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In 2016, the National Science Foundation (NSF) unveiled a set of "Big Ideas," 10 bold, long-term research and process ideas that identify areas for future investment at the frontiers of science and engineering (seehttps://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/big_ideas/index.jsp). The Big Ideas represent unique opportunities to position our Nation at the cutting edge of global science and engineering leadership by bringing together diverse disciplinary perspectives to support convergence research. As such, when responding to this solicitation, even though proposals must be submitted tothe Division of Emerging Frontiers in the Directorate for Biological Sciences (BIO/EF),once received, the proposals will be managed by a cross-disciplinary team of NSF Program Directors. The purpose of the Understanding the Rules of Life: Epigenetics (URoL:Epigenetics) program is to enable innovative research and to promote multidisciplinary education and workforce training in the broad area of epigenetics. The URoL:Epigenetics program is a widecollaborationacross Directorates/Offices within the National Science Foundation with a focus on understanding the relationship between epigenetic mechanisms associated with environmental change, the resultant phenotypes of organisms, and how these mechanisms lead to robustness and adaptability of organisms and populations. Understanding the Rules of Life (URoL): PredictingPhenotypeis one of NSF's 10 Big Ideasand is focused on predicting the set of observable characteristics (phenotype) from the genetic makeup of the individual and the nature of its environment.

The Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) seeks unclassified proposals from educational institutions in the United States for a University Center of Excellence (UCoE) in Efficient and Robust Machine Learning (ERML). Proposals must not contain any proprietary information. This center is a joint project between AFOSR and the Air Force Research Laboratory, Information Directorate (AFRL/RI; http://www.wpafb.af.mil/afrl/ri.aspx). The center will extend the research capabilities of the Air Force Research Laboratory, and provide opportunities for a new generation of United States scientists and engineers to address the basic research needs of the Air Force. We will consider proposals for up to five (5) years with a three-year (3) base period and a two-year (2) option period. The total anticipated amount for the award is $4M. Each of the three (3) years base is anticipated to be funded at $1M each and $500K each for option years. All funding projections are based on availability of funds. We will evaluate proposals using peer review panels and the criteria specified in section F. Application Review Information. While AFOSR reserves the right to selected and fund all, some, or none of the proposals, we anticipate making one Corporative Agreement award under this competition.

SPIE is an international society that works to advance an interdisciplinary approach to the science and application of light. As part of its educational outreach mission, SPIE awards grants in support of optics- and photonics-related educational outreach activities. The society offers two kinds of grants: SPIE Education Outreach grants and Sustaining grants. 1) SPIE Education Outreach grants: Recipients of these grants are required to submit an annual outreach grant report to the society on how the grant was used within ninety days of completing the funded activity. Grant applications should include activities that have not been funded by a previous award. 2) Sustaining Grants: If a program has received an Education Outreach Grant twice in a period of five years, it can only apply for further support, up to a maximum of $2,000, through a Sustaining grant. There is no limit to the number of times a program can apply for a Sustaining grant, but it will be competing with all other proposals every time it applies. To eligible, applicants must be a nonprofit organization or education institution (e.g., university, optics center, science center, primary or secondary school, youth club, industry association, or international optical societies).

Cultivating Cultures for Ethical STEM (CCE STEM) funds research projects that identify (1) factors that are effective in the formation of ethical STEM researchers and (2) approaches to developing those factors in all the fields of science and engineering that NSF supports. CCE STEM solicits proposals for research that explores the following: 'What constitutes responsible conduct for research (RCR), and which cultural and institutional contexts promote ethical STEM research and practice and why?' Factors one might consider include: honor codes, professional ethics codes and licensing requirements, an ethic of service and/or service learning, life-long learning requirements, curricula or memberships in organizations (e.g. Engineers without Borders) that stress responsible conduct for research, institutions that serve under-represented groups, institutions where academic and research integrity are cultivated at multiple levels, institutions that cultivate ethics across the curriculum, or programs that promote group work, or do not grade. Do certain labs have a 'culture of academic integrity'? What practices contribute to the establishment and maintenance of ethical cultures and how can these practices be transferred, extended to, and integrated into other research and learning settings?

NGA welcomes all innovative ideas for path-breaking research that may advance the GEOINT mission. The NGA mission is to provide timely, relevant, and accurate geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) in support of national security objectives. GEOINT is the exploitation and analysis of imagery and geospatial information to describe, assess, and visually depict physical features and geographically referenced activities on the Earth. GEOINT consists of imagery, imagery intelligence, and geospatial information. NGA offers a variety of critical GEOINT products in support of U.S. national security objectives and Federal disaster relief, including aeronautical, geodesy, hydrographic, imagery, geospatial and topographical information. The NGA Academic Research Program (NARP) is focused on innovative, far-reaching basic and applied research in science, technology, engineering and mathematics having the potential to advance the GEOINT mission. The objective of the NARP is to support innovative, high-payoff research that provides the basis for revolutionary progress in areas of science and technology affecting the needs and mission of NGA.

This NOFO will sustain and continue progress made through the previous CDC SI Cooperative Agreement. The purpose of this NOFO is to promote evidence-based decision making for an AIDS-Free generation by monitoring data quality at the site-level and collecting, analyzing and disseminating data at all levels. NOFO objectives are to: (1) improve capacity of M&E systems to oversee data quality and data use for decision making (including capacity building of M&E staff); (2) enhance district-led and nationally supported evidence-based programming (triangulating data from multiple data sources); (3) improve the understanding of HIV burden, incidence, loss to follow-up, linkages, and referral services across interventions (95-95-95) and facilities; (4) support regular updates to DHIS2 and electronic registers (including use of unique identifiers) to reflect changes to MOH and/or PEPFAR indicators; and (5) improve and/or develop interoperability of DHIS2 with other data systems in country.

Revolutionizing Engineering Departments (hereinafter referred to as RED) is designed to build upon previous efforts in engineering education research. Specifically, previous and ongoing evaluations of the NSF Engineering Education and Centers Division program and its predecessors, as well as those related programs in the Directorate of Education and Human Resources, have shown that prior investments have significantly improved the first year of engineering students' experiences, incorporating engineering material, active learning approaches, design instruction, and a broad introduction to professional skills and a sense of professional practice - giving students an idea of what it means to become an engineer. Similarly, the senior year has seen notable change through capstone design experiences, which ask students to synthesize the technical knowledge, skills, and abilities they have gained with professional capacities, using reflective judgment to make decisions and communicate these effectively. However, this ideal of the senior year has not yet been fully realized, because many of the competencies required in capstone design, or required of professional engineers, are only partially introduced in the first year and not carried forward with significant emphasis through the sophomore and junior years.

In today's increasingly networked, distributed, and asynchronous world, cybersecurity involves hardware, software, networks, data, people, and integration with the physical world. Society's overwhelming reliance on this complex cyberspace, however, has exposed its fragility and vulnerabilities that defy existing cyber-defense measures; corporations, agencies, national infrastructure and individuals continue to suffer cyber-attacks. Achieving a truly secure cyberspace requires addressing both challenging scientific and engineering problems involving many components of a system, and vulnerabilities that stem from human behaviors and choices. Examining the fundamentals of security and privacy as a multidisciplinary subject can lead to fundamentally new ways to design, build and operate cyber systems, protect existing infrastructure, and motivate and educate individuals about cybersecurity.

The Global Engagement Center (GEC), an interagency entity within the U.S. Department of State, invites organizations that can implement programming to counter foreign state and non-state propaganda and disinformation efforts aimed at undermining United States national security interests to submit applications by April 11, 2018. All submissions or applications will be reviewed against the evaluation criteria outlined below. GEC expects to make multiple awards with a floor of $200,000 and a ceiling of $500,000 for each, constituting a planned total award volume of approximately $5,000,000. GEC reserves the right to award more or less funding or no funding at all as it deems in the best interest of the government. U.S.-based and foreign non-profit and non-governmental organizations (NGO), public international organizations (PIO), media outlets, for-profit entities, and institutions of higher education are eligible to apply by submitting an application as described in this announcement.

The Toshiba America Foundation is accepting applications from teachers in grades 6-12 who are passionate about making science and math more engaging for their students. Proposals for grants of up to $5,000 or less will be accepted on a rolling basis. However, the foundation considers larger grants twice a year - on August 1 and February 1. Summer projects or afterschool programs will not be considered, nor will grant proposals for salaries, facility maintenance, the purchase of textbooks, video production, audio-visual equipment (e.g., electronic whiteboards, Smartboards, document projectors, student response systems), and education research.

Effective solutions will bring together cyberinfrastructure expertise and domain researchers, to ensure that the resulting cyberinfrastructure address researchers' data needs. The activities should address the data challenges arising in a disciplinary or cross-disciplinary context. (Throughout this solicitation, 'community' refers to a group of researchers interested in solving one or more linked scientific questions, while 'domains' and 'disciplines' refer to areas of expertise or application.) The projects should stimulate data-driven scientific discoveries and innovations, and address broad community needs, nationally and internationally.

Effective solutions will bring together cyberinfrastructure expertise and domain researchers, to ensure that the resulting cyberinfrastructure address researchers' data needs. The activities should address the data challenges arising in a disciplinary or cross-disciplinary context. (Throughout this solicitation, 'community' refers to a group of researchers interested in solving one or more linked scientific questions, while 'domains' and 'disciplines' refer to areas of expertise or application.) The projects should stimulate data-driven scientific discoveries and innovations, and address broad community needs, nationally and internationally.

The Defense Sciences Office at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is soliciting innovative research proposals that will enable and demonstrate new design capabilities for complex adaptive systems. Proposed research should develop and/or exploit innovative approaches in mathematical abstraction and composition for the design of dynamic, adaptive and resilient systems with unified understanding of system structures, behaviors and interactions across multiple spatiotemporal scales.

The Industry/University Cooperative Research Centers (I/UCRC) program develops long-term partnerships among industry, academe, and government. The Centers are catalyzed by an investment from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and are primarily supported by industry Center members, with NSF taking a supporting role in the development and evolution of the Center. Each Center is established to conduct research that is of interest to both the industry members and the Center faculty. An I/UCRC contributes to the nation's research infrastructure base and enhances the intellectual capacity of the engineering and science workforce through the integration of research and education. As appropriate, an I/UCRC uses international collaborations to advance these goals within the global context.

The Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation (EFRI) program of the NSF Directorate for Engineering (ENG) serves a critical role in helping ENG focus on important emerging areas in a timely manner. This solicitation is a funding opportunity for interdisciplinary teams of researchers to embark on rapidly advancing frontiers of fundamental engineering research. For this solicitation, we will consider proposals that aim to investigate emerging frontiers in the following two research areas: -Advancing Communication Quantum Information Research in Engineering (ACQUIRE) -New Light, EM (Electronic) and Acoustic Wave Propagation: Breaking Reciprocity and Time-Reversal Symmetry (NewLAW) EFRI seeks proposals with transformative ideas that represent an opportunity for a significant shift in fundamental engineering knowledge with a strong potential for long term impact on national needs or a grand challenge.The proposals must also meet the detailed requirements delineated in this solicitation.

The Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation (EFRI) program of the NSF Directorate for Engineering (ENG) serves a critical role in helping ENG focus on important emerging areas in a timely manner. This solicitation is a funding opportunity for interdisciplinary teams of researchers to embark on rapidly advancing frontiers of fundamental engineering research. For this solicitation, we will consider proposals that aim to investigate emerging frontiers in the following two research areas: -Advancing Communication Quantum Information Research in Engineering (ACQUIRE) -New Light, EM (Electronic) and Acoustic Wave Propagation: Breaking Reciprocity and Time-Reversal Symmetry (NewLAW) EFRI seeks proposals with transformative ideas that represent an opportunity for a significant shift in fundamental engineering knowledge with a strong potential for long term impact on national needs or a grand challenge.The proposals must also meet the detailed requirements delineated in this solicitation.

These awards encourage and support scientists working on the development of novel and creative approaches to understanding brain function. The fund supports efforts to examine how a new technology may be used to monitor, manipulate, analyze, or model brain function at any level, from the molecular to the entire organism. Technology may take any form, from biochemical tools to instruments to software and mathematical approaches. Because the program seeks to advance and enlarge the range of technologies available to the neurosciences, research based primarily on existing techniques will not be considered.

These awards encourage and support scientists working on the development of novel and creative approaches to understanding brain function. The fund supports efforts to examine how a new technology may be used to monitor, manipulate, analyze, or model brain function at any level, from the molecular to the entire organism. Technology may take any form, from biochemical tools to instruments to software and mathematical approaches. Because the program seeks to advance and enlarge the range of technologies available to the neurosciences, research based primarily on existing techniques will not be considered.

Funding Opportunity Announcement DE-FOA-0001616 The Department of Energy (DOE), National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), on behalf of the Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability (OE), is seeking applications under this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), herein referred to as Announcement, to conduct research, development and demonstrations (RD&D). This RD&D, in the areas of low cost sensors and improved modeling using sensor data input, will lead to enhanced observability and controllability of power systems to support increased hosting capacity for distributed energy resources (DERs), including energy storage. Capturing the benefits commonly attributed to DERs and/or microgrids, as well as establishing new value propositions that could be enabled by these RD&D efforts is the focus of this FOA. New value propositions could include, but are not limited to, mitigating ancillary resource requirements and meeting the growing demand for reliable and resilient grid operations against outages under all-hazards conditions.

Funding Opportunity Announcement DE-FOA-0001616 The Department of Energy (DOE), National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), on behalf of the Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability (OE), is seeking applications under this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), herein referred to as Announcement, to conduct research, development and demonstrations (RD&D). This RD&D, in the areas of low cost sensors and improved modeling using sensor data input, will lead to enhanced observability and controllability of power systems to support increased hosting capacity for distributed energy resources (DERs), including energy storage. Capturing the benefits commonly attributed to DERs and/or microgrids, as well as establishing new value propositions that could be enabled by these RD&D efforts is the focus of this FOA. New value propositions could include, but are not limited to, mitigating ancillary resource requirements and meeting the growing demand for reliable and resilient grid operations against outages under all-hazards conditions.

CADS invites research proposals from Tenure/Tenure Track Faculty members for its 2018 Research Fellowships. The fellowships provide support for Miami's faculty on projects broadly related to the area of analytics and data science. CADS will fund one proposal up to $25,000 for one year in duration. Topics should address problems, challenges, or questions that emerge in response to larger, more diverse, higher volume data. Multidisciplinary proposals featuring researchers from different academic divisions are strongly encouraged, with a minimum expectation of researchers representing different academic departments. Proposals comprised only of researchers from within a single academic department will not be considered.

The U.S. Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City invites proposals for projects that focus on at least one of the priority women's empowerment programs and target audiences specified including Professional Skills, Science Technology Engineering Mathematics (STEM) and Business, Media & Arts, Civil Society, Women in Politics and Governance, and Underprivileged and Vulnerable Groups.

This solicitation calls for developing innovative, scalable training and education programs to address the emerging needs and unresolved bottlenecks in scientific and engineering research workforce development, from the postsecondary level to active researchers. The resultant training and education programs, spanning targeted, multidisciplinary communities, will lead to transformative changes in the state of workforce preparedness for advanced CI-enabled research in the short and long terms.

The NINDS, with other NIH Institutes and Centers participating in the BRAIN Initiative, intends to publish "BRAIN Initiative Advanced Postdoctoral Career Transition Award to Promote Diversity (K99/R00)." The program is designed to increase biomedical research workforce diversity and foster a strong cohort of new, highly skilled and well trained, NIH-supported, independent investigators from underrepresented groups working in research areas supported by the BRAIN Initiative, as highlighted in BRAIN 2025: A Scientific Vision. It is designed to facilitate a timely transition of outstanding postdoctoral researchers with a research and/or clinical doctorate degree from mentored, postdoctoral research positions to independent, tenure-track or equivalent faculty positions. This Notice is being provided to allow potential applicants sufficient time to develop meaningful mentoring teams and responsive projects. The FOA is expected to be published in April 2018 with an expected application due date in June 2018. This FOA will utilize the K99/R00 funding activity. Details of the planned FOA are provided below. Research Initiative Details The BRAIN Initiative K99/R00 award is intended for women and members of underrepresented groups who are working in research areas supported by the BRAIN Initiative, who have no more than five years of postdoctoral research experience, and who require at least 12 months of mentored research training and career development (K99 phase) before transitioning to the independent research (R00) phase of the program.