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Critical infrastructures are the mainstay of our nation's economy, security and health. These infrastructures are interdependent. They are linked to individual preferences and community needs. For example, the electrical power system depends on the delivery of fuels to power generating stations through transportation services, the production of those fuels depends in turn on the use of electrical power, and those fuels are needed by the transportation services. Social networks, interactions, and policies can enable or hinder the successful creation of resilient complex adaptive systems. The goals of the Critical Resilient Interdependent Infrastructure Systems and Processes (CRISP) solicitation are to: (1) foster an interdisciplinary research community of engineers, computer and computational scientists and social and behavioral scientists, that creates new approaches and engineering solutions for the design and operation of infrastructures as processes and services; (2) enhance the understanding and design of interdependent critical infrastructure systems (ICIs) and processes that provide essential goods and services despite disruptions and failures from any cause, natural, technological, or malicious; (3) create the knowledge for innovation in ICIs so that they safely, securely, and effectively expand the range of goods and services they enable; and (4) improve the effectiveness and efficiency with which they deliver existing goods and services.

Critical infrastructures are the mainstay of our nation's economy, security and health. These infrastructures are interdependent. They are linked to individual preferences and community needs. For example, the electrical power system depends on the delivery of fuels to power generating stations through transportation services, the production of those fuels depends in turn on the use of electrical power, and those fuels are needed by the transportation services. Social networks, interactions, and policies can enable or hinder the successful creation of resilient complex adaptive systems. The goals of the Critical Resilient Interdependent Infrastructure Systems and Processes (CRISP) solicitation are to: (1) foster an interdisciplinary research community of engineers, computer and computational scientists and social and behavioral scientists, that creates new approaches and engineering solutions for the design and operation of infrastructures as processes and services; (2) enhance the understanding and design of interdependent critical infrastructure systems (ICIs) and processes that provide essential goods and services despite disruptions and failures from any cause, natural, technological, or malicious; (3) create the knowledge for innovation in ICIs so that they safely, securely, and effectively expand the range of goods and services they enable; and (4) improve the effectiveness and efficiency with which they deliver existing goods and services.

The General & Age Related Disabilities Engineering (GARDE) program supports research that will lead to the development of new technologies, devices, or software for persons with disabilities.  Research may be supported that is directed to the characterization, restoration, and/or substitution of human functional ability or cognition, or to the interaction of persons with disabilities and their environment.  Areas of particular recent interest are disability-related research in neuroscience/neuroengineering and rehabilitation robotics.  Emphasis is placed on significant advancement of fundamental engineering and scientific knowledge and not on incremental improvements.  Proposals should advance discovery or innovation beyond the frontiers of current knowledge in disability-related research.  Applicants are encouraged to contact the Program Director prior to submitting a proposal. Undergraduate Engineering Design Projects are also supported, especially those that provide prototype "custom-Designed" devices or software for persons with disabilities.  The education of undergraduate engineering students is enhanced through Undergraduate Engineering Design Projects' awards supported by the GARDE program. 

The challenge to the teams competing in Solar Decathlon 2015 is to safely and effectively design, build, and operate solar-powered houses that are cost-effective, energy-efficient, and attractive in less than 24 months. The Department of Energy Solar Decathlon is an educational workforce development program designed to educate university-level students. The Solar Decathlon is also a public outreach demonstration designed to foster greater adoption of clean energy technologies and energy efficiency. 

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 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 National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) and VentureWell have come together to support and expand DEBUT, a competition that recognizes undergraduate excellence in biomedical design and innovation. DEBUT challenges teams of students in undergraduate biomedical education to solve real-world problems in healthcare. Prizes of up to $20,000 will be awarded. Strong DEBUT submissions will demonstrate a mastery of analytical and design skills and capabilities; the ability to manage the product development process; the ability to work effectively in teams; and technical communication skills. Submissions will be judged on the following criteria: Significance of the problem being addressed Impact of the proposed solution on potential users and clinical care Innovative design Working prototype Additional prizes will be awarded to entries that also demonstrate: Market potential and economic feasibility Patentability

CubeSat constellations and swarms have been identified as a new paradigm for space-based measurements to address high-priority science questions in multiple disciplines. However, the full potential of CubeSat constellations and swarms for scientific studies has not yet been realized because of: i) the limitations of some of the existing key CubeSat technology, ii) knowledge gaps in the design and optimization of CubeSat technology for swarms and constellations, and iii) the increasing cost of more sophisticated CubeSat technology. The technology challenges include high bandwidth communications in CubeSat-to-CubeSat and CubeSat-to-ground scenarios, circuits and sensors miniaturization, on-board signal processing, and power generation. The vision of a satellite mission consisting of 10-100 CubeSats will require focused investment and development in a myriad of CubeSat-related technologies to build a cost-effective constellation or swarm of CubeSats. This will require transformative approaches for designing and building CubeSat subsystems and sensors, and innovative production approaches that will reduce the cost of implementing large-scale constellation missions.Spectrum allocations for data transmission and possible electromagnetic interference between or within constellations of CubeSats are issues that also will need to be considered. This solicitation describes an Ideas Lab focused onCubeSat Innovations to push the envelope of space-based research capabilities by simultaneously developing enabling technologies in several domains, including propulsion systems, sensor design, electronic circuits, antennas, satellite-to-ground and satellite-to-satellite communications and wireless networking, and power management. The vision of this Ideas Lab is to support research and engineering technology development efforts that will lead to new science missions in geospace and atmospheric sciences using self-organizing CubeSat constellations/swarms.

The National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) and VentureWell have come together to support and expand DEBUT, a competition that recognizes undergraduate excellence in biomedical design and innovation. DEBUT challenges teams of students in undergraduate biomedical education to solve real world problems in healthcare. Prizes of up to $20,000 will be awarded, with a total prize purse of $80,000. Strong DEBUT submissions will demonstrate a mastery of analytical and design skills and capabilities; the ability to manage the product development process; the ability to work effectively in teams; and technical communication skills. Submissions will be judged on the following criteria: Significance of the problem being addressed Impact of proposed solution on potential users and clinical care Innovative design Working prototype

Recent advances in communications, computation, and sensing technologies offer unprecedented opportunities for the design of cyber-physical systems with increased responsiveness, interconnectivity and automation. To meet new challenges and societal needs, the Energy, Power, Control andNetworks (EPCN) Program invests in systems and control methods for analysis and design of cyber-physical systems to ensure stability, performance, robustness, and security. Topics of interest include modeling, optimization, learning, and control of networked multi-agent systems, higher-level decision making, and dynamic resource allocation as well as risk management in the presence of uncertainty, sub-system failures and stochastic disturbances. EPCN also invests in adaptive dynamic programing, brain-like networked architectures performing real-time learning, and neuromorphic engineering. EPCN supports innovative proposals dealing with systems research in such areas as energy, transportation, and nanotechnology. EPCN places emphasis on electric power systems, including generation, transmission, storage, and integration of renewables; power electronics and drives; battery management systems; hybrid and electric vehicles; and understanding of the interplay of power systems with associated regulatory and economic structures and with consumer behavior. Also of interest are interdependencies of power and energy systems with other critical infrastructures. Topics of interest also include systems analysis and design for energy scavenging and alternate energy technologies such as solar, wind, and hydrokinetic. The program also supports innovative tools and test beds, as well as curriculum development integrating research and education. In addition to single investigator projects, EPCN encourages cross-disciplinary proposals that benefit from active collaboration of researchers with complementary skills. Proposals for the EPCN program may involve collaborative research to capture the breadth of

Applications are invited in two categories: SFARI Pilot Awards and SFARI Research Awards. 1) SFARI Pilot Awards: Grants are awarded to innovative, high-impact proposals requesting support for small-scale projects or early-stage experiments designed to build on preliminary data or a prior track record and lead to competitive applications for funding by SFARI or other organizations. Investigators new to the field of autism are encouraged to apply. The maximum budget is $150,000 (including indirect costs) per year for up to two years. 2) SFARI Research Awards: Grants awarded through this category are designed for investigators with demonstrated expertise conducting compelling high-impact research on an experimental hypothesis for which, in most cases, preliminary data has already been gathered. The foundation also will consider projects focused on a central hypothesis where success depends on close collaboration between two or more labs. The initiative expects to fund proposals for a maximum of $275,000 per year (including indirect costs) for up to three years, but under exceptional circumstances will consider proposals at higher funding levels.

Applications are invited in two categories: SFARI Pilot Awards and SFARI Research Awards. 1) SFARI Pilot Awards: Grants are awarded to innovative, high-impact proposals requesting support for small-scale projects or early-stage experiments designed to build on preliminary data or a prior track record and lead to competitive applications for funding by SFARI or other organizations. Investigators new to the field of autism are encouraged to apply. The maximum budget is $150,000 (including indirect costs) per year for up to two years. 2) SFARI Research Awards: Grants awarded through this category are designed for investigators with demonstrated expertise conducting compelling high-impact research on an experimental hypothesis for which, in most cases, preliminary data has already been gathered. The foundation also will consider projects focused on a central hypothesis where success depends on close collaboration between two or more labs. The initiative expects to fund proposals for a maximum of $275,000 per year (including indirect costs) for up to three years, but under exceptional circumstances will consider proposals at higher funding levels.

The primary objective is to support scholarships for nuclear science, engineering, technology and related disciplines to develop a workforce capable of supporting the design, construction, operation, and regulation of nuclear facilities and the safe handling of nuclear materials. The primary objective is to support fellowships for nuclear science, engineering, technology and related disciplines to develop a workforce capable of supporting the design, construction, operation, and regulation of nuclear facilities and the safe handling of nuclear materials. The primary objective is to support faculty development for nuclear science, engineering, technology and related disciplines to develop a workforce capable of supporting the design, construction, operation, and regulation of nuclear facilities and the safe handling of nuclear materials. The grants specifically target probationary, tenure-track faculty during the first 6 years of their career and new faculty hires in the following academic areas: Nuclear, Mechanical, Civil, Environmental, Electrical, Fire Protection, Geotechnical, Structural and Materials Sciences Engineering as well as Health Physics. The program provides support to enable newer faculty to enhance their careers as professors and researchers in the university department where employed.

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO) have adopted its use and translated the variables into civil engineering applications, specifically pavement design. FHWA's Long Term Pavement Performance (LTPP) Climate Tool provides access to the MERRA-2 database and generates site-specific climate data in compatible formats for AASHTO Pavement ME design (Pavement ME). AASHTO will soon use MERRA-2 climatic data for AASHTOWare applications. MERRA-2 data sets include accurate hourly solar radiation values based on measured cloud-covered fractions which can significantly improve the accuracy of predicted pavement temperatures. Studies reveal challenges in matching the predictions from the Enhanced Integrated Climatic Model (EICM) with field observations and pavement performance. Variations in measurement of climatic attributes have also been reported to Operating Weather Stations (OWS). MERRA-2 data provides opportunities for enhancements to the climatic parameters and climatic module calculations for pavement design using Pavement ME. It provides improved climatology, higher frequency outputs including hourly data updates, and additional locations beyond the United States. Available data categories include: temperature, precipitation, surface pressure, cloud cover, humidity, wind speed, and solar radiation. The objectives of this project are to (1) evaluate the impact of using NASA's Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications version 2 (MERRA-2) through the FHWA LTPP Climate Tool to improve the climatic inputs and related models for Pavement ME; (2) enhance and simplify climate input parameters for Pavement ME that can be implemented by transportation agencies; and (3) develop climate-related models based on identified parameter enhancements

The specific objectives of the Future of Work at the Human-Technology Frontier program are to (1) facilitate convergent research that employs the joint perspectives, methods, and knowledge of computer science, design, engineering, learning sciences, research on education and workforce training, and social, behavioral, and economic sciences; (2) encourage the development of a research community dedicated to designing intelligent technologies and work organization and modes inspired by their positive impact on individual workers, the work at hand, the way people learn and adapt to technological change, creative and supportive workplaces (including remote locations, homes, classrooms, or virtual spaces), and benefits for social, economic, educational, and environmental systems at different scales; (3) promote deeper basic understanding of the interdependent human-technology partnership to advance societal needs by advancing design of intelligent work technologies that operate in harmony with human workers, including consideration of how adults learn the new skills needed to interact with these technologies in the workplace, and by enabling broad workforce participation, including improving accessibility for those challenged by physical or cognitive impairment; and (4) understand, anticipate, and explore ways of mitigating potential risks arising from future work at the human-technology frontier. Ultimately, this research will advance understanding of how technology and people interact, distribute tasks, cooperate, and complement each other in different specific work contexts of significant societal importance.

Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) Crane and the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (OUSD(R&E))'s Joint Hypersonic Transition Office (JHTO) are interested in receiving research proposals in the following areas. Each will have a Period of Performance (PoP) of 12 months. a. Systems-level design of high-temperature composite materials and structures research utilization of fiber architectures and matrix compositions b. Novel position, navigation, and timing and adaptive flight controls c. design-oriented models to optimize scramjet and multi-mode engines d. Simulation Methods for the Rapid Prediction of Hypersonic Environments e. Addressing the flow path processes that occur in rectangular or curved inlets and isolators including the destabilization that may occur due to junction flows or off-nominal flight conditions f. The development of methods and models including validation experiments and instrumentation to provide high quality data on multiphase blast properties and structural responses to structures g. Improving the understanding of rotating detonation rocket engine (RDRE) physics and developing design solutions for their inherent technical challenges h. Hypersonic Workforce Curricula Development

A key focus of the design of modern computing systems is performance and scalability, particularly in light of the limits of Moore's Law and Dennard scaling. To this end, systems are increasingly being implemented by composing heterogeneous computing components and continually changing memory systems as novel, performant hardware surfaces. Applications fueled by rapid strides in machine learning, data analysis, and extreme-scale simulation are becoming more domain-specific and highly distributed. In this scenario, traditional boundaries between hardware-oriented and software-oriented disciplines increasingly are blurred. Achieving scalability of systems and applications will therefore require coordinated progress in multiple disciplines such as computer architecture, high-performance computing (HPC), programming languages and compilers, security and privacy, systems, theory, and algorithms. Cross-cutting concerns such as performance (including, but not limited to, time, space, and communication resource usage and energy efficiency), correctness and accuracy (including, but not limited to, emerging techniques for program analysis, testing, debugging, probabilistic reasoning and inference, and verification), security and privacy, robustness and reliability, domain-specific design, and heterogeneity must be taken into account from the outset in all aspects of systems and application design and implementation.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) - as part of its People, Prosperity and the Planet (P3) Award Program - is seeking applications proposing to research, develop, and design solutions to real world challenges involving sustainability. The P3 competition highlights the use of scientific principles in creating innovative projects focused on sustainability. The P3 Award Program was developed to foster progress toward sustainability by achieving the mutual goals of improved quality of life, economic prosperity and protection of the planet-people, prosperity, and the planet-the three pillars of sustainability. The EPA offers the P3 competition in order to respond to the technical needs of the world while moving towards the goal of sustainability. Please see the People, Prosperity and the Planet (P3) Student design Competition website for more details about this program.

The Defense Sciences Office at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is soliciting innovative research proposals that will enable and demonstrate new design capabilities for complex adaptive systems. Proposed research should develop and/or exploit innovative approaches in mathematical abstraction and composition for the design of dynamic, adaptive and resilient systems with unified understanding of system structures, behaviors and interactions across multiple spatiotemporal scales.

The current design is over 30 years old and we are exploring the opportunities for a redesign.  We are not experiencing any problems with our current design, it is functional however it is outdated.  Please see the link for a description of what a Voltage Regulator is and how it performs.

DMREF is the primary program by which NSF participates in the Materials Genome Initiative (MGI) for Global Competitiveness. MGI recognizes the importance of materials science and engineering to the well-being and advancement of society and aims to "deploy advanced materials at least twice as fast as possible today, at a fraction of the cost." MGI integrates materials discovery, development, property optimization, and systems design with a shared computational framework. This framework facilitates collaboration and coordination of research activities, analytical tools, experimental results, and critical evaluation in pursuit of the MGI goals. Consistent with theMGI Strategic Plan, DMREFhighlights four sets of goals: · Leading a culture shift in materials science and engineering research to encourage and facilitate an integrated team approach; · Integrating experimentation, computation, and theory and equipping the materials scienceand engineering communities with advanced tools and techniques; · Making digital data accessible, findable,and useful to the community; and · Creating a world-class materials science and engineering workforce that is trained for careers in academia or industry. Accordingly, DMREF will support activities that significantly accelerate materials discovery and/or development by building the fundamental knowledge base needed to design and make materials and/or devices with specific and desired functions or properties.

This R18 Request for Application (RFA) calls for the creation and utilization of Patient Safety Learning Laboratories. These learning laboratories are places and networks where transdisciplinary teams identify closely related threats to diagnostic or treatment efforts associated with a high burden of harm and cost. Following a systems engineering methodology, the learning laboratories stretch professional boundaries, envision innovative designs, and take advantage of brainstorming and rapid prototyping techniques that other leading industries employ. Promising prototypes undergo further develop-test-revise iterations, and subsequent integration as a working system. After further improvements are made to the integrated working system, its efficacy is evaluated in a realistic simulated or clinical setting. While applicants will select the area of diagnostic or treatment focus they consider of high significance, a flexible methodology -- problem analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation -- is required that parallels a systems engineering process to give an underlying structure to the work undertaken.