developing measurable advances in technology that can directly enable and enhance end-to-end connectivity and quality of-service for mission-critical information exchange among widely dispersed naval, joint, and coalition forces. The vision is to provide high throughput robust communications and networking to ensure all warfighters - from the operational command to the tactical edge - have access to information, knowledge, and decision-making necessary to perform their assigned tasks.

 

White papers for potential FY21 Applied Research (Budget category 6.2) projects are sought under the  following focus areas:

The ONR is receptive to innovative ideas, which are not within the above focus areas, but nonetheless are important to the Navy/Marine Corps communications and networking.

 

The submission of proposals, their evaluation and the award of grants and contracts will be carried out as described in ONR's Long Range Broad Agency Announcement for Navy and Marine Corps Science and Technology .

FY2021 DoD Multidisciplinary Research Program of the University Research Initiative (MURI)

FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: September 4, 2020

Sponsor Deadline for Full Proposals: September 14, 2020

Award Amount: Typical annual funding per grant is in the $1.25M to $1.5M range. The amount of the award and the number of supported researchers should generally not exceed the limit specified for the individual topics in the solicitation. Each individual award will be for a three-year base period with one two-year option period to bring the total maximum term of the award to five years.

 

The Department of Defense (DoD) Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI), one element of the University Research Initiative (URI), is sponsored by the DoD research offices, including the Office of Naval Research (ONR), the Army Research Office (ARO), and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR). The MURI program supports basic research in science and engineering at U.S. institutions of higher education that is of potential interest to DoD. The program is focused on multidisciplinary research efforts where more than one traditional discipline interacts to provide rapid advances in scientific areas of interest to the DoD. DOD's MURI program addresses high-risk basic research and attempts to understand or achieve something that has never been done before. The program has regularly produced significant scientific breakthroughs with far reaching consequences to the fields of science, economic growth, and revolutionary new military technologies. Key to the program's success is the close management of the MURI projects by Service program officers and their active role in providing research guidance.

 

The FY 2021 MURI competition is for the topics listed below:

 

White papers and proposals addressing the following topics should be submitted to the Office of Naval Research (ONR):

White papers and proposals addressing the following topics should be submitted to the Army Research Office (ARO):

White papers and proposals addressing the following topics should be submitted to the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR):

White papers and proposals addressing the following OSD topic should be submitted to the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR):

DTRA Strategic Trends Research Initiative (STRI)

Sponsor Deadline for White Papers: Rolling through March 2, 2025

FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission

Sponsor Deadline for Full Proposals: Rolling through March 2, 2025

Award Amount: DTRA SI-STT estimates the total program budget divided among multiple awardees at approximately $1,950,000 per year. The preferred period of performance for studies is 6-9 months to maximize opportunities for operational relevance. Given the need for timely research, in most but not all cases, the period of performance shall not exceed 12 months from the effective date of award.

 

The Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) Strategic Integration Directorate, Strategic Trends and Effects Department, Strategic Trends Division (SI-STT) is announcing to industry and academia the intent to solicit white papers and proposals for research studies, strategic dialogues, and tabletop exercises (TTXs) through this Broad Agency Announcement (BAA). This strategy provides an acquisition tool to support SI-STT's Strategic Trends Research Initiative (STRI) with the flexibility to solicit white papers and proposals from the external expert community and make awards for expert-driven research efforts that meet present, emerging, and future needs.

 

Per priorities identified by the 2018 National Defense Strategy (NDS), SI-STT seeks proposals and white papers for research studies, strategic dialogues, and TTXs addressing the following five focus areas:

Within these five broad focus areas, DTRA SI-STT is specifically interested in credible, timely, operationally relevant and actionable research products (studies, strategic dialogues, and TTXs) that are aligned with seven thrust areas outlined below in Fiscal Year (FY) 2020:

Track 1.5 and Track 2 Strategic Dialogues with:

Tabletop Exercises (TTXs) that are focused on:

The funding will be provided for study projects, strategic dialogues (Track 1.5 and Track 2 meetings), and TTXs. Applicants are encouraged to propose projects in all categories, which are aligned with distinct thrust areas.

DOE Seeking Input and Collaboration on Science and Technology Response to COVID-19

 

DOE is soliciting ideas about how DOE and the National Labs might contribute resources to help address COVID-19 through science and technology efforts and collaborations. Through its user facilities, computational power, and enabling infrastructure, DOE has unique capabilities that the scientific community may leverage for the COVID-19 response and recovery. DOE does not provide medical and clinical work; instead, the Department's mission complements the efforts of the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense, and other Federal partners by helping to understand the scientific phenomena contributing to COVID-19, from the structure of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes the disease, to models that can mimic its spread. DOE supports significant biologically focused facilities and resources, including the Joint Genome Institute (JGI), National Microbiome Data Collaborative (NMDC), Environmental Molecular Science Laboratory (EMSL), and DOE Systems Biology Knowledgebase (KBase). These and other DOE resources may be used for many studies, such as:

 

The Department encourages submission of scientific questions that underpin COVID-19 response and that the research community may answer using DOE user facilities, computational resources, and enabling infrastructure. Please send research questions that the scientific community may address with DOE resources by email to SC.DCL@science.doe.gov . The Department is acting rapidly to leverage, and when appropriate provide prioritized access to, the full range of DOE user facilities and other facilities available at national laboratories to support the national and international effort to address COVID-19. 

 

Energy Storage for Fossil Power Generation

Sponsor Concept Paper Deadline (required): June 16, 2020

FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: August 6, 2020

Sponsor Full Proposal Deadline: August 13, 2020

Award Amount: Up to $800,000 depending on area of interest. Cost sharing of at least 20% of the total allowable costs is required.

 

This opportunity is focused on maturing energy storage technologies that have the potential to be integrated with large scale fossil assets, both existing and new build, with and without carbon capture. The objectives of this FOA are to accomplish the following

This FOA provides three specific opportunities (i.e., Areas of Interest) that span a broad range of the applied technology development continuum: engineering-scale, near-term prototypes; mid-term component development; and exploration of longer-term, advanced concepts. If warranted, future FOAs may sponsor work on additional fossil-related scope. The Areas of Interest (AOIs) are as follows:

FY20 AMO Critical Materials FOA: Next-Generation Technologies and Field Validation *

Sponsor Concept Paper Deadline (required): June 25, 2020

FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: August 4, 2020

Sponsor Full Proposal Deadline: August 11, 2020

Award Amount: Varies by topic area. Cost sharing of 20-50% is required.

 

Through this FOA, the Advanced Manufacturing Office (AMO) seeks to address gaps in domestic supply chains for key critical materials for clean energy technologies to:

This will be accomplished through development of alternative next-generation technologies and field validation and demonstration of technologies that improve extraction, separation and processing. Key critical materials for energy technologies as defined in this FOA include: rare earth elements: neodymium (Nd), praseodymium (Pr), dysprosium (Dy), terbium (Tb), and samarium (Sm) used in permanent magnets for electric vehicle motors, wind turbine generators and high temperature applications; cobalt (Co) used in batteries used in electric vehicles (EVs) and grid storage and high temperature permanent magnets; and lithium (Li), manganese (Mn) and natural graphite used in batteries. This FOA seeks to leverage the technology and capabilities developed at the Critical Materials Institute (CMI), an Energy Innovation Hub led by Ames Laboratory and managed by DOE.

 

 

FY20 Advanced Manufacturing Office Multi-Topic FOA *

Sponsor Concept Paper Deadline (required): June 25, 2020

FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: August 19, 2020

Sponsor Full Proposal Deadline: August 26, 2020

Award Amount: $1M-$10M, depending on sub-topic area. Cost sharing of at least 20% is required.

 

This FOA integrates identified research opportunities across Advanced Manufacturing Office (AMO) into a single funding opportunity. AMO intends to fund high-impact, early- to mid-stage applied research through this FOA. Topics are organized in 3 main topic areas, as described below, with subtopics in each area.

 

Topic 1:  Efficiency Improvements in Advanced Manufacturing Processes

Subtopic 1.1:  Innovative Iron and Steelmaking Processes

Subtopic 1.2:  Enhanced Efficiency of Drying Processes

Subtopic 1.3:  Machine Learning to Increase Efficiencies in the Manufacturing of Large-Scale, High-Rate Aerostructures

Subtopic 1.4:  Integrated Additive Manufacturing Processes for Advanced Wind Blade Production

Subtopic 1.5:  Reducing Cost of Production of Ceramic Matrix Composites Used in High Temperature Applications

 

Topic 2:  Efficiency Improvements in Chemical Manufacturing

Subtopic 2.1:  Advanced Chemical Manufacturing R&D

Subtopic 2.2:  Dynamic Catalyst Science with Data Analytics

Topic 3:  Connected, Flexible, and Efficient Manufacturing Facilities, Products, and Energy Systems

Subtopic 3.1:  Integrating Carbon Capture and Utilization into Industrial Processes

Subtopic 3.2:  Flexible CHP Demonstration in a District Energy System Integrated with a Renewably-Fueled Municipal Generating Station

 

 

Small-Scale Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Systems and Hybrid Electrolyzer Technology Development *

Sponsor Concept Paper Deadline (required): June 26, 2020

FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: June 30, 2020

Sponsor Full Proposal Deadline: July 8, 2020

Award Amount: $3M-$23M for 36 months. Cost sharing of at least 20% is required.

 

This FOA solicits applications for multiple areas of interest and will correspond to research outlined in the Department's August 2019 Report on the Status of the Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Program to Congress, and could include, but are not limited to the following:

DOE's Fossil Energy AES Research program serves as a bridge between basic research and the development of innovative technologies critical to the successful development of ultra-clean, reliable, high efficiency fossil energy conversion systems. The SOFC program seeks to enable the efficient generation of low-cost electricity for natural gas-fueled SOFC distributed generation systems in the near term and for coal or natural gas-fueled utility-scale systems with carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) in the long term.

 

Application under the FOA are sought to develop advanced technologies that can maturate the present state of SOFC and SOEC technologies to a point of commercial readiness for power generation and hydrogen production.

 

There will be three Areas of Interest (AOIs) as follows:

Coal-Derived Materials for Building, Infrastructure, and Other Applications

FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: July 7, 2020

Sponsor Deadline: July 14, 2020

Award Amount: Up to $2M for up to 2 years depending on area of interest. Cost sharing of at least 20% is required.

 

The overall objective of the FOA is to support the development of value-added products from coal. This will be accomplished through the research and development of coal-derived components for residential, commercial, and infrastructure applications. Another path to developing value-added products from coal is the production of high-value specialty products, as well as research and development of technologies capable of producing carbon-based building materials using a continuous, rather than batch, manufacturing process. The FOA will also support the design, R&D, and validation of a prototype carbon-based building.

 

The FOA includes the following Areas of Interest (AOIs)

Other DOE Opportunities

• Notice of Intent to Issue Funding Opportunity Announcement entitled "FY20 Advanced Manufacturing Multi-topic FOA"
• Request for Information: DOE Hydropower Program Research and Development Strategy and HydroWIRES Research Roadmap - June 24, 2020
• Request for Information on Research and Development Opportunities for Windows - July 20, 2020*
• Request for Information on Research and Development Opportunities for Opaque Building Envelopes - July 20, 2020*
• Notice of Intent to Issue Federal Agency Call (FAC) entitled "Assisting Federal Facilities with Energy Conservation Technologies (AFFECT) 2020"
• Notice of Intent to Issue Funding Opportunity Announcement entitled "Workforce Development in Emerging Fields"
• FY 2020 Continuation of Solicitation for the Office of Science Financial Assistance Program, Department of Energy, Office of Science - September 30, 2020 or until replaced by a successor FOA

COVID-19 Seedling Research Topics *

FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: June 29, 2020

Sponsor Deadline for Initial Round of Selections: July 7, 2020

Award Amount: Up to $1M for 1 year

 

IARPA invests in high-risk/high-payoff research programs that have the potential to provide our nation with an overwhelming intelligence advantage. The current COVID-19 pandemic focuses attention on the need for technologies to assist with:

These technologies align well with needs of the intelligence and national security communities and are, therefore, under the purview of IARPA's research mission. Successful technology solutions will require creative, multidisciplinary methods, paradigm changing thinking, and transformative approaches. Preference will be given to research with the ability to not only provide rapid capability against the current COVID-19 pandemic, but also enhanced warning and response capacity for future similar events.

 

This BAA solicits proposals for short-term, limited scope research in topic areas that are not addressed by emerging or ongoing IARPA programs or other published IARPA solicitations. It is primarily, but not solely, intended for early stage research that may lead to larger, focused programs through a separate BAA in the future.  Proposals are solicited that are structured as a Phase A base with a Phase B option. Phase A represents an initial proof of concept of the proposed approach. Phase B, if exercised, will build upon the proof-of-concept research in Phase A to deliver a demonstration.

Assessment Tools for Biotechnology Products

FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: July 8, 2020
Sponsor Deadline: July 15, 2020

Award Amount:  Up to $760,000 for regular awards, and up to $453,333 for early career awards, including direct and indirect costs, with a maximum duration of 3 years.

 

The EPA, as part of its Science to Achieve Results (STAR) program, is seeking applications proposing research to support the development of improved science-based human health and environmental risk assessments of new biotechnology products, including those developed through synthetic biology, genome editing, and metabolic engineering. For the purposes of this RFA, biotechnology products of interest include: industrial or consumer chemicals; pesticides (including pesticide intermediates); and new microbes used in biomass conversion for chemical production, microbial fuel cells, mining and resource extraction, building materials, waste remediation and pollution control, and nonpesticidal agriculture applications (e.g., biofertilizers, weather and climate modification). Robust and efficient evaluation and monitoring tools are needed to ensure these biotechnology products' safety and to assure public trust (Morton et al., 2019). Some examples of appropriate risk assessment tools include models, bioinformatic systems, and field-based and in vitro methods.

 

In addition to regular awards, this solicitation includes the opportunity for early career awards. The purpose of the early career award is to fund research projects smaller in scope and budget by early career PIs. To be eligible for the early career awards, principal investigators must be employed in a tenure-track position (or tenure-track-equivalent position) as an assistant professor at the award date. While a specific award date is not provided, awards are expected to made 9-12 months after the solicitation closing date of July 15, 2020.

Research Opportunities in Aeronautics-2019 (ROA-2019) Appendix D.5: University Student Research Challenge (USRC)

FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: June 17, 2020

Sponsor Deadline Cycle 3 Proposals: June 24, 2020

Award Information: NASA's share of the awards will not exceed $80,000 in total costs for one year. Applicants must also cost-share up to $2,000 through crowdfunding or industry/organization support.

NASA's University Student Research Challenge (USRC) seeks to challenge students to propose new aeronautics ideas/concepts that are relevant to its Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate (ARMD). Apart from this, the students also have the challenge of raising cost share funds through a crowdfunding platform. The process of creating and preparing a crowdfunding campaign acts as a teaching accelerator - requiring students to act like entrepreneurs and take action. Student applicants must include a letter of support in their proposal from a discipline-relevant faculty mentor in their college or university.

Research projects must address one of ARMD's six strategic thrusts as they affect aviation:

Space Technology - Research, Development, Demonstration, and Infusion 2020(SpaceTech-REDDI-2020) NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts Phase I Appendix *

Sponsor Deadline for Step A Proposals (required): July 22, 2020

FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission

Sponsor Deadline for Step B Proposals (if invited): September 29, 2020

Award Information: Up to $125,000 for approximately 9 months

 

The NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) Program focuses on early stage feasibility studies of visionary concepts that address national government and commercial aerospace goals. Concepts are solicited from any field of study that offers a radically different approach or disruptive innovation that may significantly enhance or enable new human or robotic science and exploration missions. Proposed concepts must be framed in terms of a mission context that clearly identifies scientific or technical advancements and associated benefits compared to current approaches. Comparatively high risk and far term, NIAC concepts are transformational investments in future NASA and commercial space capabilities. The entry Technology Readiness Level (TRL) for Phase I concepts should be TRL 2 or lower. The NIAC Program supports innovative research through Phase I, Phase II, and Phase III awards. This Appendix focuses only on Phase I.

 

12-16 awards are expected.

• Propulsion System Test Technology
• Autonomous & Intelligent Systems
• Advanced Sensors & Instruments
• Image & Signal Processing
• Innovative Components & Materials
• Big Data Processing & Analysis
• Systems Engineering & Optimization
• Computational Modeling & Simulation
• Airspace Management
• Science Mission Support
• Decision Support Tools & Systems
• Academic Rocket Propulsion Testing

Sponsor Deadline for Preliminary Proposals (required): August 4, 2020

FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission

Sponsor Deadline for Full Proposals (if invited): November 5, 2020

Award Information: The planned award duration is 5 years; the maximum annual award  amount is $3M (total award amount may not exceed $15M).

 

The goal of a Space Technology Research Institute (STRI) is to strengthen NASA's ties to the academic community through long-term, sustained investment in research and technology development critical to NASA's future. The STRIs will enhance and broaden the capabilities of the Nation's universities to meet the needs of NASA's science and exploration programs. These investments will also create, fortify, and nurture the talent base of highly skilled engineers, scientists, and technologists to improve America's technological and economic competitiveness. The research institutes construct enables coordination of experts from a wide range of fields and organizations in a single distributed research structure.

 

The research institutes resulting from this Appendix will focus on R&D within particular technology areas of strong interest to NASA, other government agencies, and the commercial space sector. NASA's Space  Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) is soliciting STRIs in the following two technology areas:

Up to two awards are anticipated under this Appendix.

Unsolicited Proposals

FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission

Sponsor Deadline: Rolling through September 30, 2020

Award Amount: Proposed budget should be commensurate with the scope of the project.

 

NASA encourages the submission of unique and innovative proposals that will further the Agency's mission. While the vast majority of proposals are solicited, a small number of unsolicited proposals that cannot be submitted to those solicitations and yet are still relevant to NASA are reviewed and some are funded each year. Proposals should be submitted at least six months in advance of the desired starting date.

 

Before any effort is expended in preparing a proposal, potential proposers should:

After those three things have been done, the proposer may contact an appropriate NASA person to determine whether NASA has any interest in the type of work being proposed and if any funding is currently available. Proposals should be submitted at least six months in advance of the desired starting date.

Other NASA Opportunities

• Research Opportunities in Aeronautics 2019 (ROA-2019) - August 31, 2020
• NASA Space Technology Research, Development, Demonstration, and Infusion-2020 (SpaceTech-REDDI-2020)  - December 18, 2020
• Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Sciences 2020 (ROSES-2020)  - July 21, 2021

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): Information for NIH Applicants and Recipients

 

 

To get funding as quickly as possible to the research community, NIH is using Urgent and Emergency competing revisions and administrative supplements to existing grant awards. This approach allows NIH to leverage resident expertise, getting additional funding to those researchers who are already working with other organisms, models, or tools so that they can quickly shift focus to the novel coronavirus. These Urgent and Emergency competitive revision Funding Opportunity Announcements allow NIH to fund applications quickly, often in under three months, sometimes much quicker than that, because evaluation for scientific and technical merit is done by an internal review panel convened by staff of the NIH awarding institute or center rather than by our traditional peer review process. These opportunities require applications to be submitted in response to an Emergency or Urgent Notice of Special Interest (NOSI). In addition to the opportunities for revisions and supplements to existing awards, other notices of special interest seek full research project grant proposals to conduct research on SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-2019 through an array of parent FOAs. NIH is maintaining a list of COVID-19 specific notices of special interest in the funding opportunities section at the link above. 

NIBIB Trailblazer Award for New and Early Stage Investigators (R21)

FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: 5 business days in advance of sponsor deadline

Sponsor Deadline: February 16, June 16, and October 16, annually

Award Amount: $400,000 in direct costs over 3 years

 

This Trailblazer Award is an opportunity for NIH-defined New and Early Stage Investigators ( https://grants.nih.gov/policy/early-investigators/index.htm ) to pursue research programs of high interest to the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) that integrate engineering and the physical sciences with the life and/or biomedical sciences. A Trailblazer project may be exploratory, developmental, proof of concept, or high risk-high impact, and may be technology design-directed, discovery-driven, or hypothesis-driven. Importantly, applicants must propose research approaches for which there are minimal or no preliminary data. A distinct feature for this FOA is that no preliminary data are required, expected, or encouraged. However, if available, minimal preliminary data are allowed. Preliminary data are defined as material which the applicant has independently produced and not yet published in a peer-reviewed journal.

 

A Trailblazer project may be exploratory, developmental, proof of concept or have high risk-high impact goals. Importantly, the proposed research for this FOA may be technology design-directed and may or may not be hypothesis-driven. In the context of this FOA, innovation encompasses approaches to address well-defined, unmet biomedical research needs through the development of new methods, ideas, or technologies; early steps along the path toward delivery of a new capability or method; and the integration of existing components in a previously unproven format. High-impact projects should transform our understanding or practice by applying an innovative approach to an important biomedical challenge. For projects supported by a Trailblazer Award, successful results should provide a solid foundation for further research under other funding mechanisms, such as the R01. Applicants will be considered ineligible for this funding opportunity if they have submitted an R01, R15 or any other R21 application, with NIBIB as the primary IC within the same review cycle.

NIH Director's Early Independence Award *

Harvard Pre-Proposal Deadline: June 30, 2020 by 5:00PM

Sponsor Letters of Intent Deadline (not required): August 4, 2020

FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline (if nominated): August 28, 2020

Sponsor Full Proposal Deadline (if nominated): September 4, 2020

Award Amount: Up to $250,000/year in direct costs for up to 5 years plus applicable indirect costs

Eligible Applicants: Date of terminal doctoral degree or completion of post-graduate clinical training of the PI must be between June 1, 2019 and September 30, 2021. At the sponsor application deadline, the PI must not have served as a post-doctoral fellow following a previous doctoral degree for more than twelve months and must not yet have research independence.

 

The NIH Director's Early Independence Award Program supports exceptional investigators who wish to pursue independent research directly after completion of their terminal doctoral degree or post-graduate clinical training, thereby forgoing the traditional post-doctoral training period and accelerating their entry into an independent research career. Though most newly graduated doctoral-level researchers would benefit from post-doctoral training, a small number of outstanding junior investigators would benefit instead by launching directly into an independent research career. Applications in all topics relevant to the broad mission of NIH are welcome, including, but not limited to, topics in the behavioral, social, biomedical, applied, and formal sciences and topics that may involve basic, translational, or clinical research. The primary requirements are that the research be highly innovative and have the potential for unusually broad impact.

 

To be eligible, at the time of application, candidates must have received their most recent doctoral degree or completed clinical training within the previous fifteen months or expect to do so within the following twelve months. By the end of the award period, Early Independence Award investigators are expected to be competitive for continued funding of their research program through other NIH funding activities and for permanent research-oriented positions.

 

 

Applicants should also specify if they intend to apply to funding opportunity announcement RFA-RM-20-014 (non-COVID-19-related research) or funding opportunity announcement RFA-RM-20-021 (COVID-19-related research).

The NIH Common Fund will hold a pre-application interactive Q&A webinar for this funding opportunity on Monday, June 29, 2020, at 1:00 PM. NIH program and review staff will discuss the funding opportunity and answer questions from prospective applicants. To join the webinar, you must first register on WebEx. Participation in the webinars is optional. You may submit your questions by June 25, 2020, to EarlyIndependence@od.nih.gov.

NIH Director's New Innovator Award *

FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: August 14, 2020

Sponsor Deadline: August 21, 2020

Award Amount: Up to $1,500,000 in direct costs for 5 years

 

The NIH Director's New Innovator Award supports early stage investigators of exceptional creativity who propose highly innovative research projects with the potential to produce a major impact on broad, important areas relevant to the mission of NIH,  including, but not limited to, topics in the behavioral, social, biomedical, applied, and formal sciences and topics that may involve basic, translational, or clinical research. The award is designed specifically to support unusually creative investigators with highly innovative research ideas at an early stage of their career when they may lack the preliminary data required for an R01 grant application. The emphasis is on innovation and creativity; preliminary data are not required, but may be included. No detailed, annual budget is requested in the application. The review process emphasizes the individual's creativity, the innovativeness of the research approaches, and the potential of the project, if successful, to have a significant impact on an important biomedical or behavioral research problem. 

 

Applicants must meet the definition of an Early Stage Investigator (ESI) at the time of application. An ESI is a new investigator (defined as a PD/PI who has not competed successfully for a significant NIH independent research award) who is within 10 years of completing his/her terminal research degree or end of post-graduate clinical training. Applicants must hold an independent research position at a U.S. institution by September 1, 2021.

The NIH Common Fund will hold a pre-application interactive Q&A webinar for this funding opportunity  on  June 25, 2020, at 3:00 PM . NIH program and review staff  will  discuss the funding opportunity and answer questions from prospective applicants.  To join the webinar, you must first register on WebEx.  Participation in the webinars is optional.  You may submit your questions by June 22, 2020, to NewInnovatorAwards@mail.nih.gov.

 

 

NIH Director's Pioneer Award *

FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: September 3, 2020

Sponsor Deadline: September 11, 2020

Award Amount: $700,000/year in direct costs for up to 5 years plus applicable indirect costs

 

The NIH Director's Pioneer Award supports individual scientists of exceptional creativity who propose highly innovative approaches to addressing major challenges in the biomedical or behavioral sciences towards the goal of enhancing human health. Applications proposing research on any topic within the broad mission of NIH are welcome. Emphases are on the qualities of the investigator and the innovativeness and potential impact of the proposed research. Preliminary data and detailed experimental plans are not requested. To be considered pioneering, the proposed research must reflect substantially different ideas from those being pursued in the investigator's current research program or elsewhere. The Pioneer Award is not intended to expand a current research program into the area of the proposed project. While the research direction may rely on the applicant's prior work and expertise as its foundation, it cannot be an obvious extension or scale-up of a current research enterprise. Rather, the proposed project must reflect a fundamental new insight into the potential solution of a problem, which may develop from exceptionally innovative approaches and/or radically unconventional hypotheses. 

The NIH Common Fund will hold a pre-application interactive Q&A webinar for this funding opportunity  on  June 26, 2020, at 1:00 PM . NIH program and review staff  will  discuss the funding opportunity and answer questions from prospective applicants.  To join the webinar, you must first register on WebEx.  Participation in the webinars is optional.  You may submit your questions by June 23, 2020, to PioneerAwards@mail.nih.gov.

 

 

NIH Director's Transformative Research Award *

Award Amount: Application budgets are not limited but should reflect the needs of the proposed project.

 

The NIH Director's Transformative Research Award supports individual scientists or groups of scientists proposing groundbreaking, exceptionally innovative, original, and/or unconventional research with the potential to create new scientific paradigms, establish entirely new and improved clinical approaches, or develop transformative technologies. Consistent with this focus, Transformative Research Award applications should propose research substantially different from current mainstream research. Applications are welcome in all topics relevant to the broad mission of NIH, including, but not limited to, topics in the behavioral, social, biomedical, applied, and formal sciences and topics that may involve basic, translational, or clinical research. Little or no preliminary data are expected. The Transformative Research application focuses on the importance of the problem, the novelty of the hypothesis and/or the proposed methodology, and the magnitude of the potential impact rather than on preliminary data or experimental details.

 

Towards the objective of funding the best possible science, NIH is piloting a process for initial peer review of applications received in response to this FOA in which the identity of the investigators and institutions are withheld until the last phase of review. Instructions for anonymizing components of the application must be carefully followed.

 

Non-COVID-19-related research proposals should apply to funding opportunity announcement  RFA-RM-20-013. COVID-19-related research proposals should apply to funding opportunity announcement  RFA-RM-20-020.

The NIH Common Fund will hold a pre-application interactive Q&A webinar for this funding opportunity  on  June 29, 2020, at 3:00 PM . NIH program and review staff  will  discuss the funding opportunity and answer questions from prospective applicants.  To join the webinar, you must first register on WebEx.  Participation in the webinars is optional.  You may submit your questions by June 25, 2020, to Transformative_Awards@mail.nih.gov.

Dear Colleague Letter on the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)

FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission
Sponsor Deadline: varies
Award Amount: varies

 

In light of the emergence and spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the United States and abroad, the National Science Foundation (NSF) is accepting proposals to conduct non-medical, non-clinical-care research that can be used immediately to explore how to model and understand the spread of COVID-19, to inform and educate about the science of virus transmission and prevention, and to encourage the development of processes and actions to address this global challenge. NSF encourages the research community to respond to this challenge through  existing funding opportunities . In addition, researchers are invited to use the Rapid Response Research (RAPID) funding mechanism, which allows NSF to receive and review proposals having a severe urgency with regard to availability of or access to data, facilities or specialized equipment as well as quick-response research on natural or anthropogenic disasters and similar unanticipated events. Requests for RAPID proposals may be for up to $200K and up to one year in duration. Well-justified proposals that exceed these limits may be entertained. All questions should be directed either to a program officer managing an NSF program with which the research would be aligned or to  rapid-covid19@nsf.gov .

Proposals in response to this DCL may also request the use of NSF-funded advanced computing resources such as  Frontera ,  Stampede2, Bridges, Comet, and JetStream . To ensure availability of thes e computing resources, investigators must contact the NSF Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure (OAC) at  rapid-covid19-oac@nsf.gov  prior to submission of the proposal.

IUCRC Program Policy Flexibility in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic Situation *

FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: N/A
Sponsor Deadline: N/A
Award Amount: N/A

 

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Industry University Cooperative Research Centers (IUCRC) Program fosters long-term partnerships among academia, industry, and government in various technology sectors through multi-university, industry-focused research centers. The COVID-19 pandemic has created a great deal of uncertainty in the US economy, and across nearly all industry sectors. In recognition of the high level of industry engagement (within both existing and proposed future IUCRCs), the COVID-19 pandemic could present new challenges related to industry membership commitments at the current time and into the near future. Therefore, industry membership requirements could be more difficult to meet. Potential impacts may be in relation to confirming commitments related to both the retention of existing members and the recruitment of new members. To mitigate possible adverse effects of the COVID-19 hardship with respect to meeting Center/Site membership requirements, this Dear Colleague Letter offers guidance for IUCRCs with active NSF grants, applicable through December 31, 2020.

Developing Long-term Strategies to Transform Manufacturing

FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: June 23, 2020
Sponsor Deadline: June 30, 2020
Award Amount: up to $100,000 for up to 12 months

 

The National Science Foundation wishes to notify the community of its intention to support workshops for future manufacturing (FM) science and technology in support of the goals and vision of the report Strategy for American Leadership in Advanced Manufacturing  by the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC). The conferences should identify areas and thrusts for fundamental research that will enable future manufacturing:  manufacturing that is either entirely new or that can be done today but not at a sufficient scale to make it viable . Conferences should explore new, potentially transformative, manufacturing capabilities rather than aiming to improve current manufacturing or make incremental improvements over existing Advanced Manufacturing technologies. Proposers are encouraged to contact one of the program directors listed in the Dear Colleague Letter to discuss their ideas before submitting a proposal.

Research Experiences for Undergraduates Supplemental Funding in Computer and Information Science and Engineering

FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: June 24, 2020
Sponsor Deadline: July 1, 2020
Award Amount: $8,000 per REU student

 

NSF is aware of the disruption to undergraduate employment and education opportunities caused by the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. The Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) previously issued a Dear Colleague Letter (DCL;  NSF 20-016 ) expressing interest in funding  supplements to active CISE awards for Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU), consistent with NSF's REU Sites and Supplements solicitation ( NSF 19-582 ). In light of COVID-19, and to enable the CISE research community to provide additional opportunities to engage undergraduates who are US citizens and permanent residents in research pathways, CISE reiterates this interest via this DCL. CISE will prioritize REU supplemental funding requests most responsive to the mitigation of adverse undergraduate employment and education circumstances caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and such requests are anticipated to provide for undergraduate research experiences this Summer and/or Fall. Supplemental funding requests should explain how students will be mentored if the awardee organization is closed, for example, through virtual mentorship experiences.

 

CISE will consider requests for an additional number of students per active project beyond the limitations specified in NSF 20-016, at a funding level of $8,000 per REU student. For example, for single-investigator projects, CISE will consider requests in excess of two students per project for this summer. Proposers who received REU supplements earlier this year are also eligible to apply for additional supplements if they are able to identify opportunities to mentor additional REU students.

Pilot Projects to Integrate Existing Data and Data-Focused Cyberinfrastructure to Enable Community-level Discovery Pathways *

FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: June 24, 2020
Sponsor Deadline: July 1, 2020
Award Amount: Projects funded through the CESER program are typically in the $300,000 to $1,500,000 budgetary range.

 

Through this Dear Colleague Letter (DCL), NSF encourages proposals to the Cyberinfrastructure for Emerging Science and Engineering Research (CESER) program within the Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure for pilot projects that bring together researchers and CI experts to develop the means of combining existing community data resources and shared data-focused CI into new integrative and highly performing data-intensive discovery workflows that empower new scientific pathways. Aims of such pilot projects can include, but are not limited to:

NSF welcomes submissions that address these project goals in all areas of science and engineering research and education supported by NSF in all directorates. Directorate-specific areas of interest are listed within the full Dear Colleague Letter at the link above. Proposals responsive to this DCL and received on or before July 1, 2020 will be considered for FY 2020 funding. Proposals responsive to this DCL received after July 1, 2020 will be considered for potential funding in a future fiscal year, pending availability of funds. Per the CESER program description, in advance of submitting a proposal in response to this DCL, interested proposers are strongly encouraged to discuss their project idea with cognizant Program Directors in the CESER program and with the relevant NSF disciplinary research programs. 

 

Cybersecurity Education in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: not required for Research Concept Outline stage
Sponsor Deadline: August 31, 2020 (Round 2)
Award Amount: up to $300,000 over 2 years

 

NSF is announcing its intention to fund a small number of Early Concept Grants for Exploratory Research (EAGER) to encourage advances in cybersecurity education, an area supported by the Foundation's Secure and Trustworthy Cyberspace Education Designation (SaTC-EDU), CyberCorps®: Scholarships for Service, and Advanced Technological Education (ATE) programs. EAGER is a mechanism to support exploratory work, in its early stages, on untested but potentially transformative research ideas or approaches. This work may be considered especially "high risk - high payoff" in the sense that it, for example, involves radically different approaches, applies new expertise, or engages novel disciplinary or interdisciplinary perspectives. In particular, with this Dear Colleague Letter (DCL), NSF announces its interest in using the EAGER mechanism to encourage new collaborations between the Artificial Intelligence (AI), cybersecurity, and education research communities. Responses to this DCL will be handled as a two-step process:

• Step 1: Teams are required to send a research concept outline, including project title, team members, institutions involved, and a summary of the project concept (up to two pages) by email to satc-edu@nsf.gov. To ensure proper processing, please begin the proposal title as well as the subject line of your initial email with: "EAGER: SaTC AI-Cybersecurity". NSF Program directors will review these research concept outlines and will invite the authors of those of most interest to submit full EAGER proposals.
• Step 2: Those who have been invited will submit their EAGER proposal for review. Submissions received without an invitation from an NSF program director will be returned without review.

Engineering Research to Advance Solutions for Environmental PFAS (ERASE-PFAS)  *

FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission
Sponsor Deadline: Rolling
Award Amount: Please refer to the  Environmental Engineering program description  for further information regarding the typical budget and duration of CBET-funded projects.

 

The Environmental Engineering program in the Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems (CBET) in the Directorate for Engineering (ENG) announces a special funding focus on new science and technologies for the treatment and remediation of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) to improve and protect public and environmental health. Priority topics for this special funding focus include:

 

 

The most competitive proposals will address fundamental engineering science that leads to advances in the mitigation, remediation, and/or treatment of PFAS in the environment. Although inclusion of a full technical economic analysis (TEA) in submissions is not necessary, proposers should provide a basis of comparison to existing technologies using preliminary data, theoretical arguments, and/or modeling to provide evidence of sustainability and feasibility. Individuals interested in submitting a proposal relevant to this special funding focus are strongly encouraged to contact the cognizant Program Officer(s) for the  Environmental Engineering program .

 

Guidance for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) Proposers to the Faculty Early-Career Development (CAREER) and CISE Research Initiation Initiative (CRII) Programs *

FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: N/A

Sponsor Deadline: N/A
Award Amount: N/A

With this Dear Colleague Letter, the National Science Foundation's Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) seeks to provide members of the CISE research community with clarifying guidance about the directorate's implementation of the NSF Faculty Early-Career Development (CAREER) and CISE Research Initiation Initiative (CRII) programs. The intended audiences include both prospective early-career principal investigators (PIs) and relevant academic leadership. Prospective CAREER awardees should submit proposals to the program early in their faculty careers; CISE encourages candidates to submit their first CAREER proposals within two years of starting their tenure-track appointments. This guidance is consistent with the foundational principle of the CAREER program, which is to enable, rather than simply recognize, outstanding research and educational scholarship by early-career faculty. The CRII and CAREER programs have different goals and purposes. The CRII program is intended to provide start-up support for early-career faculty without access to the necessary resources, defined in this case to be two years of support for two graduate students per year or the equivalent thereof, to initiate their independent research careers. Faculty already having this level of support, either in the form of start-up packages from their universities or from other sources (e.g., institutional / federal / industry / non-profit), are not eligible for CRII awards and should not submit proposals for them. The CAREER program, on the other hand, is intended to provide early-career faculty with stable support over a sustained period (of about five years) to develop their careers as outstanding researchers and educators. CRII awards are not intended to be, and should not be viewed as, prerequisites for CAREER awards. Please see the  CAREER  and  CRII  program webpages for complete information about the goals and eligibility criteria for these respective programs. In case of inconsistencies between the guidance in this DCL and the respective solicitations for these programs, the solicitation guidance will take precedence.

 

 

NSF and DFG Opportunity for Collaborations in Advanced Manufacturing *

FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission
Sponsor Deadline: Rolling (NSF Advanced Manufacturing Program)
Award Amount: varies

 

Recognizing the importance of international collaborations in promoting scientific discoveries, the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and the German Research Foundation, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on research cooperation. The MoU provides an overarching framework to enhance opportunities for collaborative activities between U.S. and German research communities and sets out the principles by which jointly supported activities might be developed. To facilitate the support of collaborative work between U.S. researchers and their German counterparts under this MoU, the Division of Civil, Mechanical and Manufacturing Innovation (CMMI) at the NSF and the Division of Engineering (ING) at the DFG are pleased to announce a Lead Agency Activity in the area of Advanced Manufacturing. International collaborations between eligible U.S. and German institutions are invited to submit joint proposals in the areas described on the web pages for NSF's Advanced Manufacturing Program and DFG's review board 401 Production Technology . This Lead Agency Activity will allow U.S. and German researchers to submit a single collaborative proposal that will undergo a single review process while allowing funding organizations to maintain budgetary control over their awards. Proposals eligible to apply for this Lead Agency Activity in FY 2020 should have a research focus relevant to the topic areas identified in the links above.

 

Removal of Deadlines for Proposals for Small Projects Submitted to the Core Research Programs in the Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering *

FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission
Sponsor Deadline: N/A
Award Amount: Guidance applies to proposals under $500,000 and no more than three years in duration.

 

The National Science Foundation's (NSF) Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) is notifying members of the research community about an important change to submission windows for proposals for Small projects (under $500,000 and no more than three years) to all core research programs within its divisions of Computing and Communication Foundations (CCF), Computer and Network Systems (CNS), and Information and Intelligent Systems (IIS). This change does not apply to proposals for Medium or Large projects submitted to the CISE core research programs, nor to proposals for Small projects submitted to the Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure's (OAC) core program. This will be effective starting October 1, 2020.

Special Guidelines for Submitting Collaborative Proposals under National Science Foundation (NSF) and US-Israel Binational Science Foundation (BSF) Collaborative Research Opportunities *

FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission

Sponsor Deadline: varies by program

Award Amount: varies/wide range

 

The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and the US-Israel Binational Science Foundation (BSF) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Research Cooperation. The goal of this US-Israel collaborative research opportunity is to help reduce some of the current barriers to working internationally. Through a lead agency model, NSF and BSF will address these issues by allowing U.S. and Israeli researchers to submit a single collaborative proposal that will undergo a single review process at NSF, which will be the lead agency. Collaborative research proposals will be accepted to the NSF programs listed on the   https://www.nsf.gov/od/oise/NSF-BSF/participating_programs.jsp   webpage. Note that deadlines and application windows vary by program.

Critical Aspects of Sustainability (CAS): Micro- and Nanoplastics (MNP)

FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission
Sponsor Deadline: varies
Award Amount: varies

 

This Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) encourages the submission of proposals that tackle some of the fundamental scientific questions underlying micro- and nanoplastic characterization, behavior, and reactivity in the environment (including animal and human health), as well as their elimination from land and water systems. Sustainable solutions to the plastic waste problem require creative approaches from many scientific disciplines, to reduce the burden and harmful effects of micro- and nanoplastics and ensure our ability to track their fate in the environment. Several Directorates/Offices/Divisions participate in this DCL and welcome the submission of proposals on this topic, though each division will only accept proposals of a certain type, as described in detail within the DCL. All questions regarding proposals should be addressed to the cognizant Program Officers to whom submission is contemplated. Proposals involving international collaboration are welcome when the collaboration enhances the proposed research.

NSF's Spectrum Innovation Initiative and Associated Supplemental Funding Opportunities

FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission
Sponsor Deadline: varies
Award Amount: varies

 

With this Dear Colleague Letter (DCL), the National Science Foundation (NSF) announces opportunities that fall under the purview of the Foundation's new  Spectrum Innovation Initiative (SSI)  and  calls attention to opportunities under this initiative for supplemental support to existing NSF-owned and operated facilities, NSF platforms, NSF-supported projects, and NSF educational programs directly related to spectrum innovation as well as support for conferences and workshops . NSF's Spectrum Innovation Initiative covers innovation in the following areas:

1. National Radio Dynamic Zones (NRDZ) - establishing new pilot test ranges and enhancing existing test facilities to allow dynamic spectrum sharing research and development for passive and active users;
2. National Center for Wireless Spectrum Research - connecting spectrum researchers with the nationwide challenges and growing the spectrum workforce in support of the IotF;
3. Spectrum Research Integrative Activities - promoting and developing the means for increased and more effective use of the spectrum for passive and active applications, especially activities of a cross-disciplinary nature;
4. Education and Workforce Development - increasing awareness and participation among the public and encouraging the development of a skilled and diverse workforce through education and training programs.

Supplemental funding is available for National Radio Dynamic Zones, Spectrum Use and Needs for Research Activities, Education and Workforce Development, and Conferences. Specific guidance for submitting to National Radio Dynamic Zones can be found in the separate Dear Colleague Letter here . For Spectrum Use and Needs for Research Activities and Education and Workforce Development, proposers are required to email the SII program team at  sii@nsf.gov  with a one paragraph summary of the request and a notification of which award they will be requesting a supplement. The SII program team will subsequently invite the supplemental funding submission. For Conferences, a cognizant program officer listed in the Dear Colleague Letter should be contacted for further instruction prior to submission.

Plant Synthetic Biology
FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission

Sponsor Deadline: Rolling
Award Amount: varies by program

 

This Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) highlights existing programs in the Directorate for Biological Sciences (BIO) and the Directorate for Engineering (ENG) offering support for proposals that advance the growing field of plant synthetic biology, including support for basic research, tool development, and applications; and proposals that emphasize the potential outcomes with benefits to society. Proposal titles should be prefaced with "PlantSynBio:" and submitted to the program most closely related to the proposed research. The three relevant programs are:

 

• The Plant Genome Research Program (NSF 18-579) in the Division of Integrative Organismal Systems.
• The Systems and Synthetic Biology Cluster in the Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences (NSF18-585).
• The Cellular and Biochemical Engineering Program in the Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental and Transport Systems (NSF PD 20-1491).

 

This DCL is not intended to announce a special competition nor a new program, but simply highlight NSFs interest in an area of research that is funded through existing programs. The three relevant programs all accept proposals without deadline. Investigators interested in submitting a proposal are strongly encouraged to contact one of the program directors listed in the DCL.

Announcing Creation of the Foundational Research in Robotics (Robotics) Program

FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission
Sponsor Deadline: Rolling starting August 1, 2020
Award Amount: unspecified

 

The National Science Foundation announces the creation of the Foundational Research in Robotics (Robotics) program as a program jointly managed by the Directorates for Engineering (ENG) and Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE). The Robotics program supports research on robotic systems that exhibit significant levels of both computational capability and physical complexity. For the purposes of this program, a robot is defined as intelligence embodied in an engineered construct, with the ability to process information, sense, and move within or substantially alter its working environment. Here intelligence includes a broad class of methods that enable a robot to solve problems or make contextually appropriate decisions. Research proposals are welcomed that consider inextricably interwoven questions of intelligence, computation, and embodiment. Projects may also focus on a distinct aspect of intelligence, computation, and/or embodiment, as long as the proposed research is clearly justified in the context of a class of robots. The goal of the Robotics program is to erase artificial disciplinary boundaries and provide a single home for foundational research in robotics. Robotics is a deeply interdisciplinary field, and proposals are encouraged across the full range of fundamental engineering and computer science research challenges arising in robotics. All proposals should convincingly explain how a successful outcome will enable transformative new robot functionality or substantially enhance existing robot functionality.

Supplemental Funding Requests to Conduct Experimental Research on the NSF-funded Platforms for Advanced Wireless Research (PAWR)

FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission
Sponsor Deadline: June 1, 2023
Award Amount: $50,000 with higher amounts requiring additional justification (must be less than one-fifth of the original award); supplements will provide support for up to two years but cannot exceed the existing award period

 

With this Dear Colleague Letter, NSF's Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) wishes to notify the community of its intention to support  supplemental funding requests for active research awards to conduct experimental research on the NSF-funded Platforms for Advanced Wireless Research (PAWR) . NSF's PAWR program ( https://advancedwireless.org/ ) is currently supporting the deployment and initial operations of three advanced wireless research platforms conceived by the U.S. academic and industrial wireless research community. Active NSF-funded wireless researchers may propose, as part of their supplemental funding requests, experiments that utilize the PAWR platforms as these platforms become 'generally available' for experimenter use. PIs interested in submitting supplemental funding requests (or with other questions pertaining to this DCL) are strongly encouraged to contact one of the NSF/CISE program directors listed in the DCL.

Centers for Chemical Innovation (CCI)  *

FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: August 4, 2020 (Phase I Preliminary Proposals); January 7, 2021 (Phase II Full Proposals); February 9, 2021 (Invited Phase I Full Proposals)
Sponsor Deadline: August 11, 2020 (Phase I Preliminary Proposals); January 14, 2021 (Phase II Full Proposals); February 17, 2021 (Invited Phase I Full Proposals)
Award Amount: up to $1.8M for 3 years (Phase I); up to $4M per year for 5 years (Phase II)

 

The Centers for Chemical Innovation (CCI) Program supports research centers focused on major, long-term fundamental chemical research challenges. CCIs that address these challenges will produce transformative research, lead to innovation, and attract broad scientific and public interest. CCIs are agile structures that can respond rapidly to emerging opportunities through enhanced collaborations. CCIs integrate research, innovation, education, broadening participation, and informal science communication. The CCI Program is a two-phase program. Both phases are described in the solicitation linked above. Phase I CCIs receive significant resources to develop the science, management and broader impacts of a major research center before requesting Phase II funding. Satisfactory progress in Phase I is required for Phase II applications; Phase I proposals funded in FY 2021 will seek Phase II funding in FY 2024.

 

The FY 2021 Phase I CCI competition is open to projects in all fields supported by the Division of Chemistry, and must have scientific focus and the potential for transformative impact in chemistry. NSF Chemistry particularly encourages fundamental chemistry projects related to one or more of NSF's Big Ideas, including Quantum Leap, Understanding the Rules of Life, and Harnessing the Data Revolution. Similarly, the Division of Chemistry encourages CCI projects aligned with chemistry aspects of other articulated budget priorities, including Advanced Manufacturing, Artificial Intelligence, Biotechnology, and Quantum Information Science. More information on all of these is available in Section IX of the program solicitation. The FY 2021 Phase II CCI competition is open to projects funded as Phase I awards in FY 2018. 

 

Joint DMS/NIGMS Initiative to Support Research at the Interface of the Biological and Mathematical Sciences (DMS/NIGMS) *

FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission
Sponsor Deadline: September 1, 2020 - September 18, 2020 (Submission Window)
Award Amount: up to $600,000 over 3 years (Track 1); up to $1.2M over 3-4 years (Track 2)

 

The Division of Mathematical Sciences (DMS) in the Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS) at the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) plan to support fundamental research in mathematics and statistics necessary to answer questions in the biological and biomedical sciences. Both agencies recognize the need to promote research at the interface between mathematical and life sciences. This program is designed to encourage new collaborations, as well as to support innovative activities by existing teams.

 

Division of Chemistry: Disciplinary Research Programs (CHE-DRP) *
FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission
Sponsor Deadline: varies by program; please see below
Award Amount: Average award size varies among programs but averages $150,000 per year for three years ($450,000 total) for single PI awards.

 

CHE supports a large and vibrant research community engaged in fundamental discovery, invention, and innovation in the chemical sciences. The projects supported by CHE explore the frontiers of chemical science, develop the foundations for future technologies and industries that meet changing societal needs, and prepare the next generation of chemical researchers. Some of the areas supported by CHE include:

 

 

This solicitation includes the programs below with the following submission windows:

 

Division of Physics: Investigator-Initiated Research Projects (PHY) *

FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission
Sponsor Deadline: varies by program
Award Amount: varies/wide range

The Division of Physics (PHY)  supports physics research and the preparation of future scientists in the nation's colleges and universities across a broad range of physics disciplines that span scales of space and time from the largest to the smallest and the oldest to the youngest. The Division is comprised of disciplinary programs covering experimental and theoretical research in the following major subfields of physics: Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics; Elementary Particle Physics; Gravitational Physics; Integrative Activities in Physics; Nuclear Physics; Particle Astrophysics; Physics at the Information Frontier; Physics of Living Systems; Plasma Physics; and Quantum Information Science.

The Division of Physics strongly encourages single proposal submission for possible co-review rather than submission of multiple related proposals to several programs. PIs considering submitting more than one proposal to this solicitation, or who already have an active PHY award, are encouraged to first consult with the relevant program officer(s) before preparing a new proposal. This does not apply to awards from or submissions to the MRI, REU, and/or center programs, or in cases of renewal proposals.

National Science Foundation: Directorate for Engineering (NSF: ENG)

Engineering Research Visioning Alliance (ERVA): Future Research Directions for the Engineering Research Community 

FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline for Letter of Intent: June 30, 2020
Sponsor Deadline for Letter of Intent: July 8, 2020

FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline for Full Proposal: August 5, 2020
Sponsor Deadline for Full Proposal: August 12, 2020
Award Amount: NSF anticipates funding a single award for 5 years, subject to the availability of funds, with the funding for each year of the award in the range of $1,000,000 to $2,000,000, not to exceed $2,000,000 in any one year. Proposers are encouraged to take into consideration when developing their proposed budget that expenses necessary to effect and sustain the organization will likely increase from establishment through maintenance phases, consistent with an increasing scope of activities with time.

 

The National Science Foundation Directorate for Engineering (NSF/ENG) invites the engineering research community to establish an organization that will serve to identify and develop bold and societally impactful new engineering research directions and thereby catalyze the engineering research community's pursuit of innovative, high-impact research. Specifically, NSF/ENG calls on the engineering research community to establish an Engineering Research Visioning Alliance (ERVA) that ENG will support to facilitate the articulation of compelling research visions that align with national and global challenges. This organization will be charged with obtaining and integrating input from all stakeholders with interest in engineering research, including academia, industry, societies, government agencies and the public. A reciprocal goal of the organization will be to communicate coordinated information on nascent opportunities and priorities in engineering research to these stakeholders. It is anticipated that through its activities the ERVA will strengthen connectivity across these diverse stakeholders, and increase coordination among engineering disciplinary communities.

The ERVA should have membership/representation of academic, industrial and other stakeholders, and should be inclusive of all engineering disciplines. Through its proposed activities, the ERVA should provide the engineering community with a process for identifying future research challenges and enable the engineering research community to speak with a unified voice.

Please Note: This is a limited submission opportunity, and Harvard may submit only one proposal. Please contact Erin Hale at erin_hale@fas.harvard.edu if you are interested in applying.

Gen-4 Engineering Research Centers (ERC): Convergent Research and Innovation through Inclusive Partnerships and Workforce Development *

FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: August 26, 2020 (Letter of Intent); September 25, 2020 (Preliminary Proposal); April 30, 2021 (Full Proposal)
Sponsor Deadline: September 2, 2020 (Letter of Intent); October 2, 2020 (Preliminary Proposal); May 7, 2021 (Full Proposal)
Award Amount: Invited full proposals will include a budget for each of the five years. Allowable budgets for the first five years are as follows: The budget for year one may be no more than $3,500,000, no more than $4,500,000 for year two, no more than $6,000,000 per year for year three, four, and five.

 

The goal of the ERC program has traditionally been to integrate engineering research and education with technological innovation to transform and improve national prosperity, health, and security. Building upon this tradition, NSF is interested in supporting ERCs to develop and advance engineered systems, which if successful, will have a high Societal Impact. ERCs create inclusive cultures not only to integrate scientific discovery with technological innovation through convergent engineered systems research and education, but also to benefit from the full participation of people traditionally underrepresented in engineering, stimulating creativity and fresh perspectives. ERCs build partnerships with industry, practitioners, and other key stakeholders to strengthen the innovative capacity of the United States in a global context. In addition to building capacity for research, innovation, and a diverse workforce, ERCs are expected to produce significant outcomes within the 10-year timeframe of NSF support and beyond.

 

ERCs should realize a vision of advancing an engineered system driven by clearly articulated societal impact and should have strong synergies or value-added rationale that justifies a center or institute-like approach. As part of creating sustainable positive impacts on society and communities, ERCs should focus on positive outcomes that can be seen within engineering communities and build and empower human resource capacity for their targeted engineering challenges. Beyond this, ERCs should contribute to the scientific enterprise by advancing research, science, engineering fundamentals, and research communities. This should be demonstrated with benchmarks against the state-of-the-art. ERCs should build knowledge, prepare students and researchers that respect and flourish in an environment with diverse perspectives, impact how engineering research is conducted and provide value for society.

NSF Engineering - UKRI Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council Lead Agency Opportunity (ENG-EPSRC)

FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission of a full proposal

Sponsor Deadline: Rolling; a Research Concept Outline (RCO) must be submitted to  ENGUKRI@nsf.gov  at least 60 days prior to the submission of a full proposal.

Award Amount: The overall funding for the program is established independently by each participating division. Budgets are not set aside separately but are, instead, parts of existing program budgets.

The Directorate for Engineering (ENG), Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems (CBET), the Division of Civil, Mechanical and Manufacturing Innovation (CMMI), and the Division of Electrical, Communications and Cyber Systems (ECCS) of the National Science Foundation and the Engineering, ICT and Manufacturing the Future Themes of the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) are pleased to announce the ENG-EPSRC Lead Agency Opportunity. The goal of this opportunity is to reduce some of the barriers that researchers currently encounter when working internationally. The ENG-EPSRC Lead Agency Opportunity will allow US and UK researchers to submit a single collaborative proposal that will undergo a single review process.

Proposals will be accepted for collaborative research in areas at the intersection of CBET, CMMI, and/or ECCS with the EPSRC Engineering, ICT and/or Manufacturing the Future Themes. Proposers choose either NSF or EPSRC to serve as the "lead" agency to review their proposal. The non-lead agency will honor the rigor of the review process and the decision of the lead agency. For research teams that would like EPSRC to act as lead agency, please see the instructions here . Proposers should review the CBET, CMMI, and ECCS Program Descriptions for research supported through these divisions and the EPSRC website for further information on what areas of research are eligible for support through this activity. Proposals are expected to adhere to typical proposal budgets and durations for the relevant NSF programs and EPSRC Themes from which funding is sought.

Please Note:  A Research Concept Outline (RCO) must be submitted to  ENGUKRI@nsf.gov  at least 60 days prior to the submission of a full proposal. A proposal that is submitted without a previously approved RCO will be returned without review (RWR).

• Advanced Manufacturing (AM) - Rolling
• Biomechanics and Mechanobiology (BMMB) - Rolling
• Biophotonics - Rolling
• Biosensing - Rolling
• Catalysis - Rolling
• Cellular and Biochemical Engineering (CBE) - Rolling
• Civil Infrastructure Systems (CIS) - Rolling
• Combustion and Fire Systems - Rolling
• Communications, Circuits, and Sensing-Systems (CCSS) - Rolling
• Disability and Rehabilitation Engineering (DARE) - Rolling
• Dynamics, Control and Systems Diagnostics (DCSD) - Rolling
• Electrochemical Systems - Rolling
• Electronics, Photonics, and Magnetic Devices (EPMD) - Rolling
• Energy, Power, Control, and Networks (EPCN) - Rolling
• Engineering Design and System Engineering (EDSE) - Rolling
• Engineering for Civil Infrastructure (ECI) - Rolling
• Engineering of Biomedical Systems (EBMS) - Rolling
• Environmental Engineering - Rolling
• Environmental Sustainability - Rolling
• Fluid Dynamics - Rolling
• Humans, Disasters, and the Built Environment (HDBE) - Rolling
• Mechanics of Materials and Structures (MOMS) - Rolling
• Mind, Machine and Motor Nexus (M3X) - Rolling
• Operations Engineering (OE) - Rolling
• Particulate and Multiphase Processes - Rolling
• Process Systems, Reaction Engineering and Molecular Thermodynamics - Rolling
• Thermal Transport Processes - Rolling
• Re-entry to Active Research Program (RARE) - Rolling 

NSF-DFG Lead Agency Activity in Electrosynthesis and Electrocatalysis (NSF-DFG EChem) *

FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline for Expression of Interest: June 24, 2020

Sponsor Deadline for Expression of Interest (Required): July 1, 2020
FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline for Full Proposal: September 23, 2020
Sponsor Deadline for Full Proposal: September 30, 2020

Award Amount: varies; the overall funding for the program is established independently by each participating division.

 

Program on Fairness in Artificial Intelligence in Collaboration with Amazon (FAI)

FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: July 6, 2020

Sponsor Deadline: July 13, 2020

Award Amount: $750,000 - $1.25M over up to 3 years

 

NSF and Amazon are partnering to jointly support computational research focused on fairness in AI, with the goal of contributing to trustworthy AI systems that are readily accepted and deployed to tackle grand challenges facing society. Specific topics of interest include, but are not limited to transparency, explainability, accountability, potential adverse biases and effects, mitigation strategies, algorithmic advances, fairness objectives, validation of fairness, and advances in broad accessibility and utility. Funded projects will enable broadened acceptance of AI systems, helping the U.S. further capitalize on the potential of AI technologies. Although Amazon provides partial funding for this program, it will not play a role in the selection of proposals for award.

 

Advancing AI is a highly interdisciplinary endeavor drawing on fields such as computer science, information science, engineering, statistics, mathematics, cognitive science, and psychology. As such, NSF and Amazon expect these varied perspectives to be critical for the study of fairness in AI. NSF's ability to bring together multiple scientific disciplines uniquely positions the agency in this collaboration, while building AI that is fair and unbiased is an important aspect of Amazon's AI initiatives. This program supports the conduct of fundamental computer science research into theories, techniques, and methodologies that go well beyond today's capabilities and are motivated by challenges and requirements in real systems.

Coastlines and People (CoPe)

FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline: August 3, 2020
Sponsor Deadline: August 10, 2020
Award Amount: up to $1M per year for 3-5 years (Focused Hubs); up to $2M-$4M per year for up to 5 years (Large-Scale Hubs)

 

Scientific research into complex coastal systems and the interplay with coastal hazards is vital for predicting, responding to and mitigating threats in these regions. Understanding the risks associated with coastal hazards requires a holistic Earth Systems approach that integrates improved understanding of and, where possible, predictions about natural, social, and technological processes with efforts to increase the resilience of coastal systems. The Coastlines and People program supports diverse, innovative, multi-institution awards that are focused on critically important coastlines and people research that is integrated with broadening participation goals. The objective of this solicitation is to support Coastal Research Hubs, structured using a convergent science approach, at the nexus between coastal sustainability, human dimensions, and coastal processes to transform understanding of interactions among natural, human-built, and social systems in coastal, populated environments.