Group items matching

in title, tags, annotations or url

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 and societal impacts.  A focus is on the advancement of manufacturing machines and related systems engineering that will enable energy manufacturing on a large scale.  The program also supports research on additive manufacturing machines and processes encompassing feature scales from microns to meters (nanometer scale additive manufacturing is supported under the Nanomanufacturing program).

Individual Warfighter protection against battlefield threats such as ballistics, enemy detection, chemical and biological agents, and IEDs is essential to the continued effectiveness of the fighting force. At the same time, protective materials (clothing/armor, etc.) must also be effective and ensure survival under extremes of environmental (temperature and humidity) conditions without significant sacrifices in Warfighter comfort. Current textile technologies require multiple components to be added to the Warfighter uniform in order to meet these threats. Development of novel multifunctional materials would have significant impact on Warfighter load, increasing their sustainability in the field. In addition to threat survivability, there is a strong interest in the new and growing field of "wearables." The wearables field is of interest insofar as it relates to the integration of electronic capabilities in to textile materials, combat clothing and combat field equipment worn by Warfighters.

The purpose of Pest Management Alternatives Program (PMAP) is to provide support for the development and implementation of integrated pest management (IPM) practices, tactics, and systems for specific pest problems while reducing human and environmental risks. This purpose addresses the broad goals outlined in the "National Roadmap for Integrated Pest Management," developed by federal and non-federal IPM experts, practitioners, and stakeholders in 2004. The successful management of pest problems in commercial production is facing severe challenges due to regulatory changes, emergence of new pest problems, and the development of pest resistance to present management technologies. The greatest impact on current management technologies is in the production of specialty crops; however, other crops, including grain, forage and fiber, as well as animal health, are also being impacted by these changes.

The Particulate and Multiphase Processes program supports fundamental and applied research on phenomena governing particulate and multiphase processes, including flows of suspensions of particles, drops or bubbles, granular and granular-fluid flows, flow behavior of micro or nano-structured fluids, aerosol science and technology, and self- and directed-assembly processes involving particulates. Innovative research is sought that contributes to improving the basic understanding, design, predictability, efficiency, and control of particulate and multiphase processes with particular emphasis on: novel manufacturing techniques, multiphase systems of relevance to energy harvesting, multiphase transport in biological systems or biotechnology, and environmental sustainability.

This solicitation aims at introducing nanoscale science, engineering, and technology through a variety of interdisciplinary approaches into undergraduate engineering education. The focus of the FY 2013 competition is on nanoscale engineering education with relevance to devices and systems and/or on the societal, ethical, economic and/or environmental issues relevant to nanotechnology.

This program supports fundamental research and education that will enable innovative processes for the sustainable production of electricity and transportation fuels.  Processes for sustainable energy production must be environmentally benign, reduce greenhouse gas production, and utilize renewable resources. 

Gasification is used to convert a solid feedstock?such as coal, petcoke or biomass?into a gaseous form, referred to as syngas, which is composed primarily of hydrogen and carbon monoxide (CO). With gasification-based technologies, pollutants can be easily captured and then disposed of or converted to useful products. In the Department of Energy?s vision for clean power using gasification, steam is added to syngas in a water-gas shift (WGS) reactor to convert the CO to carbon dioxide (CO2) and to produce additional hydrogen. The hydrogen and CO2 are separated?the hydrogen is combusted to make power and the CO2 is captured and sent to storage, converted to useful product, or used for enhanced oil recovery (EOR). The Gasification Systems Technology Area takes full advantage of the flexibility inherent in gasification. For instance, technologies designed to clean syngas to chemical production standards also clean syngas for power production (i.e., integrated gasification combined cycle [IGCC]), often with significantly lower contaminant levels than the Environmental Protection Agency?s (EPA) criteria for power plant emissions. Technologies that lower the cost of producing high-hydrogen syngas for fuels or chemical production will also reduce the carbon footprint of IGCC. Advanced technologies being developed under the Gasification Systems Technology Area will provide a more efficient and economical platform for the capture and utilization of CO2. In addition to efficiently producing electric power, a wide range of liquids and/or high-value chemicals and fuels (especially diesel and gasoline) can be produced from cleaned, high-hydrogen syngas, thereby providing flexibility capable of capitalizing on a ra

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is soliciting applications from eligible applicants as described in Section III.A to provide training and technical assistance for small public water systems to help such systems achieve and maintain compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), and to provide training and technical assistance for small publicly owned wastewater systems, communities served by onsite/decentralized wastewater systems, and private well owners to improve water quality under the Clean Water Act (CWA). Training and technical assistance activities provided to these systems, communities and private well owners should be made available nationally in rural and urban communities and to personnel of tribally- owned and operated systems.

The goal of the Energy for Sustainability program is to support fundamental engineering research that will enable innovative processes and solutionsfor the sustainable production of electricity and fuels, and energy storage. Processes for sustainable energy production must be environmentally benign, reduce greenhouse gas production, and utilize renewable resources. Current topics of interest include: Biomass Conversion, Biofuels & Bioenergy: Fundamental research on innovative approaches that lead to the intensification of biofuel and bioenergy processes is an emphasis area of this program.

The Division of Chemical, Bioengineering and Environmental Transport (CBET) in the Engineering Directorate of the National Science Foundation (NSF) is partnering with The Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) to solicit research projects in the general field of combustion and thermal transport processes that can utilize the International Space Station (ISS) National Lab to conduct research that will benefit life on Earth. U.S. entities including academic investigators, non-profit independent research labs and academic-commercial teams are eligible to apply.

This Biological and Environmental Research/Advanced Scientific Computing Research (BERASCR) Scientific Discovery Thru Advanced Computing (SciDAC) Partnership FOA will enable scientists to conduct complex scientific and engineering computations at a level of fidelity needed to simulate real-world climate conditions, by supporting deep, necessary, and productive collaborations between climate scientists on the one hand and applied mathematicians and computer scientists on the other, that overcome the barriers between these disciplines and consequently fully exploit the capabilities of Department of Energy (DOE) High Performance Computing (HPC) systems in order to accelerate advances in climate science. This SciDAC opportunity targets three particular topics of high-priority for DOE climate research that are expected to be transformed by effective climate-computational partnerships: the development of new and innovative methods to predict sea-level change; the development of a theoretical statistical-numerical framework to improve climate prediction; and the development of improved methods for model component coupling. The next-generation climate model capabilities will contribute to the newly launched Accelerated Climate Model for Energy (ACME) and further its progress toward design of climate codes for leadership class computers and in support of energy science and mission requirements.

The goal of the Process Systems, Reaction Engineering and Molecular Thermodynamics (PRM) program is to advance fundamental engineering research on the rates and mechanisms of important classes of catalyzed and uncatalyzed chemical reactions as they relate to the design, production, and application of catalysts, chemical processes, biochemical processes, and specialized materials that have important impacts on society.  The program seeks to advance electrochemical and photochemical processes of engineering significance or with commercial potential, design and optimization of complex chemical and biochemical processes, thermodynamic modeling and experiments that relate molecular dynamics to macroscopic properties and behavior, dynamic modeling and control of process systems and individual process units, reactive processing of polymers/ceramics/thin films, and interactions between chemical reactions and transport processes in reactive systems, for the integration of this information into the design of complex chemical and biochemical reactors.  A substantial focus of the PRM program is to impact the chemical manufacturing enterprise by funding projects aimed at zero emissions and environmentally-friendly, smart manufacturing using sustainable materials.  Areas that focus on reactors of all types (fuel cells, batteries, microreactors, biochemical reactors, etc.), reactor design in general, and design and control of all systems associated with energy from renewable sources have a high priority for funding

Grants will support the development of research and practices that focus on the human dynamics of resilience. Specifically, we are interested in projects that enhance community resilience and well-being by accounting for the influence of social, cultural, and health factors on a community's capacity to adapt and thrive as part of efforts to mitigate and respond to the adverse impacts of climate change, severe weather, and major environmental disasters. Proposed projects should bring together researchers, practitioners, and individuals from communities, including those from community organizations, state and local government, industry, and local businesses, so that all relevant perspectives inform possible approaches to advancing the science and practice of resilience. Involvement of local leaders and community members, particularly those substantially affected, is strongly encouraged.

Many nanofabrication techniques have demonstrated the ability to synthesize small quantities of nanomaterials and nanostructures for characterization and evaluation and simple nanodevices for analysis and testing purposes. The emphasis of the Scalable Nanomanufacturing for Integrated Systems (SNM-IS) solicitation is on research in new nano-scale manufacturing concepts and integration methods to realize complex integrated systems based on nanotechnology. The research will focus on overcoming the key scientific and engineering barriers that prevent the translation of laboratory-scale discoveries in nano-enabled integrated systems to an industrially relevant scale, reliably, affordably and within sustainability and environmental, health and safety (EHS) guidelines. The goal of the SNM-IS solicitation is to study and formulate the fundamental principles of scalable nanomanufacturing and integration for nanotechnology-based integrated systems towards the eventual manufacture of useful nano-enabled products.

As part of this mission, CCCD has issued a Request for Proposals for a new pilot grant initiative that aims to support the expanding definition of craft-based research and promote collaboration between the fields of craft, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.     Through the Materials-Based Research Grant program, grants of up to $15,000 over eighteen months will be awarded to interdisciplinary teams of researchers to encourage mutually beneficial innovation in craft and STEM fields, with a focus on materials and process-based research. The teams should include one maker and one professional working in a STEM-based field (e.g., material science, manufacturing, environmental studies, medicine, structural engineering, etc.). This can include academics, researchers, scientists, full-time makers, or other skilled specialists. 

The Division of Chemical, Bioengineering and Environmental Transport (CBET) in the Engineering Directorate of the National Science Foundation (NSF) is partnering with The Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) to solicit research projects in the general field of combustion and thermal transport processes that can utilize the International Space Station (ISS) National Lab to conduct research that will benefit life on Earth. U.S. entities including academic investigators, non-profit independent research labs and academic-commercial teams are eligible to apply.

Shell is a leading oil and gas producer in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico, a recognized pioneer in oil and gas exploration and production technology and one of America's leading oil and natural gas producers, gasoline and natural gas marketers and petrochemical manufacturers. Focus on energy awareness with special publics, increasing interest in technical careers among students and professional development in science and math among educators. We support K-12 programs that boost math and science skills, as well as university programs that aid engineering and geoscience students and departments. Shell funds projects at vocational and technical schools where chemical and refinery operators and technicians are trained. We are especially interested in supporting educational outreach in math, science and technology to women/minority students and academic institutions with ethnically diverse enrollments. Focus on biodiversity initiatives with support to programs that restore critical ecosystems, address water, air quality research, preserve wetlands and sponsor wetlands initiatives. As part of our commitment to environmental stewardship, we support projects that restore and protect critical ecosystems. In addition to restoration and preservation efforts, we fund research projects for threatened wildlife and/or habitats.

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 Collegiate Inventors Competition recognizes student inventors whose research and inventions will change our future.   The Competition promotes exploration in invention, science, engineering, technology, and other creative endeavors and provides a window on the technologies from which society will benefit in the future. Entries are judged on the originality and inventiveness of the new idea, process, or technology. The entry must be complete, workable, and well articulated. Entries are also judged on their potential value to society (socially, environmentally, and economically), and on the scope of use.   Students must be enrolled (or have been enrolled) full-time in any U.S. college or university at least part of the 12-month period prior to the date the entry is submitted. In the case of a team (maximum of four students), at least one member of the team must meet the full-time eligibility criteria. The other team members must have been enrolled on a part-time basis (at a minimum) sometime during the 12-month period prior to the date the entry is submitted.

The MURI program supports basic research in science and engineering at U.S. institutions of higher education (hereafter referred to as "universities") that is of potential interest to DoD. The program is focused on multidisciplinary research efforts where more than one traditional discipline interacts to provide rapid advances in scientific areas of interest to the DoD. As defined in the DoD Financial Management Regulation:Basic research is systematic study directed toward greater knowledge or understanding of the fundamental aspects of phenomena and of observable facts without specific applications towards processes or products in mind. It includes all scientific study and experimentation directed toward increasing fundamental knowledge and understanding in those fields of the physical, engineering, environmental, and life sciences related to long-term national security needs.