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Description: The United States (U.S.) Department of Energy (DOE) Building Technologies Office (BTO) is seeking input from the public about its Research and Development Opportunities for Building Energy Modeling (BEM). In particular, BTO is interested in feedback on planned initiatives and their prioritization, on program scope, and on data-sets, metrics and targets for assessing program effectiveness and impact. The purpose of this RFI is to solicit feedback from industry, academia, research laboratories, government agencies, and other stakeholders on BTO's BEM program and its future directions and priorities. To clarify these, BTO has developed a report that is structured around six focus areas (the BEM value proposition, predictive accuracy of BEM, core modeling capabilities, workflow integration and automation, the BEM data ecosystem, and BEM professionals). The report identifies barriers to the increased adoption of BEM and proposing a set of initiatives to address them. BTO is requesting feedback on each of these barriers, the associated initiatives, as well as barriers and initiatives that have not been identified. BTO is also requesting feedback on datasets, metrics, and targets for assessing the impact and progress of the BEM industry and its own BEM program. Request for Information Categories: Category 1: Metrics, benchmarks, targets, and data sets for tracking the use of BEM in various building energy building energy efficiency projects. Methods of attributing energy-efficiency to BEM in various applications. Category 2: Focus areas Category 3: Barriers Category 4: Initiatives Category 5: Stakeholder engagement and feedback mechanisms Category 6: Other Feedback Responses to this RFI must be submitted electronically to BTO_BEM_RDO@ee.doe.gov no later than 5:00pm (ET) on June 3, 2019.

This notice announces the availability of funds and solicits applications from eligible entities to compete for financial assistance through the Targeted Air Shed Grant Program. This program will assist local, state and/or tribal air control agencies in developing plans, conducting demonstrations, and implementing projects in order to reduce air pollution in nonattainment areas that EPA determines are the top five most polluted areas relative to ozone (O3) or annual average fine particulate matter (PM2.5) National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). The overall goal of the Targeted Air Shed Grant program is to reduce air pollution in the Nation's areas with the highest levels of ozone and PM2.5 ambient air concentrations.

The Materials Engineering and Processing (MEP) program supports fundamental research addressing the interrelationship of materials processing, structure, properties and/or life-cycle performance for targeted applications. Research proposals should be driven by the performance or output of the material system relative to the targeted application(s). Research plans driven by scientific hypotheses are encouraged when suitable. Materials in bulk form or focus on special zones such as surfaces or interfaces that are to be used in structural and/or functional applications are appropriate. All material systems are of interest including polymers, metals, ceramics, semiconductors, composites and hybrids thereof. Analytical, experimental, and numerical studies are supported and collaborative proposals with industry (GOALI) are encouraged.Areas of interest include: Functional Materials - materials that possess native properties and functions that can be controlled by external forces such as temperature, light, electric field, pH, etc. These include materials that exhibit properties such as electronic, magnetic, piezoelectric, ferroelectric, photovoltaic, chromogenic, shape memory, thermoelectric or self-healing, etc. Structural Materials - materials that, in service, bear mechanical load. Length scales from nano to meso to macro are of interest as are materials in the bulk or in special configuration such as thin film. These include materials such as metals, polymers, composites, biomaterials, ceramics, hybrids, cement, etc. Materials Processing - processes that convert material into useful form as either intermediate or final composition. These include processes such as extrusion, molding, casting, deposition, sintering, printing, etc. Proposed research should include the consideration of cost, performance, and feasibility of scale-up, as appropriate. Research that addresses multi-scale and/or multi-functional materials systems is encouraged as is research in support of envir

Agency Overview: The Advanced Research Projects Agency ? Energy (ARPA-E), an organization within the Department of Energy (DOE), is chartered by Congress in the America COMPETES Act of 2007 (P.L. 110-69), as amended by the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 (P.L. 111-358) to: ?(A) to enhance the economic and energy security of the United States through the development of energy technologies that result in? (i) reductions of imports of energy from foreign sources; (ii) reductions of energy-related emissions, including greenhouse gases; and (iii) improvement in the energy efficiency of all economic sectors; and (B) to ensure that the United States maintains a technological lead in developing and deploying advanced energy technologies.? ARPA-E funds research on and the development of high-potential, high-impact energy technologies that are too early for private-sector investment. The agency focuses on technologies that can be meaningfully advanced with a modest investment over a defined period of time in order to catalyze the translation from scientific discovery to early-stage technology. For the latest news and information about ARPA-E, its programs and the research projects currently supported, see: http://arpa-e.energy.gov/. Program Overview: This FOA marks the third OPEN solicitation in the history of ARPA-E. The previous two OPEN solicitations were conducted at the inception of the agency in 2009 and again in 2012. An OPEN solicitation provides a vitally important mechanism for the support of innovative energy R&D that complements the other primary mechanism, which is through the solicitation of research projects in focused technology programs. ARPA-E?s focused programs target specific areas of technology that the agency has identified, through extensive interaction with the appropriate external stakeholders, as having significant potential impact on one or more of the Mission Areas described in Section I.A of the FOA. Awards made in response to the sol

Raise awareness and understanding of science and technology and their potential to address a global challenge. Request for Proposals: For 2018, the IEEE Foundation Grants Program will invest approximately $304,000 to raise awareness and understanding of science and technology and their potential to address a global challenge. Proposals are invited from IEEE Organizational Units for projects that promote public understanding about how science and technology are being or could be used to address global challenges - including energy, cybersecurity, security, health care, and sustainability. In evaluating proposals, the Grants Committee will seek to determine the extent to which the proposed project: Provides technical information at a level that can be understood by the general public Reaches a broad cross-section of society Has a well-articulated communications plan, that includes social media, designed to increase awareness and engagement of the target audience Presents, in a neutral and balanced manner, an analysis of the social benefits and costs of deploying the subject technology Avoids advocating a particular action but encourages and enables participants to make an informed decision Directly involves IEEE members including, as appropriate, student members Encourages the active participation of the target audience Provides an effective means of determining the impact of the project Matches the IEEE Foundation's Grant criteria

The NOAA Marine Debris Program, authorized in the Marine Debris Act (33 U.S.C. 1951-1958), provides funding to prevent the introduction of marine debris into the marine and coastal environment. Projects awarded through this grant competition will encourage changes in behavior of a target audience (such as students, teachers, industries, or the public) to address a specific marine debris issue, and will actively engage these groups in hands-on personal participation. Successful proposals through this solicitation will be funded through cooperative agreements. Funding of up to $1,500,000 is expected to be available for Marine Debris Prevention grants in FY2018. Typical awards will range from $50,000 - $150,000. Funding for this purpose comes through the NOAA Marine Debris Program as appropriations to the Office of Response and Restoration, National Ocean Service.This solicitation is focused on efforts to prevent marine debris from entering the environment through targeted behavior change. It is not intended for large-scale debris removal projects, deployment of catchment basins, or scientific research.

This BAA solicits proposals for Phase 2 of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Cross Domain Maritime Surveillance and Targeting (CDMaST) program. Participation in CDMaST Phase 1 is not required to be considered for award in CDMaST Phase 2. CDMaST Phase 2 is divided into two parts: Phase 2A, which consists of 30 months and Phase 2B, which is anticipated to be an 18-month period of performance. In the Phase 2 proposal submissions, proposers should provide fully detailed proposals for the Phase 2A only. For Phase 2B, proposers should include a high-level statement of work (SOW) and rough order of magnitude (ROM) cost. Section 1.2 provides additional details on this division. DARPA intends to request updated technical and cost proposals for Phase 2B prior to the completion of Phase 2A. Request for proposals for Phase 2B will be solicited from the Phase 2A performer(s). DARPA anticipates a single award for CDMaST Phase 2. This BAA describes three separate Technical Areas (TA). However, proposers must propose to the full scope, meaning all 3 technical areas, of the BAA as DARPA considers the TAs highly dependent on each other.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is seeking input from industry, academia, national laboratories and other biofuels and bioproducts stakeholders to identify existing pilot or process development scale facilities with the capability to perform process verifications for biomass conversion pathways to biofuels, bioproducts or intermediates which integrate multiple unit operations on a scale of approximately 0.5 or greater tons of dry biomass input per day. The mission of DOE's Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) is to develop and transform the country's biomass resources into commercially-viable high performance biofuels, bioproducts, and biopower through targeted research, development, demonstration and deployment (RD&D) supported through public and private partnerships.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is seeking input from industry, academia, national laboratories and other biofuels and bioproducts stakeholders to identify existing pilot or process development scale facilities with the capability to perform process verifications for biomass conversion pathways to biofuels, bioproducts or intermediates which integrate multiple unit operations on a scale of approximately 0.5 or greater tons of dry biomass input per day. The mission of DOE's Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) is to develop and transform the country's biomass resources into commercially-viable high performance biofuels, bioproducts, and biopower through targeted research, development, demonstration and deployment (RD&D) supported through public and private partnerships.

This is part of the overall plan to support the development of environmentally and economically sustainable ocean, coastal, or Great Lakes aquaculture. Topical priorities for this FY 2016 competition are, briefly: a) Research to inform pending, regulatory decisions regarding aquaculture on the local, state, or federal level leading to an information product--such as a tool, technology, template, or model--needed to make final decisions on a specific question; b) Research that supports the introduction, and/or increase in production of new and emerging species of aquaculture interest; c) Research that supports continued seafood safety and product quality; and d) Social and/or economic research targeted to understand aquaculture issues in a larger context. Applicants must describe how their proposed work will rapidly and significantly advance U.S. aquaculture development in the short term (1-2 years after project completion).This Federal Funding Opportunity includes information on application and criteria for aquaculture research proposals requesting a maximum of $300,000 in total federal funding for up to a two-year period. Matching funds are required. Awards are anticipated to start no later than September 1, 2016. Additional proposals from this competition may be selected for funding in the next fiscal year, subject to the availability of FY17 funds.

This is part of the overall plan to support the development of environmentally and economically sustainable ocean, coastal, or Great Lakes aquaculture. Topical priorities for this FY 2016 competition are, briefly: a) Research to inform pending, regulatory decisions regarding aquaculture on the local, state, or federal level leading to an information product--such as a tool, technology, template, or model--needed to make final decisions on a specific question; b) Research that supports the introduction, and/or increase in production of new and emerging species of aquaculture interest; c) Research that supports continued seafood safety and product quality; and d) Social and/or economic research targeted to understand aquaculture issues in a larger context. Applicants must describe how their proposed work will rapidly and significantly advance U.S. aquaculture development in the short term (1-2 years after project completion).This Federal Funding Opportunity includes information on application and criteria for aquaculture research proposals requesting a maximum of $300,000 in total federal funding for up to a two-year period. Matching funds are required. Awards are anticipated to start no later than September 1, 2016. Additional proposals from this competition may be selected for funding in the next fiscal year, subject to the availability of FY17 funds.

The goal of this NOAA Environmental Literacy Grants (ELG) Federal Funding Opportunity (FFO) is to build the capacity of informal educators (including interpreters and docents) and/or formal educators (pre- or in-service) to use NOAA data and data access tools to help K-12 students and/or the public understand and respond to global change. Successful projects will enhance educators' ability to use the wealth of scientific data, data visualizations, data access technologies, information products, and other assets available through NOAA (plus additional sources, if desired) to engage K-12 students and/or other members of the public in a minimum of two U.S. states or territories. Partnerships with NOAA entities and/or involvement of NOAA scientists to facilitate the use of such assets by educators are strongly encouraged. As an ultimate outcome, successful projects should aim to increase educators' effectiveness in promoting stewardship and increasing informed decision making by a diverse pool of K-12 students and/or other members of the public. The impact of the proposed project on the target educators must be measurable during the award period.

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 Biological and Environmental Research/Advanced Scientific Computing Research (BERASCR) Scientific Discovery Thru Advanced Computing (SciDAC) Partnership FOA will enable scientists to conduct complex scientific and engineering computations at a level of fidelity needed to simulate real-world climate conditions, by supporting deep, necessary, and productive collaborations between climate scientists on the one hand and applied mathematicians and computer scientists on the other, that overcome the barriers between these disciplines and consequently fully exploit the capabilities of Department of Energy (DOE) High Performance Computing (HPC) systems in order to accelerate advances in climate science. This SciDAC opportunity targets three particular topics of high-priority for DOE climate research that are expected to be transformed by effective climate-computational partnerships: the development of new and innovative methods to predict sea-level change; the development of a theoretical statistical-numerical framework to improve climate prediction; and the development of improved methods for model component coupling. The next-generation climate model capabilities will contribute to the newly launched Accelerated Climate Model for Energy (ACME) and further its progress toward design of climate codes for leadership class computers and in support of energy science and mission requirements.

The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), within the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), invests in high-risk, high-value research, development and deployment in energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies. EERE, through the Building Technologies Office (BTO) seeks to develop technologies, techniques, and tools for making buildings more energy efficient, productive, and affordable. BTO's strategic goal is to significantly improve the energy efficiency of new and existing buildings to reduce national energy demand and allow the nation to work toward greater energy independence and a cleaner environment. This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is targeted specifically at research to increase energy savings and reduce consumer bills through improved compliance with building energy codes. The first and largest topic area for this FOA is to develop and test a methodology for identifying the commercial energy code requirements that can provide the maximum cost-effective energy and cost savings through increased compliance. The methodology will be tested in selected building types and climate zones. Quantifying those savings will create the foundations of a business case for private investors, particularly utilities, to fund programs aimed at increasing compliance. The empirical data to support such an investment does not currently exist.

Through this solicitation, NOAA seeks to openly compete funding available for multi-year Great Lakes regional habitat restoration partnerships (Partnerships). Partnerships will result in implementation of a wide-range of individual habitat restoration projects focused in U.S. Great Lakes Areas of Concern (AOCs) (http://www.epa.gov/glnpo/aoc/) with funds provided by the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. Priority projects in AOCs have been identified and continue to be identified for GLRI funding each fiscal year. The Partnership should be flexible related to which AOCs they may work in, and be able to work with NOAA and other federal and state agencies to continue to identify and implement priority projects in targeted AOCs.

The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) intends to issue, on behalf of the Geothermal Technologies Office (GTO), a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) entitled "Low Temperature Mineral Recovery Program." EERE's objective in this FOA is to promote the advancement of thermal energy processes capable of converting geothermal heat sources into power, in conjunction with the development or exploitation of technologies capable of capturing, concentrating, and/or purifying valuable materials contained within geothermal brines to economically extract resources that can provide additional revenue streams to geothermal operators. This targeted initiative of the GTO focuses on strategic mineral extraction as a path to optimize the value stream of low-to-moderate temperature resources.

The Office of Environmental Education administers the Ohio Environmental Education Fund, awarding up to one million dollars annually in grants for projects targeting pre-school through university students and teachers, the general public and the regulated community.

The new National Ocean Policy calls for actions to improve understanding of and capacity to respond to ocean acidification, recognizing the potential adverse impacts of an acidifying sea upon marine ecosystems. The effects of ocean acidification could significantly affect strategies for developing practices towards the sustainability of ocean resources. Basic research concerning the nature, extent and impact of ocean acidification on oceanic environments in the past, present and future is required. Research challenges include: Understanding the geochemistry and biogeochemistry of ocean acidification; Understanding how ocean acidification interacts with biological, chemical and physical processes at the organismal level, and how such interactions impact the structure and function of ecosystems, e.g. through life histories, adaptive evolution, food webs, biogeochemical cycling, and interactions with other changes in the ocean (e.g., temperature, stratification, circulation patterns); and Understanding how the earth system history informs our understanding of the effects of ocean acidification on the present day and future ocean. The Ocean Acidification program is in its fifth and anticipated last year of competition. We expect this to be the last solicitation specifically targeting Ocean Acidification.

The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative targets the most significant environmental problems in the Great Lakes ecosystem by funding and implementing federal projects that address these problems. One goal is to improve habitat and wildlife protection and restoration. Using funding from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Partners for Fish and Wildlife (PFW) Program anticipates funding wetland and associated upland habitat restoration and enhancement projects for conservation of native Great Lakes fish and wildlife populations, particularly migratory birds. Restoration projects will be completed on privately owned (nonfederal/nonstate) lands. Emphasis will be placed on, but not limited to, completing projects within the watersheds of Great Lakes Areas of Concern. The Partners for Fish and Wildlife (PFW) Program is a voluntary, incentive-based program that provides direct technical assistance and financial assistance in the form of cooperative agreements to private landowners to restore and conserve fish and wildlife habitat for the benefit of federal trust resources. In the Great Lakes, PFW biologists from eight states coordinate with project partners, stakeholders, and other Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) programs to identify geographic focus areas and develop habitat conservation priorities within these focus areas. 

The purpose of this document is to advise the public that NOAA/NOS/NCCOS/CSCOR is soliciting proposals under the Ecological Effects of Sea Level Rise (EESLR) Program to improve the management of regional and local ecosystem effects of sea level rise and coastal inundation through targeted research on key technologies, natural and nature-based infrastructure, physical and biological processes, and model evaluation. The overall goal of EESLR is to integrate dynamic physical and biological processes with sea level rise and coastal inundation to improve the prediction of coastal ecosystem effects to enable enhanced coastal resiliency.

The TABB FOA seeks alternative pathways to overcome two of the key barriers to commercializing algal biofuels: the high cost of producing algal biomass and the low yield of target biofuel and bioproduct feedstocks produced from algae.  Specifically, the TABB FOA will support: 1) the development of algae cultures that produce valuable bioproducts alongside fuels to increase the overall value of the biomass; and 2) the development of crop protection and CO2 utilization technologies to boost culture productivity and yield to reduce the cost of the biomass.  The goal is to enable a modeled minimum fuel selling price, assuming mature technologies, of less than $5 gasoline gallon equivalent for algal biofuels through creation of valuable products alongside fuels and achieving increased biomass productivity that leads to higher feedstock yields.