OARS funding Geology & Earth Science

The SHARKS Program seeks to develop new designs for economically attractive Hydrokinetic Turbines (HKT) for tidal and riverine currents. Tidal and riverine energy resources are renewable, have the advantage of being highly reliable and predictable, and are often co-located with demand centers, while HKT devices can be designed with low visual profiles and minimal environmental impact. These energy-producing devices are also uniquely suited for micro-grid applications, supplying energy to remote communities and other "blue economy" or utility-scale applications. This Program is aimed at applying Control Co-Design (CCD), Co-Design (CD) and Designing-for-OpEx (DFO) methodologies to HKT design. These three design methodologies require the concurrent (rather than sequential) application of a wide range of disciplines, starting at the conceptual design stage. The technical challenges that inhibit the development of highly efficient HKT designs are mutually dependent, and require expertise from a range of scientific and engineering fields for optimization. These codependent technical challenges make HKT design a perfect candidate for CCD, CD and DFO, and will necessitate the formation of multi-disciplinary teams to resolve their inherently coupled design considerations.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Science Mission Directorate (SMD) released its annual omnibus Research Announcement (NRA), Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Sciences (ROSES) - 2020 (OMB Approval Number 2700-0092, CFDA Number 43.001) on February 14, 2020. In this case "omnibus" means that this NRA has many individual program elements, each with its own due dates and topics. All together these cover the wide range of basic and applied supporting research and technology in space and Earth sciences supported by SMD. Awards will be made as grants, cooperative agreements, contracts, and inter- or intra-agency transfers, depending on the nature of the work proposed, the proposing organization, and/or program requirements. However, most extramural research awards deriving from ROSES will be grants, and many program elements of ROSES specifically exclude contracts, because contracts would not be appropriate for the nature of the work solicited. The typical period of performance for an award is three years, but some programs may allow up to five years and others specify shorter periods. In most cases, organizations of every type, Government and private, for profit and not-for-profit, domestic and foreign (with some caveats), may submit proposals without restriction on teaming arrangements. Tables listing the program elements and due dates, the full text of the ROSES-2020 solicitation, and the "Summary of Solicitation" as a stand-alone document, may all be found NSPIRES at http://solicitation.nasaprs.com/ROSES2020.

To that end, the foundation welcomes applications for its Research Program, which supports pioneering discoveries in science, engineering, and medical research. Through the program, grants are awarded to research universities, medical colleges, and major private independent scientific and medical research institutions in support of projects that are focused on important and emerging areas of research; have the potential to develop breakthrough technologies, instrumentation, or methodologies; are innovative, distinctive and interdisciplinary; demonstrate a high level of risk due to unconventional approaches or by challenging a prevailing paradigm; and have the potential for transformative impact (e.g., the founding of a new field of research, the enabling of observations not previously possible, or the altered perception of a previously intractable problem). The program seeks to fund high-risk/high-impact work that lays the groundwork for new paradigms, technologies, and discoveries, save lives, and adds to our collective understanding of the world.

The purpose of this notice is to solicit proposals for a single cooperative agreement between NOAA and an institution of higher learning. The Hydrographic Services Improvement Act and the Coastal and Ocean Mapping Integration Act has authorized NOAA to operate up to three joint-ocean and coastal mapping centers of excellence for the nation. These centers typically focus on coastal and ocean research, applied hydrography, disaster response, forecasting, remote sensing technologies, and graduate education.

To promote the use of research collections housed at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, the Department of History, Geography, and Philosophy and the Guilbeau Center for Public History is pleased to announce the Jamie Guilbeau and Thelma Guilbeau UL Lafayette Collections Research Grant in the amount of $2,000 for a researcher who IS NOT A FACULTY MEMBER, STAFF MEMBER, OR STUDENT AT UL LAFAYETTE. Proposals should indicate promise of publication or reaching a broad audience in some other form and require work in the collections of the University Archives and Acadiana Manuscripts Collections, the Ernest J. Gaines Center, the Cajun and Creole Music Collection, the Center for Louisiana Studies, or in other UL Lafayette collections. The grant is intended primarily to defray travel expenses, therefore preference will be given to researchers beyond commuting distance of UL Lafayette. Particular consideration will be given to applications that speak broadly to Louisiana and its history, heritage, cultures, and identities.

This solicitation addresses the overlapping objectives of the National Space Weather Strategy and Action Plan (NSW-SAP) and the National Strategic Computing Initiative (NSCI) Update through a pilot program. The goal of this pilot program is to transform development of predictive modeling of the coupled evolution of the magnetized solar atmosphere and the solar wind, and their interaction with the Earth's magnetosphere and upper atmosphere. This requires advancing our understanding of the necessary and sufficient requirements of model complexity, computational performance, and observational inputs. The pilot program is also expected to directly contribute to the long-term goal of creating space weather models with quantifiable predictive capability.

Ethical and Responsible Research (ER2) funds research projects that identify (1) factors that are effective in the formation of ethical STEM researchers and (2) approaches to developing those factors in all STEM fields that NSF supports. ER2 solicits proposals for research that explores the following: "What constitutes responsible conduct for research (RCR), and which cultural and institutional contexts promote ethical STEM research and practice and why?" Do certain labs have a "culture of academic integrity?" What practices contribute to the establishment and maintenance of ethical cultures and how can these practices be transferred, extended to, and integrated into other research and learning settings?" Factors one might consider include: honor codes, professional ethics codes and licensing requirements, an ethic of service and/or service learning, life-long learning requirements, curricula or memberships in organizations (e.g. Engineers without Borders) that stress responsible conduct for research, institutions that serve under-represented groups, institutions where academic and research integrity are cultivated at multiple levels, institutions that cultivate ethics across the curriculum, or programs that promote group work, or do not grade. Successful proposals typically have a comparative dimension, either between or within institutional settings that differ along these or among other factors, and they specify plans for developing interventions that promote the effectiveness of identified factors.

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.

Through the Wells of Opportunity (WOO) FOA, EERE's Geothermal Technologies Office (GTO) is soliciting well owners or operators with "idle" wells that are willing to partner with DOE to advance and test enhance geothermal systems (EGS) technologies in-situ. Due to the criticality of the technology prototyping and methodology testing phase of research and development in the innovation pipeline, this FOA focuses on active field testing, where the Federal government takes on the associated high cost and risks. Topic Area 1 - Pilot (FORGE Test Wells): The objective of this initiative is to select, prepare, permit, and repair idle wells for early-stage FORGE technology and methodology testing prior to or in lieu of testing in the FORGE Utah wells. These wells will be closely linked to the FORGE effort, contributing to the overall goals and mission of the FORGE initiative by enabling higher-risk technology testing. Topic Area 2 - Amplify (EGS Near-Field RD&D): This field validation effort will culminate in new power production, adding to the economic viability of these existing geothermal fields and illustrating that near-field EGS can be successfully deployed now and that low permeability/unproductive wells near existing hydrothermal fields can be turned into valuable assets using EGS techniques.

The National Science Foundation's Directorates for Engineering (ENG), Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE), Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS), and Geosciences (GEO) are coordinating efforts to identify new concepts and ideas on Spectrum and Wireless Innovation enabled by Future Technologies (SWIFT). A key aspect of this new solicitation is its focus on effective spectrum utilization and/or coexistence techniques, especially with passive uses, which have received less attention from researchers. Coexistence is when two or more applications use the same frequency band at the same time and/or at the same location, yet do not adversely affect one another. Coexistence is especially difficult when at least one of the spectrum users is passive, i.e., not transmitting any radio frequency (RF) energy. Examples of coexisting systems may include passive and active systems (e.g., radio astronomy and 5G wireless communication systems) or two active systems (e.g., weather radar and Wi-Fi). Breakthrough innovations are sought on both the wireless communication hardware and the algorithmic/protocol fronts through synergistic teamwork. The goal of these research projects may be the creation of new technology or significant enhancements to existing wireless infrastructure, with an aim to benefit society by improving spectrum utilization, beyond mere spectrum efficiency. The SWIFT program seeks to fund collaborative team research that transcends the traditional boundaries of individual disciplines.

Proposals are solicited to support needs of the marine seismic research communityfor access to acquisition of long-offset and deep-imaging 3D seismic data using a large tuned source. These needs are currently provided by the specialized, seismic research vesselR/VMarcus G. Langseth (Langseth). TheR/V Langsethis owned by the National Science Foundation and operated bytheLamont Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO) of Columbia University. NSF has determined that it cannot adequately invest in the R/V Langseth or replace the vessel at the end of service life. Therefore, alternative approaches are necessary for providing the marine seismic research capability to support high priority research proposals. R/V Langseth will continue operations through September 2021, or no later than the Fall 2021 regulatory dry-docking, and will be divested.

The Macrosystems Biology and NEON-Enabled Science (MSB-NES): Research on Biological Systems at Regional to Continental Scales program will support quantitative, interdisciplinary, systems-oriented research on biosphere processes and their complex interactions with climate, land use, and changes in species distribution at regional to continental scales as well as training activities to broaden participation of researchers in Macrosystems Biology and NEON-Enabled Science.

The FRES program will support research in Earth systems from the core through the critical zone. The project may focus on all or part of the surface, continental lithospheric, and deeper Earth systems over the entire range of temporal and spatial scales. FRES projects should have a larger scientific scope and budget than those considered for funding by disciplinary programs in the Division of Earth Sciences (EAR). FRES projects may be interdisciplinary studies that do not fit well within EAR's disciplinary programs or cannot be routinely managed by sharing between disciplinary programs . Innovative proposals within a single disciplinary area with outcomes of potential broad relevance to Earth Science research are also encouraged. Investigations may employ any combination of field, laboratory, and computational studies with observational, theoretical, or experimental approaches. Projects should be focused on topics that meet the guidelines for research funded by the Division of Earth Sciences.

The Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program is a Foundation-wide activity that offers the National Science Foundation's most prestigious awards in support of early-career faculty who have the potential to serve as academic role models in research and education and to lead advances in the mission of their department or organization. Activities pursued by early-career faculty should build a firm foundation for a lifetime of leadership in integrating education and research. NSF encourages submission of CAREER proposals from early-career faculty at all CAREER-eligible organizations and especially encourages women, members of underrepresented minority groups, and persons with disabilities to apply.

The Petrology and Geochemistry Program supports basic research on the formation of planet Earth, including its accretion, early differentiation, and subsequent petrologic and geochemical modification via igneous and metamorphic processes. Proposals in this program generally address the petrology and high-temperature geochemistry of igneous and metamorphic rocks (including mantle samples), mineral physics, economic geology, and volcanology. Proposals that are focused on the development of analytical tools, theoretical and computational models, and experimental techniques for applications by the igneous and metamorphic petrology, and high temperature geochemistry and geochronology communities are also invited.

The Petrology and Geochemistry Program supports basic research on the formation of planet Earth, including its accretion, early differentiation,and subsequent petrologic and geochemical modification via igneous and metamorphic processes. Proposals in this program generally address the petrology and high-temperature geochemistry of igneous and metamorphic rocks (including mantle samples), mineral physics, economic geology, and volcanology. Proposals that are focused on the development of analytical tools, theoretical and computational models, and experimental techniques for applications by the igneous and metamorphic petrology, and high temperature geochemistry and geochronology communities are also invited.

I-Corps@Ohio is a statewide program developed to assist faculty, staff and students from Ohio universities, colleges and community colleges in validating the market potential of technologies and launching startup companies. I-Corps@Ohio is modeled after the National Science Foundation's (NSF) successful I-Corps (Innovation Corps) program, which has been proven to increase innovation, entrepreneurship, and industry collaboration. The I-Corps@Ohio program incorporates lean launch, customer discovery and business model innovation methodologies to assess technologies, enhance the business acumen of research faculty and students and expand their entrepreneurial network relationships. Two cohort tracks are offered in Science & Engineering and Medtech, with each designed to offer both common and subject matter specific content. The long-term objective of I-Corps@Ohio is to systematically build a steady and predictable pipeline of  high-quality, high-growth startups from technology developed at the State's colleges, universities, and research institutions, that contribute to economic development in Ohio.

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.

Oceanographic facilities and equipment are supported by the Integrative Programs Section (IPS) of the Division of Ocean Sciences (OCE), Directorate for Geosciences (GEO). These awards are made for the procurement, conversion and/or up-grade, enhancement or annual operation of platforms in the ocean, coastal, near-shore and Great Lakes. Awards are generally directed specifically to support facilities that lend themselves to shared use within the broad range of federally-supported research and education programs. Most of these platforms and facilities also receive partial support from federal agencies other than NSF. This includes state and local governments and private sources on a proportional basis usually through a daily rate mechanism. The primary objective of these awards is to ensure the availability of appropriate facilities for federally-funded investigators and educators. Individual project-based facilities and instrumentation, limited to one, or a small group of investigators, should be supported through appropriate research programs as opposed to the IPS programs listed herein.