OARS funding Geology & Earth Science

The Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) is seeking proposals to provide independent, objective analysis of scientific and technical topics of relevance to the Air Force and national defense. The activity would include refining areas of interest provided by the Air Force into organized, rigorous studies concerning, for many scientific and technical fields, determining the state of the art, projecting trends, utilizing science and technologies for national defense purposes, and identifying promising or necessary areas of additional study. This announcement solicits proposals for up to five (5) years of performance and up to $25M of funding, dependent on the needs of the Air Force and the availability of funding. All proposals must be unclassified, but work under any award may be classified.

Together with University Advancement, the Office for the Advancement of Research & Scholarship (OARS) is rolling out an new crowdfunding platform called HawksNest. Through HawksNest, alumni, family, and friends of the university can directly support the research, scholarship, and service projects of Miami University students, faculty, and staff. This is how HawksNest works: * Any Miami University student, faculty, or staff member may complete an online application to have a project considered for funding. * An internal review team assesses applications and posts approved projects on HawksNest for a maximum of 45 days. * Potential donors visit the site to learn about and pledge funds to approved projects. * Once a funding goal has been met, the project can begin! * Project managers use the site to keep donors up-to-date with information on the project's progress.

I-Corps@Ohio is a statewide program to assist faculty and graduate students from Ohio universities and colleges to validate the market potential of their technologies and assist with launching startup companies. I-Corps@Ohio is modeled after the National Science Foundation's (NSF) successful I-Corps program, which has proven to increase innovation, entrepreneurship, and industry collaboration. I-Corps@Ohio is an initiative of the Ohio Department of Higher Education.

Research and Data Collection

Research and Data Collection

EarthCube is a community-driven activity to transform the conduct of geosciences research and education, sponsored through a partnership between the NSF Directorate of Geosciences and Division of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure in the Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering. EarthCube aims to create a well-connected and facile environment to share data and knowledge in an open, transparent, and inclusive manner, thus accelerating the ability of the geosciences community to understand and predict the Earth system. Achieving EarthCube will require a 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 needs of geoscientists.

The Geosciences and Education and Human Resources Directorates are partnering to advance and develop understanding of learning environments that build upon the rich interdisciplinary resources emerging from polar investments. To that end, the Division of Polar Programs (PLR), the Division of Undergraduate Education (DUE) and the Division of Research on Learning (DRL) encourage proposals that will leverage the extensive National Science Foundation (NSF) investment in polar sciences and infrastructure, and STEM education research and development, to promote an informed citizenry and the next generation of polar scientists. In order to advance polar science educational opportunities, PLR, DUE and DRL will accept and review proposals for research and development projects that facilitate the use of data from polar regions in (1) undergraduate education or (2) informal science education. Proposals in response to this Dear Colleague Letter must be submitted to either the Improving Undergraduate Science Education: Education and Human Resources (IUSE: EHR) deadline of November 3, 2015, or the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) deadline of November 4, 2015.

This ROSES NRA (NNH15ZDA001N) solicits basic and applied research in support of NASA's Science Mission Directorate (SMD). This NRA covers all aspects of basic and applied supporting research and technology in space and Earth sciences, including, but not limited to: theory, modeling, and analysis of SMD science data; aircraft, scientific balloon, sounding rocket, International Space Station, CubeSat and suborbital reusable launch vehicle investigations; development of experiment techniques suitable for future SMD space missions; development of concepts for future SMD space missions; development of advanced technologies relevant to SMD missions; development of techniques for and the laboratory analysis of both extraterrestrial samples returned by spacecraft, as well as terrestrial samples that support or otherwise help verify observations from SMD Earth system science missions; determination of atomic and composition parameters needed to analyze space data, as well as returned samples from the Earth or space; Earth surface observations and field campaigns that support SMD science missions; development of integrated Earth system models; development of systems for applying Earth science research data to societal needs; and development of applied information systems applicable to SMD objectives and data. Awards range from under $100K per year for focused, limited efforts (e.g., data analysis) to more than $1M per year for extensive activities (e.g., development of science experiment hardware). The funds available for awards in each program element offered in this ROSES NRA range from less than one to several million dollars, which allow selection from a few to as many as several dozen proposals depending on the program objectives and the submission of proposals of merit. Awards will be made as grants, cooperative agreements, contracts, and inter- or intra-agency transfers depending on the nature of the proposing organization and/or program requirements. The typical per

Supports research on the natural evolution of Earth's climate with the goal of providing a baseline for present variability and future trends through improved understanding of the physical, chemical, and biological processes that influence climate over the long-term. Competitive proposals will address specific aspects of scientific uncertaintyfor their proposed research. All four Divisions in the Geosciences Directorate have joined in creating the annual Paleo Perspectives on Climate Change (P2C2) competition in paleoclimate global change research. Researchers are encouraged to consider the P2C2 competitionas a possible source of support for their global change research. Since proposals eligible for funding in the P2C2 competition are not eligible for funding in the Paleoclimate Program, researchers are strongly advised to contact the Director of the Paleoclimate Program for guidance as to the suitability of their proposed research for either program.

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.

The Physical Oceanography Program supports research on a wide range of topics associated with the structure and movement of the ocean, with the way in which it transports various quantities, with the way the ocean's physical structure interacts with the biological and chemical processes within it, and with interactions between the ocean and the atmosphere, solid earth and ice that surround it.

Supports research on the magnetized plasma envelope of the outer atmosphere, including energization by the solar wind; the origin of geomagnetic storms and substorms; the population by solar and ionospheric sources; the origin of electric fields; the coupling among the magnetosphere, ionosphere, and atmosphere; and waves and instabilities in the natural plasma. Also supported are ground-based observational programs at high latitudes and laboratory experiments applicable to the geospace environment. Theoretical research programs may include numerical simulations using a variety of MHD, hybrid and particle codes. The analysis of data from all sources, whether ground-based or from spacecraft, is also supported.

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 Hydrologic Sciences Program focuses on the fluxes of water in the environment that constitute the water cycle as well as the mass and energy transport function of the water cycle. The Program supports the study of processes from rainfall to runoff to infiltration and streamflow; evaporation and transpiration; the flow of water in soils and aquifers; and the transport of suspended, dissolved, and colloidal components. The Hydrologic Sciences Program retains a strong focus on linking fluxes of water and the components carried by water across boundaries between various interacting facets of the terrestrial system and the mechanisms by which these fluxes co-organize over a variety of timescales and/or alter fundamentals of water cycle interactions within the terrestrial system. The Program is also interested in how water interacts with the landscape and the ecosystem as well as how the water cycle and its coupled processes are altered by land use and climate. Studies may address physical, chemical, and biological processes that are coupled directly to water transport. Projects submitted to Hydrologic Sciences commonly involve expertise from basic sciences, engineering and mathematics; and proposals may require joint review with related programs. The Hydrologic Sciences Program will also consider synthesis projects.

USGS Earthquake Hazards Program issues this annual Program Announcement for assistance to support research in earthquake hazards, in the physics of earthquakes, earthquake occurrence, and earthquake safety policy.

The Geobiology and Low-Temperature Geochemistry Program focuses on geochemical processes in terrestrial Earth's surface environmental systems, as well as the interaction of geochemical and biological processes. The program supports field, laboratory, theoretical, and modeling studies of these processes and related mechanisms at all spatial and temporal scales. Studies may address: 1) inorganic and/or organic geochemical processes occurring at or near the Earth's surface now and in the past, and across the broad spectrum of interfaces ranging in scale from planetary and regional to mineral-surface and supramolecular; 2) the role of life in the transformation and evolution of Earth's geochemical cycles; 3) surficial chemical and biogeochemical systems and cycles, including their modification through environmental change and human activities; 4) low-temperature aqueous geochemical processes; 5) mineralogy and chemistry of earth materials; 6) geomicrobiology and biomineralization processes; and 7) medical mineralogy and geochemistry. The Program encourages research that focuses on geochemical processes as they are coupled with physical and biological processes in the critical zone. The Program also supports work on the development of tools, methods, and models for the advancement of low-temperature geochemistry and geobiology. The Geobiology and Low-Temperature Geochemistry Program is interested in supporting transformational and cutting-edge research. The Program is highly interdisciplinary and interfaces with other programs within the Earth Surface Section and with programs in biology, chemistry and engineering.

The Geomorphology and Land-use Dynamics Program supports innovative research into processes that shape and modify landscapes over a variety of length and time scales. The program encourages research that quantitatively investigates the coupling and feedback among such processes, their rates, and their relative roles, especially in the contexts of variation in climatic, biologic, and tectonic influences and in light of changes due to human impacts. Such research may involve fieldwork, modeling, experimentation, theoretical development, or combinations thereof.

Sedimentary Geology and Paleobiology supports studies of: (1) the changing aspects of life, ecology, environments, and biogeography in geologic time based on fossil plants, animals, and microbes; (2) all aspects of the Earth's sedimentary lithosphere - its insights into the geological processes and rich organic and inorganic resources locked in rock sequences; (3) the science of dating and measuring the sequence of events and rates of geological processes as manifested in Earth's past sedimentary and biological (fossil) record; (4) the geologic record of the production, transportation, and deposition of modern and ancient physical and chemical sediments; and (5) understanding Earth's deep-time (pre-Holocene) climate systems.

The BLM has worked with the Geological Society of America GeoCorps America Program for over 15 years to provide geoscientists, college students, professionals, and retirees, hands on experience in overall land management. The need for geoscience expertise is great. In many cases, geoscience is not adequately addressed in education, resource management, geological hazards mitigation, and other geological work on public lands. The GeoCorps program, dating from 1997, strives to increase the number of geoscientists able to provide educational outreach to a multitude of diverse land managers in order to address a more global approach for overall land management decisions and to raise the publicÿfds knowledge and awareness of the value of geoscience resources on public lands. The objective of this program is to continue to provide geoscientists, college students, professionals, and retirees, hands on experience in resource management, geological hazards mitigation, and other geological work related to overall land management in order to develop skills and abilities in geosciences.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is supporting construction of the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON). NEON will offer the measurements, flexible operation, and research capability needed to assess long-term biosphere change and vastly expand our knowledge of regional and continental scale biology. When complete, the NEON observatory will collect and provide high-quality, standardized data from 106 sites (60 terrestrial, 36 aquatic and 10 aquatic experimental) across the U.S. using instrument measurements and field sampling. The sites have been selected strategically to represent different regions of vegetation, landforms, climate, ecosystem performance, and gradients of change. NEON's site-based, remotely sensed and continental-scale data are provided as a range of scaled data products that can be used to describe changes in the nation's ecosystem through space and time. Several NEON sites are nearing completion and have begun operations; many more sites will be completed during the coming year. Provisional NEON data from sites and airborne observations, along with protocols and documentation, are now available on the NEON Data Portal. In addition, NEON-collected specimens and samples are available and can be requested for research purposes.

This ROSES NRA (NNH15ZDA001N) solicits basic and applied research in support of NASA's Science Mission Directorate (SMD). This NRA covers all aspects of basic and applied supporting research and technology in space and Earth sciences, including, but not limited to: theory, modeling, and analysis of SMD science data; aircraft, scientific balloon, sounding rocket, International Space Station, CubeSat and suborbital reusable launch vehicle investigations; development of experiment techniques suitable for future SMD space missions; development of concepts for future SMD space missions; development of advanced technologies relevant to SMD missions; development of techniques for and the laboratory analysis of both extraterrestrial samples returned by spacecraft, as well as terrestrial samples that support or otherwise help verify observations from SMD Earth system science missions; determination of atomic and composition parameters needed to analyze space data, as well as returned samples from the Earth or space; Earth surface observations and field campaigns that support SMD science missions; development of integrated Earth system models; development of systems for applying Earth science research data to societal needs; and development of applied information systems applicable to SMD objectives and data. Awards range from under $100K per year for focused, limited efforts (e.g., data analysis) to more than $1M per year for extensive activities (e.g., development of science experiment hardware). The funds available for awards in each program element offered in this ROSES NRA range from less than one to several million dollars, which allow selection from a few to as many as several dozen proposals depending on the program objectives and the submission of proposals of merit. Awards will be made as grants, cooperative agreements, contracts, and inter- or intra-agency transfers depending on the nature of the proposing organization and/or program requirements. The typical per