NSF: Designing Materials to Revolutionize and Engineer our Future (DMREF)

DMREF seeks to foster the design, discovery, and development of materials to accelerate their path to deployment by harnessing the power of data and computational tools in concert with experiment and theory. DMREF emphasizes a deep integration of experiments, computation, and theory; the use of accessible digital data across the materials development continuum; and strengthening connections among theorists, computational scientists, data scientists, mathematicians, statisticians, and experimentalists as well as those from academia, industry, and government. DMREF is committed to the education and training of a next-generation materials research and development (R&D) workforce; well-equipped for successful careers as educators and innovators; and able to take full advantage of the materials development continuum and innovation infrastructures that NSF is creating through partnership with other federal and international agencies.

Institutional Limit: Five (5) Proposals

Internal Deadline: December 19, 2024, 4:45pm

Funder Due Date: February 4, 2025, 5:00pm CT

2024-2025 CWSIS and RSP Intramural Funding Programs

Full Proposals Due January 15, 2025, 4:45pm.

The Office of the Sr. Vice President for Research and Economic Development announces the 2024 call for proposals for the Creative Work and Social Impact Scholarship Funding Program (CWSIS) and the Research Support Program (RSP).

• Only PIs who submitted the required LOI may submit a Full Proposal.
• Complete program descriptions are available on the CWSIS and RSP webpages.

Proposals undergo thorough internal evaluations. Selected proposals undergo external evaluation. A total of ten proposals across both programs may be selected for funding. Funding for awards is for a two-year period.

All Submissions Are Through the AU Competition Space (InfoReady).

• CWSIS Full Proposal Submission Link
• RSP LOI Full Proposal Submission Link

Please contact Christine Cline (334-844-5929) for programmatic assistance; 

Laura Cauthen (344-844-7910) for InfoReady assistance.

Funding Opportunities

NEH Media Projects

This program supports collaboration between media producers and scholars to develop content grounded in humanities scholarship and prepare documentary films and television, radio programs, and podcasts that engage public audiences with humanities ideas in creative and appealing ways. Media Projects awards at two levels: Development and Production.

Applications Due: January 8, 2025, 11:59pm ET

NFWF: Five Star and Urban Waters Restoration Grant Program

This program seeks to develop community capacity to sustain local natural resources through diverse local partnerships focused on improving water quality, watersheds and the species and habitats they support.

Projects include a variety of ecological improvements along with targeted community outreach, education and stewardship. Ecological improvements may include one or more of the following: wetland, riparian, forest and coastal habitat restoration; wildlife conservation, community tree canopy enhancement, wildlife habitat, urban agriculture and community gardens, wildlife and water quality monitoring and green infrastructure best management practices for managing run-off.

Projects should increase access to the benefits of nature, reduce the impact of environmental hazards and engage local communities, particularly underserved communities, in project planning, outreach and implementation.

Applications Due: January 30, 2025, 11:59pm ET 

NSF: Building Synthetic Microbial Communities for Biology, Mitigating Climate Change, Sustainability and Biotechnology (Synthetic Communities)

This solicitation seeks projects that use a model synthetic microbial community to better understand the formation, maintenance or functionality of natural communities and to understand a natural community’s impact on the host, when applicable. This solicitation also seeks projects that create synthetic communities with novel capabilities and aim to understand the biological underpinnings for these novel capabilities. Projects that address fundamental biological principles at any scale, from the molecular to the ecosystem scale, are welcome. Ultimately, this solicitation aims to build a comprehensive biological knowledge base that scientists can use to rationally design synthetic microbial communities with novel applications in climate resiliency, sustainability, biotechnology, and biomanufacturing.

Proposals Due: February 3, 2025, 5:00pm CT

NIH: Laboratories to Optimize Digital Health (R01 Clinical Trial Required)

NIMH seeks applications for innovative research projects to test strategies to increase the reach, efficiency, effectiveness, and quality of digital mental health interventions which may impact mental health outcomes, including suicide behaviors and serious mental illness. This NOFO is intended to support the development of digital health test beds that leverage well-established digital health platforms and infrastructure to rapidly refine and optimize existing evidence-based digital health interventions and to conduct clinical research testing digital mental health interventions that are statistically powered to provide a definitive answer regarding the intervention's effectiveness particularly in populations who experience health disparities and vulnerable populations.

Applications Due: February 5, 2025, 5:00pm CT

Burroughs Wellcome Fund: Innovation in Regulatory Science Awards (IRSA)

BWF’s Innovation in Regulatory Science Awards provides up to $500,000 over five years to academic investigators developing new methodologies or innovative approaches in regulatory science that will ultimately inform the regulatory decisions the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and others make. The Fund especially encourages applications from those seeking to advance regulatory science approaches that will expedite the realization of equitable clinical outcomes.

Applications Due: February 7, 2025, 3:00pm ET

NSF TIP: Experiential Learning for Emerging and Novel Technologies (ExLENT)

The ExLENT program seek to support experiential learning opportunities for individuals from all professional and educational backgrounds, resulting in increased access to, and interest in, career pathways in emerging technology fields (e.g., advanced manufacturing, advanced wireless, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, quantum information science, semiconductors, and microelectronics).

Key goals of the program are to (1) expand access to career-enhancing experiential learning opportunities for a broader, more diverse population, including adult learners interested in re-skilling and/or upskilling (e.g., those who face or who have faced significant barriers to accessing a formal STEM education); (2) promote cross-sector partnerships between organizations in emerging technology fields and those with expertise in workforce development; and (3) develop a workforce aligned with regional economies based on emerging technologies across the Nation.

Proposals Due: February 24, 2025, 5:00pm CT

ExLENT Webinar and Q&A

Friday, December 13, 2024

12:00–1:00pm ET



A virtual webinar and Q &A session titled, Office Hours: Intro to ExLENT Program Solicitation, is being offered. Program directors will discuss eligibility, overview of the types of projects ExLENT supports and additional details about preparing a proposal. After an initial presentation, ample time will be allotted for questions from attendees. Register Here.

Important Updates

Save the Date!

Team Science Series Spring Event on Stress Science 

April 8, 2025

11:00am - 3:00pm

Please save the date for the next event in the Team Science Series discussing the topic of Stress Science.

This Team Science event will be a forum for developing interdisciplinary collaborations that advance stress research, enhance stress education, and strengthen stress management efforts on campus and in the community.

Registration details to come.

Please visit the Team Science page.

Hanover Research Webinars

Communicating the Impacts of Your Research

Thursday, December 19, 2024

11:00am CT

This webinar will focus on helping researchers articulate the significance and broader implications of their work, including an overview of research impacts, the importance of dissemination, and methods for communicating impact.

Register Here.

• Upcoming Webinars in 2025
• Recently posted to the archives: Integrating Theoretical Frameworks into Grant Proposals

CCTS Center for Outcomes and Effectiveness Research and Education (COERE) Annual Methods Symposium

Travel Awards Available

April 10, 2025

UAB Campus

Birmingham, AL

The 2025 COERE symposium will feature general overview presentations on large language models, machine learning, and AI ethics in health services research. Students, trainees, and early-stage investigators outside of UAB are eligible for Travel Awards.

Travel Award Applications Due: December 15, 2024

DOE Funding Opportunity and Webinars

The U.S. Department of Energy has issued Topics FY 2025 SBIR/STTR Phase I Release 2 Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO). It is available at the following website: https://science.osti.gov/sbir/Funding-Opportunities. 

The DOE will hold two webinars for this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) and application process:

• Thursday, December 19, 2024 - presentation on the NOFO and application process
• Friday, December 20, 2024 - Q&A session.

Hanover Research Queue Proposal Review Availability

Slots available January 24, 2025 - April 18, 2025

(Please note: Hanover offices are closed 12/23/24 - 1/3/25)



In order to provide resources for faculty and staff, Auburn University has partnered with Hanover Research for a number of grant development solutions including Pre-proposal Support; Proposal Development; and Capacity Building. Their full-service grant development solutions are available to set goals, build strategies to achieve key grant-seeking objectives, and develop grant proposals that are well-planned, researched, and written. 

For information regarding Hanover’s core capabilities and project timelines, click here. If you are interested in a slot in the queue, please e-mail Tony Ventimiglia.

Research Development and Grantwriting Newsletter

This online publication is a great source for current STEM and Humanities funding opportunities, tips and resources. Published by Academic Research Funding Strategies, LLC, access is available only for Auburn University faculty, staff and students with a valid user ID.