Supports research on algebraic topology, including homotopy theory, ordinary and extraordinary homology and cohomology, cobordism theory, and K-theory; topological manifolds and cell complexes, fiberings, knots, and links; differential topology and actions of groups of transformations; geometric group theory; and general topology and continua theory.

The goal of the Catalysis and Biocatalysis program is to drive innovation in the production of the myriad of goods and services that are derived from catalyst-driven reactions.  Research in this program encompasses a blend of fundamental, engineering research drivers that are interdisciplinary in nature.  Studies should focus on the catalysis of one or more use-inspired chemical reactions with products including fuels, energy, feedstocks, fine chemicals, bulk chemicals and specialized materials.  While proposals will be accepted in any of the above areas, an emphasis will be placed on proposals addressing the significant existing challenges in producing products for the service of mankind.

The Environmental Health and Safety of Nanotechnology (Nano EHS) program provides support to examine and mitigate the environmental effects of nanotechnologies.  Fundamental research is sought to understand, evaluate, and lessen the impact of nanotechnology on the environment and biological systems.  The program emphasizes engineering principles underlying the environmental health and safety impacts of nanotechnology.  Innovative methods related to clean nanomaterials production processes, waste reduction, recycling, and industrial ecology of nanotechnology are also of interest.  

he goal of the Interfacial Processes and Thermodynamics (IPT) program is to advance fundamental molecular engineering at interfaces, especially as applied to the nano-processing of soft materials.  The program views fundamental interfacial interactions, molecular transport at interfaces, and molecular thermodynamics as integral to developing new approaches for solving critical engineering needs that face society. Molecules at interfaces, with functional interfacial properties, are of special interest, as these molecules have potential use in important research areas, such as adhesion and advanced manufacturing/fabrication.  These interfacial molecules may also have biomolecular functions at the micro- and nano-scale, where the biomolecular functionalities may be re-directed toward engineering solutions. One new area of interest is the adhesion between unlike materials, or adhesion in adverse environments, with particular emphasis on applying strategies arising from nature.  Research supported in these fundamental areas should lead to more economical and environmentally benign processing, improved water quality, and novel functional materials for sensors, in industrial, environmental, and biomedical settings.  Nanotechnology plays a critical role in most of these new areas.

The Centers of Research Excellence in Science and Technology (CREST) program provides support to enhance the research capabilities of minority-serving institutions (MSI) through the establishment of centers that effectively integrate education and research. CREST promotes the development of new knowledge, enhancements of the research productivity of individual faculty, and an expanded presence of students historically underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and  mathematics (STEM) disciplines. HBCU-RISE awards specifically target HBCUs to support the expansion of institutional research capacity as well as the production of doctoral students, especially those from groups underrepresented in STEM,  at those institutions.

The Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Nuclear Energy (NE) conducts crosscutting nuclear energy research and development (R&D) and associated infrastructure support activities to develop innovative technologies that offer the promise of dramatically improved performance for advanced reactors and fuel cycle concepts while maximizing the impact of DOE resources. NE strives to promote integrated and collaborative research conducted by national laboratory, university, industry, and international partners under the direction of NE's programs. NE funds research activities through both competitive and direct mechanisms, as required to best meet the needs of NE. This approach ensures a balanced R&D portfolio and encourages new nuclear power deployment with creative solutions to the universe of nuclear energy challenges. This FOA addresses the competitive portion of NE's R&D portfolio as executed through the Nuclear Energy University Programs (NEUP), Nuclear Energy Enabling Technologies Crosscutting Technology Development (NEET CTD), and Advanced Test Reactor National Scientific User Facility (ATR NSUF). NEUP utilizes up to 20 percent of funds appropriated to NE's R&D program for university-based infrastructure support and R&D in key NE program-related areas: Fuel Cycle Research and Development (FC R&D), Reactor Concepts Research, Development and Demonstration (RC RD&D), and Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling and Simulation (NEAMS). NEET CTD supports national laboratory-, university- and industry-led crosscutting research. By establishing the NSUF in 2007, DOE-NE opened up the world of material test reactors, beam lines, and post-irradiation examination facilities to researchers from U.S. universities, industry and national laboratories by granting no-cost access to world-class nuclear research facilities. In addition to the consolidation of the NSUF Call for Applications (CFA) for access to capabilities, NEUP or NEET CTD projects requiring irradiation testing and/

The Sensors, Dynamics, and Control (SDC) program supports fundamental research on the analysis, measurement, monitoring and control of complex dynamical and structural systems, including development of new analytical, computational and experimental tools, and novel applications to engineered and natural systems. Program objectives are the discovery of new phenomena and the investigation of innovative methods and applications for dynamics, measurement, and control. Transformative research on complex networks, linear and nonlinear discrete or infinite dimensional systems spanning a multitude of time and length scales and physical domains are of interest, as are highly interdisciplinary projects and projects addressing security, resilience and sustainability. Basic research strongly motivated by industry needs or other real-life applications is welcome.The SDC program supports fundamental research on the theories of dynamical systems to uncover novel paradigms for modeling, control and analysis of dynamic phenomena and systems that undergo spatial and temporal evolution with applications crossing interdisciplinary boundaries, along with fundamental studies on stability, phase transitions, and wave propagation in complex and non-local media. Furthermore, the program supports fundamental research on monitoring, analysis, and decision-making processes for integrity monitoring, sensors reliability and safety of complex engineered systems, especially under conditions of uncertainty. Of interest is the investigation of big data (high-volume and high-speed) issues related to virtually-continuous streams of measurements from heterogeneous sensors for continuous systems monitoring. The SDC program also includes fundamental research on control theory and its applications. Topics of current interest include unconventional applications of control; the combined roles of feedback, feedforward and uncertainty; integrated feedback, communication and signal processing; and control conc

The Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) is a program designed to fulfill the National Science Foundation's (NSF) mandate to promote scientific progress nationwide. The EPSCoR program is directed at jurisdictions that have historically received lesser amounts of NSF Research and Development (R&D) funding. Thirty-one jurisdictions including twenty-eight states, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the U. S. Virgin Islands, and Guam currently are eligible to participate. Through this program, NSF establishes partnerships with government, higher education, and industry that are designed to effect lasting improvements in a state's or region's research infrastructure, R&D capacity and hence, its national R&D competitiveness.Research Infrastructure Improvement Program: Track-2 (RII Track-2) awards provide funds in the range of $1.5 to 2.0 million per year for up to 3 years to consortia of EPSCoR jurisdictions. The awards promote opportunities for collaborations among EPSCoR jurisdictions in all areas of science, engineering, and education supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF). RII Track-2 proposals must describe a clear, comprehensive, and integrated vision to drive discovery, and train a skilled workforce capable of solving science and engineering challenges of regional, thematic, and national relevance. Proposals should also include a strong rationale for the establishment of the consortium and clearly demonstrate that the consortium is well-positioned to produce results that cannot be obtained by any single partner working independently. The Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) research and education activities should broaden participation by different types of institutions, individuals, and sectors in the project.

The MME program supports fundamental research leading to improved manufacturing machines and equipment, and their application in manufacturing processes. Key goals of the program are to advance the transition of manufacturing from skill-based to knowledge-based activities, and to advance technologies that will enable the manufacturing sector to reduce its environmental impacts. A focus is on the advancement of manufacturing machines and related systems engineering that will enable energy manufacturing, namely the manufacture of facilities and equipment that will enable the conversion of renewable resources into energy products such as electricity and liquid fuels, on a large scale. The program also supports research on additive manufacturing, laser processing and bonding/joining processes encompassing feature scales from microns to meters. Proposals with focus on materials for these processes are also welcome in MME. Note: nanometer scale additive manufacturing is supported under the Nanomanufacturing program.Investigators wishing to serve on a proposal review panel should email the Program Director with a short biographical sketch, a list of areas of expertise and a link to their home page. REU/RET supplement requests should be submitted by March 31 each year.

The Mechanics of Materials program supports fundamental research on the behavior of solid materials and respective devices under external actions.?? A diverse and interdisciplinary spectrum of research is supported with emphasis placed on fundamental understanding that i) advances theory, experimental, and/or computational methods in Mechanics of Materials, and/or ii) uses contemporary Mechanics of Materials methods to address modern challenges in material and device mechanics and physics. Proposed research can focus on existing or emerging material systems across time and length scales. Intellectual merit typically includes advances in fundamental understanding of deformation, fracture, fatigue, and contact through constitutive modeling, multiscale and multiphysics analysis, computational methods, or experimental techniques.??Recent interests comprise, but are not limited to:?? contemporary materials including multiphase materials and material systems, soft materials, active materials, low-dimensional materials, phononic/elastic metamaterials, friction, wear;??multiphysics methods, mechanics at the nano, meso and microscale and multiscale integration thereof, as well as approaches incorporating fundamental understanding of physics and chemistry into the continuum-level understanding of the response characteristics of materials and material systems.

The Engineering and Systems Design (ESD) program supports descriptive and normative research leading to a theory of engineering design and an understanding of systems engineering. The program is focused on gaining an understanding of the basic processes and phenomena underlying a view of design where the system life-cycle context informs the identification and definition of preferences, analysis of alternatives, effective accommodation of uncertainty in decision-making, and the relationship between data, information, and knowledge in a digitally-supported environment. The program funds advances in a descriptive understanding of design and basic design theory that span multiple domains, such as the relationship of systems to the environment, the significance of manufacturability, and the range of complexity from small designed artifacts to large engineered systems.

 Fundamental research in system science and system engineering theory should be submitted to the System Science (SYS) program. Research in which the primary contribution is observation and description of systems engineering should be submitted to the ESD program, and should identify the System Science program as a secondary program.

The Materials Engineering and Processing (MEP) program supports fundamental research addressing the interrelationship of materials processing, structure, properties and/or life-cycle performance for targeted applications. Research proposals should be driven by the performance or output of the material system relative to the targeted application(s). Research plans driven by scientific hypotheses are encouraged when suitable. Materials in bulk form or focus on special zones such as surfaces or interfaces that are to be used in structural and/or functional applications are appropriate. All material systems are of interest including polymers, metals, ceramics, semiconductors, composites and hybrids thereof. Analytical, experimental, and numerical studies are supported and collaborative proposals with industry (GOALI) are encouraged.Areas of interest include: Functional Materials - materials that possess native properties and functions that can be controlled by external forces such as temperature, light, electric field, pH, etc. These include materials that exhibit properties such as electronic, magnetic, piezoelectric, ferroelectric, photovoltaic, chromogenic, shape memory, thermoelectric or self-healing, etc. Structural Materials - materials that, in service, bear mechanical load. Length scales from nano to meso to macro are of interest as are materials in the bulk or in special configuration such as thin film. These include materials such as metals, polymers, composites, biomaterials, ceramics, hybrids, cement, etc. Materials Processing - processes that convert material into useful form as either intermediate or final composition. These include processes such as extrusion, molding, casting, deposition, sintering, printing, etc. Proposed research should include the consideration of cost, performance, and feasibility of scale-up, as appropriate. Research that addresses multi-scale and/or multi-functional materials systems is encouraged as is research in support of envir

The Hazard Mitigation and Structural Engineering (HMSE) program supports fundamental research to mitigate impacts of natural and anthropogenic hazards on civil infrastructure and to advance the reliability, resiliency, and sustainability of buildings and other structures. Hazards considered within the program include earthquake, tsunami, hurricane, tornado and other loads, as well as explosive and impact loading. Resiliency of buildings and other structures include structural and non-structural systems that, in totality, permit continued occupation or operation in case of an impact by a hazard. Research is encouraged that integrates structural and architectural engineering advances with discoveries in other science and engineering fields, such as earth and atmospheric sciences, material science, mechanics of materials, sensor technology, high performance computational modeling and simulation, dynamic system and control, and economics. The program seeks to fund transformative and cost-effective innovations for hazard mitigation of both new and rehabilitated buildings and other structures. Research in structural and architectural engineering is encouraged that extends beyond mature or current construction materials into investigations of smart and sustainable materials and technologies, and considers the structures in their entirety. In addition, the program funds research on structural health monitoring that goes beyond data acquisition to include the holistic system, integrating condition assessment and decision making tools to improve structural performance

The Design of Engineering Material Systems (DEMS) program supports fundamental research intended to lead to new paradigms of design, development, and insertion of advanced engineering material systems. Fundamental research that develops and creatively integrates theory, processing/manufacturing, data/informatics, experimental, and/or computational approaches with rigorous engineering design principles, approaches, and tools to enable the accelerated design and development of materials is welcome. Research proposals are sought that strive to develop systematic scientific methodologies to tailor the behavior of material systems in ways that are driven by performance metrics and incorporate processing/manufacturing. While an emphasis on a specific material system may be appropriate to provide the necessary project focus, techniques developed should transcend materials systems. Ultimately it is expected that research outcomes will be methodologies to enable the discovery of materials systems with new properties and behavior, and enable their rapid insertion into engineering systems.Proposals that focus on modeling, simulation, and prediction of material performance (even when research is coupled with experiments for validation or guidance) without an intellectual emphasis on design are not appropriate for this program and should be submitted to other disciplinary programs.

The System Science (SYS) program funds fundamental research on engineered systems that will support the creation of a mathematically sound framework for systems engineering. The System Science program invites proposals that address fundamental systems issues including system performance prediction, uncertainty quantification in the systems context, theoretical foundations for aggregation in systems, decision-making in the systems context, and operation and maintenance in the systems context.

 The System Science program does not fund development projects. Proposals that have system science or system engineering relevance, but for which the predominant research contribution is within an existing program in CMMI, should be submitted to the appropriate disciplinary program, with the System Science program identified as a secondary program.

The Civil Infrastructure Systems (CIS) program supports research leading to the engineering of infrastructure systems for resilience and sustainability without excluding other key performance issues. Areas of interest include intra- and inter-physical, information and behavioral dependencies of infrastructure systems, infrastructure management, construction engineering, and transportation systems. Special emphasis is on the design, construction, operation, and improvement of infrastructure networks with a focus on systems engineering and design, performance management, risk analysis, life-cycle analysis, modeling and simulation, behavioral and social considerations not excluding other methodological areas or the integration of methods.This program does not encourage research proposals primarily focused on structural engineering, materials or sensors that support infrastructure system design, extreme event modeling, hydrological engineering, and climate modeling, since they do not fall within the scope of the CIS program. Researchers focused in these areas are encouraged to contact the Infrastructure Management and Extreme Events (IMEE), Geotechnical Engineering (GTE), Hazard Mitigation and Structural Engineering (HSME), Structural Materials and Mechanics (SMM), or the Sensors and Sensing Systems (SSS) program within CMMI. Additionally, researchers may consider contacting the Hydrologic Sciences program in the Earth Sciences Division (EAR) or the Physical and Dynamic Meteorology (PDM) program in the Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences Division (AGS) of the Directorate for Geosciences.

The GTE program supports fundamental research on geotechnical engineering aspects of civil infrastructure, such as site characterization, foundations, earth retaining systems, underground construction, excavations, tunneling, and drilling. Also included in the program scope is research on geoenvironmental engineering; geotechnical engineering aspects of geothermal energy; life-cycle analysis of geostructures; geotechnical earthquake engineering that does not involve the use of George E. Brown, Jr. Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation (NEES) facilities; scour and erosion; and geohazards such as tsunamis, landslides, mudslides and debris flows. The program does not support research related to natural resource exploration or recovery. Emphasis is on issues of sustainability and resilience of civil infrastructure. Cross-disciplinary and international collaborations are encouraged.

The Division of Engineering Education and Centers (EEC) seeks to enable a world-leading system of engineering education, equally open and available to all members of society, that dynamically and rapidly adapts to meet the changing needs of society and the nation's economy. Research areas of interest include, but are not limited to:Diversifying pathways to and through engineering degree programs. Research projects that align with this theme explore how engineering programs can engage and develop students with a broad range of backgrounds, interests, and experiences; investigate how informal or real world experiences germane to engineering--such as military service or being a "maker"--impact, improve, or accelerate learning; or investigate how to fundamentally restructure courses, curricula, or programs to substantially boost student success, especially for under-represented populations and veterans. Understanding how to increase the diffusion and impact of engineering education research. Research projects are sought that discover how to improve the process by which engineering education research is translated into practice; how to accomplish organizational and cultural change in institutions of engineering education that leads to improved learning outcomes; or identifying and overcoming barriers to widespread adoption of engineering education research. Research projects that partner with other engineering education stakeholders (e.g. private companies, NGOs, or professional societies) to measure the value and impact of engineering education research on practice are also sought.Understanding engineering education in broader, organizing frameworks such as innovation, globalization, complex engineered systems, or sustainability. Research in this theme explores learning from perspectives and contexts that cut across disciplines and in which learners integrate expertise from multiple fields. Research projects that align with this theme include discovering proce

The IMEE program focuses on the impact of large-scale hazards on civil infrastructure and society and on related issues of preparedness, response, mitigation, and recovery.?? The program supports research to integrate multiple issues from engineering, social, behavioral, political, and economic sciences. ??It supports fundamental research on the interdependence of civil infrastructure and society, development of sustainable infrastructures, and civil infrastructure vulnerability and risk reduction.

The Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) is pleased to offer a limited number of conference grants. These grants will be used to subsidize the cost of attendance for individuals to attend either CUR Dialogues 2015: Climbing the Ladder to Funding Success: Diverse Sources, Diverse Pathways or Undergraduate Research Programs: Building, Enhancing, Sustaining. Nominees are asked to provide contact and demographic information, a statement of expenses, a statement describing financial need, and a statement on expected outcomes from attending the conference. Historically under-represented groups and first-time attendees will be given priority. The review committee will work to ensure awardees represent a diverse subset of the applicants, specifically across discipline/CUR Division and geographic location. Awardees will receive the conference grant as a rebate after their confirmed participation in the conference, and the submission of reimbursement paperwork.