In 2016, the National Science Foundation (NSF) unveiled a set of "Big Ideas," 10 bold, long-term research and process ideas that identify areas for future investment at the frontiers of science and engineering (seehttps://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/big_ideas/index.jsp). The Big Ideas represent unique opportunities to position our Nation at the cutting edge of global science and engineering leadership by bringing together diverse disciplinary perspectives to support convergence research. As such, when responding to this solicitation, even though proposals must be submitted to the Directorate for Computer & Information Science & Engineering/Division of Computing and Communication Foundations (CISE/CCF), once received, the proposals will be managed by a cross-disciplinary team of NSF Program Directors. NSF'sHarnessing the Data Revolution (HDR) Big Ideais a national-scale activity to enable new modes of data-driven discovery that will allow fundamental questions to be asked and answered at the frontiers of science and engineering. Through this NSF-wide activity, HDR will generate new knowledge and understanding, and accelerate discovery and innovation. The HDR vision is realized through an interrelated set of efforts in:
Foundations of data science;
Algorithms and systems for data science;
Data-intensive science and engineering;
Data cyberinfrastructure; and
Education and workforce development.
The CZI Neurodegeneration Challenge Network has three goals: (1) to make fundamental advances toward understanding neurodegeneration; (2) to bring new ideas and talent to the field of neurodegeneration; and (3) to encourage a new type of interdisciplinary collaborative research involving scientists, clinicians and engineers.
We invite applications to join the Neurodegeneration Challenge Network through two RFA mechanisms:
CZI Ben Barres Early Career Acceleration Awards: five-year investigator grants for early career academic investigators, with an emphasis on those who are new to the field of neurodegeneration. We seek to empower investigators to pursue bold ideas and to take risks within a supportive and collaborative environment. Awardees will benefit from mentorship support, as well as professional development, training and network opportunities, and practical career guidance to help them navigate this early stage of their careers. It is with great pleasure that we name this Award in memory of Dr. Ben Barres. Through his research career and his life and humanity, Ben embodied both the spirit and the scientific aims of this Award and the Challenge Network approach.
CZI Collaborative Science Awards: three-year grants for small group interdisciplinary collaborations. At least one member of the collaboration should be a physician with active clinical engagement in an area relevant to the proposal. These grants are aimed to support innovative, bold, high risk/high impact projects at the interface of basic and disease biology. The scope of these collaborations should focus on foundational science (as opposed to translation and clinical application), aligned with clinical context.
Cultivating Cultures for Ethical STEM (CCE STEM) funds research projects that identify (1) factors that are effective in the formation of ethical STEM researchers and (2) approaches to developing those factors in all the fields of science and engineering that NSF supports. CCE STEM solicits proposals for research that explores the following: 'What constitutes responsible conduct for research (RCR), and which cultural and institutional contexts promote ethical STEM research and practice and why?' Factors one might consider include: honor codes, professional ethics codes and licensing requirements, an ethic of service and/or service learning, life-long learning requirements, curricula or memberships in organizations (e.g. Engineers without Borders) that stress responsible conduct for research, institutions that serve under-represented groups, institutions where academic and research integrity are cultivated at multiple levels, institutions that cultivate ethics across the curriculum, or programs that promote group work, or do not grade. Do certain labs have a 'culture of academic integrity'? What practices contribute to the establishment and maintenance of ethical cultures and how can these practices be transferred, extended to, and integrated into other research and learning settings?
Cultivating Cultures for Ethical STEM (CCE STEM) funds research projects that identify (1) factors that are effective in the formation of ethical STEM researchers and (2) approaches to developing those factors in all the fields of science and engineering that NSF supports. CCE STEM solicits proposals for research that explores the following: 'What constitutes responsible conduct for research (RCR), and which cultural and institutional contexts promote ethical STEM research and practice and why?' Factors one might consider include: honor codes, professional ethics codes and licensing requirements, an ethic of service and/or service learning, life-long learning requirements, curricula or memberships in organizations (e.g. Engineers without Borders) that stress responsible conduct for research, institutions that serve under-represented groups, institutions where academic and research integrity are cultivated at multiple levels, institutions that cultivate ethics across the curriculum, or programs that promote group work, or do not grade. Do certain labs have a 'culture of academic integrity'? What practices contribute to the establishment and maintenance of ethical cultures and how can these practices be transferred, extended to, and integrated into other research and learning settings?
The overall goal of the Structural and Architectural Engineering and Materials (SAEM) program is to enable sustainable buildings and other structures that can be continuously occupied and/or operated during the structure's useful life. The SAEM program supports fundamental research for advancing knowledge and innovation in structural and architectural engineering and materials that promotes a holistic approach to analysis and design, construction, operation, maintenance, retrofit, and repair of structures. For buildings, all components including the foundation-structure-envelope (the façade, curtain-wall, windows, and roofing) and interior systems (flooring, ceilings, partitions walls), are of interest to the program. The SAEM program encourages the integration of research with knowledge dissemination and activities that can lead to broader societal benefit for provision of sustainable structures.
The Office of Naval Research (ONR) is interested in receiving white papers and proposals in support of advancing high temperature superconducting wire technology for future naval applications. Work under this program will consist of basic and applied research, and it will be funded under Budget Activity 1 and 2 (as defined in DoD Financial Management Regulation Vol. 2B, Ch. 5). The overall S&T effort is envisioned to be conducted at the TRL 1-3 stage. The overall objective of this program is to advance the state of art characteristics of high temperature superconductors to support applications demanding power delivery, pulsed current delivery, AC and DC magnetic fields, and magnetic energy storage. Interested parties are welcome to propose against one or more topics listed below. Topic Area 1: Superconducting Materials Topic Area 2: Superconducting Tape Processing and Modification Topic Area 3: Superconductors for Novel Applications Topic Area 4: Superconducting State Protections The research opportunity described in this announcement falls under the FY 18 Long Range BAA, Appendix 1, Section IV, entitled "Sea Warfare and Weapons Department (Code 33)," for the following specific thrusts and focused research areas: (1) Paragraph A "Ship Systems and Engineering Research," subparagraph 3, entitled "Electrical and Thermal Systems" and (2) Paragraph D "Naval Energy Resiliency and Sustainability."
Research supported by the Division of Materials Research (DMR) focuses on advancing fundamental understanding of materials, materials discovery, design, synthesis, characterization, properties, and materials-related phenomena. DMR awards enable understanding of the electronic, atomic, and molecular structures, mechanisms, and processes that govern nanoscale to macroscale morphology and properties; manipulation and control of these properties; discovery of emerging phenomena of matter and materials; and creation of novel design, synthesis, and processing strategies that lead to new materials with unique characteristics. These discoveries and advancements transcend traditional scientific and engineering disciplines. The Division supports research and education activities in the United States through funding of individual investigators, teams, centers, facilities, and instrumentation. Projects supported by DMR are essential for the development of future technologies and industries that meet societal needs, as well preparation of the next generation of materials researchers.
: The Division of Computer and Network Systems (CNS) within the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) supports research and education activities that seek to develop a better understanding of the fundamental properties of computer and network systems. The Networking Technology and Systems (NeTS) program in the CNS division supports transformative research on fundamental scientific and technological advances leading to the development of Next Generation Internet (NGI) and Advanced Wireless Networking (AWN) systems and technologies. NSF/CISE and the European Commission’s (EC) Directorate General for Communication Networks, Content and Technology (DG CONNECT) seek to enable US and European Union (EU) researchers to collaborate to address compelling research challenges in NGI and AWN.
TheBiophotonicsprogram is part of the Engineering Biology and Health cluster, which also includes: 1) the Biosensing program; 2) the Cellular and Biochemical Engineering program; 3) the Disability and Rehabilitation Engineering program; and 4) the Engineering of Biomedical Systems program. The goal of theBiophotonicsprogram is to explore the research frontiers in photonics principles, engineering and technology that are relevant for critical problems in fields of medicine, biology and biotechnology. Fundamental engineering research and innovation in photonics is required to lay the foundations for new technologies beyond those that are mature and ready for application in medical diagnostics and therapies. Advances are needed in nanophotonics, optogenetics, contrast and targeting agents, ultra-thin probes, wide field imaging, and rapid biomarker screening. Low cost and minimally invasive medical diagnostics and therapies are key motivating application goals.
The Fluid Dynamics program is part of the Transport Phenomena cluster, which also includes 1) the Combustion and Fire Systems program; 2) the Particulate and Multiphase Processes program; and 3) the Thermal Transport Processes program. The Fluid Dynamics program supports fundamental research toward gaining an understanding of the physics of various fluid dynamics phenomena. Proposed research should contribute to basic scientific understanding via experiments, theoretical developments, and computational discovery. Major areas of interest and activity in the program include:
Turbulence and transition: High Reynolds number experiments; large eddy simulation; direct numerical simulation; transition to turbulence; 3-D boundary layers; separated flows; multi-phase turbulent flows; flow control and drag reduction. A new area of emphasis is high speed boundary layer transition and turbulence; the focus would be for flows at Mach numbers greater than 5 to understand cross-mode interactions leading to boundary layer transition and the ensuing developing and fully developed turbulent boundary layer flows. Combined experiments and simulations are encouraged.
Bio-fluid physics: Bio-inspired flows; biological flows with emphasis on flow physics.
Non-Newtonian fluid mechanics: Viscoelastic flows; solutions of macro-molecules.
Microfluidics and nanofluidics: Micro-and nano-scale flow physics.
The Microsoft Foundation is inviting applications for its Dissertation Grants program. The program supports PhD students at North American universities who are underrepresented in the field of computing and pursuing research aligned to the research areas carried out by Microsoft Research.
Through the program, recipients will receive funding of up to $25,000 for the 2020-21 academic year as well as an invitation to the PhD Summit, a two-day workshop in the fall held at one of Microsoft Research's labs where fellows will meet with Microsoft researchers and other top students to share their research. Fellows must be aligned in research areas as defined by Microsoft Research, which include artificial intelligence; audio and acoustics; computer vision; graphics and multimedia; human-computer interaction; human language technologies; search and information retrieval; data platforms and analytics; hardware and devices; programming languages and software engineering; security, privacy, and cryptography; systems and networking; algorithms; mathematics; ecology and environment; economics; medical, health, and genomics; social sciences; and technology for emerging markets.
ONR Global recognizes that international scientists and engineers conduct creative and novel research. This Global-X Challenge provides an opportunity for these international researchers to collaborate, generate revolutionary ideas and demonstrate these ideas will succeed. ONR Global invites outstanding international researchers to form multi-national, multidisciplinary teams to address one or more of these capability challenges. ONR Global will use existing online collaboration tools to help researchers to connect, collaborate and form teams. ONR Global will provide more information about collaboration forums during the Kick-off Webinar. Individual researchers may participate on more than one team. Teams are responsible for establishing nondisclosure agreements among team members, if necessary. All ONR Global and U.S. Federal employees are already covered by Federal laws requiring the protection of trade secrets and proprietary information.
Researchers from academia and industry may participate. ONR Global expects, but does not require, that multi-national teams will consist of at least two research entities outside of the U.S., whether from academia, industry and/or the broad research community. Researchers from U.S. research entities may also participate, but are not required. As stated above, this Global-X Challenge is an opportunity specifically directed toward international researchers; therefore, ONR Global expects the majority of team members will be outside of the U.S. Each team shall designate a lead Principal Investigator (PI) whose research organization outside of the U.S. will submit the white paper or proposal, and that will distribute funding to co-PIs and other subrecipients. For a given project team, one award is made to the PI's institution. Only the PI's institution will be the prime awardee, and that institution is responsible for all aspects of the grant, including conditions on the use of funds and other terms and conditions of the gran
The U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration (DOE/NNSA), Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation (DNN), Office of Nonproliferation and Arms Control (DNN NPAC) is soliciting applications for the program studies, training and outreach needs described herein. The mission of DNN NPAC is to prevent proliferation, ensure peaceful nuclear uses, and enable verifiable nuclear reductions. DNN NPAC provides a comprehensive approach to strengthen nonproliferation and arms control regimes, achieving its mission through four subprograms: International Nuclear Safeguards; Nuclear Export Controls; Nuclear Verification; and, Nonproliferation Policy in order to fulfill this responsibility. Among its many activities, DNN NPAC sponsors program studies, domestic and international training, and outreach addressing International Nuclear Safeguards; domestic and international training, outreach, and program studies addressing Nuclear Controls; and, program studies addressing Nuclear Verification and Nonproliferation Policy. To meet its mission, DNN NPAC applies the broad base of U.S. technical expertise including that of other government agencies, the DOE/NNSA National Laboratories, academia, nongovernmental organizations, and industry. This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) solicits grant applications for full and open competition.
The NRA covers all aspects of basic and applied supporting research and technology in space and Earth sciences, including, but not limited to: theory, modeling, and analysis of SMD science data; aircraft, scientific balloon, sounding rocket, International Space Station, CubeSat and suborbital reusable launch vehicle investigations; development of experiment techniques suitable for future SMD space missions; development of concepts for future SMD space missions; development of advanced technologies relevant to SMD missions; development of techniques for and the laboratory analysis of both extraterrestrial samples returned by spacecraft, as well as terrestrial samples that support or otherwise help verify observations from SMD Earth system science missions; determination of atomic and composition parameters needed to analyze space data, as well as returned samples from the Earth or space; Earth surface observations and field campaigns that support SMD science missions; development of integrated Earth system models; development of systems for applying Earth science research data to societal needs; and development of applied information systems applicable to SMD objectives and data. 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 science experiment hardware). The funds available for awards in each program element offered in ROSES-2017 range from less than one to several million dollars, which allows for selection from a few to as many as several dozen proposals, depending upon the program objectives and the submission of proposals of merit. Awards will be made as grants, cooperative agreements, contracts, and inter- or intraagency transfers, depending on the nature of the proposed work and/or program requirements.
The Engineering for Civil Infrastructure (ECI) program supports fundamental research that will shape the future of our nation's constructed civil infrastructure, subjected to and interacting with the natural environment, to meet the needs of humans. In this context, research driven by radical rethinking of traditional civil infrastructure in response to emerging technological innovations, changing population demographics, and evolving societal needs is encouraged. The ECI program focuses on the physical infrastructure, such as the soil-foundation-structure-envelope-nonstructural building system; geostructures; and underground facilities. It seeks proposals that advance knowledge and methodologies within geotechnical, structural, architectural, materials, coastal, and construction engineering, especially that include collaboration with researchers from other fields, including, for example, biomimetics, bioinspired design, advanced computation, data science, materials science, additive manufacturing, robotics, and control theory. Research may explore holistic building systems that view construction, geotechnical, structural, and architectural design as an integrated system; adaptive building envelope systems; nonconventional building materials; breakthroughs in remediated geological materials; and transformational construction processes. Principal investigators are encouraged to consider civil infrastructure subjected to and interacting with the natural environment under “normal” operating conditions; intermediate stress conditions (such as deterioration, and severe locational and climate conditions); and extreme single or multi natural hazard events (including earthquakes, windstorms, tsunamis, storm surges, sinkholes, subsidence, and landslides).
Cracking is a primary mode of distress in asphalt pavements. There are several modes of asphalt pavement cracking-thermal, reflection, fatigue, and top-down-and all are affected by numerous factors and their interactions. Recent research has evaluated a variety of laboratory tests and models to assess the cracking potential of asphalt mixtures and several are recommended for routine use. As asphalt mix designs become more complex with the use of asphalt modifiers, RAP and RAS, and warm mix asphalt technologies, highway engineers have recognized the need to establish and implement reliable performance tests that can be used to evaluate asphalt mixes and ultimately extend the life of asphalt pavements.
NCHRP Project 09-57, "Experimental Design for Field Validation of Laboratory Tests to Assess Cracking Resistance of Asphalt Mixtures," developed experimental designs for the ruggedness testing and field validation of candidate laboratory tests to assess the resistance of asphalt mixtures to the four cracking types noted above. Candidate test methods were selected through (a) a critical review of relevant research and state mixture design practices and (b) a workshop with invited experts held in February 2015. The findings and conclusions of the project are summarized in NCHRP Research Results Digest 399: Field Validation of Laboratory Tests to Assess Cracking Resistance of Asphalt Mixtures: An Experimental Design; the contractor's final project report is available at http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/nchrp/docs/NCHRP09-57_FR.pdf.
This project is the first in a series proposed to accomplish the field validation designed in Project 09-57. Research is needed to conduct ruggedness testing of the candidate test methods in anticipation of future field validation experiments.
The Center would like to enhance its efforts to support analytic and methodological research in support of its surveys, and to engage in the education and training of researchers in the use of large-scale nationally representative datasets. NCSES welcomes efforts by the research community to use NCSES data for research on the science and technology enterprise, to develop improved survey methodologies for NCSES surveys, to create and improve indicators of S&T activities and resources, and strengthen methodologies to analyze and disseminate S&T statistical data. To that end, NCSES invites proposals for individual or multi-investigator research projects, doctoral dissertation improvement awards, workshops, experimental research, survey research and data collection and dissemination projects under its program for Research on the Science and Technology Enterprise: Statistics and Surveys.
The objective of the ALAS program is to conduct research and development (R&D) of innovative technological solutions to enhance radio frequency (RF), electro-optical (EO), and multi-spectral (MS) system technologies and sensors along with advancing test measurement techniques and methods necessary to meet cutting edge and emerging warfighter needs. Enhanced RF sensing technologies and systems include; improved radar systems, exploration of RF waveforms, signal processing and algorithm exploration, sensor resource management (SRM), and improved EO-RF systems. Advancing test measurement techniques and methods includes; clutter characterization and mitigation, bistatic and multi-static measurement, distributed/multispectral sensing measurement, and improved antenna and radar cross section (RCS) measurement.
WHO CAN APPLY?
I-Corps@Ohio funds will be offered on a competitive basis to teams of faculty researchers and graduate students developing institution-based technologies from Ohio colleges and universities. Under the supervision of business and entrepreneurial mentors, teams will develop market-driven value propositions and scalable business models around their technologies and attract follow on funding to support company formation and market entry.
APPLICATION PROCESS
The I-Corps@Ohio proposal submission process consists of five steps:
1. mandatory meeting with the appropriate TTO representative(s) at the PI's institution;
2. team selection of technology track (science and engineering or medtech);
3. registration of all team members in the online portal;
4. proposal submission; and
5. full team interview with I-Corps@Ohio program representatives.
All teams are required to complete the online profile and submission questionnaire beginning October 23, 2019. Deadline to apply is January 15, 2019. The PI may complete this information or designate another member of the team as the lead member. Subsequent members of the team will be invited to join by the lead member through the application portal and must complete his or her profile.
Every effort should be made to identify all team members prior to submitting the online proposal submission questionnaire. Additional team members may be added later. You will be asked to select from two tracks:
Medtech Track: Teams will select Medtech Track if the subject technology is in the form of medical devices, diagnostics, medicines, vaccines, software, testing procedures and systems and is developed to solve a health/clinical problem and improve the quality of human life.
Science and Engineering (S&E) Track: Teams will select S&E Track if the technology does not fit into the Medtech category.
The National Science Foundation's Directorates for Engineering (ENG), Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE), Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS), and Geosciences (GEO) are coordinating efforts to identify new concepts and ideas on Spectrum and Wireless Innovation enabled by Future Technologies (SWIFT). A key aspect of this new solicitation is its focus on effective spectrum utilization and/or coexistence techniques, especially with passive uses, which have received less attention from researchers. Coexistence is when two or more applications use the same frequency band at the same time and/or at the same location, yet do not adversely affect one another. Coexistence is especially difficult when at least one of the spectrum users is passive, i.e., not transmitting any radio frequency (RF) energy. Examples of coexisting systems may include passive and active systems (e.g., radio astronomy and 5G wireless communication systems) or two active systems (e.g., weather radar and Wi-Fi). Breakthrough innovations are sought on both the wireless communication hardware and the algorithmic/protocol fronts through synergistic teamwork. The goal of these research projects may be the creation of new technology or significant enhancements to existing wireless infrastructure, with an aim to benefit society by improving spectrum utilization, beyond mere spectrum efficiency. The SWIFT program seeks to fund collaborative team research that transcends the traditional boundaries of individual disciplines.
