OARS funding Engineering

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) invites grant applications from institutions/organizations that propose to build research infrastructure to promote external collaboration with the medical rehabilitation community. The aim of this FOA is to create a national network of research cores that provide access to collateral expertise in biomedical, behavioral, engineering, and/or psychosocial fields that is particularly relevant to medical rehabilitation research. We are particularly interested in supporting infrastructure programs in clinical trial design, engineering and the environment, individualized medical rehabilitation and dynamic reassessment, and applied behavioral supports for rehabilitation research and healthy outcomes. However, other areas of expertise may be proposed provided they offer unique research opportunities and have potential for promoting medical rehabilitation research and improving outcomes for people with disabilities. In response to this FOA, applicants should propose a program of research resources and collaborative opportunities in a specific research domain. This may be accomplished through a workshops, written material, and websites, consultations, collaborations, and pilot funding. In addition, the research core may support activities within the grantee institution related to technique development, adaptation, and validation. To accomplish the aims of the FOA, applicants may propose collaborations to other institutional sites, provided that they cover the appropriate administrative and logistical issues.

The NSF Engineering (ENG) Directorate has launched a multi-year initiative, the Professional Formation of Engineers, to create and support an innovative and inclusive engineering profession for the 21st Century. Professional Formation of Engineers (PFE) refers to the formal and informal processes and value systems by which people become engineers. It also includes the ethical responsibility of practicing engineers to sustain and grow the profession. The engineering profession must be responsive to national priorities, grand challenges, and dynamic workforce needs; it must be equally open and accessible to all. Engineering faculty possess both deep technical expertise in their engineering discipline and the primary responsibility for the process of professional formation of future engineers. As such, engineering faculty are in a unique position to help address critical challenges in engineering formation. The Professional Formation of Engineers: Research Initiation in Engineering Formation (PFE: RIEF) program enables engineering faculty who are renowned for teaching, mentoring, or leading educational reform efforts on their campus to initiate collaborations with colleagues in the social and/or learning sciences to address difficult, boundary-spanning problems in the professional formation of engineers.

The National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) University Turbine Systems Research (UTSR) program manages a portfolio of gas turbine-focused university projects. The NETL-UTSR program is part of an initiative in support of the Office of Fossil Energy's Advanced Turbines program goals, DOE strategic goals and program mission needs. The funding opportunity announcement (FOA) is required to facilitate the development and demonstration of next-generation turbine technology with the goal of producing reliable, affordable, clean, efficient, and cost-effective energy supplies and to address the need for engineering and scientific solutions for air breathing gas turbines and supercritical carbon dioxide (SCO2) power cycles. The work will address scientific Research and Development (R&D) as well as technical challenges in turbine technology in support of DOE's strategic goals, program mission needs and the achievement of programmatic technical goals.

The Office of Naval Research (ONR) is interested in receiving proposals for its Young Investigator Program (YIP). ONR's Young Investigator Program (YIP) seeks to identify and support academic scientists and engineers who are in their first or second full-time tenure-track or tenure-track-equivalent academic appointment, have begun their first appointment on or after 01 Nov 2009, and who show exceptional promise for doing creative research. The objectives of this program are to attract outstanding faculty members of Institutions of Higher Education (hereafter also called "universities") to the Department of the Navy's research program, to support their research, and to encourage their teaching and research careers.

This program provides fellowships, through academic departments and programs of IHEs, to assist graduate students with excellent records who demonstrate financial need and plan to pursue the highest degree available in their course study at the institution in a field designated as an area of national need.

The National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) announces the availability of funds for Administrative Supplements to NIGMS-funded R01, R37, P01, and U01 grants.  These funds are intended for the purchase of single pieces of equipment whose requested direct costs are between $50,000 and $250,000. Equipment in this price range is often difficult to purchase under the parent grant.  Two or more NIGMS grantees at the same institution with similar equipment needs are encouraged to submit separate requests (each between $50,000 and $250,000) that cross-reference each other.  It is expected that the amount of funds requested for such joint purchases will reflect the actual proportion of the time that the shared equipment would be used by each PI.  NIGMS encourages requests that reflect institutional commitment.

Synopsis of Program: The Directorate for Engineering (ENG) and the Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE), have joined to support the Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) in Engineering and Computer Science program. This program supports active long-term collaborative partnerships between K-12 Science, Technology, Engineering, Computer and Information Science, and Mathematics (STEM) teachers and community college and university faculty and students to bring knowledge of engineering or computer and information science and engineering as well as technological innovation to pre-college/community college classrooms. The goal of these partnerships is to enable K-12 STEM teachers and community college faculty to translate their research experiences and new knowledge gained in university settings into their classroom activities. The university team will include faculty, graduate and undergraduate students as well as industrial advisors. Involvement of graduate students in support of academic-year classroom activities is particularly encouraged. Partnerships with inner city, rural or other high needs schools are especially encouraged, as is participation by underrepresented minorities, women, and persons with disabilities. As part of the long-term partnership arrangements, university undergraduate/graduate students will partner with pre-college/community college faculty in their classrooms during the academic year to help teach engineering/computer science concepts. This announcement features two mechanisms for support of in-service and pre-service K-12 STEM teachers and community college faculty: (1) RET supplements to ongoing ENG and CISE awards and (2) new RET Site awards. RET supplements may be included outside this solicitation in proposals for new or renewed NSF Directorate for Engineering (ENG) and Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) grants or as supplements to ongoing NSF ENG and CISE funded pro

The goal is to enable active I/UCRCs to leverage each other's expertise, research results, resources and existing networks and partnerships to establish a cross-center cluster that will tackle a cross-disciplinary, cross-sector portfolio of research projects that hold the potential to catalyze technology breakthroughs and advance national priorities. As appropriate, the cluster of existing I/UCRCs may team up with Engineering Research Centers (ERCs), Science and Technology Centers (STCs), and/or additional academic and industrial collaborators to advance these goals. The active participation of industry in the design and implementation of cluster research efforts is expected. Projects proposed under this mechanism must have industrial relevance as evidenced by the written approval of all of the Industry Advisory Boards (IABs) of the involved I/UCRCs. Research projects could be accelerated or scope enhanced with industry funds directed to the cluster. Additional industry and other sponsors external to IABs can participate in cluster research activities.

The Thermal Transport Processes program supports engineering research aimed at gaining a basic understanding of the thermal transport phenomena at nano/micro and macro scales in (1) cooling and heating of equipment and devices, (2) energy conversion, power generation and thermal energy storage and conservation, (3) the synthesis and processing of materials including advanced manufacturing, (4) the propulsion of air and land-based vehicles, and (5) thermal phenomena in biological systems. The program supports fundamental research and engineering education in transport processes that are driven by thermal gradients, and manipulation of these processes to achieve engineering goals.Priority is given to insightful investigations of fundamental problems with broad economic, environmental and societal impact, and to novel studies of heat and mass transfer principles to understand phenomena, to enhance performance and/or achieve key goals.Fundamental areas of specific interest and current focus to the program, and relevant to applications listed as (1)-(5) above, include:Control of Thermal Transport Processes in Devices/Systems and in Materials Processing for Improved PerformanceSimulation and Diagnostics of Flow and Heat Transport Bridging Information across Scales leading to Device/System-level StudiesNew Materials/Processes/Devices with Significant Gains in Thermal Properties and PerformanceThe duration of unsolicited awards is generally one to three years. The average annual award size for the program is $100,000. Proposals requesting a substantially higher amount than this, without prior consultation with the Program Director, may be returned without review. Innovative proposals outside of these specific interest areas can be considered. However, prior to submission, it is recommended that the PI contact the Program Director to avoid the possibility of the proposal being returned without review.Additional Program Information - 1406: (e.g., Areas of Research, Research H

Amgen Scholars is hosted at 10 premier institutions within the United States. Each host institution has its own application process. U.S. citizenship or permanent residency in the United States is required, and you can apply to participate at as many host institutions as you are interested in.

This Notice supersedes NOT-OD-15-024 about the NIH and AHRQ requirement for use of a new biosketch format and provides some latitude in the transition for those who have already been compiling biosketches for their large grant applications with deadlines in early in 2015. NIH and AHRQ encourages applicants to use the newly published biosketch format for all grant and cooperative agreement applications submitted for due dates on or after January 25, 2015, and will require use of the new format for applications submitted for due dates on or after May 25, 2015. Applicants may submit using the new biosketch format for due dates before January 25, 2015, if they wish.

Mark your calendar for the 2015 NIH Regional Seminar on Program Funding and Grants Administration in Baltimore, Maryland - May 6-8, 2015. This two-day seminar, with an optional third day of pre-seminar workshops, is ideal for anyone in the extramural research community who is new to working with NIH grants, including administrators, new and early stage investigators, and grant writers. Registration will open in early 2015.

PD 15-1637, Structural and Architectural Engineering (SAE) program replaces Hazard Mitigation and Structural Engineering (HMSE) program. The overall goal of the Structural and Architectural Engineering (SAE) program is to evolve sustainable structures, such as buildings, that can be continuously occupied and /or operational during the structure??s useful life. The SAE program supports fundamental research for advancing knowledge and innovation in structural and architectural engineering that enables holistic approach to design, construction, operation, maintenance, retrofit, repair and end-of-life disposal of structures. For buildings, holistic approach incorporates the foundation-structure-envelope-nonstructural system, as well as the facade and roofing. Research topics of interest for sustainable structures include the following: strategies for structures that over their lifecycle are cost-effective, make efficient use of resources and energy, and incorporate sustainable structural and architectural materials; deterioration due to fatigue and corrosion; serviceability concerns due to large deflections and vibrations; and advances in physics-based computational modeling and simulation. Research is encouraged that integrates discoveries from other science and engineering fields, such as materials science, building science, mechanics of materials, dynamic systems and control, reliability, risk analysis, architecture, economics and human factors. The program also supports research in sustainable and holistic foundation-structure-envelope-nonstructural systems and materials as described in the following reports: ?? National Science and Technology Council, High Performance Buildings; Final Report: Federal R & D Agenda for Net Zero Energy, High-Performance Green Buildings. Building Technology Research and Development (BTRD) Subcommittee, OSTP, U.S. Government, September 2008. http://www.whitehouse.gov/files/documents/ostp/NSTC%20Reports/Federal%20RD%20Agenda%20for%20Net%

The purpose of this Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative is to encourage applications that will develop and validate novel tools to facilitate the detailed analysis of complex circuits and provide insights into cellular interactions that underlie brain function. The new tools and technologies should inform and/or exploit cell-type and/or circuit-level specificity. Plans for validating the utility of the tool/technology will be an essential feature of a successful application. The development of new genetic and non-genetic tools for delivering genes, proteins and chemicals to cells of interest or approaches that are expected to target specific cell types and/or circuits in the nervous system with greater precision and sensitivity than currently established methods are encouraged. Tools that can be used in a number of species / model organisms rather than those restricted to a single species are highly desired. Applications that provide approaches that break through existing technical barriers to substantially improve current capabilities are highly encouraged.

IDA solicits nominations from senior leaders within major universities and from DSSG mentors, advisors, alumni, and current members. Because participation in the DSSG requires acquisition of a security clearance, all members must be U.S. citizens. Selection is based on academic excellence, breadth of interests, references, consideration of discipline, and geographic distribution.  Miami faculty who would like to be nominated for the DSSG, should contact Heather Johnston (johnsthb@MiamiOH.edu) in OARS.

The Vodafone Wireless Innovation Project™ (the "competition") seeks to identify and fund the best innovations using wireless related technology to address critical social issues around the world. Project proposals must demonstrate significant advancement in the field of wireless-related technology applied to social benefit use. The competition is open to projects from universities and nonprofit organizations based in the United States. Although organizations must be based in the United States, projects may operate and help people outside of the United States.

The goals of the Engineering for Natural Hazards (ENH) program are to prevent natural hazards from becoming disasters, and to broaden consideration of natural hazards independently to the consideration of the multi-hazard environment within which the constructed civil infrastructure exists. The ENH program, PD 15-7396, replaces the annual George E. Brown, Jr. Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation (NEES) research (NEESR) program solicitations to enable proposal submissions during the two CMMI unsolicited proposal submission windows each year, with the due dates shown above, and to support fundamental research for a broader range of natural hazards, including earthquakes, windstorms (tornadoes and hurricanes), tsunamis and landslides. The ENH program also supports natural hazards engineering research that had been supported under the Hazard Mitigation and Structural Engineering Program (HMSE) (PD 13-1637) and the Geotechnical Engineering (GTE) Program (PD 12-1636). 

The purpose of this Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative is to encourage applications that will develop and validate novel tools to facilitate the detailed analysis of complex circuits and provide insights into cellular interactions that underlie brain function. The new tools and technologies should inform and/or exploit cell-type and/or circuit-level specificity. Plans for validating the utility of the tool/technology will be an essential feature of a successful application. The development of new genetic and non-genetic tools for delivering genes, proteins and chemicals to cells of interest or approaches that are expected to target specific cell types and/or circuits in the nervous system with greater precision and sensitivity than currently established methods are encouraged. Tools that can be used in a number of species / model organisms rather than those restricted to a single species are highly desired. Applications that provide approaches that break through existing technical barriers to substantially improve current capabilities are highly encouraged.

The competition for individual sites will be for consideration of large and small university-based user facilities, including those at minority-serving institutions, that are geographically distributed and with diverse and complementary capabilities to support current and anticipated future user needs across the broad spectrum of nanoscale science, engineering, and technology domains. The selected individual sites will have autonomy in their operation and management, but will be required to act in concert with a Coordinating Office that will be separately competed and chosen at a later stage. Some sites may choose to partner with facilities at regional or smaller institutions that would bring specific capabilities for users and benefits to student training. The overall collection of selected sites and their capabilities will provide users with cost-effective access both to the specialized tools, processes, and expertise to support complex multi-step fabrication at the nanoscale level for structures, materials, devices, and systems, as well as to the associated instrumentation for characterization, analysis, and probing at these dimensions. The program aims to make these capabilities broadly available to the nation's researchers in academe, industry, and government to help catalyze new discoveries in science and engineering and to stimulate technological innovation.

This Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) is intended to stimulate collaboration between US and European Union (EU) Robotics Researchers. Over the last few years, significant investments have been made by the NSF and European Commission (EC) to develop infrastructure for doing robotics-related research. In many instances, complementary capabilities exist at US and EU institutions. Synergistic partnerships between NSF-funded and EC-funded robotics researchers can provide new opportunities for advancing the field of robotics.