OARS funding Geology & Earth Science

This solicitation seeks the services of a qualified organization to manage and operate an Ocean Bottom Seismometer Instrument Center established and sponsored by Marine Geology and Geophysics research programs within NSF's Division of Ocean Sciences. Research activities requiring the use of the existing pool of instruments supported by NSF are expected to continue well beyond the period of performance for the existing Ocean Bottom Seismometer Instrument Pool Management Office award, scheduled to expire in early 2018. The award resulting from this solicitation will be administered as a Cooperative Agreement with a single Lead Institution that will perform the OBSIC activities described herein.

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.

Expansive clay soils that are susceptible to shrink and swell, and silty soils that are susceptible to frost heave are found in many parts of the United States. At these locations, these soils serve as the subgrade of the pavement structure. The AASHTOWare Pavement ME Design (formerly DARWin-ME) and the AASHTO Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide Manual of Practice (MEPDG) (see Special Note A) provide a methodology for the analysis and performance prediction of new and rehabilitated pavements. Although the performance of these pavements is known to be closely related to properties of the subgrade, the performance predicted by this methodology does not adequately consider the influence of subgrade soils susceptible to shrink/swell and/or frost heave on pavement performance. There is a need to evaluate the procedures contained in the Pavement ME Design and identify or develop enhancements (in the form of modified or new models) to ensure that the procedures appropriately account for the influence of these types of subgrade soils on the performance of new and rehabilitated pavements. Incorporating these enhancements into the Pavement ME Design procedures will allow an improved analysis and design of pavement structures.

NSWC Crane is interested in funding research of advanced 3D scene reconstruction techniques using imagery taken from currently fielded dynamic (moving) platforms. This proposed research is to assess and prototype methods currently utilized in commercial and academic systems to determine how to utilize several moving platforms in several different wavebands to reconstruct a 3D visualization of a scene.

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.

NIST is soliciting applications from eligible colleges and universities in the U.S. and its territories, nominating undergraduate students to participate in the SURF Program. The SURF Program will provide research opportunities for undergraduate students to work with NIST scientists and engineers, to expose the students to cutting-edge research and promote the pursuit of graduate degrees in science and engineering.

Applicants for the funds may be students or faculty. The project, program, or entrepreneurial idea must be created by, led by or benefit women. Grants are awarded in values of $2500 to $20,000. While we prefer the base grant to be $5,000, we are considering a limited number of $2500 which will be required to show high impact. These applicants will be considered on a case-by-case basis. The grants must be submitted online via the link below and must include a 2-minute video. Applicants will be narrowed to a pool of 10-15 finalists by our M.I.A.M.I. WOMEN Grants Committee. This committee will review applications; contact applicants if additional information is required, and present the finalists to the M.I.A.M.I. WOMEN Steering Committee and Development Staff. Grant deadline for this year is Feb. 9, 2018. These finalists will perform in a fast-pitch style Hawk Tank event on April 11, 2018. Finalists will be offered fast-pitch training courtesy of the Farmers School of Business - school of Entrepreneurship, and will receive coaching and support. They will then pitch their idea in 5 minutes or less on April 11, 2018 at the event. Giving Circle members are the voters who will determine winners. Absentee voters will be given the option to vote online. Winners will be announced that night or the next day at the Symposium, to be determined.

The mission of the NOAA Climate and Societal Interactions (CSI) research portfolio is to inform improvements in planning and preparedness in diverse socio-economic regions and sectors throughout the U.S. and abroad via the integration of knowledge and information about extreme weather and climate. Our research advances the nation's understanding of climate-related risks and vulnerabilities across sectors and regions - within and beyond our borders - and the development of tools to foster more informed decision making. These efforts support NOAA's vision to create and sustain enhanced resilience in ecosystems, communities, and economies. The overall objectives of the CSI portfolio are the following: 1. Support innovative, applicable, and transferable approaches for decision making, especially for risk characterization in the context of a variable and changing climate; 2. Establishment of a network of regionally scoped, long-term efforts to inform climate risk management and decision making; and 3. Promotion of the transfer of climate knowledge, tools, products, and services within NOAA, across the federal government, nationally, and internationally.

Through this NASA Earth and Space Science Fellowship (NESSF) solicitation, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Science Mission Directorate (SMD) invites applications for 2018-2019 Academic Year fellowships from accredited U.S. universities on behalf of their students pursuing Masters or Doctoral (Ph.D.) degrees in Earth and space sciences or related disciplines. The purpose of the NESSF is to ensure continued training of a highly qualified workforce in disciplines needed to achieve NASA's scientific goals outlined above by performing research projects. Awards resulting from the competitive selection will be made in the form of training grants to the respective universities with the advisor serving as the principal investigator. Potential proposers should refer to the NESSF 2018-2019 Proposal Submission Instructions (PDF) Frequently Asked Questions (PDF), which may be found on the NSPIRES page for this solicitation.

The Science of Learning program supports potentially transformative basic research to advance the science of learning. The goals of the SL Program are to develop basic theoretical insights and fundamental knowledge about learning principles, processes and constraints. Projects that are integrative and/or interdisciplinary may be especially valuable in moving basic understanding of learning forward but research with a single discipline or methodology is also appropriate if it addresses basic scientific questions in learning. The possibility of developing connections between proposed research and specific scientific, technological, educational, and workforce challenges will be considered as valuable broader impacts, but are not necessarily central to the intellectual merit of proposed research. The program will support research addressing learning in a wide range of domains at one or more levels of analysis including: molecular/cellular mechanisms; brain systems; cognitive affective, and behavioral processes; and social/cultural influences. The program supports a variety of methods including: experiments, field studies, surveys, secondary-data analyses, and modeling.

The NOAA Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR) invites applications for the establishment of a Cooperative Institute (CI) for Modeling the Earth System. This new cooperative institute supports the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research's Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL) as it works toward advancing NOAA's ability to understand and predict variations and changes in weather, climate, oceans and coastal systems on a spectrum of timescales, through advanced numerical modeling of the Earth System's physical, dynamical, chemical, biogeochemical, and ecological processes. The scope of the new Cooperative Institute incorporates explicitly the consideration of the unforced variability of the Earth System, natural and anthropogenic forcings that include regional contributions and feedbacks, which together govern the response and temporal evolution of the Earth system (IPCC, 2001, 2013). Current state-of-the-art coupled climate models used to forecast weather-to-climate conditions particularly from sub-seasonal to seasonal to inter-annual to decadal and longer timescales must be improved dramatically. Fundamental research is needed to improve the representation of many processes and interactions of importance if these models are to fulfill their promise of advancing the scientific understanding and prediction and addressing NOAA's goals.

Sponsored by the Secular Society, the IWMF Reporting Grants for Women's Stories program is a new funding initiative designed to support journalism produced by and about women. In an era of increased globalization, the need for varied coverage of gendered topics is critical to a free and representative press. The foundation also recognizes that promoting the work and advancing the role of women in the news media is critical to transparency and that women journalists remain underrepresented in both media organizations and bylines across the world. The Reporting Grants on Women's Stories initiative empowers women journalists to access untold stories through new means of funding that emphasizes gender-balanced reporting.

The L'Oréal USA For Women in Science fellowship program awards five women postdoctoral scientists annually with grants of $60,000 each for their contributions in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) fields and commitment to serving as role models for younger generations. The program is the U.S. component of the L'Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science International Fellowships program. L'Oréal USA partners with the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) to manage the program's application and peer-review process. The 2018 L'Oréal USA for Women in Science application period will open December 4th, 2017 and will close on February 2nd, 2018.

The Instrumentation and Facilities Program in the Division of Earth Sciences (EAR/IF) supports meritorious requests for infrastructure that promotes research and education in areas supported by the Division (see http://www.nsf.gov/div/index.jsp?div=EAR).  Under this solicitation EAR/IF will consider proposals for Laboratory Technician Support to provide for optimal and efficient operation of advanced instrumentation, analytical protocol development, and user training for Earth science research instrumentation. 

NSF INCLUDES (Inclusion across the Nation of Communities of Learners of Underrepresented Discoverers in Engineering and Science) is a comprehensive national initiative designed to enhance U.S. leadership in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) discoveries and innovations by focusing on broadening participation in these fields at scale. The vision of NSF INCLUDES is to catalyze the STEM enterprise to collaboratively work for inclusive change, which will result in a STEM workforce that reflects the population of the Nation. The initiative is developing a National Network composed of NSF INCLUDES Design and Development Launch Pilots, NSF INCLUDES Alliances, an NSF INCLUDES Coordination Hub, NSF-funded broadening participation projects, other relevant NSF-funded projects, scholars engaged in broadening participation research, and other organizations that support the development of talent from all sectors of society to build an inclusive STEM workforce.

The objective of the ALAS program is to conduct research and development (R&D) of innovative technological solutions to enhance radio frequency (RF), electro-optical (EO), and multi-spectral (MS) system technologies and sensors along with advancing test measurement techniques and methods necessary to meet cutting edge and emerging warfighter needs. Enhanced RF sensing technologies and systems include; improved radar systems, exploration of RF waveforms, signal processing and algorithm exploration, sensor resource management (SRM), and improved EO-RF systems. Advancing test measurement techniques and methods includes; clutter characterization and mitigation, bistatic and multi-static measurement, distributed/multispectral sensing measurement, and improved antenna and radar cross section (RCS) measurement.

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 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.

Despite centuries of discovery, most of our planet's biodiversity remains unknown. The scale of the unknown diversity on Earth is especially troubling given the rapid and permanent loss of biodiversity across the globe. The goal of the Dimensions of Biodiversity campaign is to transform, by 2020, how we describe and understand the scope and role of life on Earth. This campaign promotes novel integrative approaches to fill the most substantial gaps in our understanding of the diversity of life on Earth. It takes a broad view of biodiversity, and focuses on the intersection of genetic, phylogenetic, and functional dimensions of biodiversity. Successful proposals must integrate these three dimensions to understand interactions and feedbacks among them. While this focus complements several core programs in BIO, it differs by requiring that multiple dimensions of biodiversity be addressed simultaneously, in novel ways, to understand their synergistic roles in critical ecological and evolutionary processes, especially pertaining to the mechanisms driving the origin, maintenance, and functional roles of biodiversity. The Dimensions of Biodiversity program includes partnerships with the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC), the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) of Brazil, and the National Research Foundation (NRF) of South Africa in fiscal year 2018. Investigators wishing to inquire about the suitability of potential projects for Dimensions of Biodiversity are encouraged to email a brief summary and contact information to Dimensions@nsf.gov.