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The Environmental Engineering program is part of the Environmental Engineering and Sustainability cluster, which also includes 1) the Nanoscale Interactions program; and 2) the Environmental Sustainability program. Environmental engineering is an interdisciplinary field that applies chemical, biological, and physical scientific principles to protect human and ecological health. The goal of the Environmental Engineering program is tosupport potentially transformative fundamental research that applies scientific and engineering principles to 1) prevent, minimize, or re-use solid, liquid, and gaseous discharges of pollution to soil, water, and air by closing resource loops or through other measures; 2) mitigate the ecological and human-health impacts of such releases by smart/adaptive/reactive amendments or manipulation of the environment, and 3) remediate polluted environments through engineered chemical, biological, and/or geo-physical processes. Integral to achieving these goals is a fundamental understanding of the transport and biogeochemical reactivity of pollutants in the environment.

The Foundation is promoting Ray's legacy through its inspiration and funding of innovative, educational and project-based initiatives that advance the revolution in sustainable production and consumption. Through its Gray Notes Grants program, the foundation awards grants of between $2,000 and $25,000 for environmental conservation, preservation, education, and restoration initiatives; urban agriculture programs; clean water and clean air projects; environmental and economic think tanks; and grassroots initiatives that inform and inspire people to collaborate and take positive action to protect the planet. In addition, the program supports organizations and programs that are working with industry, government, and businesses to create environmentally sound planning practices to reduce the environmental footprint of urban development through energy efficiency, increased use of renewable energy, and the reduction of carbon intensity. We award grants in two categories: Grants to Environmental Initiatives and Nonprofits   Inquiries taken throughout 2013. Grants to Higher Education Research Programs (by invitation only).   Inquiries due March 28, 2013.

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) invites grant applications for Environmental Health Sciences Core Centers (EHS CC).  As intellectual hubs for environmental health research, the EHS CC is expected to be the thought leaders for the field and advance the goals of the NIEHS Strategic Plan (http://www.niehs.nih.gov/about/strategicplan/). The Core Centers provide critical research infrastructure, shared facilities, services and /or resources, to groups of investigators conducting environmental health sciences research.  An EHS CC enables researchers to conduct their independently-funded individual and/or collaborative research projects more efficiently and/or more effectively. The broad overall goal of an EHS CC is to identify and capitalize on emerging issues that advance improving the understanding of the relationships among environmental exposures, human biology, and disease.  The EHS CC supports community engagement and translational research as key approaches to improving public health. 

The goal of the Biological and Environmental Interactions of Nanoscale Materials program is to support research to advance fundamental and quantitative understanding of the interactions of biological and environmental media with nanomaterials and nanosystems. Materials of interest include one- to three-dimensional nanostructures, heterogeneous nano-bio hybrid assemblies, and other nanoparticles. Such nanomaterials and systems frequently exhibit novel physical, chemical, and biological behavior in living systems and environmental matrices as compared to the bulk scale. This program supports research that explores the interaction of nanomaterials in biological and environmental media.    

The Melinda Gray Ardia Environmental Foundation was founded in 1996 to continue the work of Melinda Gray Ardia, a biologist, environmental activist, and a middle school science teacher in Newark, New York, who died in an automobile accident that year. The foundation's mission is to integrate field activities and classroom teaching and incorporate basic ecological principles and problem solving. The foundation's grant program is designed to empower and encourage students to become involved in solving environmental and social problems; promote thoughtful and appropriate analysis and understanding of the natural world; and train students as informed decision makers through the emphasis and application of basic ecological principles.

The Alaska Outer Continental Shelf Region of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is offering a cooperative agreement to evaluate implications of findings from a model wave energy project for feasibility studies in other coastal regions of Alaska, including extensions onto the OCS. The study will integrate and extend offshore environmental feasibility studies to fully assess the economic viability of wave energy projects in the remote coastal community of Yakutat, Alaska, and to support a State of Alaska effort to complete the feasibility studies initiated and funded by the Alaska Energy Authority and the City and Borough of Yakutat. The demonstration project will support meeting environmental regulatory requirements and thereby evaluate the implications for projects in other waters of coastal Alaska. The mission of BOEM is to manage the exploration and development of the nation's offshore resources in a way that appropriately balances economic development, energy independence and environmental protection through oil and gas leases, and renewable energy development. The decision-making behind the management of the nation's offshore resources is supported through environmental reviews and associated studies. The Program Announcement describes the specific project that may be awarded to the universities or eligible groups identified. All awards are premised on receipt of an acceptable proposal. This is not an open solicitation for proposals.

The Environmental Education Grant program supports environmental education projects that promote environmental awareness and stewardship and help provide people with the skills to take responsible actions to protect the environment. The application deadline is March 15, 2018.

The Michael J. Fox Foundation has issued a request for proposals to investigate environmental factors that increase Risk for Parkinson's disease. While some evidence links environmental factors with increased risk of PD, according to the foundation much remains unknown regarding the specific environmental risks, their role in disease, and the quantification of their contributions. A better understanding of environmental risk factors for PD could lead to efforts to reduce or prevent such exposures.

The Environmental Studies Program (ESP) of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is offering a cooperative agreement opportunity through the University of Alaska Coastal Marine Institute (CMI) to units within the University of Alaska system that have the ability to conduct research in topics that serve the public interest of safe and environmentally sound energy production and meet the goals of the BOEM. The general types of studies that may be funded include scientific studies for better understanding marine, coastal or human environments affected or potentially affected by offshore oil and gas or other mineral exploration and extraction on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS); modeling studies of environmental, social, economic, or cultural processes related to OCS oil and gas activities in order to improve scientific predictive capabilities; experimental scientific studies for better understanding of environmental processes, or the causes and effects of OCS activities; projects which design or establish mechanisms or protocols for sharing data or information regarding marine or coastal resources, or human activities to support prudent management of oil, gas and marine mineral resources; and synthesis studies of scientific environmental or socioeconomic information relevant to the OCS oil and gas program. The most relevant geographic areas are potential OCS oil and gas lease areas off Alaska, including the Beaufort Sea and Cook Inlet. Projects in other areas of the Alaska Region may be considered if applicable to CMI priorities. Following the submission of letters of intent (LOI) from the University of Alaska, the BOEM, in discussion with representatives from the State of Alaska, have selected the LOI topics listed below for development of full proposals. This request is not a guarantee of funding.

Through the LTREB program, the Division of Environmental Biology (DEB) and the Division of Integrative Organismal Systems (IOS) encourage the submission of proposals that generate extended time series of biological and environmental data to address ecological and evolutionary processes and resolve important issues in organismal and environmental biology. Researchers must have collected at least six years of previous data to qualify for funding, and these data must motivate the proposed research. The proposal also must present a cohesive conceptual rationale or framework for ten years of research. Questions or hypotheses outlined in this conceptual framework must guide an initial 5-year proposal as well as a subsequent, abbreviated renewal. Together, these will constitute a decadal research plan appropriate to begin to address critical and novel long-term questions in organismal and environmental biology. As part of the requirements for funding, projects must show how collected data will be shared broadly with the scientific community and the interested public.

The Environmental Justice Small Grants (EJSG) Program provides funding for eligible applicants for projects that address local environmental and public health issues within an affected community. The EJSG Program is designed to help communities understand and address exposure to multiple environmental harms and risks. Applying organizations are encouraged to have a direct connection to the vulnerable affected, community impacted by environmental harms and risks.

The goal of the Biological and Environmental Interactions of Nanoscale Materials program is to support research to advance fundamental and quantitative understanding of the interactions of biological and environmental media with nanomaterials and nanosystems. Materials of interest include one- to three-dimensional nanostructures, heterogeneous nano-bio hybrid assemblies, and other nanoparticles.  Such nanomaterials and systems frequently exhibit novel physical, chemical and biological behavior in living systems and environmental matrices as compared to the bulk scale. This program supports research that explores the interaction of nanomaterials in biological and environmental media.    

The Ecology and Evolution of Infectious Diseases program supports research on the ecological, evolutionary, and socio-ecological principles and processes that influence the transmission dynamics of infectious diseases. The central theme of submitted projects must be quantitative or computational understanding of pathogen transmission dynamics. The intent is discovery of principles of infectious disease transmission and testing mathematical or computational models that elucidate infectious disease systems. Projects should be broad, interdisciplinary efforts that go beyond the scope of typical studies. They should focus on the determinants and interactions of transmission among humans, non-human animals, and/or plants. This includes, for example, the spread of pathogens; the influence of environmental factors such as climate; the population dynamics and genetics of reservoir species or hosts; the cultural, social, behavioral, and economic dimensions of disease transmission. Research may be on zoonotic, environmentally-borne, vector-borne, or enteric diseases of either terrestrial or freshwater systems and organisms, including diseases of animals and plants, at any scale from specific pathogens to inclusive environmental systems. Proposals for research on disease systems of public health concern to developing countries are strongly encouraged, as are disease systems of concern in agricultural systems. Investigators are encouraged to develop the appropriate multidisciplinary team, including for example, modelers, bioinformaticians, genomics researchers, social scientists, economists, epidemiologists, entomologists, parasitologists, microbiologists, bacteriologists, virologists, pathologists or veterinarians, with the goal of integrating knowledge across disciplines to enhance our ability to predict and control infectious diseases.

The Ecology and Evolution of Infectious Diseases program supports research on the ecological, evolutionary, and socio-ecological principles and processes that influence the transmission dynamics of infectious diseases. The central theme of submitted projects must be quantitative or computational understanding of pathogen transmission dynamics. The intent is discovery of principles of infectious disease transmission and testing mathematical or computational models that elucidate infectious disease systems. Projects should be broad, interdisciplinary efforts that go beyond the scope of typical studies. They should focus on the determinants and interactions of transmission among humans, non-human animals, and/or plants. This includes, for example, the spread of pathogens; the influence of environmental factors such as climate; the population dynamics and genetics of reservoir species or hosts; the cultural, social, behavioral, and economic dimensions of disease transmission. Research may be on zoonotic, environmentally-borne, vector-borne, or enteric diseases of either terrestrial or freshwater systems and organisms, including diseases of animals and plants, at any scale from specific pathogens to inclusive environmental systems. Proposals for research on disease systems of public health concern to developing countries are strongly encouraged, as are disease systems of concern in agricultural systems. Investigators are encouraged to develop the appropriate multidisciplinary team, including for example, modelers, bioinformaticians, genomics researchers, social scientists, economists, epidemiologists, entomologists, parasitologists, microbiologists, bacteriologists, virologists, pathologists or veterinarians, with the goal of integrating knowledge across disciplines to enhance our ability to predict and control infectious diseases.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as part of its Science to Achieve Results (STAR) program, is seeking applications proposing research that will contribute to an improved ability to understand and anticipate the public health and environmental impacts and behavioral drivers of significant changes in energy production and consumption in the United States, particularly those changes associated with advancing toward the deep decarbonization necessary to achieve national and international climate change mitigation objectives and avoid the most significant health, environmental, and economic impacts of climate change. The proposed research is intended to contribute to the development of new insights and predictive tools related to the multimedia, life-cycle impacts of the decarbonization of electricity generation; the electrification of end uses; the adoption of low-carbon emitting, renewable fuels; and the adoption of energy efficiency measures. The proposed research is also intended to contribute to an improved understanding of the drivers of individual, firm (i.e. business), and community decisions that affect energy consumption patterns, including decisions about the adoption of new technologies and energy efficiency measures.

Under this solicitation EPA is seeking grant applications from eligible applicants to support environmental education projects that promote environmental stewardship and help develop knowledgeable and responsible students, teachers, and citizens. This grant program provides financial support for projects that design, demonstrate, and/or disseminate environmental education practices, methods, or techniques, as described in this notice, and that will serve as models that can be replicated in a variety of settings. Under this solicitation EPA expects to award environmental education grants from the 10 EPA Regional offices and from Headquarters.

The Environmental Justice Small Grants (EJSG) Program provides funding for eligible applicants for projects that address local environmental and public health issues within an affected community. The EJSG Program is designed to help communities understand and address exposure to multiple environmental harms and risks. The long-term goals of the EJSG Program are to help build the capacity of communities with environmental justice concerns and to create self-sustaining, community-based partnerships that will continue to improve local environments in the future. The fiscal year 2015 program will consider proposals supporting community-based preparedness and resilience efforts (community climate resiliency). The goal is to recognize the critical role of localized efforts in helping communities shape climate change strategies to avoid, lessen, or delay the risks and impacts associated with climate change. An overarching goal of including this emphasis is to help bolster the efforts of underrepresented communities to address climate change vulnerabilities and develop solutions.

The Environmental Sustainability program is part of the Environmental Engineering and Sustainability cluster together with 1) theEnvironmental Engineering program and 2) the Nanoscale Interactions program. The goal of the Environmental Sustainability program is to promote sustainable engineered systems that support human well-being and that are also compatible with sustaining natural (environmental) systems. These systems provide ecological services vital for human survival. Research efforts supported by the program typically consider long time horizons and may incorporate contributions from the social sciences and ethics. The program supports engineering research that seeks to balance society's need to provide ecological protection and maintain stable economic conditions.

The EPA Exchange Network Grant Program is soliciting project applications using the Environmental Information Exchange Network (EN) to: Facilitate sharing of environmental data, especially through shared and reusable services. Streamline data collection and exchanges to improve its timeliness for decision making. Increase the quality and access to environmental data through discovery, publishing, outbound and analytical services so it is more useful to environmental managers. Develop foundational EN shared services to reduce burden and avoid costs for co-regulators and the regulated community. Expand and improve participation in the EN by strengthening the requisite information management and technology capabilities for interested parties to fully participate in the EN. Section I-E of the funding opportunity announcement summarizes the priorities and associated activities eligible for funding through the FY 2020 EN Grant Program competitive grant process.

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) invites grant applications for Environmental Health Sciences Core Centers (EHS CC). As intellectual hubs for environmental health research, the EHS CC is expected to be the thought leaders for the field and advance the goals of the NIEHS Strategic Plan (http://www.niehs.nih.gov/about/strategicplan/). The Core Centers provide critical research infrastructure, shared facilities, services and/or resources, to groups of investigators conducting environmental health sciences research. An EHS CC enables researchers to conduct their independently-funded individual and/or collaborative research projects more efficiently and/or more effectively. The broad overall goal of an EHS CC is to identify and capitalize on emerging issues that advance improving the understanding of the relationships among environmental exposures, human biology, and disease. The EHS CC supports community engagement and translational research as key approaches to improving public health.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as part of its Science to Achieve Results (STAR) program, is seeking applications proposing research on understanding particulate matter and related atmospheric pollutants in a changing world. Specifically, research is sought on the changing spatiotemporal patterns or environmental impacts of particulate matter in the United States, the challenges that various aspects of global change pose for the management of particulate matter and related pollutants, the rates and timescales at which global change can impact United States air quality, and stronger linkages between the modeling of atmospheric processes and other environmental processes. In order to understand and adapt to future changes, environmental planners and decision makers need information on the challenge global change presents for protecting the environment and human health; this solicitation seeks research on these challenges.