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The Mechanics of Materials program supports fundamental research on the behavior of solid materials and respective devices under external actions.?? A diverse and interdisciplinary spectrum of research is supported with emphasis placed on fundamental understanding that i) advances theory, experimental, and/or computational methods in Mechanics of Materials, and/or ii) uses contemporary Mechanics of Materials methods to address modern challenges in material and device mechanics and physics. Proposed research can focus on existing or emerging material systems across time and length scales. Intellectual merit typically includes advances in fundamental understanding of deformation, fracture, fatigue, and contact through constitutive modeling, multiscale and multiphysics analysis, computational methods, or experimental techniques.??Recent interests comprise, but are not limited to:?? contemporary materials including multiphase materials and material systems, soft materials, active materials, low-dimensional materials, phononic/elastic metamaterials, friction, wear;??multiphysics methods, mechanics at the nano, meso and microscale and multiscale integration thereof, as well as approaches incorporating fundamental understanding of physics and chemistry into the continuum-level understanding of the response characteristics of materials and material systems.

CTR will prioritize proposals that efficiently meet NOFO and programmatic goals at the lowest technically acceptable cost.ISN/CTR sponsors foreign assistance activities funded by the Nonproliferation, Anti-terrorism, Demining and Related Programs (NADR) account, and focuses on mitigating proliferation risk in frontline states and regions where the terrorist threat is on the rise, such as South Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa. ISN/CTR administers the Partnership for Nuclear Threat Reduction (PNTR) which works to prevent states and terrorist groups from diverting, acquiring, or proliferating nuclear material, technology, or expertise that could be used to attack the United States. In particular, PNTR works to strengthen nuclear security practices and mitigating threats from radicalized or coerced personnel at sensitive nuclear facilities. All known cases of theft involving nuclear material have been led or abetted by insiders. To address this threat, PNTR focuses efforts to prevent radicalized, disgruntled, or coerced insiders from diverting nuclear material, technology, and expertise. PNTR does not provide physical security upgrades or guard force training. ObjectivesPNTR partners with nuclear scientists, technicians, and engineers, security personnel, institutional trainers, and technical organization decision-makers to promote technical cooperation and enhance nuclear security best practices. PNTR projects broadly fall into one of three categories, listed in no particular order: * Insider Threat Mitigation: Activities to develop and implement trustworthiness programs and related regulatory guidance (i.e. human reliability program, fitness-for-duty, etc.) at a facility, organizational, or national level and/or mitigate the risk of an insider threat.

The Kyiv American Center Program will provide all staffing, resource materials, technology infrastructure, technical support and key program activities to administer the Kyiv American Center in Ukraine, which is one of approximately 700 American Spaces supported by the Bureau of International Information Programs (IIP) of the U.S. Department of State. American Spaces exemplify the U.S. commitment to a core tenet of democracy: the citizen's right to free access to information. The American Center in Kyiv will support the foundation of public diplomacy by creating a place for in-person engagement with Ukrainian audiences. The Center will be a technology-forward, welcoming, and engaging environment where Embassy personnel, official visitors, and implementing partners connect with Ukrainians, especially young leaders and young professionals, to inspire dialogue on issues that matter most to U.S.-Ukraine relations. The recipient organization will be responsible for staffing and operating a new stand-alone American Center in downtown Kyiv. Key program activities under this cooperative agreement will include hiring local Ukrainian staff with expertise in program and event management to staff the center; purchasing all necessary technology, materials, and supplies to provide a basis for engagement with Ukrainian audiences; and designing a flexible and dynamic program of activities each month to interact with Ukrainian visitors to the center and encourage visitors to return regularly. Decisions on staffing and program content will be made in consultation with the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv.

SN/CTR prefers projects that cost less than $500,000 though awards may involve multiple projects that cumulatively exceed $500,000. All applications and submission costs are at the Applicants' expense. ISN/CTR will not pay for any costs incurred in preparation of the applications. II. BACKGROUND AND PROGRAM DESCRIPTION ISN/CTR, sponsors foreign assistance activities funded by the Nonproliferation, Anti-terrorism, Demining and Related Programs (NADR) account, and focuses on mitigating proliferation risks from state and non-state actors in North-East Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa. The United States government seeks to use all available tools to exert pressure on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to curtail its proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and related delivery systems and induce the DPRK to denuclearize. Specifically, the DPRK uses external procurement and trade networks to acquire nuclear and missile materials and technology and to finance its WMD program. While several United Nations Security Council Resolutions (UNSCRs) obligate states to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons, and their means of delivery, and establish appropriate domestic controls over related materials, some countries lack the capacity and resources to fully comply with the UNSCRs.

CTR will prioritize proposals that efficiently meet NOFO and programmatic goals at the lowest technically acceptable cost. ISN/CTR sponsors foreign assistance activities funded by the Nonproliferation, Anti-terrorism, Demining and Related Programs (NADR) account, and focuses on mitigating proliferation risk from state and non-state actors in North-East Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa. The United States government seeks to use all available tools to exert pressure on the DPRK to curtail its proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and related delivery systems and induce the DPRK to denuclearize. Specifically, the DPRK uses external procurement and trade networks to acquire nuclear and missile materials and technology and to finance its WMD program. While several United Nations Security Council Resolutions (UNSCRs) obligate states to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons, and their means of delivery, and establish appropriate domestic controls over related materials, some countries lack the capacity and resources to fully comply with the UNSCRs. ISN/CTR will contribute to United States government efforts to pressure the DPRK by building capacity in partner countries to counter-DPRK proliferation activities and enforce the relevant UNSCRs.

The Public Affairs Section (PAS) of the U.S. Embassy in Tbilisi, Georgia is pleased to announce an open competition for assistance award through this Request for Proposals (RFP) for the International Affairs Partnership Program with the School of Law and Politics (SLP) at the Georgian Institute of Public Affairs (GIPA). The Public Affairs Section (PAS) invites U.S. academic institutions (U.S. University International Relations/Political Science/Foreign Policy programs) to submit proposals for a three-year partnership project to improve the standard of International Relations instruction and assist in the long-term institutional development of the School of Law and Politics (SLP). The means for achieving this goal may include: faculty development, curricula and materials development, program development (to include joint long-distance MA degree program), professor and student exchanges, and joint research. PAS will award approximately $495,000 for a three year long project.

The Fellowship Program for Advanced Social Science Research on Japan is a joint activity of the Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission (JUSFC) and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Awards support research on modern Japanese society and political economy, Japan's international relations, and U.S.-Japan relations. The program encourages innovative research that puts these subjects in wider regional and global contexts and is comparative and contemporary in nature. Research should contribute to scholarly knowledge or to the general public's understanding of issues of concern to Japan and the United States. Appropriate disciplines for the research include anthropology, economics, geography, history, international relations, linguistics, political science, psychology, public administration, and sociology. Awards usually result in articles, monographs, books, digital materials, archaeological site reports, translations, editions, or other scholarly resources.

The Medici Archive Project (MAP) wishes to provide graduate and doctoral students from diverse disciplines with the opportunity to have exposure to original source materials and training in their use. For this reason MAP is offering five short-term fellowships sponsored by the SAMUEL FREEMAN CHARITABLE TRUST (SFCF) for graduate students in any field of the humanities or social sciences who are in the early stages of their dissertation work. The SFCF fellowships have been developed to enable students working on their dissertations to conduct primary research using the Mediceo del Principato and other collections housed in the Archivio di Stato in Florence. This scholarly residence will be of considerable benefit in helping the students to gain the necessary skills, experience and confidence to continue independent academic research in the later stages of their graduate trajectory. While undertaking primary research for their dissertation in the Florentine state archives, the Fellows will benefit from the supervision of the MAP Staff, academics drawn from a variety of disciplines who are experts in archival research, paleography and the digital humanities. The Fellows will also have the opportunity to expand their academic networks through contact with the many international scholars who regularly visit and collaborate with MAP. Finally, Fellows will be enrolled in the annual MAP Archival Studies Seminar. The fellowships last for an uninterrupted period of two-and-a-half months, taking place at any point between 1 January 2014 and 15 July 2014. The SFCT Fellows will undertake their dissertation research on-site in the Archivio di Stato. The candidates will have the following qualifications: a completed M.Phil (or equivalent) in any field of early modern humanities and fluency in English and Italian.

The Fellowship Program for Advanced Social Science Research on Japan is a joint activity of the Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission (JUSFC) and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Awards support research on modern Japanese society and political economy, Japan's international relations, and U.S.-Japan relations. The program encourages innovative research that puts these subjects in wider regional and global contexts and is comparative and contemporary in nature. Research should contribute to scholarly knowledge or to the general public¿s understanding of issues of concern to Japan and the United States. Appropriate disciplines for the research include anthropology, economics, geography, history, international relations, linguistics, political science, psychology, public administration, and sociology. Awards usually result in articles, monographs, books, digital materials, archaeological site reports, translations, editions, or other scholarly resources. The fellowships are designed for researchers with advanced language skills whose research will require use of data, sources, and documents in their original languages or whose research requires interviews onsite in direct one-on-one contact. Fellows may undertake their projects in Japan, the United States, or both, and may include work in other countries for comparative purposes. Projects may be at any stage of development.

Indiana University's African Studies Program invites applications for a short-term residency to conduct research in IU's Libraries/African Studies Collections. Indiana University's African Studies Collection ranks among the top tier of such collections in the U.S. It comprises more than 150,000 volumes of monographs and over 700 serial subscriptions as well as materials in other formats (e.g. posters, slides, film/video, audio tapes, etc). The focus of the collection is on the humanities and social sciences, supporting a wide range of students and faculty in such departments as history, anthropology, fine arts, theatre & drama, literature, folklore, ethnomusicology, communication and culture, linguistics, religious studies, education, political science, business, economics, journalism, and applied health science. This residency is intended for faculty members at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, or at other U.S. colleges / universities with limited Africa collections, to conduct research in Indiana University's libraries and special collections in support of curriculum development or publications. The successful applicant will receive an award that covers domestic travel, accommodations in Bloomington, and a modest per diem for up to two weeks of research. The award will cover expenses up to a maximum of $2,000 and must be used before August 01, 2014. The recipient is expected to reside in Bloomington during the period of her/his award.

We are pleased to announce that the new OARS website is up and running (although the new Research Compliance and Undergraduate Research sections are still in development).   If you haven't had a chance to check it out yet, we hope you will soon.  Once you've visited, we'd be grateful if you'd give us five minutes of your time to let us know how we're doing by completing a brief eight-question survey at https://miamioh.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_erhRsEFwwWVP6m1 Finally, don't forget to update any bookmarks you may have to material on our old website!

With this solicitation, NIJ seeks proposals for basic or applied research and development projects. An NIJ forensic science research and development grant supports a discrete, specified, circumscribed project that will: (1) increase the body of knowledge to guide and inform forensic science policy and practice, or (2) lead to the production of useful material(s), device(s), system(s), or method(s) that have the potential for forensic application. The intent of this program is to direct the findings of basic scientific research; research and development in broader scientific fields applicable to forensic science; and ongoing forensic science research toward the development of highly-discriminating, accurate, reliable, cost-effective, and rapid methods for the identification, analysis, and interpretation of physical evidence for criminal justice purposes. Projects should address the challenges and needs of the forensic science community. The operational needs discussed at NIJ’s FY 2016 Forensic Science TWG meeting may be found on NIJ.gov. Additional research needs of the forensic science community can be found at the Organization of Scientific Area Committees website. While the goals and deliverables of proposed projects do not necessarily need to result in immediate solutions to the posted challenges or needs, they should speak to them and produce knowledge that adds to work towards eventual resolutions.

In 2015, under the auspices of the GCTF, the United States and Turkey launched the International CT and CVE Clearinghouse Capacity-Building Mechanism (ICCM) in an effort to develop a more systematic approach to direct, coordinate, and de-conflict the provision of CT and CVE resources to key partner nations and regions. The ICCM is an online database of unclassified civilian CT and CVE activities, which serves as a resource and decision-making tool to better coordinate and deliver capacity-building assistance. The ICCM is password-protected and only open to GCTF members (29 countries and the EU), key donors and affiliated institutions, such as the United Nations. In 2015, the ICCM was launched as a two-year pilot project in Kenya, Nigeria, and Tunisia. The ICCM is now live with recent, ongoing, and planned CT and CVE capacity-building projects. Data in the ICCM comes from partner nation inputs, existing donor databases, and open source materials. As the ICCM's two-year pilot period comes to an end in September 2017, the United States is looking to fund the continuation of the ICCM and its expansion to include additional countries. The specific countries to be added will be provided by CT at a later date. PROJECT'S GOALThe goal of this project is to expand as well as maintain and update the International Counterterrorism and Countering Violent Extremism Capacity-Building Clearinghouse Mechanism (ICCM) under the auspices of the Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF). (Please see attached NOFO document for the remainder of the requirements to apply)

The U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (DRL) announces an open competition for organizations interested in submitting applications for projects focusing on the synthesis and dissemination of evaluative research and learning materials for the democracy and rights community.

The AAAS Early Career Award for Public Engagement with Science, established in 2010, recognizes early-career scientists and engineers who demonstrate excellence in their contribution to public engagement with science activities. A monetary prize of $5,000, a commemorative plaque, complimentary registration to the AAAS Annual Meeting, and reimbursement for reasonable hotel and travel expenses to attend the AAAS Annual Meeting to receive the prize are given to the recipient. Nominee must be an early-career scientist or engineer in academia, government or industry actively conducting research in any scientific discipline (including social sciences and medicine).  "Early career" is defined as an individual who has been in his/her current field for less than seven years and pre-tenure or job equivalent. Post-doctoral students are eligible for this award. Nominee will have demonstrated excellence in his/her contribution to public engagement with science activities, with a focus on interactive dialogue between the individual and a non-scientific, public audience(s). Types of public engagement activities might include: informal science education, public outreach, public policy, and/or science communication activities, such as mass media, public dialogue, radio, TV and film, science café, science exhibit, science fair, and social and online media.

Recognizing disciplinary differences and priorities, NSF's investment in research and development in undergraduate STEM education encompasses a range of approaches. These approaches include: experiential learning, assessment/metrics of learning and practice, scholarships, foundational education research, professional development/institutional change, formal and informal learning environments, and undergraduate disciplinary research. Both individually and integrated in a range of combinations, these approaches can lead to outcomes including: developing the STEM and STEM-related workforce, advancing science, broadening participation in STEM, educating a STEM-literate populace, improving K-12 STEM education, encouraging life-long learning, and building capacity in higher education.