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Nanomanufacturing is the production of useful nano-scale materials, structures, devices and systems in an economically viable manner. The NSF Nanomanufacturing Program supports fundamental research in novel methods and techniques for batch and continuous processes, top-down (addition/subtraction) and bottom-up (directed self-assembly) processes leading to the formation of complex heterogeneous nanosystems. The program supports basic research in nanostructure and process design principles, integration across length-scales, and system-level integration. The Program leverages advances in the understanding of nano-scale phenomena and processes (physical, chemical, electrical, thermal, mechanical and biological), nanomaterials discovery, novel nanostructure architectures, and new nanodevice and nanosystem concepts. It seeks to address quality, efficiency, scalability, reliability, safety and affordability issues that are relevant to manufacturing. To address these issues, the Program encourages research on processes and production systems based on computation, modeling and simulation, use of process metrology, sensing, monitoring, and control, and assessment of product (nanomaterial, nanostructure, nanodevice or nanosystem) quality and performance.The Program seeks to explore transformative approaches to nanomanufacturing, including but not limited to: micro-reactor and micro-fluidics enabled nanosynthesis, bio-inspired nanomanufacturing, manufacturing by nanomachines, additive nanomanufacturing, hierarchical nanostructure assembly, continuous high-rate nanofabrication such as roll-to-roll processing or massively-parallel large-area processing, and modular manufacturing platforms for nanosystems. The Program encourages the fabrication of nanomaterials by design, three-dimensional nanostructures, multi-layer nanodevices, and multi-material and multi-functional nanosystems. Also of interest is the manufacture of dynamic nanosystems such as nanomotors, nanorobots, and nanom

he goal of the Interfacial Processes and Thermodynamics (IPT) program is to advance fundamental molecular engineering at interfaces, especially as applied to the nano-processing of soft materials.  The program views fundamental interfacial interactions, molecular transport at interfaces, and molecular thermodynamics as integral to developing new approaches for solving critical engineering needs that face society. Molecules at interfaces, with functional interfacial properties, are of special interest, as these molecules have potential use in important research areas, such as adhesion and advanced manufacturing/fabrication.  These interfacial molecules may also have biomolecular functions at the micro- and nano-scale, where the biomolecular functionalities may be re-directed toward engineering solutions. One new area of interest is the adhesion between unlike materials, or adhesion in adverse environments, with particular emphasis on applying strategies arising from nature.  Research supported in these fundamental areas should lead to more economical and environmentally benign processing, improved water quality, and novel functional materials for sensors, in industrial, environmental, and biomedical settings.  Nanotechnology plays a critical role in most of these new areas.

The US Fish and Wildlife Service, Region 7 intends to award a single source financial assistance agreement as authorized by 505 DM 2.14 (B) to the Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. This notice is not a request for proposals and the Government does not intend to accept proposals. This financial assistance opportunity is being issued under the Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) Network: (http://www.cesu.psu.edu/materials/partners.htm). The CESU network provides research, technical assistance, and education to federal land management, environmental, and research agencies and their partners. The partners serve the biological, physical, social, cultural, and engineering disciplines needed to address natural and cultural resource management issues at multiple scales and in an ecosystem context. The purpose of this agreement is to provide support and assistance to University of Alaska Fairbanks to conduct research on the history of land use and environmental conditions on Selawik Refuge in the early to mid 20th century. This will include information on traditional family settlements, historic resource distribution and abundance, muskrat hunting and trading, and other key subsistence activities. Both oral history interviews with northwest Alaska elders and archival materials research at University of Alaska Fairbanks and other repositories will be used in this project. Oral histories and archival materials can shed light on historic environmental conditions, critical habitat (locations of seasonal family settlements were in key resource areas), changes in land use and resource distribution, and important areas for cultural resources.

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) advances the H2@Scale concept. The focus of H2@Scale is to enable affordable and reliable large-scale hydrogen generation, transport, storage, and utilization in the United States across multiple sectors. By producing hydrogen when power generation exceeds load, electrolyzers can reduce curtailment of renewables and contribute to grid stability. Hydrogen produced from existing baseload (e.g., nuclear power) assets can also be stored, distributed, and used as a fuel for multiple applications. Such applications include transportation, stationary power, process or building heat, and industrial sectors such as steel manufacturing, ammonia production and petroleum refining. Key challenges to the H2@Scale concept include affordability, reliability, and performance of emerging hydrogen and fuel cell technologies. Topics under this FOA to advance H2@Scale include: Topic 1: Advanced hydrogen storage and infrastructure R&D including novel materials or hydrogen carriers for transporting and storing hydrogen, and materials for hydrogen infrastructure components. Topic 2: Innovative concepts for hydrogen production and utilization including advanced water splitting materials, affordable domestic hydrogen production technologies, co-production of hydrogen for additional sources of revenue, and reversible fuel cell technologies. Topic 3: H2@Scale Pilot - integrated production, storage, and fueling systems including innovative approaches that successfully integrate and optimize the complete system encompassing hydrogen production, storage, distribution, and use.

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) encourages Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant applications from small business concerns (SBCs) that propose to further the development of Advanced Technology Training (ATT) products for: the health and safety training of hazardous materials (HAZMAT) workers; waste treatment personnel; skilled support personnel associated with an emergency/disaster; emergency responders in biosafety response, infectious disease training and cleanup; emergency responders in disasters and resiliency training; and for ATT tools to assist in research into the acute and long-term health effects of environmental disasters. ATT as defined by the Worker Training Program (WTP) includes, but is not limited to, online training, virtual reality, and serious gaming, which complement all aspects of training from development to evaluation including advanced technologies that enhance, supplement, improve, and provide health and safety training for hazardous materials workers. These products must complement the goals and objectives of the WTP http://www.niehs.nih.gov/careers/hazmat/about_wetp/. The major objective of the NIEHS WTP is to prevent work related harm by assisting in the training of workers in how best to protect themselves and their communities from exposure to hazardous materials. The financial support for this initiative comes directly from NIEHS Worker Education and Training Branch SBIR funds.

The Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) intends to issue a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) entitled "BOTTLE: Bio-Optimized Technologies to Keep Thermoplastics out of Landfills and the Environment." This FOA, jointly funded by the Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) and Advanced Manufacturing Office (AMO), supports the Department's Plastics Innovation Challenge, a comprehensive DOE program to accelerate innovations in energy-efficient plastics recycling technologies, which was announced on November 21, 2019. Additional information regarding the Plastics Innovation Challenge can be found by visiting https://www.energy.gov/articles/department-energy-launches-plastics-innovation-challenge. Current recycling strategies often do not allow for cost-effective recycling of commonly used plastics. Typical recycling techniques can result in diminished material properties, which limit opportunities to produce products from recycled material with equal or greater value. However, there is an opportunity to advance new technologies that use recycled materials to reduce manufacturing energy consumption for some of the most prevalent plastics by up to 50 percent, including those used in grocery bags and beverage bottles. BETO and AMO have identified significant potential to improve the carbon efficiency and energy efficiency of plastics recycling technologies

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 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 Materials for Transduction (MATRIX) program in DARPA's Defense Sciences Office (DSO) is seeking innovative ideas and novel approaches to achieve revolutionary transductional devices and capabilities using materials with energy conversion capabilities and/or strongly correlated properties.

Asstated intheStrategy for American Leadership in Advanced Manufacturing,worldwide competition in manufacturing has been dominated in recent decades by the maturation, commoditization, and widespread application of computation in production equipment and logistics, effectively leveling the global technological playing field and putting a premium on low wages and incremental technical improvements.[1] The next generation of technological competition in manufacturing will be dictated by inventions of new materials, chemicals, devices, systems, processes, machines, design and work methods, social structures and business practices. Fundamental research will be required in robotics, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, materials science, sustainability, education and public policy, and workforce development to take the lead in this global competition. The research supported under this solicitationwillenhance U.S. leadership in manufacturing far into the future by providing new capabilitiesfor established companies andentrepreneurs,improving ourhealth and quality of life,andreducingthe impact of manufacturing industries on the environment.

The Fluid Dynamics program supports fundamental research on mechanisms and phenomena governing fluid flow from the molecular to the macroscopic scale.  Proposed research should contribute to basic understanding, thus enabling the better design, predictability, efficiency, and control of systems that involve fluids.  Encouraged are proposals that address behavior of new fluid materials and innovative uses of fluids in manufacturing, energy and the environment, materials development, biotechnology, nanotechnology, sensor development, clinical diagnostics and drug delivery. While the research should focus on fundamentals, a clear connection to potential applications with significant societal/technological impact should be outlined.

The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program stimulates technological innovation in the private sector by strengthening the role of small business concerns in meeting Federal research and development needs, increasing the commercial application of federally supported research results, and fostering and encouraging participation by socially and economically disadvantaged and women-owned small businesses. The topics, listed below, are detailed on the SBIR/STTR topics homepage: Educational Technologies and Applications (EA) Information and Communication Technologies (IC) Semiconductors (S) and Photonic (PH) Devices and Materials Electronic Hardware, Robotics and Wireless Technologies (EW) Advanced Manufacturing and Nanotechnology (MN) Advanced Materials and Instrumentation (MI) Chemical and Environmental Technologies (CT) Biological Technologies (BT) Smart Health (SH) and Biomedical (BM) Technologies

The Civil Infrastructure Systems (CIS) program supports research leading to the engineering of infrastructure systems for resilience and sustainability without excluding other key performance issues. Areas of interest include intra- and inter-physical, information and behavioral dependencies of infrastructure systems, infrastructure management, construction engineering, and transportation systems. Special emphasis is on the design, construction, operation, and improvement of infrastructure networks with a focus on systems engineering and design, performance management, risk analysis, life-cycle analysis, modeling and simulation, behavioral and social considerations not excluding other methodological areas or the integration of methods.This program does not encourage research proposals primarily focused on structural engineering, materials or sensors that support infrastructure system design, extreme event modeling, hydrological engineering, and climate modeling, since they do not fall within the scope of the CIS program. Researchers focused in these areas are encouraged to contact the Infrastructure Management and Extreme Events (IMEE), Geotechnical Engineering (GTE), Hazard Mitigation and Structural Engineering (HSME), Structural Materials and Mechanics (SMM), or the Sensors and Sensing Systems (SSS) program within CMMI. Additionally, researchers may consider contacting the Hydrologic Sciences program in the Earth Sciences Division (EAR) or the Physical and Dynamic Meteorology (PDM) program in the Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences Division (AGS) of the Directorate for Geosciences.

Please review important information below about the EERE Exchange website as it relates to this FOA. A recent study by Oak Ridge National Lab has shown that there is up to 60 GW of new hydropower development potential available in the United States. Most of the available sites come with challenges with regard to environmental and social sustainability and cost effective development. To address these challenges, DOE?s Water Program initiated a new technology program, HydroNEXT to focus on hydropower technology innovation that will foster development of potential new hydropower capacity in the U.S. The HydroNEXT effort continues in 2015, through this FOA, aimed at the development of suitable technologies to overcome environmental, social, and LCOE challenges. DOE will solicit innovative ideas to harness hydropower that can be rapidly built, removed, and replaced when necessary. Applicants will be encouraged to provide new concepts for alternative hydropower systems that will lower costs of civil infrastructure development, can be deployed in a maximum of 2 years with relatively low environmental impacts, and can be removed or replaced after their intended life is completed. These concepts and systems will be able to operate at a cost that is competitive with traditional sources of generation. The three topic areas covered by this FOA are outlined below: Topic Area 1: Design and laboratory testing of new rapidly deployable hydropower technologies that can be easily removed or replaced at the end of their useful life, including, but not limited to, water impounding structures, water conveying systems, and innovative pre-fabricated structures. Topic Area 2: Research on innovative methods and/or materials for construction of conventional hydropower facilities including, but not limited to, concrete alternatives, in-water construction, and innovative advanced tunneling methods. Topic Area 3: Design and laboratory testing of new and innovative conventional hydropower powert

The Honeybee Conservancy is inviting applications for in-kind grants to help organizations or schools safely set up, maintain, and observe on-site bee sanctuaries at schools, community gardens, and green spaces across the United States. Through its Sponsor-A-Hive program, the conservancy will award grants in the form of honey or solitary bees, their homes, beekeeping equipment, and information on how to care for the bees. With the assistance of the conservancy, bees are placed strategically in locations where they can bolster local bee populations, advance science and environmental education, and pollinate locally grown food. The conservancy will also provide a Sponsor-A-Hive Teacher's Kit, which includes lesson plans and worksheets designed to teach students more about their bee home and build their reading and science skills, raise their environmental awareness, and empower them to help the bees. To be eligible, applicants must be located in the United States and be a nonprofit organization; elementary, middle, or high school; college or university; tribal education agency; environmental center; or a food bank or community garden that does not charge a membership fee. In addition, applicant organizations must have been in existence for at least a year to be eligible to receive materials.

The Process Separations program is part of the Chemical Process Systems cluster, which includes also 1) Catalysis; 2) Process Systems, Reaction Engineering, and Molecular Thermodynamics; and 3) Energy for Sustainability. The Process Separations program supports research focused on novel methods and materials for separation processes, such as those central to the chemical, biochemical, bioprocessing, materials, energy, and pharmaceutical industries. A fundamental understanding of the interfacial, transport, and thermodynamic behavior of multiphase chemical systems as well as quantitative descriptions of processing characteristics in the process-oriented industries is critical for efficient resource management and effective environmental protection. The program encourages proposals that address long standing challenges and emerging research areas and technologies, have a high degree of interdisciplinary work coupled with the generation of fundamental knowledge, and the integration of education and research. Research topics of particular interest include fundamental molecular-level work on: Design of scalable mass separating agents and/or a mechanistic understanding of the interfacial thermodynamics and transport phenomena that relate to purification of gases, chemicals, or water

EPA Region 5 is soliciting applications that address one of the two Sustainable Materials Management priorities identified in Section I below. These projects benefit states in Region 5, which includes Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, and Minnesota.

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) encourages Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant applications from small business concerns (SBCs) that propose to further the development of Advanced Technology Training (ATT) products for the health and safety training of hazardous materials (HAZMAT) workers; skilled support personnel; emergency responders in biosafety response, infectious disease training and cleanup; emergency responders in disasters and resiliency training; and for ATT tools to assist in research into the acute and long-term health effects of environmental disasters. ATT as defined by the Worker Training Program (WTP) includes, but is not limited to, online training, virtual reality, and serious gaming, which complement all aspects of training from development to evaluation including advance technologies that enhance, supplement, improve, and provide health and safety training for hazardous materials workers

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is soliciting applications from eligible organizations to manage a cooperative agreement to help educate the medical community on how to recognize and treat pesticide-related health conditions. The long-term goal of the project is to achieve improved health for communities at risk for overexposure to pesticides through outreach, technical assistance and training to increase knowledge and awareness of environmental and occupational health risks. This is a national environmental and occupational health effort solicited by doctors, clinicians, and state health departments. With this award, EPA seeks to build on the progress of previous project titled "From the Fields to the Exam Room: Integrating the Recognition, Management and Prevention of Pesticide Poisonings into the Primary Care Setting." The publication "Recognition and Management of Pesticide Poisoning" was an earlier product of the initiative. EPA is seeking applications to (1) provide continuing education, training and technical assistance to relevant audiences; (2) update existing, and/or develop new materials and resource tools; (3) conduct outreach to existing and new audiences to use materials and tools; and (4) develop partnerships and a sustainable network of stakeholders. EPA expects to provide an estimated $500,000 annually, depending on the Agency's budget, for a total of up to $2,500,000 for five years (2017 through 2022).

The Fluid Dynamics program supports fundamental research and education on mechanisms and phenomena governing fluid flow. Proposed research should contribute to basic understanding; thus enabling the better design; predictability; efficiency; and control of systems that involve fluids. Encouraged are proposals that address innovative uses of fluids in materials development; manufacturing; biotechnology; nanotechnology; clinical diagnostics and drug delivery; sensor development and integration; energy and the environment. While the research should focus on fundamentals, a clear connection to potential application should be outlined.