OARS funding Engineering

The Office of Naval Research (ONR) is interested in a research project to develop architectures, abstraction methods, and navigation filtering and fusion algorithms to combine inputs from multiple sensors to achieve a high quality precision ship-relative navigation (PS-RN) solution in demanding naval environments. The resulting PS-RN solution must be capable of being directly plugged into an air vehicle's command guidance system such that the air vehicle's flight control system can fly the vehicle along the desired approach path to landing.

EPA's National Clean Diesel Funding Assistance Program is soliciting proposals nationwide for projects that achieve significant reductions in diesel emissions in terms of tons of pollution produced by diesel engines and diesel emissions exposure, particularly from fleets operating in areas designated by the Administrator as poor air quality areas.

he Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is accepting applications for an estimated four cooperative agreements to awardees ("Recipients") to develop and produce qualified Detection-Control System (D-CS) Algorithm into different signal controller platforms. The purpose of this effort is to build upon previous work in the areas of interest to FHWA and to strive to reduce traffic fatalities. This effort will include partnering with FHWA, State Departments of Transportation, industry, and academia. This effort will also include the development of D-CS implementation specification, verification procedure, and training course

According to recent conversations between OARS staff and an NSF official, the NSF BioMaPS program is a funding opportunity that is perhaps undertargeted by researchers.  It funds interdisciplinary proposals that address "the interface between the biological, mathematical, and physical sciences and engineering."  Unsolicited proposals can be submitted to the deadlines of any relevant program in BIO, ENG, or MPS.  The label "BIOMAPS" should appear at the beginning of the proposal title.

According an NSF official with whom OARS staff recently had a conversation, in keeping with the emphasis on interdisciplinary research, the Integrated NSF Support Promoting Interdisciplinary Research and Education (INSPIRE) grants are an area of focus for the NSF.  These awards are meant to address "some of the most complicated and pressing scientific problems that lie at the intersections of traditional disciplines."  Further, "it is intended to encourage investigators to submit bold, exceptional proposals that some may consider to be at a disadvantage in a standard NSF review process."  Full proposals are invited following review of letters of intent.  The NSF official we spoke with indicated that successful LOIs and proposals will target at least two directorates and will make a strong argument for why the project is not a good fit for a single directorate.  

The Call for Marie Curie Action Fellowships was launched a few weeks ago (http://ec.europa.eu/research/mariecurieactions/apply-now/open-calls/index_en.htm). It is a great, international, and competitive contest, which gives an unique opportunity for researchers to move in a new country and develop their own project in cooperation with a local host centre.

DARPA is soliciting innovative research proposals of interest to the Defense Sciences Office. Proposed research should investigate innovative approaches that enable revolutionary advances in science and technology. Specifically excluded is research that results primarily in evolutionary improvements to the existing state of the art.

The USDOT seeks to develop, evaluate, and test vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) applications for the light vehicle fleet that are intended to transform surface transportation safety, mobility, and environmental performance through a connected vehicle environment. These efforts are outlined in RITA's ITS Strategic Research Plan, 2010-2014. The FHWA has a lead role in the selection, development, and testing of the applications. V2I applications are those applications wherein vehicle-based sensors and vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications are not considered adequate for development of information, alerts, or warnings for drivers. Rather, additional information is required from the infrastructure in order to enable the applications. These applications, however, are vehicle-based, in that they are programs resident in the on-board equipment of the vehicle. The on-board systems use information from vehicle-based sensors, V2V communications, and V2I communications to determine if information, alerts, or warnings should be provided to the driver. Automobile manufacturers (OEMs) are critical partners in development of vehicle-based applications and processes. The Crash Avoidance Metrics Partnership (CAMP) partnership was formed between Ford Motor Company and General Motors to accelerate development and implementation of crash avoidance countermeasures in light vehicles to improve traffic safety. The CAMP partnership forms a consortium of all OEMs that desire to cooperatively work together and with the USDOT on specific research areas, such as V2I applications. This cooperative agreement is with CAMP and is intended to facilitate the selection, development, and evaluation of V2I safety, mobility and environmental applications, and to conduct other Connected Vehicle program work that involves communications between vehicles, infrastructure, and pedestrians and bicyclists.

The goal of the Generation Three (Gen-3) Engineering Research Centers (ERC) Program is to create a culture in engineering research and education that integrates discovery with technological innovation to advance technology and produce graduates who will be creative U.S. innovators in a globally competitive economy. These ERCs are at the forefront as the U.S. competes in the 21st century global economy where R&D resources and engineering talent are internationally distributed. Recognizing that optimizing efficiency and product quality are no longer sufficient for U.S. industry to remain competitive, these ERCs integrate transformational academic engineering research and education to stimulate increased U.S. innovation in a global context.

The objective of this effort will be to produce a package of "Marinized" materials upgrades to be used in United States Navy surface ship gas turbines for propulsion or auxiliary power systems that will enable longer hot section lives at current operating temperatures and/or  higher temperature operations with sustained engine life in marine service.

The INSPIRE awards program was established to address some of the most complicated and pressing scientific problems that lie at the intersection of traditional disciplines.  It is intended to encourage investigators to submit bold, exceptional proposals that some may consider to be at a disadvantage in a standard NSF review process; it is not intended for proposals that are more appropriate for existing award mechanisms.

The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), through the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), hereby requests applications from non-profit institutions of higher education to obtain funding for researching innovative solutions to pipeline corrosion and other known pipeline integrity challenges. The Competitive Academic Agreement Program (CAAP) is intended to spur innovation by enabling academic research focused on high-risk and high pay-off solutions for the many pipeline safety challenges.

The mission of the CounterACT U01 program is to develop new and improved therapeutics for chemical threats. Chemical threats are toxic chemicals that could be used in a terrorist attack or accidentally released from industrial production, storage or shipping. They include traditional chemical warfare agents, toxic industrial chemicals, and pesticides.

The objective of the Marine and Hydrokinetic System Performance Advancement FOA is to advance technology performance of existing marine and hydrokinetic systems through the development and application of innovative components that are designed and built specifically for MHK applications.  This FOA will focus on improving the cost competitiveness of systems already in development, with the goal of advancing the technology performance of these systems.   This FOA will support component development projects in three topic areas that have the greatest potential to impact power to weight ratio and availability:   Topic Area 1:  Advanced Controls - to improve energy capture, availability, and safety. Topic Area 2:  Next-Gen Power Take-Off (PTO) - to increase energy efficiency, reduce weight, and improve reliability.   Topic Area 3:  Optimized Structures - to improve energy capture, reduce weight, and improve reliability.

The Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program supports active research participation by undergraduate students in any of the areas of research funded by the National Science Foundation. REU projects involve students in meaningful ways in ongoing research programs or in research projects specifically designed for the REU program. This solicitation features two mechanisms for support of student research: (1) REU Sites are based on independent proposals to initiate and conduct projects that engage a number of students in research. REU Sites may be based in a single discipline or academic department or may offer interdisciplinary or multi-department research opportunities with a coherent intellectual theme. Proposals with an international dimension are welcome. (2) REU Supplements may be included as a component of proposals for new or renewal NSF grants or cooperative agreements or may be requested for ongoing NSF-funded research projects.

The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation makes grants on six broad subject matters, known within the Foundation as major program areas.  Basic Research STEM Higher Education Public Understanding of Science Economic Performance and the Quality of Life Select National Issues Civic Initiatives

Through this solicitation, NSF provides the opportunity for the earthquake engineering community to recompete to operate the "second generation" of NEES, hereinafter referred to in this solicitation as "NEES2."  Proposals are solicited by NSF's Division of Civil, Mechanical and Manufacturing Innovation to provide, manage, operate, and maintain NEES2 to support frontier earthquake engineering research, innovation, education, and workforce development for the five-year period from October 1, 2014 to September 30, 2019 [i.e., fiscal year (FY) 2015-FY 2019].  Recompeted through this solicitation for NEES2 are the following components:  (a) a network-wide NEES2 management office (NMO) with the Principal Investigator (PI)/Network Director located at the lead institution, (b) four to six experimental facilities that provide the most critical and technically advanced capabilities and data needed by the earthquake engineering research community for transformative research, plus a post-earthquake, rapid response research (PERRR) facility, (c) community-driven, production-quality cyberinfrastructure, and (d) education and community outreach activities.  This solicitation does not separately compete the components. Instead, it requests proposals to integrate all these components into a cohesive earthquake engineering research infrastructure for FY 2015-FY 2019. 

The goal of the Generation Three (Gen-3) Engineering Research Centers (ERC) Program is to create a culture in engineering research and education that integrates discovery with technological innovation to advance technology and produce graduates who will be creative U.S. innovators in a globally competitive economy.

The Concentrating Solar Power: Efficiently Leveraging Equilibrium Mechanisms for Engineering New Thermochemical Storage (CSP: ELEMENTS) Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) that is being issued by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is seeking applications that integrate Thermochemical Energy Storage (TCES) systems with a minimum of 6 hours of thermal storage to be used in ≥1 Megawatt-electric (≥1 MWe) scale CSP electricity generation that have promise to achieve a cost target of ≤$15 per kilowatt-hour-thermal (≤$15/kWhth) are the focus of this FOA. Successful projects will culminate in an on-sun demonstration of the thermochemical reactor along with reliable projections of the full scale performance of the integrated storage system through the utilization of validated performance models developed as part of the research and development effort.

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.