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NASA's Human Research Program (HRP) has released solicited research response area NRA 80JSC017N0001-BPBA "Topics in Biological, Physiological, and Behavioral Adaptations to Spaceflight: Integrated One Year Mission Project and Other Opportunities" that solicits applied research in support of HRP goals and objectives. The first topic in the solicitation is for proposals in the area of Analyses of the Temporal Nature of Human Adaptation to Long-Duration Low-Earth Orbit Missions. HRP has a requirement for sufficient crewmember experience at one year in spaceflight to demonstrate the presence or absence of unacceptable deleterious physiological, psychological and medical effects of spaceflight on human health and performance beyond the experience base of six-month expeditions and to permit extrapolation to early interplanetary expeditions with durations of up to two to three years. Therefore, HRP is proposing an integrated One-Year Mission Project on the International Space Station (ISS) consisting of five one-year missions five standard-duration six-month missions paralleling the year-long expeditions, and five short-duration crew vehicle exchange expeditions lasting up to two months to occur at the mid-point of each 1YM. Proposals are solicited by NASA in the additional areas of Biological, Physiological, and Behavioral Functions of Mice during Partial (0 - 1) G-Exposures Provided by Centrifugation on the International Space Station; Novel Spaceflight-Associated Neuro-Ocular Syndrome Hypotheses and Countermeasures; Medical Countermeasures Targeting Multiple Tissues at Risk from Exposure to Space Radiation; Individual and Team Problem-Solving Skills Training for Exploration Missions; Sensory Stimulation for Cognitive and Behavioral Health; and Human Capabilities Assessments for Autonomous Missions (HCAAM) Virtual NASA Specialized Center of Research.

The HRP contains six Elements: Space Radiation, Human Health and Countermeasures, Exploration Medical Capability, Behavioral Health and Performance, Space Human Factors and Habitability, and International Space Station Medical Project. Fourteen disciplines or areas support the Program: Behavioral Health and Performance, Bone, Cardiovascular, Extravehicular Activity, Immunology, Medical Capabilities, Muscle, Nutrition, Pharmacology, Radiation, Sensorimotor, Advanced Food Technology, Advanced Environmental Health, and Space Human Factors Engineering. The National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI) is a non-profit organization competitively selected by NASA that uses an integrated team approach to advance biomedical research and countermeasure development. NSBRI works in close partnership with the HRP through a Cooperative Agreement. The NRA will cover all aspects of research to provide human health and performance countermeasures, knowledge, technologies, and tools to enable safe, reliable, and productive human space exploration, and to ensure safe and productive human spaceflight. Awards generally range from under $100K per year for focused, limited efforts (e.g., data analysis) to $450K per year for extensive activities (e.g., development of scientific hardware). The funds available for awards in each program element offered in the NRA range from less than one to several million dollars, which allow selection from a few to as many as a dozen proposals depending on the program objectives and the submission of proposals of merit. Awards will be made as grants. The period of performance for an award will be one to five years. Any changes or modifications to any of these guidelines will be specified in the descriptions of the relevant program elements in the solicited research response area appendices of this solicitation. 

Research in HRP is organized around 32 risks and two concerns as outlined in the Human Research Roadmap (https://humanresearchroadmap.nasa.gov/Risks/). In this appendix of the 2017 HERO NRA, HRP is soliciting research for the following topics: · Topic 1: Analyses of the Temporal Nature of Human Adaptation to Long-Duration Low-Earth Orbit Missions Virtual NASA Specialized Center of Research (VNSCOR) · Topic 2: Biological, Physiological, and Behavioral Functions of Mice during Partial (0 - 1) G-Exposures Provided by Centrifugation on the International Space Station · Topic 3: Novel Spaceflight-Associated Neuro-Ocular Syndrome Hypotheses and Countermeasures · Topic 4: Medical Countermeasures Targeting Multiple Tissues at Risk from Exposure to Space Radiation · Topic 5: Individual and Team Problem-Solving Skills Training for Exploration Missions · Topic 6: Sensory Stimulation for Cognitive and Behavioral Health · Topic 7: Human Capabilities Assessments for Autonomous Missions (HCAAM) Virtual NASA Specialized Center of Research (VNSCOR)

The HRP contains six Elements: Space Radiation, Human Health and Countermeasures, Exploration Medical Capability, Behavioral Health and Performance, Space Human Factors and Habitability, and International Space Station Medical Project. Fourteen disciplines or areas support the Program: Behavioral Health and Performance, Bone, Cardiovascular, Extravehicular Activity, Immunology, Medical Capabilities, Muscle, Nutrition, Pharmacology, Radiation, Sensorimotor, Advanced Food Technology, Advanced Environmental Health, and Space Human Factors Engineering. Awards generally range from under $100K per year for focused, limited efforts (e.g., data analysis) to $1M per year for extensive activities (e.g., development of scientific hardware). The funds available for awards in each program element offered in this solicitation range from less than one to several million dollars, which allows NASA to select a few to numerous proposals depending on the program objectives and the submission of proposals of merit. This solicitation may result in grant, cooperative agreement, and contract awards. The period of performance for an award is one to five years. Any changes or modifications to any of these guidelines will be specified in the descriptions of the relevant program elements in the solicited research response area appendices of this solicitation.

The research will fall into one or more categories corresponding to HRP's five Elements: Space Radiation, Human Health Countermeasures, Exploration Medical Capability, Human Factors and Behavioral Performance, and International Space Station Medical Projects. This NRA covers all aspects of research to provide human health and performance countermeasures, knowledge, technologies, and tools to enable safe, reliable, and productive human space exploration.

The Gravitational Physics program supports research at the frontiers of science aimed towards answering questions about the nature of space and time, the gravitational attraction at atomically small and cosmological large distances and the use of gravitational waves to explore the universe.The Theoretical Gravitational Physics program supports research on classical and quantum gravity theory, including gravitational wave source simulations and other phenomena associated with strong field gravity and the interface between gravitation and quantum mechanics. This includes formulating new approaches for theoretical, computational, and experimental research that explore the fundamental laws of physics and the behavior of physical systems and, in some cases, interpreting the results of experiments. The effort also includes a considerable number of interdisciplinary grants. In addition, the program supports infrastructure activities such as short- and long-term visitor programs, workshops, and research centers involving the participation of external scientists from universities, national laboratories, and industry, as well as graduate students and postdoctoral fellows.

The Gravitational Physics program supports research at the frontiers of science aimed towards answering questions about the nature of space and time, the gravitational attraction at atomically small and cosmological large distances and the use of gravitational waves to explore the universe. The Theoretical Gravitational Physics program supports research on classical and quantum gravity theory, including gravitational wave source simulations and other phenomena associated with strong field gravity and the interface between gravitation and quantum mechanics. This includes formulating new approaches for theoretical, computational, and experimental research that explore the fundamental laws of physics and the behavior of physical systems and, in some cases, interpreting the results of experiments. The effort also includes a considerable number of interdisciplinary grants.

CEDAR is a broad-based, community-guided, upper atmospheric research program. The goal is to understand the behavior of atmospheric regions from the middle atmosphere upward through the thermosphere and ionosphere into the exosphere in terms of coupling, energetics, chemistry, and dynamics on regional and global scales. These processes are related to the sources of perturbations that propagate upward from the lower atmosphere as well as to solar radiation and particle inputs from above. The activities within this program combine observations, theory and modeling.

The Smart and Autonomous Systems (S&AS) program focuses on Intelligent Physical Systems (IPS) that are capable of robust, long-term autonomy requiring minimal or no human operator intervention in the face of uncertain, unanticipated, and dynamically changing situations. IPS are systems that combine perception, cognition, communication, and actuation to operate in the physical world. Examples include, but are not limited to, robotic platforms, self-driving vehicles, underwater exploration vehicles, and smart grids. Most current IPS operate in pre-programmed ways and in a limited variety of contexts. They are largely incapable of handling novel situations, or of even understanding when they are outside their areas of expertise. To achieve robust, long-term autonomy, however, future IPS need to be aware of their capabilities and limitations and to adapt their behaviors to compensate for limitations and/or changing conditions.

Proposals are solicited by NASA in the areas of Risk of Synergistic Effects of Radiation, Stress, and Altered Gravity on Spaceflight Behavioral Health and Performance Virtual NASA Specialized Center of Research (VNSCOR); Space Radiobiology Tissue Sharing: Research Proposing the Use of Archived Tissue Samples or Samples from Ongoing Experiments; and Impact of Dose-Rate on Space Radiation Health Risks.

The BIGDATA program seeks novel approaches in computer science, statistics, computational science, and mathematics leading towards the further development of the interdisciplinary field of data science. The program also seeks innovative applications in domain science, including social and behavioral sciences, education, physical sciences, and engineering, where data science and the availability of big data are creating new opportunities for research and insights not previously possible. The solicitation invites two categories of proposals: Foundations (BIGDATA: F): those developing or studying fundamental theories, techniques, methodologies, and technologies of broad applicability to big data problems, motivated by specific data challenges and requirements; and Innovative Applications (BIGDATA: IA): those engaged in translational activities that employ new big data techniques, methodologies, and technologies to address and solve problems in specific application domains. Projects in this category must be collaborative, involving researchers from domain disciplines and one or more methodological disciplines, e.g., computer science, statistics, mathematics, simulation and modeling, etc.

The ConSec program will develop a system to automatically generate, deploy, and enforce configurations of components and subsystems for use in military platforms. These configurations should address system vulnerabilities and minimize attack surfaces while maintaining expected functionality and performance. By viewing each individual component's configuration as elements of the composed system's behavior and security, more secure configurations can be developed and deployed to enhance security without requiring new software development or large hardware changes.

The NRA will cover all aspects of research to provide human health and performance countermeasures, knowledge, technologies, and tools to enable safe, reliable, and productive human space exploration, and to ensure safe and productive human spaceflight.

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.

The following programs have due dates that fall between October 1 - 25, 2013, and these dates are being revised due to the Federal  government shutdown. These revised dates apply whether the proposal is being submitted via the NSF FastLane System or  Grants.gov. Due to compressed proposal deadlines resulting from the shutdown, proposers are advised that they may experience a  delay when contacting IT Help Central with technical support questions. Frequently asked questions regarding these date changes  are available on the Resumption of Operations page on the NSF website at: http://www.nsf.gov/bfa/dias/policy/postshutdown.jsp. 

CIFAR invites exceptional early career researchers to join CIFAR's global network of 370 researchers from 18 countries who together are pursuing answers to some of the most complex challenges facing the world today. The CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholars program provides funding, skills training, mentorship, and opportunities to collaborate with outstanding colleagues from diverse disciplines to position scholars as leaders and agents of change within academia and beyond. CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholars receive: * $100,000 CDN in unrestricted research support * A two-year membership to a CIFAR research program, with outstanding research leaders from across disciplines. Learn what it's like to be a CIFAR Fellow * Specialized leadership and communication skills training Applicants can be from anywhere in the world, must hold a PhD (or equivalent) and be within the first five years of a full-time academic appointment. Please note that postdoctoral fellows are not eligible to apply to the program. Scholars' research interests must be aligned with the themes of an eligible CIFAR research program.  In 2018, the eligible programs are: * Azrieli Program in Brain, Mind & Consciousness * Bio-Inspired Solar Energy * Gravity & the Extreme Universe * Humans & the Microbiome * Molecular Architecture of Life