The goal of the Environmental Engineering program is to support transformative research which applies scientific and engineering principles to avoid or minimize solid, liquid, and gaseous discharges, resulting from human activities on land, inlandand coastal waters, and air, while promoting resource and energy conservation and recovery. The program also fosters cutting-edge scientific research for identifying, evaluating, and monitoring the waste assimilative capacity of the natural environment and for removing or reducing contaminants from polluted air, water, and soils.
The goal of the Environmental Engineering program is to support transformative research which applies scientific and engineering principles to avoid or minimize solid, liquid, and gaseous discharges, resulting from human activities on land, inlandand coastal waters, and air, while promoting resource and energy conservation and recovery. The program also fosters cutting-edge scientific research for identifying, evaluating, and monitoring the waste assimilative capacity of the natural environment and for removing or reducing contaminants from polluted air, water, and soils.
The Smart and Autonomous Systems (S&AS) program focuses on Intelligent Physical Systems (IPS) that are cognizant, taskable, reflective, ethical, and knowledge-rich. The S&AS program welcomes research on IPS that are aware of their capabilities and limitations, leading to long-term autonomy requiring minimal or no human operator intervention. Example IPS include, but are not limited to, robotic platforms and networked systems that combine computing, sensing, communication, and actuation. Cognizant IPS exhibit high-level awareness beyond primitive actions, in support of persistent and long-term autonomy. Taskable IPS can interpret high-level, possibly vague, instructions, translating them into concrete actions that are dependent on the particular context in which the IPS is operating. Reflective IPS can learn from their own experiences and those of other entities, such as other IPS or humans, and from instruction or observation; they may exhibit self-aware and self-optimizing capabilities. Ethical IPS should adhere to a system of societal and legal rules, taking those rules into account when making decisions. Knowledge-rich IPS employ a variety of representation and reasoning mechanisms, such as semantic, probabilistic and commonsense reasoning; are cognitively plausible; reason about uncertainty in decision making; and reason about the intentions of other entities in decision making.
Air Force Research Laboratory, Aerospace Systems Directorate, AFRL/RQ, Wright Patterson Air Force Base, is soliciting technical and cost proposals for research in the areas of next generation aircraft thermal, power, and controls (NGT-PAC). NGT-PAC will conduct applied research to increase knowledge and understanding of future thermal, power and controls requirements while advancing technology development in an effort to prove technological feasibility and assess operability and producibility of thermal, power, and controls components and architectures through proof of principal demonstrations. Affordability will be enhanced through use of existing airframe and engine designs as testbeds. Research will be organized in two primary focus areas: 1) Engine 2) Airframe. Offerors shall propose to one of the Basic Contract SOOs (either engine or airframe) and the associated (engine or airframe) Task Order 0001 SOO. The offeror must specify in their proposal which Basic Contract SOO their Statement of Work (SOW) is based upon (engine or airframe). Offerors proposing to both the engine and airframe SOOs shall prepare a separate SOW and proposal for the engine SOO and the airframe SOO.
The Cellular and Biochemical Engineering (CBE) program supports fundamental engineering research that advances the understanding of cellular and biomolecular processes in engineering biology and eventually leads to the development of enabling technology for advanced biomanufacturing in support of the therapeutic cells, biochemical, biopharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. A quantitative treatment of biological and engineering problems of biological processes is considered vital to successful research projects in the CBE program.
Fundamental to many research projects in this area is the understanding of how biomolecules, cells and cell populations interact in the biomanufacturing environment, and how those molecular-level interactions lead to changes in structure, function, and behavior. The program encourages highly innovative and potentially transformative engineering research leading to novel bioprocessing and biomanufacturing approaches, and proposals that address emerging research areas and technologies that effectively integrate knowledge and practices from different disciplines while incorporating ongoing research into educational activities.
Coastal SEES is focused on the sustainability of coastal systems. For this solicitation we define coastal systems as the swath of land closely connected to the sea, including barrier islands, wetlands, mudflats, beaches, estuaries, cities, towns, recreational areas, and maritime facilities; the continental seas and shelves; and the overlying atmosphere.
Scientific understanding is foundational and must include an understanding of reciprocal feedbacks between humans and the natural environment; how people and organizations interpret, assess, and act upon scientific and other evidence; and how they weigh these interpretations against other interests to influence governance and decision-making. Thus, coastal sustainability relies on broad and intimately interconnected areas of scholarship about natural and human processes. Coastal SEES projects will be expected to lead to generalizable theoretical advances in natural sciences and engineering while, at the same time, integrating key aspects of human processes required to address issues of coastal sustainability.
The Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act of 2006 (MINER Act) permanently established the Office of Mine Safety and Health Research under the direction of an Associate Director, within the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. One purpose of this office is to enhance the development of new technology and technological applications and to ensure adequate capacity in important research areas. The MINER Act grants the Office of Mine Safety and Health Research the authority to award competitive contracts and grants to institutions and private entities to improve mine safety and health in general, and specifically to encourage the development and manufacture of mine safety equipment and to award contracts to education institutions or private laboratories for the performance of product testing or related work with respect to new mine technology or equipment. This announcement is an opportunity for the award of contracts for ground control research and capacity building.
The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), within the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), invests in high-risk, high-value research, development and deployment in energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies. EERE, through the Building Technologies Office (BTO) seeks to develop technologies, techniques, and tools for making buildings more energy efficient, productive, and affordable. BTO's strategic goal is to significantly improve the energy efficiency of new and existing buildings to reduce national energy demandand allow the nation to work toward greater energy independence and a cleaner environment. This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is targeted specifically at research to increase energy savings and reduce consumer bills through improved compliance with building energy codes. The first and largest topic area for this FOA is to develop and test a methodology for identifying the commercial energy code requirements that can provide the maximum cost-effective energy and cost savings through increased compliance. The methodology will be tested in selected building types and climate zones. Quantifying those savings will create the foundations of a business case for private investors, particularly utilities, to fund programs aimed at increasing compliance. The empirical data to support such an investment does not currently exist.
The purpose of the RERC program is to improve the effectiveness of services authorized under the Rehabilitation Act by conducting advanced engineering research on and development of innovative technologies that are designed to solve particular rehabilitation problems or to remove environmental barriers. RERCs also demonstrate and evaluate such technologies, facilitate service delivery system changes, stimulate the production and distribution of new technologies and equipment in the private sector, and provide training opportunities. RERC on Low Vision and Blindness: NIDILRR seeks to fund an RERC on low vision and blindness to research, develop, and evaluate innovative technologies that will improve the ability of individuals with low vision and blindness to function independently within their schools, communities, and workplaces. This RERC must research and develop technologies that will promote independence for individuals with low vision and blindness of all ages, including those who are deaf-blind and those with multiple disabilities.
The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) is announcing the continuation of the Superfund Hazardous Substance Research and Training Program, referred to as Superfund Research Program (SRP) Centers. SRP Center grants will support problem-based, solution-oriented research Centers that consist of multiple, integrated projects representing both the biomedical and environmental science and engineering disciplines; as well as cores tasked with administrative (which includes research translation), data management and analysis, community engagement, research experience and training coordination, and research support functions. The scope of the SRP Centers is taken directly from the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986, and includes: (1) advanced techniques for the detection, assessment, and evaluation of the effect on human health of hazardous substances; (2) methods to assess the risks to human health presented by hazardous substances; (3) methods and technologies to detect hazardous substances in the environment; and (4) basic biological, chemical, and physical methods to reduce the amount and toxicity of hazardous substances.
This Cooperative Agreement is a 5-year project for development and implementation of a Native Water Leasing Pilot Program for the Middle Rio Grande (MRG) to be developed and implemented jointly by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) and the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) in coordination with the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District (MRGCD). Water acquired under the Program will be used to support implementation of the December 2016 Final Biological Opinion for Bureau of Reclamation, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and Non-Federal Water Management and Maintenance Activities on the Middle Rio Grande, New Mexico (2016 BiOp). The primary focus of the Cooperative Agreement is to develop and implement the cooperative pilot Program with MRGCD and willing sellers over a 5-year implementation period to acquire water for environmental use in the MRG. Through pilot implementation, the Program will set the stage for expanded native water leasing and other voluntary measures at scale as win-win solutions for the river, local communities, agricultural producers, and MRGCD over the long term. Further, it provides a key component of a large-scale long-term opportunity to combine instream water leasing with the restoration of riparian and upper watershed habitats along with other initiatives to advance landscape-scale restoration in the MRG. Areas where collaboration with other agencies and partner organizations will broaden the scope of the effort, leverage additional funding, and increase the prospects for long-term success will be identified throughout the effort.
This NOFO will build on previous PEPFAR support under the HHS/CDC HIV treatment program in Côte d'Ivoire (CI) to ensure continuity of comprehensive HIV/AIDS services to an existing pool of clients receiving HIV/AIDS care, support, and/or treatment. The program will also continue expanding access to HIV/AIDS services while building the capacity of national structures and contributing to sustainable service delivery within the health sector in CI. Specifically, it serves to increase capacity and sustainability of the response toward controlling the HIV/AIDS epidemic by initially providing support for HIV service delivery aligning with PEPFAR geographic and programmatic pivots by local indigenous organizations and ultimately providing technical assistance to the national Ministry of Health and Public Hygiene (MSHP) to sustain and expand comprehensive HIV prevention, care, and antiretroviral therapy (ART) programs. The recipient(s) will combine a facility and community-based strategy to support HIV/AIDS services. At the end of the 5-year project period, the recipient(s) should be able to collect and evaluate program data that demonstrates improved quality of HIV prevention, care, and treatment services in CI and to transition activities to MSHP and/or local organizations to sustain a basic HIV service package.
The BIGDATA program seeks novel approaches in computer science, statistics, computational science, and mathematics leading towards the further development of the interdisciplinary field of data science. The program also seeks innovative applications in domain science, including social and behavioral sciences, education, physical sciences, and engineering, where data science and the availability of big data are creating new opportunities for research and insights not previously possible.
The solicitation invites two categories of proposals:
Foundations (BIGDATA: F): those developing or studying fundamental theories, techniques, methodologies, and technologies of broad applicability to big data problems, motivated by specific data challenges and requirements; and
Innovative Applications (BIGDATA: IA): those engaged in translational activities that employ new big data techniques, methodologies, and technologies to address and solve problems in specific application domains. Projects in this category must be collaborative, involving researchers from domain disciplines and one or more methodological disciplines, e.g., computer science, statistics, mathematics, simulation and modeling, etc.
he National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Science Mission Directorate (SMD) announces the release of its annual NASA Research Announcement (NRA), Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Sciences (ROSES) - 2018. ROSES is an omnibus NRA, with many individual program elements, each with its own due dates and topics. All together these cover the wide range of basic and applied supporting research and technology in space and Earth sciences supported by SMD. Awards will be made as grants, cooperative agreements, contracts, and inter- or intra-agency transfers, depending on the nature of the work proposed, the proposing organization, and/or program requirements. The typical period of performance for an award is three years, but some programs may allow up to five years and others specify shorter periods. Organizations of every type, domestic and foreign, Government and private, for profit and not-for-profit, may submit proposals without restriction on teaming arrangements. Note that it is NASA policy that all research involving non-U.S. organizations will be conducted on the basis of no exchange of funds. Awards range from under $100K per year for focused, limited efforts (e.g., data analysis) to more than $1M per year for extensive activities (e.g., development of hardware for science experiments and/or flight).
The purpose of NIDILRR's Disability and Rehabilitation Research Projects (DRRP), which are funded through the Disability and Rehabilitation Research Projects and Centers Program, is to plan and conduct research and dissemination and utilization activities to develop methods, procedures, and rehabilitation technology that maximize the full inclusion and integration into society, employment, independent living, family support, and economic and social self-sufficiency of individuals with disabilities, especially individuals with the most severe disabilities, and to improve the effectiveness of services authorized under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended (Rehabilitation Act). The purposes of this particular DRRP are to conduct rigorous research, development, technical assistance, dissemination, and utilization activities to increase successful technology transfer of rehabilitation technology products and devices developed by NIDRR-funded technology grantees.
The IMEE program supports fundamental, multidisciplinary research on the impact of hazards and disasters upon civil infrastructure and society. The program is focused upon research on the mitigation of, preparedness for, response to, and recovery from multi-hazard disasters. Community and societal resilience and sustainability are important topics within the research portfolio of IMEE. The program is deeply multidisciplinary, integrating multiple perspectives, methods and results from diverse areas in engineering, social and natural sciences, and computing. Among these are civil, mechanical, transportation and system engineering; sociology, cognitive science and psychology, economics, geography, political science and urban planning; geology, biology and meteorology; and applied computing. Methodological innovations that span multiple, diverse disciplines are strongly encouraged.
The Science of Science & Innovation Policy (SciSIP) program supports research designed to advance the scientific basis of science and innovation policy. The program funds research to develop models, analytical tools, data and metrics that can be applied in the science policy decision making process and concern the use and allocation of scarce scientific resources. For example, research proposals may develop behavioral and analytical conceptualizations, frameworks or models that have applications across the broad array of science and innovation policy challenges. Proposals also may develop methodologies to analyze science, technology and innovation data, and to usefully convey that information to a variety of audiences. Proposals that create and improve science, engineering and innovation data, including the design of new metrics and indicators, particularly proposals that demonstrate the viability of collecting and analyzing data on knowledge generation and innovation in organizations, are encouraged.
The Energy, Power, Control, and Networks (EPCN) Program supports innovative research in modeling, optimization, learning, adaptation, 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 novel machine learning algorithms and analysis, adaptive dynamic programming, brain-like networked architectures performing real-time learning, and neuromorphic engineering. EPCN's goal is to encourage research on emerging technologies and applications including energy, transportation, robotics, and biomedical devices & systems. EPCN also emphasizes electric power systems, including generation, transmission, storage, and integration of renewable energy sources into the grid; power electronics and drives; battery management systems; hybrid and electric vehicles; and understanding of the interplay of power systems with associated regulatory & economic structures and with consumer behavior.
The Combustion and Fire Systemsprogram is part of the Transport Phenomena cluster, which also includes 1) the Fluid Dynamics program; 2) the Particulate and Multiphase Processes program; and 3) the Thermal Transport Processes program. The goal of theCombustion and Fire Systemsprogram is to advance energy conversion efficiency, improve energy security, enable cleaner environments, and enhance public safety. The program endeavors to createfundamental scientific knowledge that is needed for useful combustion applications and for mitigating the effects of fire.The program aims to identify and understand the controlling basic principles and to use that knowledge to create predictive capabilities for designing and optimizing practical combustion devices. Important outcomesfor this program include:
broad-based tools - experimental, theoretical, andcomputational - that can be applied to a variety of problems in combustionand fire systems;
science and technology for clean and efficient generation of power;
discoveries that enable clean environments (for example, by reduction in combustion-generated pollutants); and
enhanced public safety through research on fire growth, inhibition, and suppression.
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.
This NOFO will support achievement of national targets for 2018 antiretroviral therapy (ART) scale-up towards the UNAIDS Fast Track Targets in Ukraine. The recipient will implement innovative and effective recruitment and case management models for persons who inject drugs (PWID) and men who have sex with men (MSM) at the community level. These innovative changes will increase uptake of HIV community based testing and increase ART initiation for these populations. The recipient will pilot risk network-based testing using point-of-care recency assays to link recently infected PWID to care. The project will focus on the six regions with the highest HIV burden (Dnipropetrovsk, Mykolayiv, Odesa, government controlled areas (GCA) of Donetsk, Kyiv City, and Kherson) and continue to work in six additional medium burden oblasts (Cherkasy, Poltava, Chernihiv, Zaporizhzhya, Kirovohrad, and Kyiv). The recipient will also increase the capacity of the Government of Ukraine’s Center for Public Health (CPH) and regional monitoring and evaluation (M&E) centers specialists to conduct data analysis using statistical software and build institutional capacity to conduct economic evaluations of HIV interventions. Illustrative strategic information (SI) activities include development of trainings to support the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the newly established CPH in using statistical software, routine analysis of surveillance data, study design, and research protocol development.
