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In 2016, the National Science Foundation (NSF) unveiled a set of "Big Ideas", 10 bold, long-term research and process ideas that identify areas for future investment at the frontiers of science and engineering. The Big Ideas represent unique opportunities to position our Nation at the cutting edge of global science and engineering leadership by bringing together diverse disciplinary perspectives to support convergence research. As such, when responding to this solicitation, even though proposals must be submitted to the Directorate for Geosciences, once received, the proposals will be managed by a cross-disciplinary team of NSF Program Directors. Arctic temperatures are warming faster than nearly everywhere else on Earth, with some models predicting that continued warming could produce an ice-free Arctic Ocean by mid-century. The rapid and wide-scale changes occurring in response to this warming portend new opportunities and unprecedented risks to natural systems; social and cultural systems; economic, political and legal systems; and built environments of the Arctic and across the globe. The lack of scientific observations and the prevalence of interdependent social, natural, and built systems in the Arctic make it challenging to predict the region's future. Understanding and adapting to a changing Arctic will require creative new directions for Arctic-specific research, education, workforce development, and leveraging of science, engineering, and technology advances from outside the Arctic.

In 2016, the National Science Foundation (NSF) unveiled a set of "Big Ideas," 10 bold, long-term research and process ideas that identify areas for future investment at the frontiers of science and engineering (seehttps://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/big_ideas/index.jsp). The Big Ideas represent unique opportunities to position our Nation at the cutting edge of global science and engineering leadership by bringing together diverse disciplinary perspectives to support convergence research. As such, when responding to this solicitation, even though proposals must be submitted tothe Division of Emerging Frontiers in the Directorate for Biological Sciences (BIO/EF),once received, the proposals will be managed by a cross-disciplinary team of NSF Program Directors. The purpose of the Understanding the Rules of Life: Epigenetics (URoL:Epigenetics) program is to enable innovative research and to promote multidisciplinary education and workforce training in the broad area of epigenetics. The URoL:Epigenetics program is a widecollaborationacross Directorates/Offices within the National Science Foundation with a focus on understanding the relationship between epigenetic mechanisms associated with environmental change, the resultant phenotypes of organisms, and how these mechanisms lead to robustness and adaptability of organisms and populations. Understanding the Rules of Life (URoL): PredictingPhenotypeis one of NSF's 10 Big Ideasand is focused on predicting the set of observable characteristics (phenotype) from the genetic makeup of the individual and the nature of its environment.

The U.S. Department of Energy's Geothermal Technology Office(GTO) Zonal Isolation for Manmade Geothermal Reservoirs funding opportunity announcement (FOA) supports early-stage development of enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) tools and technologies, and will seek to improve the performance and economics of EGS systems by funding research in zonal isolation. Zonal isolation technologies can radically improve the performance and economics of EGS, or manmade geothermal reservoirs. These technologies provide the ability to target specific zones for stimulation activities, which can enable the command and control of fracture location and the economy of resources. In turn, this reduces development costs and operational risks associated with EGS development and promotes more power from fewer wellbores. Under this funding opportunity, GTO is interested in two topic areas: Topic 1 - Invention and Innovative Design of Zonal Isolation Technologies and Techniques for EGS Stimulation; and, Topic 2 - Adaption of Existing Zonal Isolation Technologies for EGS Stimulation. The projects selected from this FOA will aim to develop reliable zonal isolation tools and technologies that: * Present low risk to wellbore integrity or the conductivity of fractures; * Can operate at high-temperatures in corrosive, hard rock environments for extended periods of time; and * Withstand large pressure differentials.

The Biological Anthropology Program supports multifaceted research to advance scientific knowledge of human biology and ecology, including understanding of our evolutionary history and mechanisms that have shaped human and nonhuman primate biological diversity. Supported research focuses on living and fossil forms of both human and nonhuman primates, addressing time scales ranging from the short-term to evolutionary, encompassing multiple levels of analysis (e.g., molecular, organismal, population, ecosystem), conducted in field, laboratory, captive, and computationalresearch environments, and often incorporating interactions between human biology and culture.

Areas of inquiry that promote understanding of the evolution, biology, and adaptability of our diverse species include, but are not limited to:genetic/epigenetic/genomic variation and relationship to phenotype;ecology and socioecology; functional anatomy and skeletal biology; andpaleoanthropology and primate paleontology. Multidisciplinary research that integrates biological anthropology with related anthropological fields, such as archaeology, cultural anthropology, and forensic anthropology, also may receive support through the Program. The Program contributes to the integration of education and basic research through support of dissertation projects conducted by doctoral students enrolled in U.S. universities. This solicitation specifically addresses the preparation and evaluation of proposals for such Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement (DDRI) Grants. Dissertation research projects in all of the subareas of biological anthropology are eligible for support through these grants. These awards are intended to enhance and improve the conduct of dissertation research by doctoral students who are pursuing research in biological anthropology that enhances basic scientific knowledge.

The Chemical Oceanography Program supports research into the chemical components, reaction mechanisms, and geochemical pathways within the ocean and at its interfaces with the solid earth and the atmosphere. Major emphases include:  studies of material inputs to and outputs from marine waters; orthochemical and biological production and transformation of chemical compounds and phases within the marine system; and the determination of reaction rates and study of equilibria. The Program encourages research into the chemistry, distribution, and fate of inorganic and organic substances introduced into or produced within marine environments including those from estuarine waters to the deep sea.

Background: Native American Tribes have specific cultural and religious ties to the land and landscapes. In Montana and North and South Dakota that means that much of the physical environment has meaning and significance to tribes. BLM manages and authorizes activities on this landscape. To understand the tribal specific ties to the land it is important to understand the significance of the landscape to tribes including where Sacred sites and Traditional Cultural Properties (TCPs) are located. The proposed program in the Spring Creek area will address this need and will provide a mechanism to rediscover sites of religious and cultural importance to tribes. Objectives: Facilitate Identification of TCPs and Sacred Sites important to the tribes. The recipient will conduct field work and record historic properties to assist with special expertise to help recognize and evaluate eligibility of sites, especially TCPs or Sacred sites for areas in their Aboriginal Territories beginning with the Spring Creek area which will be 1350 acres. The information will be invaluable to determine significance of sites and for tribes to re-establish connections to places they have heard about in their oral tradition. This information also contributes to our knowledge of our National Heritage. The information will provide background and holistic use information for future management of public lands. Public Benefit: These potential TCPs and Sacred sites are important because they give us a more complete picture of our National Heritage. The project will benefit the general public, by giving the tribes the chance to share important cultural information to assist in better management of important sites and areas on the landscape and a contribution to our National Heritage. These sites are irreplaceable.

This project will seek to produce geospatial products and corresponding reports/guidebooks to improve riparian-wetland resource management, including but not limited to the following general statewide needs: (1) New geospatial layers that represent riparian-wetland characteristics. Now that riparian-wetland mapping is nearly complete for most areas throughout the state, individual layers that represent unique riparian-wetland characteristics will maximize the utility of those efforts because the attributes that need to be considered for a project depend on the proposed actions and facilitating access to the various geospatial representations will enable resource specialists to analyze key features at multiple scales and thereby improve their ability to develop holistic management plans that include the physical, biological, and ecological components of riparian-wetland management. New geospatial layers should help groups across the state to develop Resource & Drought Management Plans, identify desired resource values (fisheries, water quality, wildlife, etc.), and describe the corresponding Affected Environment and Environmental Consequences sections of NEPA documents (or MEPA documents associated with Montana State authorizations under the Montana Environmental Policy Act). Examples of potential geospatial layers include: Risk/Vulnerability rating for livestock grazing during drought

The Eppley Foundation supports advanced, novel, scientific research by PhDs or MDs with an established record of publication in their specialties. The Foundation does not support work in the social sciences, education or computer science, and only rarely funds research into diseases that have considerable financial support available, such as AIDS, diabetes, cancer and heart disease. Particular areas of interest include innovative medical investigations, climate change, whole ecosystem studies, as well as research on single species if they are of particular significance in their environments, in the U.S. and abroad. The Foundation does not fund work that can qualify for funding from conventional sources such as the National Science Foundation or the National Institutes of Health, or similar agencies at the state level. It is important to the Foundation that the work proposed be novel in its insights and unlikely to be underway elsewhere. The Foundation is prepared to take risks.

Administered since 1933 through cooperative agreements with the National Park Service, the Library of Congress, and the private sector, ongoing programs such as Historic American Building Survey of the National Park Service have recorded America's built environment in multi-format surveys comprising thousands of measured drawings, large-format photographs, and written histories for more than 38,600 historic structures and sites dating from Pre-Columbian times to the twentieth century. This project will focus on the physical documentation and creation of measured drawings, large format photography, and a historic context for historic buildings at Carlsbad Caverns National Park. The buildings are the Superintendent Building and the Mission 66-era Six-Plex. The project will entail the following: HABS Standard I, Documentation Level 1, Part 1 of which includes a full set of measured drawings depicting existing or historic conditions. The project will also include the field notes necessary to develop the measured drawings, this field notes will follow HABS standards which are described as sketches of floor plan, sections and elevations generally not to exact scale although often drawn from measurements, where the features are shown in proper relation and proportion to one another. This also includes large format photography and a historic context of the buildings and site.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Directorates for Engineering (ENG) and Geosciences (GEO), the Divisions of Integrative Organismal Systems (IOS) and Environmental Biology (DEB), in the Directorate for Biological Sciences (BIO), the Division of Computer and Network Systems in the Directorate Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE/CNS), and the Division of Chemistry (CHE) in the Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences, in collaboration with the US Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA NIFA) encourage convergent research that transforms existing capabilities in understanding dynamic soil processes, including soil formation, through advances in sensor systems and modeling. The Signals in the Soil (SitS) program fosters collaboration among the two partner agencies and the researchers they support by combining resources and funding for the most innovative and high-impact projects that address their respective missions. To make transformative advances in our understanding of soils, multiple disciplines must converge to produce Environmentally-benign novel sensing systems with multiple modalities that can adapt to different Environments and collect and transmit data for a wide range of biological, chemical, and physical parameters. Effective integration of sensor data will be key for achieving a better understanding of signaling interactions among plants, animals, microbes, the soil matrix, and aqueous and gaseous components. New sensor networks have the potential to inform models in novel ways, to radically change how data is obtained from various natural and managed (both urban and rural) ecosystems, and to better inform the communities that directly rely on soils for sustenance and livelihood.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Directorates for Engineering (ENG) and Geosciences (GEO), the Divisions of Integrative Organismal Systems (IOS) and Environmental Biology (DEB), in the Directorate for Biological Sciences (BIO), the Division of Computer and Network Systems in the Directorate Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE/CNS), and the Division of Chemistry (CHE) in the Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences, in collaboration with the US Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA NIFA) encourage convergent research that transforms existing capabilities in understanding dynamic soil processes, including soil formation, through advances in sensor systems and modeling. The Signals in the Soil (SitS) program fosters collaboration among the two partner agencies and the researchers they support by combining resources and funding for the most innovative and high-impact projects that address their respective missions. To make transformative advances in our understanding of soils, multiple disciplines must converge to produce Environmentally-benign novel sensing systems with multiple modalities that can adapt to different Environments and collect and transmit data for a wide range of biological, chemical, and physical parameters. Effective integration of sensor data will be key for achieving a better understanding of signaling interactions among plants, animals, microbes, the soil matrix, and aqueous and gaseous components. New sensor networks have the potential to inform models in novel ways, to radically change how data is obtained from various natural and managed (both urban and rural) ecosystems, and to better inform the communities that directly rely on soils for sustenance and livelihood.

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

The International Research Experiences for Students (IRES) program supports development of globally-engaged U.S. science and engineering students capable of performing in an international research environment at the forefront of science and engineering. The IRES program supports active research participation by students enrolled as undergraduates or graduate students in any of the areas of research funded by the National Science Foundation. IRES projects involve students in meaningful ways in ongoing research programs or in research projects specifically designed for the IRES program.

The Lunar Data Analysis Program (LDAP) program funds research on the analysis of recent lunar missions in order to enhance their scientific return. LDAP broadens scientific participation in the analysis of mission data sets and funds high-priority areas of research that support planning for future lunar missions. LDAP supports scientific investigations of the Moon using publicly available (released) data. These include the following missions: Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS), Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3), Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL), Acceleration, Reconnection, Turbulence, and Electrodynamics of the Moon's Interaction with the Sun (ARTEMIS), Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE), Lunar Prospector (LP), Deep Impact Lunar Flyby, Non-U.S. missions: Kaguya, Change 1, Change 2, Chandrayaan-1, Change 3. Any proposal may incorporate the investigation of data from more than one mission. An investigator may propose a study (e.g., scientific, landing site science, cartographic, topographic, geodetic research, etc.) based on analysis of lunar data collected by spacecraft at the Moon (listed above). Proposals may incorporate the analysis of data from more than one mission. Moreover, data analyses that require the use of older mission data sets (e.g., Apollo, Clementine) are allowable in the context of enhancing the analysis and understanding of the data from the missions listed above. The use of older data sets as complementary/supplementary data sets to the missions listed above for the purpose of creating a needed data product (e.g., maps) for analysis is allowable. Additional information about NASA and other lunar missions can be found at NASA's National Space Science Data Center (NSSDC) at: http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/planets/moonpage.html.

NOIs Due: December 4, 2017; Proposals Due: February 2, 2018. Research Opportunities in Space Biology (ROSBio) - 2016 "Appendix G: Solicitation of Proposals for Flight and Ground Space Biology Research" NNH16ZTT001N-FGThis Appendix to the Research Opportunities in Space Biology (ROSBio) - 2016 NASA Omnibus Research Announcement (hereafter referred to as ROSBio-2016 Omnibus NRA) solicits proposals that will increase NASA's understanding of how living systems acclimate to spaceflight to support human space exploration.The solicited research will fall into into the following four research emphases:1. Microbiomes of the Built Environment (MoBE) of Spacecraft; 2. Plant Biology to support Human Space Exploration; 3. Animal Biology in support of Human Space Exploration; 4. Molecular and Cellular Biology.

With ten thousand members and two hundred and fifty "grottos" (chapters), the National Speleological Society is the largest organization in the world focused on the exploration, study, and protection of caves and their environments. For more than seventy years, NSS has promoted safe and responsible caving practices, effective cave and karst management, speleology, and conservation. To advance this mission, NSS awards Research Grants of up to $1,500 to qualified individuals or teams for research in cave-related branches of study. This includes but is not limited to the natural sciences (e.g., cave biology, geology, paleontology, and hydrology), social sciences (e.g., archaeology), and the humanities (e.g., speleological history). Interdisciplinary proposals are encouraged. Preference will be given to projects with the potential to generate new information and insights that are suitable for submission to peer-reviewed publications. Proposals may be submitted at any time. Funding decisions are made twice annually, in January and June. Proposals should be received at least one month in advance to be considered. To be considered for January 2018 funding, applications should be received no later than December 1, 2017.

The goal of the NSF Smart and Connected Communities (S&CC) program solicitation is to accelerate the creation of the scientific and engineering foundations that will enable smart and connected communities to bring about new levels of economic opportunity and growth, safety and security, health and wellness, and overall quality of life. This goal will be achieved through integrative research projects that pair advances in technological and social dimensions with meaningful community engagement. For the purposes of this solicitation, communities are defined as having geographically-delineated boundaries-such as towns, cities, counties, neighborhoods, community districts, rural areas, and tribal regions-consisting of various populations, with the structure and ability to engage in meaningful ways with proposed research activities. A "smart and connected community" is, in turn, a community that synergistically integrates intelligent technologies with the natural and built environments, including infrastructure, to improve the social, economic, and environmental well-being of those who live, work, or travel within it. A proposal for an S&CC Integrative Research Grants must include the following: Integrative research that addresses the technological and social dimensions of smart and connected communities; Meaningful community engagement that integrates community stakeholders within the project; A management plan that summarizes how the project will be managed across disciplines, institutions, and community entities; and An evaluation plan for assessing short-, medium-, and long-term impacts of the proposed activities.

The Division of Environmental Biology (DEB) Core Tracksupports research and training on evolutionary and ecological processes acting at the level of populations, species, communities, and ecosystems. DEB encourages research that elucidates fundamental principles that identify and explain the unity and diversity of life and its interactions with the Environment over space and time. Research may incorporate field, laboratory, or collection-based approaches; observational or manipulative studies; synthesis activities; phylogenetic discovery projects; or theoretical approaches involving analytical, statistical, or computational modeling. Proposals should be submitted to the core clusters (Ecosystem Sciences, Evolutionary Processes, Population and Community Ecology, and Systematics and Biodiversity Sciences). DEB also encourages interdisciplinary proposals that cross conceptual boundaries and integrate over levels of biological organization or across multiple spatial and temporal scales.Research addressing ecology and ecosystem science in the marine biome should be directed to the Biological Oceanography Program in the Division of Ocean Sciences; research addressing evolution and systematics in the marine biome should be directed to the Evolutionary Processes or Systematics and Biodiversity Science programs in DEB. All DEB programs also encourage proposals that leverage NSF-supported data networks, databases, centers, and other forms of scientific infrastructure, including but not limited to the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON), Environmental Data Initiative (EDI), and Integrated Digitized Biocollections (iDigBio). The Rules of Life Track supports integrative proposals that span population, species, community and ecosystem scales normally funded by DEB, to organismal, cellular and molecular scales typically funded by other divisions in the Biological Sciences.

National Science Foundation's Major Research Instrumentation Program (MRI) assists in the acquisition or development of major research instrumentation. This program seeks to improve the quality and expand the scope of research and research training in science and engineering, and to foster the integration of research and education by providing instrumentation for research-intensive learning environments. The MRI program also encourages the shared inter- and/or intra-organizational use of the acquired research instrumentation. For more information, please consult the program's guidelines. Miami University may submit up to three MRI proposals (up to two that request between $100,000 and $1 million and no more than one that requests between $1 million and $4 million) on which Miami is either the lead or a partner institution. To facilitate the selection of our submissions to NSF, we have set a deadline of October 28, 2019 to receive preliminary MRI proposals for internal review. You are required to provide a preliminary proposal regardless of whether you were selected as an institutional submission in previous years.

EarthCube is a community-driven activity sponsored through a partnership between the NSF Directorate for Geosciences (GEO)and theNSF Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure (OAC) in the Directorate for Computer & Information Science & Engineering's (CISE)to transformresearch inthe academic geosciences community. EarthCube aims to create a well-connected and facile environment to share data and knowledge in an open, transparent, and inclusive manner, thus accelerating our ability to understand and predict the Earth system. Achieving EarthCube will requirea long-term dialog between NSF and the interested scientific communities to develop cyberinfrastructure that is thoughtfully and systematically built to meet the current and future requirements of geoscientists. New avenues will be supported to gather community requirements and priorities for the elements of EarthCube, and to capture the best technologies to meet these current and future needs. The EarthCube portfolio will consist of interconnected projects and activities that engage the geosciences, cyberinfrastructure, computer science, and associated communities. The portfolio of activities and funding opportunities will evolve over time depending on the status of the EarthCube effort and the scientific and cultural needs of the geosciences community.