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Applications are sought for novel technologies that are targeted to scale down Integrated Gasification and Combined Cycle (IGCC) plant components in the REMS philosophy to achieve programmatic cost reduction goals and to enable opportunities for lifecycle greenhouse gas reductions by locating distributed generation/fuel production closer to its raw material source. The overall technical goal of this FOA is the development of REMS for combined heat and power, and the development of retrofit options to process clean syngas to other products such as liquid fuels and chemicals in lieu of power. In particular, the FOA has an objective to develop REMS process technologies that are cost effective relative to state-of-the-art commercial technology, due to low cost fabrication via advanced manufacturing. The FOA also has an objective to study the cost and performance of a REMS-based combined heat and power or polygeneration system implemented in remote areas subjected to traditionally high energy costs to understand the extent of program impact.

The Battelle Memorial Institute-Ohio State partnership fosters programs that examine the relationship between science and technology and its impact on broader social and cultural issues. Emphasis is placed on educational and public service projects rather than pure research. Interdisciplinary collaborations within the university and collaborations with other institutions are especially encouraged. Projects that address engineering-related topics or feature collaborations between engineering and the social sciences or arts/humanities are particularly welcomed. Typically, three to six awards are granted, ranging from $10,000 to $60,000. Awards will be made in the spring of 2018 for projects to begin the following autumn semester. The deadline for receipt of proposals is Tuesday, November 21, 2017, at 5 p.m.

The Nano-Biosensing program is part of the Engineering Biology and Health cluster, which includes also 1) Cellular and Biochemical Engineering; 2) Engineering of Biomedical Systems; 3) Biophotonics; and 4) Disability and Rehabilitation Engineering. The Nano-Biosensing program supports fundamental engineering research on devices and methods for measurement and quantification of biological analytes. Proposals that incorporate emerging nanotechnology methods are especially encouraged. Areas of interest include: Multi-purpose sensor platforms that exceed the performance of current state-of-the-art devices. Novel transduction principles, mechanisms and sensor designs suitable for measurement in practical matrix and sample-preparation-free approaches. These include error-free detection of pathogens and toxins in food matrices, waterborne pathogens, parasites, toxins, biomarkers in body fluids, and others that improve human condition. Nano-biosensors that enable measurement of biomolecular interactions in their native states, transmembrane transport, intracellular transport and reactions, and other biological phenomena. Studies that examine intracellular measurements must include discussion on the significance of the measurement.

National AIDS Control Organization (NACO) has implemented a series of activities to track trends in the HIV epidemic and measure the impact of the national program. A strategic objective of PEPFAR India in COP 2017 is to ensure availability of high-quality data for planning and decision-making, and to harmonize NACO’s efforts for a coordinated HIV response. This NOFO will support monitoring the epidemic trends and continuous quality improvement (CQI) to improve data quality and its efficient use through targeted technical assistance (TA) and limited introduction of new techniques and approaches. The recipient will strengthen the individual and organizational capacities, data quality and reporting systems to inform program and health systems’ planning, and provide evidence for implementation of health policies and best practices. The recipient will collaborate with NACO to develop/strengthen and implement the national HIV strategic information (SI) plan. The recipient will provide TA to health departments and selected public service delivery sites (Targeted Interventions, which are combination prevention sites for key population, Integrated Counseling and Testing Centers and antiretroviral treatment (ART) centers) to strengthen capacities for data management and use for decision-making. Interventions will be implemented in PEPFAR-prioritized districts in two high prevalence states in India.

The goal of this NOFO is to provide comprehensive HIV services in Zambia to the general population in areas of high HIV prevalence; and priority populations (PPs), including people living with HIV (PLHIV), adolescent girls and young women (AGYW), men, couples, pregnant women, prisoners, and key populations (KPs). Services to be provided will include: community-based HIV testing services (HTS); HIV prevention services (risk reduction counseling,gender norms, and links to post gender-based violence (GBV) care); TB prevention and treatment, and community based antiretroviral therapy (ART). These services will be linked with community health care facilities. The recipient(s) will work closely with the relevant District Medical Offices (DMOs) selected in consultation with CDC Zambia. To ensure efficiencies and program effectiveness, this NOFO will support activities that complement activities supported by the Zambian government and partners with full transition to the local districts by the end of year five.

roposals are solicited that show a path for increased current density (at high-efficiency), die size, switching frequency, and blocking voltage (>10 kV) for both low- and high-duty-cycle switches. SiC is an emerging power semiconductor material that has electrical, thermal, and mechanical properties that allow it to far surpass the performance of conventional silicon (Si) power technology, and makes it the prime candidate for next-generation high-voltage switching devices for military, as well as commercial, applications. SiC power devices have been demonstrated to provide greater than twice the power density of Si power devices and at greater efficiency. This program, which endeavors to advance the United States' capability to provide SiC high-voltage high-power semiconductor switches and to identify limitations that must be overcome, builds on the success of previous high-voltage high-power SiC device programs supported by ARL, including HEPS and HVPT, which advanced the previous state-of-the-art and demonstrated performance and robustness at 10-kV and above. Technology limitations/gaps identified by this program may in turn be the focus of more sustained development efforts in the future. Solutions are sought for the development of SiC HV (> 10 kV) semiconductor power switches and diodes.

This mechanism supports basic research to increase knowledge/understanding through discovery and hypothesis generation, and should focus on providing basic fundamental knowledge that will inform and enable the future development of novel autonomous and/or robotic medical systems to care for wounded soldiers/patients through breakthrough, exploratory research. The objective is focused on addressing the following 1. Autonomous and Unmanned Medical Capability - Identify novel ideas, approaches and research towards the conceptualization of autonomous and unmanned technologies for next-generation, high-quality medical capabilities with limited or absent medical care personnel, or personnel with limited skills. Research novel concepts, plausible approaches and advanced concept designs using biologically inspired cognitive computing models, machine learning, artificial intelligence, soft robotic semi-autonomous/autonomous resuscitation concepts and advanced applications of information sciences among other innovative, exploratory research towards advancing the state-of-the-art in delivery of forward resuscitative care at the point of injury. 2. Medical Robotics Research - Identify novel ideas, approaches and research towards the conceptualization of medical robotics and real-time tele-presence capabilities exploring the limits of machine perception for tele-robotic semi-autonomous and autonomous trauma care within remote and dispersed geographic settings. This could include exploratory research in semi-autonomous robotic surgery to improve the safety profile and efficacy of tele-surgical procedures and outcomes using hard robotics in challenging situations (e.g., combat casualties on the multi-domain battlefield or mass casualty situations) and remote or austere geographic locations, among other innovative, exploratory research aims and novel concepts.

Millions of people with HIV/AIDS now have extended life spans as a result of targeted HIV testing services and scale-up of effective anti-retroviral therapy (ART), resulting in increased need to 1) effectively manage large volumes of data; 2) accurately track patient cohorts across space and time; 3) track utilization of human and material resources; and 4) support evidence-driven decisions. Interoperable health information systems (HIS), including electronic medical records (EMR) and laboratory information systems (LIS), are essential tools for collecting, managing, and using these data. This NOFO will support countries to 1) design, develop, implement, and evaluate HIS; 2) develop and improve policy, governance, and infrastructure needed to implement HIS and increase sustainability and country ownership; 3) sustain informatics workforce and capacity development; and 4) protect, secure, standardize, exchange, and share data to improve health.

This funding opportunity announcement (FOA) invites applications for P50 Research Center Grants for Specialized Programs of Research Excellence (SPOREs). The program will fund P50 SPORE grants to support state-of-the-art investigator-initiated translational research that will contribute to improved prevention, early detection, diagnosis, and treatment of an organ-specific cancer or a related group of cancers. For the purpose of this FOA, cancers derived from the same organ system (i.e., a group of organs that perform a common function) are considered related. Examples of such organ systems include gastrointestinal, endocrine and other biological systems. Other programmatically appropriate groups of cancers may include those centered around a common biological mechanism critical for promoting tumorigenesis and/or cancer progression in organ sites that belong to different organ systems. For example, a SPORE may focus on cancers caused by the same infectious agent or cancers sustained and promoted by dysregulation of a common signaling pathway. In addition, a SPORE may focus on cross-cutting themes such as pediatric cancers or cancer health disparities. The research supported through this program must be translational and must stem from research on human biology using cellular, molecular, structural, biochemical, and/or genetic experimental approaches. SPORE projects must have the goal of reaching a translational human endpoint within the project period of the grant.

The Nation's advanced research cyberinfrastructure (CI) ecosystem catalyzes discovery and innovation across all areas of science and engineering (S&E) research and education. The increasingly complex and rapidly evolving S&E landscape requires an agile, integrated, robust, trustworthy, and sustainable CI ecosystem that will drive new thinking and transformative discoveries in all areas of research and education. The success of this vision depends on the ability of the research community to be able to easily and effectively access and use state-of-the-art research CI resources and services in a timely way. This, in turn, drives a set of requirements on the development, operation, and evolution of the CI ecosystem. First, research CI resources and services must be designed to leverage and drive innovations, and they must be user-centric and interoperable to enable the efficient, flexible end-to-end discovery pathways that are increasingly essential for the conduct of research. Second, the information, expertise, and services needed to maximally utilize the CI ecosystem must be disseminated broadly and concertedly to the research community. The NSF Cyberinfrastructure Centers of Excellence (CI CoE) Program aims to realize the above vision by supporting hubs of expertise and innovation targeting specific areas, aspects, or stakeholder communities of the research CI ecosystem.

The program supports four main research themes that are envisioned to advance the goal of ubiquitous co-robots:scalability,customizability,lowering barriers to entry, andsocietal impact,includinghuman safety. Topics addressingscalabilityinclude how robots can collaborate effectively with orders of magnitude more humans or other robots than is handled by the current state of the art; how robots can perceive, plan, act, and learn in uncertain, real-world environments, especially in a distributed fashion; and how to facilitate large-scale, safe, robust and reliable operation of robots in complex environments.Customizabilityincludes how to enable co-robots to adapt to specific different tasks, environments, or people, with minimal modification to hardware and software; how robots can personalize their interactions with people; and how robots can communicate naturally with humans, both verbally and non-verbally. Topics inlowering barriers to entryshould focus on lowering the barriers for conducting fundamental roboticsresearchand research on integrated robotics application. This may include development of open-source co-robot hardware and software, as well as widely-accessible testbeds. Outreach or using robots in educational programs do not, by themselves, lower the barriers to entry for robotics research. Topics insocietal impactinclude fundamental research to establish and infuse robotics into educational curricula, advance the robotics workforce through education pathways, and explore the social, economic, ethical, security, and legal implications of our future with ubiquitous collaborative robots.

The program supports four main research themes that are envisioned to advance the goal of ubiquitous co-robots: scalability, customizability, lowering barriers to entry, and societal impact, including human safety. Topics addressing scalability include how robots can collaborate effectively with orders of magnitude more humans or other robots than is handled by the current state of the art; how robots can perceive, plan, act, and learn in uncertain, real-world environments, especially in a distributed fashion; and how to facilitate large-scale, safe, robust and reliable operation of robots in complex environments. Customizability includes how to enable co-robots to adapt to specific different tasks, environments, or people, with minimal modification to hardware and software; how robots can personalize their interactions with people; and how robots can communicate naturally with humans, both verbally and non-verbally. Topics in lowering barriers to entry should focus on lowering the barriers for conducting fundamental robotics research and research on integrated robotics application.

The Baird Society Resident Scholar Program was established to support the study of some of SI Libraries' most unique and valuable holdings: its Special Collections. Stipends of $3,500 per month for up to six months are available for individuals working on a topic relating to these collections. Historians, librarians, doctoral students, and post-doctoral scholars are welcome to apply. Scholars must be in residence at the Smithsonian during the award period. While the Libraries' extensive general collections may be used to support scholars' research, the focus of their projects must center around Special Collections. These collections are located in in Washington, DC and New York City, and include:

The University of Chicago is offering talented individuals from traditionally underrepresented populations an expenses-paid opportunity to explore graduate education at the University of Chicago. Join us for a weekend of graduate admissions workshops, presentations by world-renowned faculty and their graduate students, and informal socials. Receive advice on submitting a competitive application to graduate programs and learn how to develop your own career as a scientist, academic, or professional.

The Harvard University Graduate School of Design is accepting applications for the 2018 Richard Rogers Fellowship program. Based at Wimbledon House in London, which was designed by Lord Rogers in the late 1960s, the fellowship is intended to encourage in-depth, original forms of investigation as a way to expand architectural practice and scholarship. Open to accomplished practitioners and scholars working in fields related to the built environment, the fellowship supports research projects focused on topics that have been central to Lord Rogers's life and career, including questions of urbanism, sustainability, and how people use cities. Each of the six selected fellows will receive a three-month residency at Wimbledon House in London as well as round-trip travel expenses, a $10,000 cash stipend, and unique access to London's extraordinary institutions, libraries, practices, professionals, and other resources. The fellowship is open to applicants from anywhere in the world. However, applicants must demonstrate professional or research experience in a field related to the built environment and must propose new or ongoing research that would benefit from a residency in London. Applicants must have completed a graduate or professionally accredited degree. Preference will be given to practitioners and researchers with significant academic credentials or experience in architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning or urban design, as well as applicants who propose ambitious research projects with the potential to make a significant impact on relevant fields of research or practice.

The confluence of transistor scaling, increases in the number of architecture designs per process generation, the slowing of clock frequency growth, and recent success in research exploiting Thread Level Parallelism (TLP) and Data Level Parallelism (DLP) all point to an increasing opportunity for innovative microarchitecture techniques and methodologies in delivering performance growth in the future. The NSF/Intel Partnership on Foundational Microarchitecture Research will support transformative microarchitecture research targeting improvements in instructions per cycle (IPC). This solicitation seeks microarchitecture technique innovations beyond simplistic, incremental scaling of existing microarchitectural structures. Specifically, FoMR seeks to advance research that has the following characteristics: (1) high IPC techniques ranging from microarchitecture to code generation; (2) "microarchitecture turbo" techniques that marshal chip resources and system memory bandwidth to accelerate sequential or single-threaded programs; and (3) techniques to support efficient compiler code generation. Advances in these areas promise to provide significant performance improvements to continue the cadence promised by Moore's Law.