July 2018  
 
The FAS Research Development group publishes this monthly Funding Newsletter for SEAS faculty and researchers. The newsletter includes notable Federal, private, and internal Harvard funding opportunities. 
 
Questions?
Erin Hale: [email protected] | 617-496-5252 
Jennifer Corby:  [email protected] | 617-495-1590  
 
  For more information on our support services, please visit our website .

Did you know?
 Harvard affiliates have access to Pivot , a funding opportunity database. 
 
You are receiving this newsletter because you are subscribed to our mailing list. All Harvard University faculty and administrators may subscribe  here , and you may unsubscribe at any time. Visit our  email archive  to see our past newsletters.
 

News, Announcements, & Special Features
Feature: N ew Investigator Opportunity Spotlight
Quick links to early career opportunities in this month's newsletter.

News:  Upcoming Deadlines for BSF and NSF-BSF Programs

The United States - Israel Binational Science Foundation has several upcoming deadlines for funding opportunities. Learn more about the BSF Regular Program here and about the NSF-BSF programs here. 


News: Upcoming Deadline for MURI Program

Multidisciplinary University Initiative (MURI) efforts involve teams of researchers investigating high priority topics and opportunities that intersect more than one traditional technical discipline. For many military problems this multidisciplinary approach serves to stimulate innovations, accelerate research progress and expedite transition of results into applications. Please see  here for more information on this opportunity. 
 

News:  Removal of Deadlines for the Core Programs in NSF's Directorate for Engineering

In order to allow Principal Investigators (PIs) more flexibility and to better facilitate interdisciplinary research across engineering disciplines, ENG is removing deadlines for submission of unsolicited proposals to all core programs in CBET, CMMI, ECCS and EEC,  effective August 15, 2018. Read more here. 


Funding Opportunities

Click on the links below to read a program synopsis

Foundation Opportunities

Internal Opportunities

Industry/Corporate Opportunities

U.S. Department of Defense (DoD)

U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)   

Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Agency (IARPA)
 
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
National Science Foundation: Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences (NSF: MPS)

Foundation Opportunities

FoundationsSearle
Harvard Pre-Proposal Deadline: July 18, 2018
Sponsor Deadline: September 28, 2018
Award Amount: $300,000 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, 2017. 
 
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 2019 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. 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.


FoundationsBeckman
Beckman Young Investigator Program
SEAS Deadline to Request Institutional Endorsements: July 26, 2018
Sponsor LOI Deadline: August 6, 2018
Award Amount: Grants are in the range of $600,000 over four years.
Eligible Faculty: Assistant professors appointed after August 14, 2015. 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.
 
This is not a limited submission opportunity but does require signatures from Dean Frank Doyle ("Dean") and Colleen Hutchins ("Authorized Organizational Representative"). The instructions for obtaining the required endorsements can be found at the link above.



FoundationsSchmidt
Schmidt Science Fellows Program
Harvard Pre-Proposal Deadline: July 30, 2018 by 12:00PM
Award Amount: $100,000 stipend
Eligible Applicants: Graduate students who are expected to receive relevant PhDs by July 2019
 
The Schmidt Science Fellows program aims to expand the horizons of the next generation of leaders and innovators in the natural sciences, engineering, mathematics, and computing. The program includes conducting a full-time, 11-month or longer postdoctoral research study in a field-leading laboratory, focusing on a discipline in the natural sciences, engineering, mathematics or computing that is different from their existing area of expertise and planned future focus. The goal is to introduce the Fellows to the ideas, practices, methods, and cultures of other scientific disciplines, broadening their scope of experience. The Fellows will select their postdoctoral research laboratory, with assistance from the Schmidt Science Fellows program, the Rhodes Trust, respected researchers, and a number of leading universities.


FoundationRitaAllen
Scholars Program
Harvard Pre-Proposal Deadline: August 20, 2018
Award Amount: Up to $110,000/year for up to 5 years
Target Applicants: Assistant professors, preferably in the first three years of their tenure track, in the fields of cancer, immunology and neuroscience
 
The Rita Allen Foundation Scholars program funds basic biomedical research in the fields of cancer, immunology and neuroscience. The program embraces innovative research with above-average risk and groundbreaking possibilities. Candidates should provide persuasive evidence of distinguished achievement or extraordinary promise in research in one of the relevant fields.
 
Only one nomination may be put forward from Harvard University. The Office of the Vice Provost for Research will administer the internal competition to select the Harvard nominee, and applications may be submitted using the link above.



SimonsMMLS
Investigators in the Mathematical Modeling of Living Systems
SEAS Pre-Proposal Deadline: August 20, 2018
Sponsor Deadline (if selected as a Harvard nominee): October 31, 2018
Award Amount: $100,000/year for five years. An additional $10,000/year will be provided to the Investigator's department. The Investigator's institution will receive an additional 20 percent per year in indirect costs.
 
Eligible Faculty: Faculty (tenured or untenured) appointed on or after August 1, 2009. Exceptions may be made for time taken for maternity/paternity leave.
 
The MMLS program aims to support theoretical approaches making important contributions to the life sciences and, thus, to foster a scientific culture of theory-experiment collaborations similar to that prevailing in physics. To encourage researchers to pursue this endeavor, the MMLS program will provide a long-term, stable base of support, enabling a focus on model-based approaches to important issues in the life sciences. A broad spectrum of research areas within the life sciences will be considered, ranging from cellular-level issues of organization, regulation, signaling and morphogenic dynamics to the properties of organisms and ecology, as well as neuroscience and evolution; however, preference will be given to areas in which modeling approaches are less established and, for this reason, bioinformatics- and genomics-related proposals fall outside the scope of the program. In all cases, preference will be given to work developing deep theoretical ideas relevant to experiments, suggesting new questions and new classes of experiments, introducing important, new concepts, and explaining data.

This is a limited submission funding opportunity and SEAS will hold an internal competition to select two nominees to be considered in the University-wide competition. SEAS applicants must submit an internal pre-proposal online at the link above by August 20, 2018 by 5:00PM.
 

SimonsInvestigators
Investigators in Mathematics, Physics, Astrophysics and Theoretical Computer Science
SEAS Internal Nomination Deadline: August 20, 2018
Sponsor Nomination Deadline (if selected as a Harvard nominee): October 31, 2018
Award Amount: $100,000/year for 5 years plus $10,000 per year to the Investigator's department. The Investigator's institution will receive an additional 20 percent per year in indirect costs.
Eligible Faculty: Faculty with tenure by the sponsor deadline of October 31, 2018
 
The Simons Investigators in Mathematics, Physics, Astrophysics and Theoretical Computer Science Program aims to provide a stable base of support for outstanding scientists, enabling them to undertake long-term investigations of the fundamental theoretical questions in their fields. The intent of the program is to support these scientists in their most productive years, when they are establishing creative new research directions, providing leadership in the field and effectively mentoring junior scientists. To be an Investigator, a scientist must be engaged in theoretical research in mathematics, physics, astrophysics or computer science and must not have previously been a Simons Investigator. He/she must have a primary appointment as a tenured faculty member and the primary department affiliation must have a Ph.D. program (note that the appointment need not be in a mathematics, physics, or computer science department). 
 
Harvard may put forward two nominees in each category: Mathematics, Physics, Astrophysics, and Theoretical Computer Science. The Office of the Vice Provost for Research will facilitate the university-wide competition and has asked that each school put forward no more than two nominees in each category for consideration. Those who wish to nominate candidates from the John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences may do so by sending the following materials to Erin Hale at [email protected] no later than August 20, 2018 by 5:00PM:
 
  1. Nomination Letter (two-page limit): Written and signed by the nominator (someone other than the nominee), on letterhead, explaining the distinctive scientific contributions of the nominee, focusing on scientific accomplishments of the past five years and including discussion of a few important papers. Co-signed letters are acceptable within the page limit.
  2. Nominee's CV: The nominee's curriculum vitae, including Ph.D. year, institution, advisor, postdoctoral institutions and advisors, positions held subsequent to award of doctorate, a list of graduate students and postdoctoral fellows mentored by the nominee and the nominee's up-to-date publication list
 
Please note that nominations should be treated confidentially - the nominees should not know they are being nominated, if possible.



 
FoundationsTempleton
Core Funding Areas
Online Funding Inquiry Deadline: August 31, 2018
OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission
Sponsor Full Proposal Deadline (if invited): January 31, 2019 (for requests more than $234,800; deadlines for full proposals less than $234,800 are individually determined) 
Award Amount: Individual grants vary in amount. Smallest active grant is about $35,000 and largest is $7.6 million.
 
The Templeton Foundation offers grants in support of research and public engagement in the following major funding areas:

  • The Science & the Big Questions Funding Area supports innovative efforts to address the deepest questions facing humankind. Why are we here? How can we flourish? What are the fundamental structures of reality? What can we know about the nature and purposes of the divine?
  • The Character Virtue Development Funding Area seeks to advance the science and practice of character, with a focus on moral, performance, civic, and intellectual virtues such as humility, gratitude, curiosity, diligence, and honesty.
  • The Individual Freedom & Free Markets Funding Area supports education, research, and grassroots efforts to promote individual freedom, free markets, free competition, and entrepreneurship. Grounded in the ideas of classical liberal political economy, we seek and develop projects that focus on individuals and their place in a free society. 
  • The Exceptional Cognitive Talent & Genius Funding Area supports programs that aim to recognize and nurture exceptional cognitive talent, especially for those at an early stage of life. This Funding Area also supports research concerning the nature of cognitive genius, including extraordinary creativity, curiosity, and imagination.
  • The Genetics Funding Area seeks to advance genetics research by supporting novel approaches and contrarian projects, especially research that is undervalued by traditional funding sources. In addition to basic and translational research, this Funding Area supports educational programs that increase public awareness concerning the ways in which genetics-related research and its applications can advance human flourishing at the individual, familial, and societal levels.
  • The Voluntary Family Planning Funding Area supports programs that provide such resources for parents and families worldwide.

FoundationsBanting
Deadline to Request Harvard Institutional Endorsement: September 5, 2018
Sponsor Deadline: September 19, 2018
Award Amount: $70,000 per year for 2 years
 
The Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships, offered by the Government of Canada, provide two year fellowships to eligible postdoctoral students both nationally and internationally, who will positively contribute to the country's economic, social and research-based growth. Applications are accepted from all fields in the humanities, social sciences, health research, natural sciences and engineering.  
 
Candidates to be hosted by Harvard must fulfill all degree requirements for a PhD or equivalent between September 15, 2015 and September 30, 2019 and must be Canadian Citizens or permanent residents of Canada who have obtained/will obtain their PhD or equivalent from a Canadian university. The window of eligibility can be extended the applicant had their career interrupted for maternity leave or other reasons listed on the sponsor website. 
 
Applicants who will be hosted by Harvard University must include with their application a  Letter of Endorsement  signed by the Vice Provost for Research. Applicants requesting a Letter of Endorsement are asked to provide the Office of the Vice Provost for Research with a copy of their proposed  Supervisor's Statement  through the online portal at the link above by September 19, 2018.  



SloanFoundation
Research Fellowships
OSP Deadline: September 10, 2018
Sponsor Deadline: September 17, 2018
Award Amount: $70,000
Eligible Applicants: Tenure-track faculty who were awarded their most recent Ph.D. (or equivalent) on or after September 1, 2012*  

The Sloan Research Fellowships seek to stimulate fundamental research by early-career scientists and scholars of outstanding promise. 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. Candidates must hold a Ph.D. (or equivalent) in chemistry, computational or evolutionary molecular biology, computer science, economics, mathematics, neuroscience, ocean sciences, physics, or a related field. Successful candidates for a Sloan Research 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. 
 
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. While the nominator need not be the department head, no more than three candidates may be nominated from any one department. 
 
*The Selection Committees may make exceptions for candidates who were awarded their Ph.D. prior to September 1, 2012 if their careers were disrupted due to military service, child-rearing, or a change of field. The Committees may also make exceptions for candidates who are currently serving in their first faculty position and who were appointed to that position on or after September 1, 2016.


USBSFRegular
BSF Regular Program
OSP Deadline: November 13, 2018
Sponsor Deadline: November 20, 2018
Award  Amount : up to $230,000 for up to 4 years

 The U.S.-Israel Binational Science Foundation (BSF) promotes scientific relations between the U.S. and Israel by supporting collaborative research projects in a  wide area of basic and applied scientific fields , for peaceful and non-profit purposes. The regular research grants program is the main program of the BSF. Applications must be submitted together by at least one scientist from each country. In 2018, the following areas of research are eligible for submission: Atmospheric, Ocean & Earth Sciences; Chemistry; Computer Sciences; Economics; Energy Research; Environmental Research (Air, Water, and Soil); Materials Research; Mathematical Sciences; Physics; Psychology (except Psychobiology); and Sociology.



Internal Opportunities


HMITNeuro
Deadline: July 27, 2018
Award Amount: Up to $115,000/year for two years
 
The Harvard/MIT Joint Research Grants Program in Basic Neuroscience provides funding for a team of two basic neuroscience investigators (Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, or Professor level) to work collaboratively to advance our understanding of brain development and function. Grant applications covering the spectrum of basic neuroscience research - including model system studies, the development of new tools and technologies, and the study of neural circuits and behavior - will be considered. The goal of this program is to fuel discovery that lays the foundation for new therapies for nervous system disease.
 
Teams must be comprised of two tenure-track investigators who are based in departments engaged in basic neuroscience research at MIT, any Harvard-affiliated institution including Harvard University, Harvard Medical School, a Harvard Medical School-affiliated Hospital, Boston University, or Tufts University. The investigators may not have primary or secondary appointments within the same department, but may work in the same institution. A principal investigator may only apply as a member of one team. Preference will be given to new collaborations (i.e. investigators who have not previously collaborated on a research grant or publication in the last 5 years). If the team has a history of collaboration, applications should focus on a new research area.



HarvardClimate
Deadline: October 15, 2018
Award Amount: up to $150,000

The Harvard University Climate Change Solutions Fund supports research and policy initiatives intended to reduce the risks of climate change, hasten the transition from fossil fuel-based energy systems to those that rely on renewable energy sources, to develop methods for diminishing the impact of existing fossil fuel-based energy systems on the climate, to understand and prepare for the impacts of climate change, and to propel scientific, technological, legal, behavioral, policy and artistic innovations needed to accelerate progress toward cleaner energy, improved human health, and a greener world. Applications should propose research that will advance solutions to climate change and its impact. Solutions may include both preparedness and mitigation and strong consideration will be given to projects that demonstrate a clear pathway to application, as well as riskier proposals with the potential to be transformative over time. Proposals that demonstrate imaginative and promising collaboration among faculty and students across different parts of the University will receive special consideration, as will projects that propose using the university campus as a "living laboratory."


Industry/Corporate Opportunities

Toyota
Mobility Unlimited Challenge Finalist Development Grants
OSP Deadline: August 8, 2018
Sponsor Deadline: August 15, 2018
Award Amount: Up to $500,000 for Finalist Development Grants; Finalists will have the opportunity to compete for a $1,000,000 prize.
 
The Toyota Mobility Unlimited Challenge supports radical improvements in the mobility and independence of people with lower-limb paralysis through smarter assistive technology. The challenge is looking for innovative teams from around the world to build the next generation of mobility devices for people with lower-limb paralysis. More importantly, it is looking for teams who put end-users at the heart of everything they do. That means engaging people with lower-limb paralysis from the outset to develop devices that best meet their needs. 
 
From the teams who submit a Finalist Development Grant entry, ten will be invited to pitch their concepts to the judges and five be will awarded a Finalist Development Grant. Awardees will use the Finalist Development Grants to develop a physical prototype for user demonstration and a business plan to pitch to the judges in 2020. Finalists will be competing for a $1,000,000 Prize. 
 
Prizes must be awarded through Harvard if the proposed work builds on any resources or product previously developed at Harvard or if the proposed project will use any Harvard facilities or other resources. Such grant applications will be submitted through Harvard's normal grant proposal process. FAS/SEAS standard industry overhead rate (69%) will apply.
 


Cisco 
Cisco Research Center Grants
OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission
Sponsor Deadline: Rolling
Award Amount: Budgets depend on the institution and geography. Overhead is limited to 5%. This falls short of the 15% overhead required by FAS/SEAS policy. Please discuss with your grants administrator before preparing an application.
Cisco Research Center (CRC) connects researchers and developers from Cisco, academia, governments, customers, and industry partners with the goal of facilitating collaboration and exploration of new and promising technologies. Cisco is primarily interested in exploring issues, topics, and problems that are relevant to its core business of improving the Internet. It is also deeply interested in adjacent technologies that leverage the power of the network to change the world around us.
 
CRC supports a broad range of research interests and award types in engineering and applied sciences. For a complete list of Requests for Proposals (RFPs), please scroll to the bottom of this link. Please note that CRC also welcomes research proposals that do not fit cleanly into any of the RFPs listed.
 
IBM_World
IBM
World Community Grid
OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission; please note that OSP review and approval is required for any User Agreements between the sponsor and Harvard University. 
Sponsor Deadline: Rolling
Award Amount: Up to 150,000 years of computing power through World Community Grid; weather data from The Weather Company, an IBM Business; and cloud storage from IBM Cloud.
IBM invites scientists studying climate change or ways to mitigate or adapt to its impacts to apply for free crowdsourced supercomputing power, weather data and cloud storage to support their climate or environmental research projects. In return, awardees are asked to publicly release the research data from their collaboration with IBM, enabling the global community to benefit from and build upon those findings.
 
Grantees will receive free, 24/7 access to computing power though World Community Grid, an award-winning IBM Citizenship initiative that enables anyone with a computer or Android device to support scientific research by carrying out computational research tasks on their devices. This allows researchers to conduct large-scale investigations, often magnitudes larger than they would have otherwise been able to conduct. Grantees may also request access to weather data and cloud storage.

U.S. Department of Defense

DODAFRLRQVC
Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), Aerospace Systems Directorate, Aerospace Vehicles Division, Design and Analysis Branch (RQVC)
Collaborative Center for Aeronautical Sciences
Sponsor Deadline for Intents to Propose (requested): July 20, 2018
OSP Deadline: July 27, 2018 
Sponsor Deadline for Full Proposals: August 3, 2018 
Award Amount: The baseline funding will be $600,000 per year for 5 years, and two additional research periods may be added each at $1.2M for 2 years.
 
AFRL/RQVC is interested in providing assistance to create a partnership to collaborate on basic and applied research in the area of high fidelity computational aerodynamics to include as areas of interest: high speed aero-physics, fine-scale unsteadiness & flow control, nonlinear Fluid Structure Interaction and computational support.
 
One cooperative agreement is anticipated.


DODAROIARPACables
Army Research Office (ARO) and the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA)
SuperCables
OSP Deadline: July 24, 2018 
Sponsor Deadline for Full Proposals: July 31, 2018 (Updated Deadline)
Award Amount:  Proposals are expected to request less than $1.5M over a 2 year period.
 
The U.S. Army Research Office (ARO) in partnership with the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA) seeks research and development of technology and techniques for energy-efficient, high data rate transmission of digital signals between computing systems operating at room and cryogenic temperatures. The focus in the SuperCables program is research and demonstration of components to convert from low level electrical signals in circuits operating at a temperature of approximately 4 kelvins to conventional optical signals at room temperature and to move the information therein from one environment to the other. Pending results of this program, IARPA may support a follow-on program to develop the complete system for bidirectional data transmission between room temperature and 4 kelvins.
 
Multiple awards are anticipated.


Office of Naval Research (ONR)
FY18 Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) for the Office of Naval Research (ONR) Navy and Marine Corps Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics (STEM), Education and Workforce Program
OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission
Sponsor Window for White Papers (required): April 2-July 31, 2018
Sponsor Deadline for Invited Full Proposals: September 28, 2018
Award Amount: Up to $250,000 per year, with one-year option periods, for up to 3 years
 
The 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 DoN (or Navy and Marine Corps) STEM workforce opportunities. As the capacity of the DoN Science and Technology (S&T) workforce is interconnected with the basic research enterprise and STEM education system, ONR recognizes the need to support efforts that can jointly improve STEM student outcomes and align educational efforts with Naval S&T current and future workforce needs. This announcement explicitly encourages projects that improve the capacity of education systems and communities to create impactful STEM educational experiences for students and workers. Submissions are encouraged to consider including active learning approaches and incorporating 21st century skill development. Projects must aim to increase student and worker engagement in STEM and enhance people with needed Naval STEM capabilities. ONR encourages applications to utilize current STEM educational research for informing project design and advancing our understanding of how and why people choose STEM careers and opportunities of naval relevance.
 
While this announcement is relevant for any stage of the STEM educational system, funding efforts will be targeted primarily toward projects addressing the below communities or any combination of these communities:
  • Secondary education communities;
  • Post-Secondary communities;
  • Informal science communities; and
  • Current naval STEM workforce communities.
ONR intends to award approximately 25 awards for an estimated total value of $6,250,000, subject to the availability of funds.

Research Associateship Programs
OSP Deadline: July 25, 2018
Sponsor Deadlines: August 1, 2018
Award Amount: Awards include stipends (ranging from $42,000-$80,000), health insurance, professional travel and relocation. Award durations vary by program.
 
The National Research Council (NRC) administers competitive graduate, postdoctoral and senior research awards on behalf of 26 U.S. federal research agencies and affiliated institutions with facilities at over 100 locations throughout the U.S. and abroad. Awardees have the opportunity to conduct independent research in an area compatible with the interests of the sponsoring laboratory; devote full-time effort to research and publication; access the excellent and often unique facilities of the federal research enterprise; and collaborate with leading scientists and engineers at the sponsoring laboratories. Disciplines include Chemistry; Earth, Atmospheric and Space Sciences; Engineering, Applied Science, and Mathematics; Life Sciences; and Physics.
 
Find research opportunities that match your interests by exploring this website: www.nationalacademies.org/rap . Contact prospective Research Adviser(s) and host lab(s) to discuss your interests and then you may apply online using the WebRAP electronic application system. 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.). In addition, applicants should note application deadlines, as not all laboratories participate in all reviews.

DARPASCORE
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)
Systematizing Confidence in Open Research and Evidence (SCORE)
Sponsor Deadline for Abstracts (strongly encouraged): November 1, 2018 for TA3; abstract deadline has passed for TA1 and TA2
OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission
Sponsor Deadline for Full Proposals: August 1, 2018 for TA1 and TA2; December 12, 2018 for TA3
Award Amount: The level of funding for individual awards made under this BAA will depend on the quality of the proposals received and the availability of funds. SCORE is a 36-month program, comprising two phases with durations of 18 months each.
 
DARPA's Defense Sciences Office (DSO) is soliciting innovative research proposals for the development and deployment of automated tools to assign Confidence Scores (CSs) to different kinds of Social and Behavioral Science (SBS) research results and claims. CSs are quantitative measures that should enable  someone to understand the degree to which a particular claim or result is likely to be reproducible and/or replicable. These tools will assign explainable CSs with a reliability that is equal to, or better than, the best current human expert methods and will enable a consumer of SBS research to quickly calibrate the level of confidence in the Reproducibility and Replicability (R&R) of a given SBS result or claim.
 
To achieve its vision, the SCORE program will fund research in three Technical Areas (TAs), with an independent Test and Evaluation (T&E) team providing oversight. DARPA is soliciting proposals for TA1, TA2, or TA3 but is not soliciting proposals for participation on the T&E team. Each proposal should only address a single TA. The three TAs are:
  • TA1: Data
  • TA2: Experts
  • TA3: Algorithms
DARPA anticipates multiple awards under each Technical Area (TA).


DODOASDHA
Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs (OASD(HA)); Defense Health Agency (DHA); and the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU)
Global Health Engagement Research Initiative (GHERI)
OSP Deadline for White Papers: July 25, 2018 
Sponsor Deadline for White Papers (required): August 1, 2018
Award Amount: Up to $950,000 per year for up to 3 years
 
The USU's Center for Global Health Engagement (CGHE) Research Division is soliciting White Papers from interested parties for research related to operational efforts and advanced technology development efforts that will meet the needs of the Joint Force in either:

1.    Improving the understanding and/or execution of DoD GHE or
2.    Utilizing DoD health research activities to engage a partner nation/partner nations                  (PN/PNs) in support of Theater Campaign Plan (TCP) objectives to further research.
 
White Papers must address at least one element of the research areas listed in the solicitation.


DODIAICCAE
Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA)
FY2018 Intelligence Community Centers for Academic Excellence (IC CAE) Critical Technology Studies Program
OSP Deadline: July 27, 2018 
Sponsor Deadline for Full Proposals: August 3, 2018
Award Amount: $2M over 3 years
 
The IC CAE program's purpose is to develop a diverse cadre of qualified intelligence professionals to carry out America's long-term national security initiatives by creating a competitive, knowledgeable and diverse workforce through the provision of multi-year grants to colleges and universities. The IC CAE Critical Technology Studies Program (CTSP) encourages eligible institutions of higher education to submit applications that expand capacity, capability, research and training in the data science of machine learning, artificial intelligence, computer vision and computationally efficient modeling techniques for U.S. students in areas of interest to the Intelligence Community. 
 
While all accredited four-year colleges and universities in the United States are eligible to apply, the legislation that established the program emphasized increasing the gender and ethnic diversity of the IC workforce. Therefore, the IC CAE program is especially interested in institutions with diverse populations of talent and geographic diversity. Eligible institutions must demonstrate having current academic programs which serve as a foundation for a Critical Technology Studies Program. The PI, and any coPIs of this award, must be a U.S. citizen.
 
Five awards are anticipated.


DODDARPAPAI
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)
Disruption Opportunity Special Notice - The Physics of Artificial Intelligence (PAI)
OSP Deadline: July 30, 2018 
Sponsor Deadline for Full Proposals: August 6, 2018 
Award Amount: Up to $1M for 18 months
 
DARPA's Defense Sciences Office (DSO) is issuing a Disruption Opportunity (DO) Special Notice (SN) inviting submissions of innovative basic research concepts exploring radically new architectures and approaches in Artificial Intelligence (AI) that incorporate prior knowledge, such as known physical laws, to augment sparse data and to ensure robust operation. It is anticipated that multidisciplinary teams incorporating domain expertise, physics, mathematics, AI, statistics, information theory, control theory and additional disciplines will be required to achieve the transformational goals of the program.
 
This DO SN is part of DARPA's portfolio of ongoing AI research and is issued under the  Program Announcement for Disruptioneering, DARPA-PA-18-01 . All proposals must be submitted to DARPA-PA-18-01 and if selected, will result in an award of an Other Transaction (OT) for prototype project.


DODAFOSRCenterDesign
Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR)
CENTER OF EXCELLENCE: Design of High Electrical Strength Materials
OSP Deadline: August 6, 2018 
Sponsor Deadline for Full Proposals: August 13, 2018 
Award Amount: Up to $1M per year for a maximum of 5 years
 
This is a special BAA in support of the Air Force Research Laboratory's (AFRL) University Center of Excellence for High Critical Electric Field Strength Materials. A University Center of Excellence (COE) is defined as a joint effort among Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR), Air Force Research Laboratory Technology Directorates (AFRL TDs), and an outstanding university or team of universities to perform high priority collaborative research. This center is a joint project between the AFRL's Air Force Office of Scientific Research and the Materials and Manufacturing Directorate (AFRL/RX), and Sensors Directorate (AFRL/RY).
 
The Center of Excellence should extend the research capabilities of AFRL on the topical area of epitaxial synthesis of high critical electric field strength materials and provide opportunities for a new generation of US scientists and engineers to address Air Force research needs. This is a special BAA because it explicitly calls for (a) research in high priority Air Force interest area of high critical electrical field strength materials, (b) a joint effort between University researchers, AFRL/RX and AFRL/RY to develop unique oxide synthesis capabilities exploring fundamental doping and transport properties of these materials as a function of structural changes, and (c) educate students within the US in vital technology areas with opportunities for potential recruitment of US nationals for employment at AFRL. The particular challenges of interest that should be addressed by the proposed COE are (C-1) Design of High Critical Electrical field strength Ga2O3 Films, (C-2) Semiconducting Epitaxial Ga2O3 Films, and (C-3) Education and Opportunities for AFRL new employee recruitment.
 
One grant award is anticipated.


DODCDMRPCRA
Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP)
Orthotics and Prosthetics Outcomes Research Program (OPORP): Clinical Research Award (CRA)
Sponsor Deadline for Pre-Applications (required): August 6, 2018
OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission 
Sponsor Deadline for Full Proposals (if invited): October 25, 2018 
Award Amount: Funding Level 1 to support pilot research will provide awards up to $350,000 for a maximum of 2 years. Funding Level 2 awards up to $1.5M for up to 4 years will fund research that is supported by preliminary data and has the potential to make significant advancements toward clinical translation.
 
The FY18 Orthotics and Prosthetics Outcomes Research Program (OPORP) Clinical Research Award  (CRA) mechanism is being offered for the first time in FY18 and challenges the scientific community to address which orthotic and prosthetic devices, and which characteristics of those devices, generate the best patient outcomes. The FY18 OPORP CRA is focused on outcomes-based best practices through analysis of prosthetic and/or orthotic device options that are currently available, and not on the development of a new technology or the improvement of an existing technology. The intent of the award is to generate clinically useful evidence that will enhance and optimize patient outcomes.
 
Applications to the FY18 OPORP CRA must address at least one of the Focus Areas listed below:
  • Orthotic or Prosthetic Device Form
  • Orthotic or Prosthetic Device Fit
  • Orthotic or Prosthetic Device Function
The FY18 OPORP CRA supports clinical research but not clinical trials. Investigators wishing to apply for funding for a clinical trial should utilize the  FY18 OPORP Clinical Trial Award mechanism (Funding Opportunity Number: W81XWH-18-OPORP-CTA).
 
The CDMRP expects to allot approximately $3.7M of the $10M FY18 OPORP appropriation to fund approximately two CRA Funding Level 1 and two CRA Funding Level 2 applications, depending on the quality and number of applications received.


DODOSDMinerva
Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD)
Minerva Research Initiative
OSP Deadline: August 7, 2018
Sponsor Deadline: August 14, 2018 
Award Amount: $150,000-$1M per year for 3-5 years
 
The Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) is interested in receiving proposals for the  Minerva Research Initiative , a university-led defense social science program seeking fundamental understanding of the social and cultural forces shaping U.S. strategic interests globally. The Minerva Research Initiative emphasizes questions of strategic importance to U.S. national security policy. It seeks to increase the Department's intellectual capital in the social sciences and improve its ability to address future challenges and build bridges between the Department and the social science community. Minerva brings together universities and other research institutions around the world and supports multidisciplinary and cross-institutional projects addressing specific interest areas determined by the Department of Defense. The Minerva program aims to promote research in specific areas of social science and to promote a candid and constructive relationship between DoD and the social science academic community. Proposals will be considered both for single-investigator awards as well as larger teams.
 
The Minerva Research Initiative competition is for research related to the following eight topics:
  • Topic 1: Sociopolitical (In)Stability, Resilience, and Recovery
  • Topic 2: Economic Interdependence and Security
  • Topic 3: Alliances and Burden Sharing
  • Topic 4: Fundamental Dynamics of Scientific Discovery
  • Topic 5: Adversarial Information Campaigns
  • Topic 6: Automated Cyber Vulnerability Analysis
  • Topic 7: Power, Deterrence, Influence, and Escalation Management for Shaping Operations
10 to 12 awards are anticipated.


DODAFOSRCenterExcel
Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR)
CENTER OF EXCELLENCE: Assured Autonomy in Contested Environments
OSP Deadline: August 13, 2018 
Sponsor Deadline for Full Proposals: August 22, 2018 
Award Amount: Up to $6M. The maximum period of performance is 6 years.
 
This center is a joint project between the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) and the Air Force Research Laboratory's (AFRL) Space Vehicles Directorate (AFRL/RV), Munitions Directorate (AFRL/RW), and Sensors Directorate (AFRL/RY). The center will extend the research capabilities of the Air Force Research Laboratory, and provide opportunities for a new generation of United States scientists and engineers to address the basic research needs of the United States Air Force (USAF). The UCoE researchers will coordinate research projects with AFRL/RV, RW, and RY researchers, share information and best practices, author joint studies and publications, and provide a greater number of learning opportunities and applications for students and the defense community overall. Frequent interactions, including joint conferences, workshops and other research exchange activities are expected.
 
This University Center of Excellence (UCoE) is to conduct fundamental research into concepts and approaches in mathematical and computational science towards the design, development and employment of autonomous systems, within the context of a contested (adversarial) environment. The broad primary objective of this UCoE is to make fundamental advances in several, coupled autonomy-related fields in order to increase functional flexibility, while being constrained by the multiple aspects of variable system capabilities and operation in contested environments. The particular challenges of interest that should be addressed by the proposed UCoE are:
  • Uncertain Adversarial Conditions
  • Computational Resources
  • Communication Resources
  • Limited Training Data
  • Integration
One grant award is anticipated.


DODONRVBFF
Office of Naval Research (ONR)
FY2019 Vannevar Bush Faculty Fellowship (VBFF)
Sponsor Deadline for Acqutrak Registration: August 15, 2018
Sponsor Deadline for White Papers (required): August 17, 2018
OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission 
Sponsor Deadline for Full Proposals (if invited): January 28, 2019 
Award Amount: Up to $3M over 5 years

This program, formerly known as the National Security Science and Engineering Faculty Fellowship (NSSEFF) program, supports distinguished researchers for the purpose of conducting innovative basic research in areas of interest to the DoD and fostering long-term relationships between the VBFF Fellows and the DoD. The FOA also facilitates opportunities intended to develop the next generation of scientists and engineers for the defense workforce. VBFF is oriented towards bold and ambitious "blue sky" research that may lead to extraordinary outcomes such as revolutionizing entire disciplines, creating entirely new fields, or disrupting accepted theories and perspectives.
 
Faculty with tenure and full-time research staff with the skills, knowledge, and resources necessary to conduct the proposed research as the principal investigator (PI) are invited to submit an application. Applicants should have a record of substantial scientific contributions. The PI must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident. 
 
This FOA is for single investigator grant proposals for basic research in one or more of the following technical subject categories of interest to the DoD:

1.    Engineering Biology
2.    Quantum Information Science
3.    Cognitive Neuroscience
4.    Novel Engineered Materials
5.    Applied Mathematics (theory and experiments) and Statistics
6.    Manufacturing Science

7.    Other Fields of Research with High Potential

DODDARPAPrepare
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)
PReemptive Expression of Protective Alleles and Response Elements (PREPARE)
OSP Deadline: August 20, 2018 
Sponsor Deadline for Full Proposals: August 27, 2018 
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. PREPARE is structured into a 4 year effort consisting of 2 phases for 2 years each.
 
The PREPARE program aims to develop programmable gene modulators for humans that can provide specific, effective, safe, and transient medical countermeasures and prophylaxes to combat biological,  chemical, and/or radiological threats to public health and national security. The four primary threats that PREPARE will address are: influenza viral infection; opioid overdose; organophosphate (OP) poisoning; and exposure to gamma radiation. It is anticipated that successful proposals will be comprised of multi-disciplinary teams, and that successful implementation will likely require academic and industrial collaborations.
 
In Phase I, proposers should concurrently develop and integrate component innovations spanning three Technical Areas (TAs):
  • TA1: Gene Target Identification
  • TA2: Programmable Gene Modulator Development
  • TA3: Clinical Formulations
Multiple awards are anticipated.

 
DODONRFY2019NavalYIP
Office of Naval Research (ONR)
FY2019 Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Program
OSP Deadline: August 24, 2018 
Sponsor Deadline for Full Proposals: August 31, 2018 
Award Amount: Up to $500,000 for 24-months with an option for up to $250,000 for an additional 12 months
 
ONR's Young Investigator Program seeks to identify and support academic scientists and engineers who are in their first or second full-time tenure-track or tenure-track-equivalent academic appointment, who have received their PhD or equivalent degree on or after 01 January 2011, and who show exceptional promise for doing creative research. The objectives of this program are to attract outstanding faculty members of Institutions of Higher Education to the Department of the Navy's Science and Technology (S&T) research program, to support their research, and to encourage their teaching and research careers. The Principal Investigator of a proposal must be a U.S. citizen, national, or permanent resident (on the date proposals are due).
 
Proposals addressing research areas (as described in the ONR Science and Technology Department section of ONR's website at  www.onr.navy.mil ) which are of interest to ONR program officers will be considered. Contact information for each division (a subgroup of an S&T Department) is also listed within the S&T section of the website. Applicants are STRONGLY ENCOURAGED to contact the appropriate Program Officer who is the point of contact for a specific technical area to discuss their research ideas.
 
Multiple awards are anticipated. In 2018, 32 awards were made.


Army Research Office (ARO), Office of Naval Research (ONR), and Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR)
Fiscal Year 2019 Multidisciplinary Research Program of the University Research Initiative (MURI)
OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission
Sponsor Deadline for Full Proposals: October 16, 2018
Award Amount:  Typical annual funding per grant is $1.25M-$1.5M for 5 years.
 
DOD's MURI program addresses high risk basic research that is of potential interest to DoD and attempts to understand or achieve something that has never been done before. 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. The MURI program was initiated over 25 years ago and it 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 2019 MURI competition is for the following topics:

ONR
Topic 1: Fundamental Limits on Information Latency
Topic 2: Molecularly Programmable Graphene Architecture (MPGA)
Topic 3: Identifying invariances for improved modeling and prediction of oceanographic phenomena
Topic 4: Self-Assembly for High Performance Organic Electronics
Topic 5: Bio-inspired high-dimension control through models of cephalopod distributed information processing
Topic 6: Active Perception and Knowledge Exploitation in Navigation and Spatial Awareness
Topic 7: Advanced Analytical and Computational Modeling of Arctic Sea Ice
Topic 8: Topology & Advanced Dynamics of Coupled Human/Machine Systems
ARO
Topic 9: Clearing Your Head: The Glymphatic System and Restorative Effects of Sleep
Topic 10: Foundations of Emergent Computation and Self-Organized Adaptation
Topic 11: Multi-layer Network Modeling of Plant and Pollen Distribution across Space and Time
Topic 12: Near Field Radiative Heat Energy Transfer between Nanostructured Materials
Topic 13: Networked Interactions Governing Community Dynamics
Topic 14: Prediction and Control in Particulate Systems
Topic 15: Reactive and non-Reactive Scattering from Targeted Molecular Quantum States
Topic 16: Unified Decision Theory: From Bounded to Unbounded Rationality
AFOSR
Topic 17: THz Electronics Based on Antiferromagnets
Topic 18: Quantum Information Concepts from Tensor Networks and the Holographic Principle
Topic 19: 2D Heterostructures for Flexible, Lightweight Electronics and Optoelectronics
Topic 20: Feedback control and sparse neural signals
Topic 21: Dissipation Engineering in Open Quantum Systems
Topic 22: Group-IV Alloy Synthesis and Materials Properties
Topic 23: Neuromorphic Networks for Multifunctional Intelligent Systems
Topic 24: Microstructurally-aware Continuum Models for Energetic Materials
 
The total amount of funding for the five years available for grants resulting from this MURI FOA is estimated to be approximately $170M pending out-year appropriations.


DODNPSResearchPostgrad
Naval Postgraduate School (NPS)
Research Initiatives at the Naval Postgraduate School
OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission 
Sponsor Deadline for White Papers and Full Proposals: Rolling through May 31, 2019 
Award Amount: The funded amount and period of performance of each proposal selected for award will vary depending on the research area and the technical approach to be pursued by the applicant selected.
 
The Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) is interested in receiving proposals for research initiatives that offer potential for advancement and improvement in the NPS core mission of graduate education and research. Readers should note that this is an announcement to declare NPS's solicitation in competitive funding of meritorious research initiatives across a spectrum of science and engineering, business, politics and public/foreign policy, operational and information sciences, and interdisciplinary disciplines that are in line with the NPS's graduate education and research mission.
 
Additional information on the Naval Postgraduate School's graduate education and research mission is available at:

DODCongress
U.S. Department of Defense
Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP)
Peer Reviewed Medical Research Program
OSP Deadline: Varies by program 
Sponsor Deadline for Full Proposal: Varies by program 
Award Amount: Varies by program
 
The vision of the FY18 PRMRP is to improve the health and well-being of all military Service members, Veterans, and beneficiaries. The PRMRP challenges the scientific and clinical communities to address at least one of the FY18 PRMRP Topic Areas (see program solicitations for a full list of the Topic Areas) with original ideas that foster new directions along the entire spectrum of research and clinical care. The program seeks applications in laboratory, clinical, behavioral, epidemiologic, and other areas of research to advance knowledge in disease etiology, improve prevention, detection, diagnosis, treatment, and quality of life for those affected by a relevant disease or condition, and to develop and validate clinical care or public health guidelines. 
 
Applicants should select the FY18 PRMRP Program Announcement most appropriate to the stage of the proposed research. DoD offers several types of awards under this program, including a  Discovery Award ,  Investigator-Initiated Research Award ,  Technology/Therapeutic Development Award , and  Focused Program Award .
 
The FY18 appropriation for PRMRP is $330,000,000.

 
DODOther
Other DoD Opportunities
I f you are interested in DoD funding opportunities, please note:
The  Defense Innovation Marketplace  is a centralized source for Department of Defense science and technology (S&T) planning, acquisition resources, funding, and financial information. 
 

U.S. Department of Energy

DOENNSA
National Nuclear Security Administration
Integrated University Program: Enabling Technologies and Innovation & Monitoring, Technology and Verification
OSP Deadline: August 27, 2018
Sponsor Deadline: September 4, 2018
Award Amount: Up to $25,000,000 per award for up to five years
 
The mission of the U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration, Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation Research and Development (DNN R&D) is to support U.S. national and nuclear security objectives in reducing global nuclear security threats through the innovation of unilateral and multi-lateral technical capabilities to detect, identify, and characterize: 1) foreign nuclear weapons programs, 2) illicit diversion of special nuclear materials, and 3) global nuclear detonations. The role of Institutions of Higher Education for nuclear security research and development is to innovate and develop some of the most challenging basic aspects of new technology and methods. Once these basic aspects have been proven at the IHE level, the DOE/NNSA National Laboratories and/or National Security Sites/Complexes can fulfill their unique role to perform mission-specific research and development that improves on capabilities until they are either adopted by operational enterprises or transitioned into private industry for commercialization. Transparently and effectively linking these IHE and DOE/NNSA National Laboratory and/or National Security Sites/Complexes roles represents the core of how DNN R&D proposes to meet its objectives.  
 
The intent of this Funding Opportunity Announcement is to award two separate five-year cooperative agreements to consortia of accredited IHEs to allow them to receive and administer funds for student and faculty research, fellowships, and scholarship funding awarded by DOE/NNSA, DNN R&D. Each cooperative agreement will be awarded to a consortium of IHEs which will include the participation of DOE/NNSA National Laboratories and/or National Security Sites/Complexes as a consortium-member(s). Individual consortium-member IHEs shall make specific contributions and shall receive specified portions of the funding.
 
The consortium may include student and research fellows and must have a long-term objective of building expertise in nuclear nonproliferation detection. Research results should be incorporated readily into IHE curricula. Students, faculty, and researchers must be able to work unencumbered while moving across what are now organizational and bureaucratic boundaries of the academic and governmental facilities engaged in the consortium, while properly protecting critical information and materials. The consortium should establish reciprocal arrangements between the lead IHE and other IHEs as well as relationships with appropriate DOE/NNSA National Laboratories and/or National Security Sites/Complexes.


DOEFOAAdvancedWind
Office of Renewable Energy
Notice of Intent to Issue FOA: Advanced Wind R&D to Reduce Costs and Improve Environmental Performance
Sponsor Deadline: TBD
 
The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy intends to issue, on behalf of the Wind Energy Technologies Office, a funding opportunity announcement (FOA) entitled "Advanced Wind R&D to Reduce Costs and Improve Environmental Performance." This FOA supports efforts aimed at catalyzing technical and operational solutions to reduce environmental compliance costs and improve environmental performance of turbines. 
 
It is anticipated that the FOA may include the following Topic Areas:
  • Topic Area 1: Advancing Smart Curtailment Strategies
  • Topic Area 2: Advanced Component Research and Development
  • Topic Area 3: Development and Validation of Offshore Wind Monitoring and Mitigation Technologies
This Notice is issued so that interested parties are aware of the EERE's intention to issue this FOA in the near term. All of the information contained in this Notice is subject to change.


DOEFOAHub
Office of Renewable Energy
Notice of Intent to Issue FOA: Energy-Water Desalination Hub
Sponsor Deadline: TBD
 
The purpose of this notice is to provide potential applicants advance notice that the Advanced Manufacturing Office, on behalf of the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, intends to issue funding opportunity announcement (FOA) entitled "Energy-Water Desalination Hub". This FOA will support the establishment of an Energy Innovation Hub in the area of Energy-Water Desalination to accelerate transformational advances in science and engineering focused on reducing the energy and cost requirements of desalination to provide clean and safe water. The Hub will include highly collaborative research teams, spanning multiple scientific, engineering, and where appropriate, economic and public policy disciplines. By bringing together top talent from across the full spectrum of research and development performers-including universities, private industry, non-profits, and National Laboratories-the Hub will serve as the world-leading R&D center in Energy-Water Desalination. 
 
This Notice is issued so that interested parties are aware of the EERE's intention to issue this FOA in the near term. All of the information contained in this Notice is subject to change.


DOEOREFOA
Office of Renewable Energy
Notice of Intent to Issue FOA: Innovative Design Concepts for Standard Modular Hydropower and Pumped Storage Hydropower
Sponsor Deadline: TBD

The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy intends to issue, on behalf of the Water Power Technologies Office, a funding opportunity announcement (FOA) entitled "Innovative Design Concepts for Standard Modular Hydropower and Pumped Storage Hydropower." DOE's Hydropower Vision report [1] identified 1.7 GW of hydropower potential in undeveloped sites and waterways, with an additional 15 GW enabled by the emergence of innovative-even transformational-technologies and designs to reduce costs and meet environmental performance objectives. To facilitate development of new stream-reach resources, innovation in standardization, modularity, and environmental compatibility is required. In addition, 43 pumped storage hydropower (PSH) plants provide over 95% of utility-scale electrical energy storage in the United States. To expand the value and contribution of PSH in the future electricity system, research into storage technology designs, optimization, and modeling tools is needed. To address these gaps, this FOA solicits new design concepts and associated modeling and analysis for standard modular hydropower and PSH.

The FOA may include the following topic areas:
  • Topic Area 1:  Facility Design for Standard Modular Hydropower Development
  • Topic Area 2:  New Use Cases for Pumped Storage Hydropower
  • Sub-topic 2.1:  Innovative conceptual designs for pumped storage systems
  • Sub-topic 2.2:  Modeling and analyzing the role of pumped storage in asset and system optimization 
This Notice is issued so that interested parties are aware of the EERE's intention to issue this FOA in the near term. All of the information contained in this Notice is subject to change. 


DOE_Other
Other DOE Opportunities

IARPA

IARPABETTER
Better Extraction from Text Towards Enhanced Retrieval (BETTER)
OSP Deadline: September 7, 2018
Sponsor Deadline: September 14, 2018
Award Amount: Up to $750,000

The Better Extraction from Text Towards Enhanced Retrieval (BETTER) Program will develop methods for extracting increasingly fine-grained semantic information, with a focus of events in the form of who-did-what-to-whom-when-where, across multiple languages and problem domains. This extracted information will be applied to an information retrieval task. An additional area of focus is human-in-the-loop computation. Performer systems will need the ability to incorporate human judgments for metrics such as relevancy and accuracy of extracted or retrieved information.
 
These requirements translate into three major research thrusts:
  • Information extraction (IE) - Offerors will propose novel approaches for extracting semantic information, such as political events, from a foreign-language corpus using English-language training data.
  • Information retrieval (IR) - Offerors will propose methods for incorporating semantic information, such as the previously mentioned political events, into an information retrieval setting.
  • Human computation - Offerors will propose methods that allow for human-in-the-loop updates to developed algorithms in order to improve accuracy and relevancy of the extracted and retrieved information created during the program phases.
Proposals are required to address all three research areas.


IARPAMIST
Molecular Information Storage (MIST) Program 
OSP Deadline: July 30, 2018
Sponsor Deadline: August 6, 2018 (Deadline Extended) 
Award Amount: Up to $750,000
 
The goal of the MIST program is to develop deployable storage technologies that can eventually scale into the exabyte regime and beyond with reduced physical footprint, power and cost requirements relative to conventional storage technologies. MIST seeks to accomplish this by using sequence controlled polymers as a data storage medium, and by building the necessary devices and information systems to interface with this medium. Technologies are sought to optimize the writing and reading of information to/from polymer media at scale, and to support random access of information from polymer media archives at scale.
 
The MIST program is anticipated to have a duration of four years composed of two phases, each of which will be 24 months in duration. The desired capabilities for both phases of the program are described by three Technical Areas (TAs):
 
TA1 (Storage):  Develop a table-top device capable of writing information to molecular media with a target throughput and resource utilization budget. Multiple, diverse approaches are anticipated, which may utilize DNA, polypeptides, synthetic polymers, or other sequence-controlled polymer media.
 
TA2 (Retrieval):  Develop a table-top device capable of randomly accessing information from molecular media with a target throughput and resource utilization budget. Multiple, diverse approaches are anticipated, which may utilize optical sequencing methods, nanopores, mass spectrometry, or other methods for sequencing polymers in a high-throughput manner.
 
TA3 (Operating System):  Develop an operating system for use with storage and retrieval devices that coordinates addressing, data compression, encoding, error-correction and decoding of files from molecular media in a manner that supports efficient random access at scale. Multiple, diverse approaches are anticipated, which may draw on established methods from the storage industry, or develop new methods to accommodate constraints imposed by polymer media. The end result of the program will be technologies that jointly support end-to-end storage and retrieval at the terabyte scale, and which present a clear and commercially viable path to future deployment at the exabyte scale. Collaborative efforts and teaming among potential performers is highly encouraged. It is anticipated that teams will be multidisciplinary and may include expertise in chemistry, synthetic biology, molecular biology, biochemistry, bioinformatics, microfluidics, semiconductor engineering, computer science and information theory. IARPA anticipates. 

IARPACASE
Participants' Day WebEx for the Credibility Assessment Standardized Evaluation (CASE) Prize Challenge
WebEx Registration Deadline: July 30, 2018 by 5:00PM
WebEx Date: July 31, 2018 at 1:00PM
 
IARPA will host a Participants' Day WebEx for the Credibility Assessment Standardized Evaluation (CASE) Prize Challenge on Tuesday, July 31, 2018 at 1:00PM in anticipation of the launch of a new prize challenge. The WebEx will be held online and will provide information about the challenge in anticipation of its release, allowing potential participants to ask questions and receive community feedback. This announcement serves as a pre-prize challenge notice and is issued solely for information and planning purposes. Registration can be completed via the following site:  https://eventmanagement.cvent.com/CASEChallengeParticipantsDay

The goal of the CASE challenge is to develop novel procedures to evaluate the accuracy, reliability, and utility of current and future credibility assessment techniques and technologies, such as the polygraph. The CASE Challenge is the first concerted effort to invite interested individuals to develop credibility assessment evaluation methods that can be used to objectively evaluate both existing and novel credibility assessment techniques/technologies. In doing this the CASE Challenge strives to incentivize a broad range of new ideas, while still ensuring their utility to real-world applications. To meet this goal, a panel of experts will evaluate each solution based on: its novelty and innovation; the potential utility of the protocol in practice; its scientific credibility and how likely it will be to generate valid and repeatable outcomes and objective ground truth about whether someone is truly credible or not; its applicability to real-world use cases for the IC and law enforcement; and its responsible care and protection of people who would participate in the protocol.
 
It is anticipated that there will be several prizes with a total prize purse of $100,000. The prizes will focus on ideas that are novel, innovative, safe, have the potential to be useful, and are scientifically credible.


IARPA_other
Other IARPA Opportunities
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

NASASpaceTech2
Space Technology Research Grants Program, Space Technology Research Institutes Appendix
OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission
Sponsor Deadline for Preliminary Proposals (required): July 30, 2018
Sponsor Deadline for Invited Full Proposals: November 5, 2018 
Award Amount: The planned award duration is 5 years; the maximum annual award  amount is $3M (total award amount may not exceed $15M). 
 
With this Space Technology Research Institutes (STRI or research institute) Appendix, NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) complements the individual research grants and project opportunities offered in other STMD programs with the addition of larger, multi-disciplinary, university-led research efforts. The research institutes construct enables coordination of experts from a wide range of fields and organizations in a single distributed research structure. For research areas of overlapping interest, this approach could significantly increase partnerships between NASA, other government agencies, industry, and academia, enabling greater progress and benefit for all involved. The institute approach facilitates a more focused and coordinated set of research and development (R&D) efforts than typically arise from a series of separate solicitations and individual research grants. Because the research institute maintains its focus for several years, more effective and substantial research progress is envisioned for the selected high priority research areas. In addition, the research institutes have the potential to increase the cadre of STMD researchers by involving experts and/or organizations that do not typically work closely with NASA. The alternate perspectives and new approaches they bring could lead to exciting new solutions and advances.  The research institutes resulting from this Appendix will focus on one of the following topic areas:
  • Topic 1 - Revolutionary Propulsion for Rapid Deep Space Transit
  • Topic 2 - Smart Deep Space Habitats (SmartHabs)
Creative teaming arrangements (i.e., diverse, multidisciplinary, and multi-institutional teams) are sought. The lead university is encouraged to not only take advantage of existing partnerships but to establish new partnerships, keeping in mind that diversity of thinking and new approaches could lead to exciting new solutions and advances. Teaming among accredited U.S. universities is required, with a minimum of three participant universities (including the lead university), each receiving at least 15% of the overall research institute budget.
 
Up to two awards are anticipated under this Appendix, likely one for each topic area.
 
Please Note: A university may be the lead on at most one proposal submitted under each topic. However, a lead university can receive only one award through this Appendix. If you are interested in submitting an application, please contact Erin Hale at  [email protected].

Unsolicited Proposals
OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission
Sponsor Deadline: Rolling through September 30, 2018
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:
  1. Review the current versions of the NASA Strategic Plan and documents from the specific directorate, office, or program for which the proposal is intended to determine if the work planned is sufficiently relevant to current goals to warrant a formal submission.
  2. Potential proposers must review current opportunities (e.g., at https://nspires.nasaprs.com/external/solicitations/solicitations.do?method=init&stack=push) to determine if any solicitation already exists to which the potential project could be proposed.
  3. Potential proposers should review current awards (e.g., by doing key word searches at Research.gov, or at the NASA Shared Services Center (NSSC) grant status page, and the NASA Life and Physical Sciences Task Book) to learn what, if any, related work is already funded by NASA. Such preparation reduces the risk of redundancy, improves implementation, and sometimes results in collaboration.
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.

Dual Use Technology Development Cooperative Agreement Notice (CAN) 2018
OSP Deadline: Not required for Notices of Intent 
Sponsor Deadline for Notices of Intent (required): Rolling through September 30, 2018
Award Amount: The budget must be sufficient and reasonable to accomplish the project. The participating partner will contribute an equal value of resources to match the NASA funding for the project.
 
John C. Stennis Space Center (SSC) is the primary NASA rocket propulsion testing center. SSC tests items ranging from multi-engine stages to individual components of rocket engines. Propulsion test customers include NASA, the Department of Defense and the commercial space launch industry. SSC manages a large federal city that is home to over forty federal, state, university and industry entities. SSC manages a restricted airspace that is available for development, testing and operation of unmanned aerial vehicles. SSC engineering laboratories design and test electronics, sensors, algorithms and mechanical components. This CAN supports identification and implementation of cost-sharing partnerships to develop technology to meet a specific NASA need at SSC. This notice seeks responses from potential partners interested in entering into a Cooperative Agreement with NASA for the joint development of technologies to meet SSC needs.
 
SSC technology interests include, but are not limited to, the following:
  • Propulsion system test technology
  • Autonomous & intelligent systems
  • Advanced sensors & instruments
  • Image & signal processing
  • Energy harvesting
  • Innovative components & materials
  • Big data processing & analysis
  • Systems engineering & optimization
  • Computational modeling & simulation
  • Decision support tools & systems

NASAJohnsonSpace
Johnson Space Center:  Research Opportunities for ISS Utilization
Exploration Technology Demonstration and National Lab Utilization Enhancements
OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to sponsor deadline
Sponsor Deadline for White Papers (recommended): Rolling through October 31, 2019 (see solicitation for schedule of review cycles)
Sponsor Deadline for Full Proposals: Rolling through December 31, 2019 (see solicitation for schedule of review cycles)
Award Amount: Details below
 
This announcement is for the development of experiment hardware with enhanced capabilities; modification of existing hardware to enable increased efficiencies (crew time, power, etc.); development of tools that allow analyses of samples and specimens on orbit; enhanced ISS infrastructure capabilities (eg, communications or data processing); and specific technology demonstration projects. Submission of a white paper is recommended in advance of a full proposal.
 
Within the NASA International Space Station (ISS) Research Integration Office, the Technology and Science Research Office (TSRO) and Commercial Space Utilization Office (CSUO) act as "gateways" to the ISS. The Technology and Science Research Office serves as the gateway for NASA-funded technology demonstrations. The Commercial Space Utilization Office serves as the gateway for non-NASA government-funded investigations, as well as non-profit or commercially-funded investigations.
 
Proposed technology demonstrations submitted to TSRO should address at least one of the technology areas mentioned in the ISS Technology Demonstration Plans . In addition, NASA seeks technology demonstrations related to the Space Suit CO2 Sensor thrust area.

NASA also seeks technological concepts via CSUO related to the National Lab Thrust Areas and to expand the onboard research and analytical capabilities. The general thrust areas are:
  • Innovative uses of the ISS or ISS hardware that leverage existing capabilities to stimulate both utilization of the ISS and economic development in the U.S.
  • Other improvements to existing ISS capabilities, including but not limited to infrastructure, in situ analytical tools, and communication/data transmittal, to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the technology demonstrations and science investigations performed on the ISS.
  • Unique partnering arrangements that leverage NASA's existing capabilities but increase the commercial participation in research and on board services. 
Funds are not currently available for awards under this NASA Research Announcement (NRA). The Government's ability to make award(s) is contingent upon the availability of appropriated funds from which payment can be made and the receipt of proposals that NASA determines acceptable for award under this NRA. Successful proposals will have launch and integration costs covered by NASA. 

OtherNASA
Other NASA Opportunities
National Institutes of Health (NIH)

NIHNewInnovator
NIH Director's New Innovator Award (DP2)
OSP Deadline: August 31, 2018
Sponsor Deadline: September 10, 2018
Award Amount: Up to $1,500,000 over five years
 
The NIH Director's New Innovator Award supports exceptionally creative Early Stage Investigators who propose highly innovative research projects with the potential for unusually high impact. 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. 


NIHPioneer
NIH Director's Pioneer Award (DP1)
OSP Deadline: September 7, 2018
Sponsor Deadline: September 14, 2018
Award Amount: $700,000/year for 5 years
 
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 which may be competitive as a new or renewal R01 application. 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. 


NIHTransformative
NIH Director's Transformative Research Award
OSP Deadline: September 14, 2018
Sponsor Deadline: September 21, 2018
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. Applications from individuals with diverse backgrounds and in any topic relevant to the broad mission of NIH are welcome. Little or no preliminary data are expected. Projects must clearly demonstrate the potential to produce a major impact in a broad area of biomedical or behavioral research. 


OtherNIHOpps
Other NIH Opportunities

National Science Foundation

National Science Foundation: Dear Colleague Letters

NSFDCBSF
NSF-BSF Programs
OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission
Sponsor Deadline: varies; please see below
Award Amount: varies; please see below

In 2012, the United States - Israel Binational Science Foundation signed an umbrella Memorandum of Understanding with the NSF, for cooperation in joint funding of collaborative U.S.-Israeli scientific research. Financial support for the U.S. scientists in the joint NSF-BSF funding programs comes from the internal resources of the NSF, as part of its regular activity. Financial support for the Israeli side in NSF-BSF joint funding programs comes from annual allocations from the Israeli Council of Higher Education. The following programs are eligible for this type of funding:
  • Marine Oceanography - Deadline: August 15, 2018 (NSF) and August 20, 2018 (BSF)
  • Basic Plasma Sciences and Engineering - Deadline: October 19, 2018 (NSF) and October 24, 2018 (BSF)
  • Materials - Deadline: November 1, 2018 (NSF) and November 7, 2018 (BSF)
  • Computing and Communication Foundations - Deadline: November 15, 2018 (NSF) and to BSF about one week later
  • Computer and Network Systems - Deadline: November 15, 2018 (NSF) and to BSF about one week later
  • Information and Intelligent Systems - Deadline: November 15, 2018 (NSF) and to BSF about one week later
  • Ecology and Evolution of Infectious Diseases - Deadline: November 21, 2018 (NSF) and November 27, 2018 (BSF)
  • Computational Neuroscience - Deadline: November 27, 2018 (NSF) and December 3, 2018 (BSF)
  • Atomic Molecular and Optical Physics - Experiment and Theory; Gravitational Physics - Experiment and Theory; Integrative Activities in Physics; LIGO Research Support - Deadline: November 28, 2018 (NSF) and December 4, 2018 (BSF)
  • Nuclear Physics - Experiment and Theory; Elementary Particle Physics - Experiment; Particle Physics - Experiment - Deadline: December 4, 2018 (NSF) and December 9, 2018 (BSF)
  • Elementary Particle Physics - Theory; Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology - Theory; Physics of Living Systems; Quantum Information Science - Deadline: December 11, 2018 (NSF) and December 16, 2018 (BSF)
The following programs are open for submission throughout the year: Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems; Ceramics; Condensed Matter and Materials Theory; Electrical, Communications and Cyber Systems; Earth Sciences; Cyber Security; Marine Geology and Geophysics; Molecular and Cellular Biosciences (forthcoming); Integrative Organismal Systems (forthcoming); and Environmental Biology (forthcoming). 


NSFDCRemoval
Removal of Deadlines for the Core Programs in the Directorate for Engineering
OSP Deadline: N/A
Sponsor Deadline: N/A
Award Amount: N/A

The Directorate for Engineering (ENG) is notifying members of the research communities about an important change to submission windows for unsolicited proposals to all core programs in the Divisions of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental and Transport Systems (CBET), Civil, Mechanical and Manufacturing Innovation (CMMI), Electrical, Communications and Cyber Systems (ECCS), and Engineering Education and Centers (EEC). In order to allow Principal Investigators (PIs) more flexibility and to better facilitate interdisciplinary research across engineering disciplines, ENG is removing deadlines for submission of unsolicited proposals to all core programs in CBET, CMMI, ECCS and EEC, effective August 15, 2018. FAQs regarding this announcement can be found here. 

 
DCL_Growing
NSF: Dear Colleague Letter
Growing Convergence Research 
OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission of a full proposal 
Sponsor Deadline for Prospectus Submission: October 15, 2018 (to be considered for FY2019 funding)  
Award Amount: Up to $1M over up to 3 years

This Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) seeks to identify potential future research areas that go beyond NSF's Big Ideas , require a convergence approach, cross internal and/or external organizational and disciplinary boundaries, and advance the progress of science as articulated in NSF's mission. NSF encourages the submission of prospectuses to identify these new areas and specific projects within them. NSF may invite the teams submitting the most promising prospectuses to submit proposals to further explore their research strategies. Prospectuses must outline novel approaches and research strategies that are likely to result in a clear demonstration of the potential for transformative advances. The research areas and proposed projects must reflect the characteristics of convergence outlined  here .

Interested researchers who would like to compete for FY 2019 funding must submit a prospectus describing a new area of research and an exploratory research project within it to the [email protected] mailbox. A prospectus may be submitted at any time to help NSF identify new areas of research that require convergence, but must be submitted by October 15, 2018 to be considered for FY 2019 funding. Researchers describing the most promising research ideas and exploratory projects will be invited to submit a proposal within 60 days after issuance of the invitation. 

NSFDCMPSDates
Proposal Due Date Changes for the Division of Mathematical Sciences (MPS)
OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission of a full proposal
Sponsor Deadline: varies by program
Award Amount: varies by program

The Division of Mathematical Sciences has changed the dates for submission of proposals to six of its programs. Principal Investigators may want to pay particular attention to those programs whose due dates are now earlier than in previous years:
These changes were made to improve internal efficiency and reduce turnaround time in award decisions. These date changes are effective immediately, so please be aware of these changes when preparing proposals to DMS.


NSFDCDREAMB
Discoveries to  Revolutionize Engineering and Architectural Materials for Buildings (DREAM-B)
OSP Deadline: November 26, 2018
Sponsor Deadline: December 3, 2018
Award Amount: up to $300,000

NSF invites proposals to the Engineering for Civil Infrastructure (ECI) program for EArly-concept Grants for Exploratory Research (EAGER) for high risk/high reward fundamental research to investigate wholly new materials and radical changes in the design of conventional materials, through the adaptation and integration of advanced technologies, to enable high performance buildings (structural systems, foundation systems, and building envelopes). Building material designs should be guided by a "closed loop" iterative engineering design process to achieve an optimum balance of building cost, function, performance and constructability that might be attainable within the next few decades. Investigators are urged to begin by imagining materials that can enable buildings to be adaptable to various levels of service and extreme loadings and environmental stresses while balancing occupant health and comfort and other beneficial attributes (such as energy and cost). Investigators should seize opportunities that leverage convergence of knowledge across engineering, computational, and materials science disciplines, especially those outside traditional civil engineering.   Interested PIs are required to contact one of the cognizant NSF Program Officers before submission of the EAGER proposal. 


NSTDCSTEMFuture
STEM Education for the Future
OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission
Sponsor Deadline: March 1, 2019
Award Amount: varies

Through this DCL, NSF aims to support STEM educational research and development projects whose results can enable our country to better prepare its scientific and technical workforce for the future; use technological innovations effectively for education; advance the frontiers of science; and adapt to both new work environments and new education pathways needed to prepare students at all levels for those environments. This DCL encourages educational research and development proposals that are original, creative, and transformative, and that can help the nation educate the STEM workforce of the future, in contexts of: 
This DCL will support three categories of proposals:
  1. Proposals focused on educational transformation: These proposals will leverage technology, computation and/or big data to develop, implement, and analyze educational interventions designed to prepare a diverse workforce, researchers, and innovators of the future. Proposals that explore how students learn to integrate knowledge across disciplines to solve complex problems fall into this category. 
  2. Proposals focused on the science of teaching and learning: These proposals will leverage technology, computation and/or big data to develop, implement, and analyze new tools for assessing and evaluating convergent education strategies that aim to promote student learning at all levels
  3. Planning grants, Research Coordination Networks, Conference, and Workshop Proposals: These proposals will create communities of STEM educators to address convergent curriculum and pedagogical challenges across disciplinary boundaries brought about by the human-technology frontier, the data revolution, or both.
To determine whether a research topic is within the scope of this DCL, principal investigators are strongly encouraged to contact the director(s) of the participating program(s) to which they plan to submit their proposal.


NSFDCLD3SC
Data-Driven Discovery Science in Chemistry (D3SC)
OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission 
Sponsor Deadline: Rolling; EAGER, RAISE, and supplemental funding requests can be submitted at any time but are encouraged by April 15, 2019
Award Amount:  varies by program type

This Dear Colleague Letter invites research proposals that utilize modern data science in the context of chemical and chemical engineering research. Successful D3SC proposals will emphasize  new information that can be obtained from better utilization of data (including data from multiple laboratories, techniques, and/or chemical systems), and how this can lead to new research directions . Proposals that foster and strengthen interactions among chemists and data scientists, and that jointly engage theory, modeling, and experimentation to advance research goals are strongly encouraged. The most competitive proposals will provide detailed discussion of specific data-enabled approaches to be used, the significant chemical problem to be studied, new fundamental chemical knowledge to be gained and the broader relevance of the proposed activities to other areas of chemical research. Proposal elements that consider error and uncertainty analysis, record and store appropriate metadata, and determine the robustness and reliability of data are encouraged. Examples of possible topics include (but are not limited to) using tools of data visualization, data mining, machine learning (including emerging approaches such as deep learning and active learning), or other data analysis approaches to:
  • Accelerate the discovery of homogeneous or heterogeneous catalysts with improved activity and selectivity, as well as the discovery of new catalytic transformations;
  • Advance the design of new chemical species and/or synthetic reactions, and forecast improved synthetic conditions;
  • Map the mechanisms by which chemicals interact and transform, both covalently and noncovalently, and predict structure/property relations based on existing chemical datasets;
  • Discover principles of multiscale organization underlying emergent chemical phenomena in macromolecular systems;
  • Enable real-time feedback loops between chemical data collection and processing for rapid identification and correlation of key events during chemical measurements;
  • Harness chemistry's rich, diverse but distributed datasets and identify novel ways of sharing and utilizing chemical data derived from multiple instruments, datatypes, and locations;
  • Develop innovative approaches for integrating, correlating, and analyzing chemical simulation or measurement data to provide new chemical insights.

Stimulating Educational Neuroscientific Research through the Integrative Strategies for Understanding Neural and Cognitive Systems (NCS) Program
OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission of a full proposal
Sponsor Deadline: Rolling
Award Amount: Varies by award type
 
The  Integrative Strategies for Understanding Neural and Cognitive Systems (NCS) program supports projects that provide new empirical insights, expand theoretical understanding, facilitate development of computational and bioengineered systems, promote new educational approaches, and generate new hypotheses that connect physical, biological, and cognitive mechanisms. With this Dear Colleague Letter (DCL), the National Science Foundation (NSF) seeks to stimulate work in educational neuroscience in the NCS program through foundational grants, noting that advances in neural systems can have significant implications for research on education. While the 2018 application period for the foundational component of this award has passed, NSF continues to accept applications on a rolling basis for capacity-building proposals through conference proposals and Early Concept Grants for Exploratory Research (EAGER) proposals. NSF will accept LOIs and proposals for Foundations awards again in 2019 and 2020.
 

National Science Foundation: Directorate for Computer & Information Science & Engineering (NSF: CISE)

NSFCISESAS
Smart and Autonomous Systems (S&AS)
OSP Deadline: July 24, 2018
Sponsor Deadline: July 31, 2018
Award Amount:  Foundational projects are anticipated to range from $300,000 to $600,000 in total costs for up to three years. Integrative projects are anticipated to range from $500,000 to $1,000,000 in total costs for up to four years.

The Smart and Autonomous Systems (S&AS) program focuses on Intelligent Physical Systems (IPS) that are capable of robust, long-term autonomy requiring minimal or no human operator intervention in the face of uncertain, unanticipated, and dynamically changing situations. IPS are systems that combine perception, cognition, communication, and actuation to operate in the physical world. Examples include, but are not limited to, robotic platforms, self-driving vehicles, underwater exploration vehicles, and smart grids. Most current IPS operate in pre-programmed ways and in a limited variety of contexts. They are largely incapable of handling novel situations, or of even understanding when they are outside their areas of expertise. To achieve robust, long-term autonomy, however, future IPS need to be aware of their capabilities and limitations and to adapt their behaviors to compensate for limitations and/or changing conditions.

To foster such intelligent systems, the S&AS program supports research in four main aspects of IPS: cognizant, taskable, adaptive, and ethical.  Cognizant IPS exhibit high-level awareness of their own capabilities and limitations, anticipating potential failures and re-planning accordingly.  Taskable IPS can interpret high-level, possibly vague, instructions, planning out and executing concrete actions that are dependent on the particular context in which the system is operating.  Adaptive IPS can change their behaviors over time, learning from their own experiences and those of other entities, such as other IPS or humans, and from instruction or observation.  Ethical IPS should adhere to a system of societal and legal rules, taking those rules into account when making decisions. Each of these research areas requires the IPS to be knowledge-rich, employing a variety of representation and reasoning mechanisms, such as semantic, probabilistic, commonsense, and meta-reasoning.

Proposals may be submitted to either of the following two classes, which differ in scope and goals:
  • Foundational (FND) projects focus on research into algorithms and technologies that directly support a specific characteristic or component of IPS. While Foundational investigations are not required to utilize a physical testbed, they must engage in an evaluation designed to demonstrate direct relevance of the research to some IPS.
  • Integrative (INT) projects focus on integrating two or more components of IPS into increasingly smart and autonomous systems. Integrative projects should have longer-term vision, with objectives that could not be attained simply by a collection of smaller projects provided with similar resources. Integrative projects must include rigorous evaluation of physical systems, preferably in real-world settings. This evaluation should follow the scientific methodology, including statement of the formal hypotheses, controlled experiments, evaluation metrics, and statistical analyses of the results. Integrative projects are encouraged to have multiple PIs, preferably from different disciplines.
 
CISE_Initiative
Computer and Information Science and Engineering Research Initiation Initiative (CRII)
OSP Deadline: August 1, 2018
Sponsor Deadline: August 8, 2018
Award Amount: Up to $175,000 for up to 24 months 

With the goal of encouraging research independence immediately upon obtaining one's first academic position after receipt of the PhD, the Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) will award grants to initiate the course of one's independent research. Understanding the critical role of establishing that independence early in one's career, it is expected that funds will be used to support untenured faculty or research scientists (or equivalent) in their first three years in a primary academic position after the PhD, but not more than a total of five years after completion of their PhD. One may not yet have received any other grants or contracts in the Principal Investigator (PI) role from any department, agency, or institution of the federal government, including from the CAREER program or any other program, post-PhD, regardless of the size of the grant or contract, with certain exceptions noted in the solicitation. Serving as co-PI, Senior Personnel, Postdoctoral Fellow, or other Fellow does not count against this eligibility rule. Grants, contracts, or gifts from private companies or foundations; state, local, or tribal governments; or universities do not count against this eligibility rule. It is expected that these funds will allow the new CISE Research Initiation Initiative PI to support one or more graduate students for up to two years.


NSFCISECNS
Computer and Network Systems (CNS): Core Programs
OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission of a full proposal
Sponsor Deadline: September 24, 2018 - October 2, 2018 (Large and Medium Projects); November 1, 2018 - November 15, 2018 (Small Projects)
Award Amount: $1.2M - $3M over up to 5 years (Large Projects); $500,001 - $1.2M over up to 4 years (Medium Projects); up to $500,000 over up to 3 years (Small Projects)

CISE's Division of Computer and Network Systems (CNS) supports research and education projects that take a system-oriented approach to the development of novel computing and networking technologies, or to the enhancement of existing systems in any of several dimensions, or that explore new ways to make use of existing technologies.

Proposers are invited to submit proposals in three project classes, which are defined as follows:
  • Small Projects - up to $500,000 total budget with durations up to three years;
  • Medium Projects - $500,001 to $1,200,000 total budget with durations up to four years; and
  • Large Projects - $1,200,001 to $3,000,000 total budget with durations up to five years.

NSFCISECCF
Computing and Communication Foundations (CCF): Core Programs
OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission of a full proposal
Sponsor Deadline: September 24, 2018 - October 2, 2018 (Medium Projects); November 1, 2018 - November 15, 2018 (Small Projects) 
Award Amount: $500,001 - $1.2M over up to 4 years (Medium Projects); up to $500,000 over up to 3 years (Small Projects) 

CISE's Division of Computing and Communication Foundations (CCF) supports research and education projects that develop new knowledge in four core programs:
  • The Algorithmic Foundations (AF) program;
  • The Communications and Information Foundations (CIF) program;
  • The Foundations of Emerging Technologies (FET) program; and
  • The Software and Hardware Foundations (SHF) program.
Proposers are invited to submit proposals in two project classes, which are defined as follows:
  • Small Projects - up to $500,000 total budget with durations up to three years; and
  • Medium Projects - $500,001 to $1,200,000 total budget with durations up to four years.

NSFCISEIIS
Information and Intelligent Systems (IIS): Core Programs
OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission of a full proposal
Sponsor Deadline: September 24, 2018 - October 2, 2018 (Large and Medium Projects); November 1, 2018 - November 15, 2018 (Small Projects)
Award Amount: $1.2M - $3M over up to 5 years (Large Projects); $500,001 - $1.2M over up to 4 years (Medium Projects); up to $500,000 over up to 3 years (Small Projects)

The Division of Information and Intelligent Systems (IIS) studies the inter-related roles of people, computers, and information. IIS supports research and education activities that 1) develop new knowledge about the role of people in the design and use of information technology (Cyber-Human Systems); 2) increase our capability to create, manage, and understand data and information in circumstances ranging from personal remote devices to globally-distributed systems (Information Integration and Informatics); and 3) advance our understanding of how computational systems can exhibit the hallmarks of intelligence (Robust Intelligence).


  NSFCISEOAC
Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure (OAC): Research Core Program
OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission of a full proposal
Sponsor Deadline: November 1, 2018 - November 15, 2018 (submission window)
Award Amount: up to $500,000 over up to 3 years

The Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure (OAC) supports translational research and education activities in all aspects of advanced cyberinfrastructure (CI) that lead to deployable, scalable, and sustainable systems capable of transforming science and engineering research. Advanced CI includes the spectrum of computational, data, software, networking, and security resources, tools, and services, along with the computational and data skills and expertise, that individually and collectively can transform science and engineering. OAC supports advanced CI research to address new CI frontiers for discovery leading to major innovations, and supports the development and deployment processes, as well as expert services, necessary for realizing the research CI that is critical to the advancement of all areas of science and engineering research and education.

OAC research investments are characterized by their translational nature, i.e., building on basic research results and spanning the design to practice stages. They are further characterized by one or more of the following key attributes: multi-disciplinary, extreme-scale, driven by science and engineering research, end-to-end, and deployable as robust research CI. Areas of translational research supported by OAC include systems architecture and middleware for extreme-scale systems, scalable algorithms and applications, and the advanced CI ecosystem. Principal investigators (PIs) are  strongly encouraged to contact an OAC cognizant program director listed in this solicitation with a 1-page project summary for further guidance. 

National Science Foundation: Directorate for Mathematical & Physical Sciences (NSF: MPS)

NSFMPSCCI
NSF: MPS
Centers for Chemical Innovation (CCI) Phase I
OSP Deadline for Preliminary Proposals: August 7, 2018
Sponsor Deadline for Preliminary Proposals: August 14, 2018
Award Amount: up to $1.8M over three years

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 FY 2019 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  10 Big Ideas.


NSFMPSFRGMS
NSF: MPS
Focused Research Groups in the Mathematical Sciences (FRGMS)
OSP Deadline: September 5, 2018
Sponsor Deadline: September 12, 2018
Award Amount: $150,000 - $500,000 per year for up to 3 years

The purpose of the Focused Research Group activity is to support collaborative groups employing innovative methods to solve specific, major research challenges in the mathematical sciences. A major challenge is an outstanding problem of significant importance that requires the focused and synergistic efforts of a collaborative group to solve, and whose solution will have wide impacts in the mathematical sciences and potentially in other areas. Groups may include, in addition to statisticians and mathematicians, researchers from other science and engineering disciplines appropriate for the proposed research. Risky projects are welcome. Interdisciplinary projects are welcome. Projects should be timely, limited in duration to up to three years, and substantial in their scope and impact for the mathematical sciences. Funded projects that show substantial progress in their first two years may be recommended for a creativity extension for up to an additional two years.


NSFMPSAAG
NSF: MPS
Astronomy and Astrophysics Research Grants (AAG)
OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission of a full proposal
Sponsor Deadline: September 15, 2018 - November 15, 2018
Award Amount: Estimated program budget, number of awards and average award size/duration are subject to the availability of funds.

The Astronomy and Astrophysics Research Grants (AAG) Program provides individual investigator and collaborative research grants for observational, theoretical, laboratory, and archival data studies in astronomy and astrophysics. Acceptable research areas include the following: stellar astronomy and astrophysics; the astronomy and astrophysics of our Galaxy; extragalactic astronomy and astrophysics; and cosmology. Proposals for projects and tools that enable and enhance research in those areas are also acceptable. Proposals that are solely or predominantly for the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of space-based data from NASA-supported missions will be returned without review.

NSFDMS
NSF: MPS
Joint DMS/NIGMS Initiative to Support Research at the Interface of the Biological and Mathematical Sciences
OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission of a full proposal
Sponsor Deadline: October 1, 2018 - October 18, 2018
Award Amount: $100,000 - $400,000 per year for 3-4 years

The Division of Mathematical Sciences (DMS) in the Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS) at NSF and the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) at 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.

This program is designed to support research in mathematics and statistics addressing important questions in the biological and biomedical sciences. A direct relationship between a biological application and the mathematical and/or statistical work is required. Research collaborations that include scientists from both the life sciences community and the mathematical and statistical sciences communities are preferred and encouraged. Proposals from single investigators must make a compelling case that the individual has necessary expertise in both mathematical and biological fields. 

NSFMPSCHEDRP
Division of Chemistry: Disciplinary Research Programs
OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission of a full proposal
Sponsor Deadline: September 1 - September 30, 2018 (CAT, CSDM-A, CSDM-B, CTMC, SYN); October 1 - October 31, 2018 (CMI, CLP, ECS, MSN)
Award Amount: $150,000 per year for three years (average)

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:
  • designing, synthesizing and characterizing new molecules, surfaces, and nanostructures - especially those with a focus on sustainability;
  • increasing our fundamental understanding of molecules and their chemical transformations;
  • developing new tools for chemical discovery, including those in data discovery science where increasing volumes and varieties of data are harnessed to advance innovation;
  • determining structure-function relationships in biological systems and contributing to our understanding of the fundamental rules of life;
  • observing, manipulating, and controlling the behavior of matter and energy in nanometer dimensions such as the quantum regime;
  • understanding chemical processes in the environment;
  • enabling next-generation technologies in sensing, computing, modeling, and communications; and
  • solving complex chemical problems by the development of new theories, computations, and tools, including the synergistic combination of multiple types of instruments.
This solicitation applies to nine CHE Disciplinary Chemistry Research Programs: Chemical Catalysis (CAT); Chemical Measurement and Imaging (CMI); Chemical Structure, Dynamics and Mechanisms-A (CSDM-A); Chemical Structure Dynamics and Mechanisms-B (CSDM-B); Chemical Synthesis (SYN); Chemical Theory, Models and Computational Methods (CTMC); Chemistry of Life Processes (CLP); Environmental Chemical Sciences (ECS); and Macromolecular, Supramolecular and Nanochemistry (MSN).


NSFMPSDMRTMRP
NSF: MPS
Division of Materials Research: Topical Materials Research Programs
OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission of a full proposal
Sponsor Deadline: October 1, 2018 - November 1, 2018
Award Amount: Average award sizes vary greatly among Programs since they may fund different proportions of standard vs. continuing grants.

Research supported by the Division of Materials Research (DMR) focuses on advancing fundamental understanding of materials, materials discovery, design, synthesis, characterization, properties, and materials-related phenomena. DMR awards enable understanding of the electronic, atomic, and molecular structures, mechanisms, and processes that govern nanoscale to macroscale morphology and properties; manipulation and control of these properties; discovery of emerging phenomena of matter and materials; and creation of novel design, synthesis, and processing strategies that lead to new materials with unique characteristics. These discoveries and advancements transcend traditional scientific and engineering disciplines. The Division supports research and education activities in the United States through funding of individual investigators, teams, centers, facilities, and instrumentation. Projects supported by DMR are essential for the development of future technologies and industries that meet societal needs, as well preparation of the next generation of materials researchers.

This solicitation applies to the following six DMR Topical Materials Research Programs that fund research and educational projects by individual investigators or small groups: Biomaterials (BMAT), Condensed Matter Physics (CMP), Electronic and Photonic Materials (EPM), Metals and Metallic Nanostructures (MMN), Polymers (POL), and Solid-State and Materials Chemistry (SSMC).


NSFMPSPHYNSFMPSPHY
Division of Physics: Investigator-Initiated Research Projects
OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission of a full proposal
Sponsor Deadline: November 28, 2018 ( AMO - Theory and Experiment; Gravitational Physics - Theory and Experiment; LIGO Research Support; Integrative Activities in Physics); December 4, 2018 (Nuclear Physics - Theory and Experiment; Elementary Particle Physics - Experiment; Particle Astrophysics - Experiment); December 11, 2018 (Elementary Particle Physics - Theory; Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology - Theory; Physics of Living Systems; Quantum Information Science) 
Award Amount: Pending availability of funds, approximately $90M will be committed for the total budget of all new awards in each cycle.

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; Computational Physics; Elementary Particle Physics; Gravitational Physics; Integrative Activities in Physics; Nuclear Physics; Particle Astrophysics; Physics of Living Systems; Plasma Physics (supported under a separate solicitation); and Quantum Information Science.

 
OtherNSFMPS 
Other NSF: MPS Opportunities 

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

NSFENGINFEWS
NSF: ENG
Innovations at the Nexus of Food, Energy and Water Systems (INFEWS)
OSP Deadline: September 19, 2018
Sponsor Deadline: September 26, 2018
Award Amount: up to $2.5M over 3-5 years (Track I: Modeling and Track II: Solutions); up to $750,000 over 4-5 years (Track III, RCN) 

The INFEWS program seeks to support research that conceptualizes FEW systems broadly and inclusively, incorporating social and behavioral processes (such as decision making and governance), physical processes (such as built infrastructure and new technologies for more efficient resource utilization), natural processes (such as biogeochemical and hydrologic cycles), biological processes (such as agroecosystem structure and productivity), and cyber-components (such as sensing, networking, computation and visualization for decision-making and assessment). Investigations of these complex systems may produce discoveries that cannot emerge from research on food or energy or water systems alone. It is the synergy among these components in the context of sustainability that will open innovative science and engineering pathways to produce new knowledge, novel technologies, and innovative predictive capabilities.

The overarching goal of the INFEWS program is to catalyze well-integrated, convergent research to transform understanding of the FEW Nexus as integrated social, engineering, physical, and natural systems in order to improve system function and management, address system stress, increase resilience, and ensure sustainability. The NSF INFEWS activity is designed specifically to attain the following goals:
  1. Significantly advance our understanding of the food-energy-water system of systems through quantitative, predictive and computational modeling, including support for relevant cyberinfrastructure;
  2. Develop real-time, cyber-enabled interfaces that improve understanding of the behavior of FEW systems and increase decision support capability;
  3. Enable research that will lead to innovative and integrated social, engineering, physical, and natural systems solutions to critical FEW systems problems;
  4. Grow the scientific workforce capable of studying and managing the FEW system of systems, through education and other professional development opportunities.

NSF:ENG
Other NSF: ENG Opportunities
National Science Foundation: Crosscutting and Interdisciplinary

NSFCIDOE
NSF/DOE Partnership in Basic Plasma Science and Engineering
OSP Deadline: October 12, 2018
Sponsor Deadline: October 19, 2018
Award Amount: $25,000 - $250,000 per year for up to 3 years

The National Science Foundation (NSF), with participation of the Directorates for Engineering, Geosciences, and Mathematical and Physical Sciences, and the Department of Energy, Office of Science, Fusion Energy Sciences are continuing the joint Partnership in Basic Plasma Science and Engineering begun in FY1997 and renewed several times since. As stated in the original solicitation ( NSF 97-39 ), which is superseded by the present solicitation, the goal of the initiative is to enhance basic plasma research and education in this broad, multidisciplinary field by coordinating efforts and combining resources of the two agencies. The current solicitation also encourages submission of proposals to perform basic plasma experiments at NSF and DOE supported user facilities, such as the Basic Plasma Science Facility at the University of California, Los Angeles and facilities located at DOE national laboratories, designed to serve the needs of the broader plasma community.


OSP Deadline: November 16, 2018
Sponsor Deadline: November 27, 2018
Award Amount: $100,000 to $250,000 per year in direct costs, with durations of 3 to 5 years

Through the CRCNS program, the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung, BMBF), the French National Research Agency (Agence Nationale de la Recherche, ANR), the United States-Israel Binational Science Foundation (BSF), and Japan's National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) support collaborative activities that will advance the understanding of nervous system structure and function, mechanisms underlying nervous system disorders, and computational strategies used by the nervous system.

Two classes of proposals will be considered in response to this solicitation: 
Domestic and international projects will be considered. As detailed in the solicitation, international components of collaborative projects may be funded in parallel by the participating agencies. 
NSF will coordinate and manage the review of proposals jointly with participating domestic and foreign funding organizations, through a joint panel review process used by all participating funders.

 
OtherNSFCross2 
Other NSF: Crosscutting and Interdisciplinary Opportunities

_________________________________________

For assistance, please contact:

Erin Hale
Senior Research Development Officer
[email protected] | 617-496-5252

Jennifer Corby
Research Development Officer
[email protected] | 617-495-1590


Research Development | Research Administration Services | research.fas.harvard.edu