The Mathematics and Physical Sciences division at the Simons Foundation is inviting Letters of Intent for the Simons Collaborations in MPS program, the aim of which is to stimulate progress on fundamental scientific questions of major importance in mathematics, theoretical physics, and theoretical computer science. To that end, grants of up to $2 million per year for up to four years will be awarded in support of collaborative projects that address a mathematical or theoretical topic of fundamental scientific importance and where a significant new development has the potential to create a novel area for exploration or provides a new direction for progress in an established field. The questions addressed by the collaboration may be concrete or conceptual, but there should be little doubt that answering them would constitute a major scientific milestone. The project also should have clearly defined initial activities and goals by which its progress and success can be measured.

The purpose of the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) is to help ensure the vitality and diversity of the scientific and engineering workforce of the United States. The program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students who are pursuing full-time research-based master's and doctoral degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) or in STEM education. The GRFP provides three years of support for the graduate education of individuals who have demonstrated their potential for significant research achievements in STEM or STEM education. NSF especially encourages women, members of underrepresented minority groups, persons with disabilities, veterans, and undergraduate seniors to apply.

The Division of Materials Research (DMR), the Division of Mathematical Sciences (DMS), the Division of Electrical, Communications and Cyber Systems (ECCS), and the Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure (OAC) seek to rapidly accelerate quantum materials design, synthesis, characterization, and translation of fundamental materials engineering and information research for quantum devices, systems, and networks. The new program of Enabling Quantum Leap: Convergent Accelerated Discovery Foundries for Quantum Materials Science, Engineering, and Information (Q-AMASE-i) aims to support these goals by establishing Foundries with mid-scale infrastructure for rapid prototyping and development of quantum materials and devices. The new materials, devices, tools and methods developed by Q-AMASE-i will be shared with the science and engineering communities through a Foundry-operated network. Technology transfer of Foundry activities will be enabled by close cooperation with industrial partners.

Through the programs, the foundation will award grants of up to $100,000 to university faculty for up to a semester-long research leave from classroom teaching and administrative obligations with the aim of boosting their creativity and/or provide intellectual stimulation. The goal of the program is to make it easier to take such leaves, or to extend sabbatical leaves by an extra half year.

The Division of Mathematical Sciences (DMS) in the Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS) at the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) plan to support fundamental research in mathematics and statistics necessary to answer questions in the biological and biomedical sciences. Both agencies recognize the need to promote research at the interface between mathematical and life sciences. This program is designed to encourage new collaborations, as well as to support innovative activities by existing teams.

The Division of Mathematical Sciences (DMS) in the Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS) at the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) plan to support fundamental research in mathematics and statistics necessary to answer questions in the biological and biomedical sciences. Both agencies recognize the need to promote research at the interface between mathematical and life sciences. This program is designed to encourage new collaborations, as well as to support innovative activities by existing teams.

The Advanced Manufacturing (AM) program supports the fundamental research needed to revitalize American manufacturing to grow the national prosperity and workforce, and to reshape our strategic industries. The AM program accelerates advances in manufacturing technologies with emphasis on multidisciplinary research that fundamentally alters and transforms manufacturing capabilities, methods and practices. Advanced manufacturing research proposals should address issues related to national prosperity and security, and advancing knowledge to sustain global leadership. Areas of research, for example, include manufacturing systems; materials processing; manufacturing machines; methodologies; and manufacturing across the length scales. Researchers working in the areas of cybermanufacturing systems, manufacturing machines and equipment, materials engineering and processing, and nanomanufacturing are encouraged to transcend and cross domain boundaries. Interdisciplinary, convergent proposals are welcome that bring manufacturing to new application areas, and that incorporate challenges and approaches outside the customary manufacturing portfolio to broaden the impact of America's advanced manufacturing research. Proposals of all sizes will therefore be considered as justified by the project description. Investigators are encouraged to discuss their ideas with AM program directors well in advance of submission at AdvancedManufacturing@nsf.gov.

The purpose of this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is to support the development and validation of modeling and simulation methods and related tools to examine HIV transmission dynamics, make epidemic projections, and estimate the impact of HIV treatment and prevention. Investigators are expected to share these resources with other researchers. Funding for the final fourth year is dependent upon achieving applicant-proposed and pre-award negotiated Go/No-Go criteria.

The Defense Sciences Office (DSO) at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is soliciting innovative research proposals for the development and deployment of automated tools to assign Confidence Scores (CSs) to different kinds of Social and Behavioral Science (SBS) research results and claims. CSs are quantitative measures that should enable someone to understand the degree to which a particular claim or result is likely to be reproducible and/or replicable. These tools will assign explainable CSs with a reliability that is equal to, or better than, the best current human expert methods, and will enable a consumer of SBS research to quickly calibrate the level of confidence in the Reproducibility and Replicability (R&R) of a given SBS result or claim. Proposed research should investigate innovative approaches that enable revolutionary advances in science, devices, or systems. Specifically excluded is research that primarily results in evolutionary improvements to the existing state of practice.

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.

The program in Geometric Analysis supports research on differential geometry and its relation to partial differential equations and variational principles; aspects of global analysis, including the differential geometry of complex manifolds and geometric Lie group theory; geometric methods in modern mathematical physics; and geometry of convex sets, integral geometry, and related geometric topics. Conferences Principal Investigators should carefully read the program solicitation "Conferences and Workshops in the Mathematical Sciences" (link below) to obtain important information regarding the substance of proposals for conferences, workshops, summer/winter schools, and similar activities. For conference proposals with budgets not exceeding $50,000, which in accordance with NSF policy can be reviewed internally at NSF, the following target dates are in effect: For an event that will start on a date prior to October 1 during a given calendar year, the proposal should be submitted in September of the previous year. For an event that will start in the period October 1 through December 31 of a given year, the proposal should be submitted in April of the same year. A conference proposal with a budget request exceeding $50,000 should be submitted at least eight months before the event is scheduled to take place, in order to allow time for external review.

n accordance with 10 USC §2192, Improvement of education in technical fields: general authority regarding education in science, mathematics, and engineering, the National Defense Education Program (NDEP) K-16 Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education and outreach is seeking to strategically implant a vehicle to identify and support stronger guidelines for conducting K-16 education and outreach programs. The Department of Defense seeks to diversify its portfolio of support and increase focus on efforts that support the Force of the Future, and align with the Federal and DoD STEM strategies. Enhancing the permeability of ideas into DoD's workforce, especially the STEM workforce, through alliances with academia, industry and various non-traditional partners in STEM should deliver far-reaching sustainable and scalable programs and partnerships. While aligning with the DoD STEM mission, "to attract, inspire, and develop exceptional STEM talent across the education continuum to enrich our current and future DoD workforce to meet defense technological challenges," the Defense STEM Education Consortium (DSEC) should collaboratively work with the Government to provide a cohesive strategy to meet the vision, roles, and goals outlined in the DoD STEM Strategic Plan

The mission of BTO is to foster, demonstrate, and transition breakthrough fundamental research, discoveries, and applications that integrate biology, engineering, computer science, mathematics, and the physical sciences. BTO's investment portfolio goes far beyond life sciences applications in medicine to include areas of research such as human-machine interfaces, microbes as production platforms, and deep exploration of the impact of evolving ecologies and environments on U.S. readiness and capabilities. BTO's programs operate across a wide range of scales, from individual cells to the warfighter to global ecosystems. BTO responds to the urgent and long-term needs of the Department of Defense (DoD) and addresses national security priorities.

The Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University is accepting applications for its 2019-2020 Fellowship Program Through the program, stipends of up to $77,500 for one year with additional funds for project expenses will be awarded to individuals working in the creative arts, humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, and mathematics to pursue projects within their fields. In addition, some support for relocation expenses is provided where relevant. In addition to the stipend, fellows receive office or studio space and access to libraries and other resources of Harvard University during the fellowship year, which runs from early September 2019 through May 31, 2020. Visual, film, and video artists may apply for either one or two semesters. In the event that they come for one semester, the stipend is $38,750. Radcliffe Fellows are expected to devote themselves full time to the work outlined in their proposal. Since this is a residential fellowship, fellows are expected to reside in the Boston area during the fellowship period and to have their primary office at the institute to participate fully in the life of the community. The deadline for individual applications in the creative arts, humanities, and social sciences is September 13, 2018. For applications in the natural sciences and mathematics, the deadline is October 4, 2018.

The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics is accepting applications to its Equity in Mathematics grant program from classroom teachers in grades 6-8. The purpose of the grant program is to help teachers incorporate middle school classroom materials or lessons that boost the achievement of students with a previous record of underachievement into their classrooms. Grants of up to $8,000 will be awarded to persons currently teaching math in grades 6-12, and proposals must address the following: the mathematics content as defined in NCTM's Principles and Standards for School Mathematics; the plan for improving achievement of the targeted students; and the anticipated impact on students' achievement. To be eligible, applicants must be a current full individual or E-member of NCTM or teach at a school with a current NCTM PreK-8 school membership and currently teach mathematics in grades 6-8 at least 50 percent of the school day.

The National Science Foundation (NSF), through the Directoratefor Engineering, the Directorate of Computer and Information Science and Engineering Division of Computer and Network Systems, and the Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences Division of Materials Research, along with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), through its Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH), have established the NSF/FDA Scholar-in-Residence Program at FDA. This program comprises an interagency partnership for the investigation of scientific and engineering issues concerning emerging trends in medical device technology. This partnership is designed to enable investigators in science, engineering, and computer science to develop research collaborations within the intramural research environment at the FDA. Thissolicitation features three flexible mechanisms for support of research at the FDA: 1) Principal Investigators at FDA; 2) Postdoctoral Researchers at FDA; and 3) Graduate Students at FDA.

The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) is publishing this notice to announce the Technical Assistance Program to support activities under the State Justice Statistics Program for Statistical Analysis Centers (SJS-SAC) in fiscal year 2017. The SJS-SAC program is designed to maintain and enhance each state capacity to coordinate statistical activities in the state, conduct research on relevant criminal justice issues, and serve as a liaison to help BJS gather data from state agencies.

The major aim of the DMS Infrastructure Program is to foster the continuing health of the mathematical sciences research community as a whole. Hence, the program supports projects that positively influence the entire community, most often those cutting across multiple sub-disciplines. Activities funded include working research sessions, such as conferences and symposia, as well as larger initiatives focused on enhancing and developing the mathematical sciences at the national scale. In addition, the Infrastructure Program will support a limited number of unsolicited training projects aimed at the undergraduate, graduate, or postdoctoral levels that include a core mathematical sciences research component for trainees. The Infrastructure Program seeks to fund novel projects that can have a large impact by promoting partnerships, broadening participation, and/or serving as models to be replicated.

This funding allows the Stakeholder Partnerships, Education and Communication (SPEC)organization within the IRS to provide grants to partner organizations to achieve the following program objectives:* Enable the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Program to extend services to underserved populations in hardest-to-reach areas, both urban and non-urban;* Increase the capacity to file returns electronically;* Heighten quality control;* Enhance training of volunteers; and* Improve significantly the accuracy rate of returns prepared at VITA sites. The VITA Grant program supplements the work already being done in the VITA Program by providing support to help organizations grow their existing programs for free federal tax return preparation.

The Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) Program offers FREE tax help to individuals who are age 60 or older. Section 163 of the Revenue Act of 1978, Public Law No. 95-600, 92 Stat. 2810, November 6, 1978, authorizes this cooperative agreement. The Act authorizes the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to enter into agreements with private or public nonprofit agencies and organizations, which will provide training and technical assistance to volunteers who provide FREE tax counseling and assistance to elderly individuals in the preparation of their federal income tax returns. This Act authorizes an appropriation of special funds, in the form of grants, to provide tax assistance to persons age 60 years of age or older. The IRS receives the funds as a line item in the budget appropriation. The total funds are distributed to the grant recipients for their expenses.