OARS funding Systems

With this Dear Colleague letter (DCL), the NSF is announcing its intention to accept EArly-Concept Grants for Exploratory Research (EAGER) proposals to support NSF researchers in participating in the NIST GCTC teams, with the goal of pursuing novel research on effective integration of networked computer systems and physical devices that will have significant impact in meeting the challenges of the smart city. Priority will be given to researchers who have previously received funding from CPS, or who have related projects from other NSF programs (e.g., Computer Systems Research (CSR), Energy, Power, Control and Networks (EPCN), Secure and Trustworthy Cyberspace (SaTC), including CAREER awardees), and who are members of, or are seeking to, establish GCTC teams building upon the results of NSF-funded projects.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is soliciting innovative research proposals in the area of rapid response human language technology for low-resource languages. 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. See attached PDF "DARPA-BAA-15-04 LORELEI" for further details. AMENDMENT 1: The purpose of Amendment 1 is to clarify what linguistic capabilities will be provided by the Government, see attached PDF, "LORELEI DARPA-BAA-15-04 Amendment 1" for further details as the changes are highlighted in yellow.

The Systems Science (SYS) program supports fundamental research leading to a theoretical foundation for design and systems engineering.   In particular, the Systems Science program seeks intellectual advances in which underlying theories (such as probability theory, decision theory, game theory, organizational sociology, behavioral economics or cognitive psychology) are integrated and abstracted to develop explanatory models for design and systems engineering in a general, domain-independent fashion.  Ideally, the explanatory models, derived from the underlying theoretical foundations will lead to testable hypotheses.  Based on collected evidence supporting or falsifying the hypotheses, new insights are gained allowing the explanatory models to be refined or updated.

The Engineering and Systems Design (ESD) program supports fundamental research leading to new engineering and systems design methods and practices for specific global contexts.  In particular, ESD seeks intellectual advances in which the theoretical foundations underlying design and systems engineering are operationalized into rigorous and pragmatic methods for a specific context.  In addition, the program funds the rigorous theoretical and empirical characterization of new or existing methods for design and systems engineering, identifying in which global contexts and under which assumptions these methods are effective and efficient.  Such a global context includes both a domain (such as energy systems, consumer products, cyber-physical systems) and an economic, socio-political, environmental and technological context.

The goal of the National Robotics Initiative is to accelerate the development and use of robots in the United States that work beside, or cooperatively with, people. Innovative robotics research and applications emphasizing the realization of such co-robots acting in direct support of and in a symbiotic relationship with human partners is supported by multiple agencies of the federal government including the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The purpose of this program is the development of this next generation of robotics, to advance the capability and usability of such systems and artifacts, and to encourage existing and new communities to focus on innovative application areas. It will address the entire life cycle from fundamental research and development to manufacturing and deployment.

CISE's Division of Computer and Network Systems (CNS) supports research and education projects that develop new knowledge in two core programs: Computer Systems Research (CSR) program; and Networking Technology and Systems (NeTS) program. Proposers are invited to submit proposals in three project classes, which are defined as follows: Small Projects - up to $500,000 total budget with durations up to three years; Medium Projects - $500,001 to $1,200,000 total budget with durations up to four years; and Large Projects - $1,200,001 to $3,000,000 total budget with durations up to five years.

CISE's Division of Information and Intelligent Systems (IIS) supports research and education projects that develop new knowledge in three core programs: The Cyber-Human Systems (CHS) program; The Information Integration and Informatics (III) program; and The Robust Intelligence (RI) program. IIS is also responsible for managing the review process for proposals in Computer Graphics and Visualization; these proposals may be submitted to any of the three core programs described above. Proposers are invited to submit proposals in three project classes, which are defined as follows: Small Projects - up to $500,000 total budget with durations up to three years; Medium Projects - $500,001 to $1,200,000 total budget with durations up to four years; and Large Projects - $1,200,001 to $3,000,000 total budget with durations up to five years.

The AcademyHealth Delivery System Science Fellowship (DSSF) provides a paid post-doctoral learning experience to help researchers gain more applied experience conducting research in delivery system settings. Students and researchers with an interest in conducting research in delivery system settings are encouraged to apply.

The Emerging Technologies (ET) Program of the Building Technologies Office (BTO) supports applied research and development for technologies and systems that contribute to building energy consumption. BTO?s goal is to deliver 50% primary energy savings in the year 2030, relative to the baseline energy consumption projected by the 2010 Annual Energy Outlook. The ET Program is helping to meet this goal by enabling cost-effective, energy-efficient technologies to be developed and introduced into the marketplace. The ET Program maintains support for the national laboratories in five core areas: Solid-State Lighting, HVAC (includes water heating and appliances), Sensors & Controls, Windows & Envelope, and Modeling & Tools. This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) combines an early-stage research and development topic (Innovations) with a later-stage research and development topic (Frontiers) that complement the core funding provided to the national l abs and allow all interested parties, including corporations, universities, and non-profits as well as the national labs, to contribute to advancement in two of these core technological areas: Non-vapor compression HVAC technologies and advanced vapor compression HVAC technologies. These topics are combined into this single, relatively large FOA in order to reduce administrative costs and to ensure that only the best applications are supported.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is soliciting innovative research proposals in the area of program obfuscation. 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. For further details see attached PDF DARPA-BAA-14-65 SafeWare.

The MME program supports fundamental research leading to improved manufacturing machines and equipment, and their application in manufacturing processes. Key goals of the program are to advance the transition of manufacturing from skill-based to knowledge-based activities, and to advance technologies that will enable the manufacturing sector to reduce its environmental impacts. A focus is on the advancement of manufacturing machines and related systems engineering that will enable energy manufacturing, namely the manufacture of facilities and equipment that will enable the conversion of renewable resources into energy products such as electricity and liquid fuels, on a large scale. The program also supports research on additive manufacturing, laser processing and bonding/joining processes encompassing feature scales from microns to meters. Proposals with focus on materials for these processes are also welcome in MME. Note: nanometer scale additive manufacturing is supported under the Nanomanufacturing program.Investigators wishing to serve on a proposal review panel should email the Program Director with a short biographical sketch, a list of areas of expertise and a link to their home page. REU/RET supplement requests should be submitted by March 31 each year.

The Design of Engineering Material Systems (DEMS) program supports fundamental research intended to lead to new paradigms of design, development, and insertion of advanced engineering material systems. Fundamental research that develops and creatively integrates theory, processing/manufacturing, data/informatics, experimental, and/or computational approaches with rigorous engineering design principles, approaches, and tools to enable the accelerated design and development of materials is welcome. Research proposals are sought that strive to develop systematic scientific methodologies to tailor the behavior of material systems in ways that are driven by performance metrics and incorporate processing/manufacturing. While an emphasis on a specific material system may be appropriate to provide the necessary project focus, techniques developed should transcend materials systems. Ultimately it is expected that research outcomes will be methodologies to enable the discovery of materials systems with new properties and behavior, and enable their rapid insertion into engineering systems.Proposals that focus on modeling, simulation, and prediction of material performance (even when research is coupled with experiments for validation or guidance) without an intellectual emphasis on design are not appropriate for this program and should be submitted to other disciplinary programs.

The System Science (SYS) program funds fundamental research on engineered systems that will support the creation of a mathematically sound framework for systems engineering. The System Science program invites proposals that address fundamental systems issues including system performance prediction, uncertainty quantification in the systems context, theoretical foundations for aggregation in systems, decision-making in the systems context, and operation and maintenance in the systems context.

 The System Science program does not fund development projects. Proposals that have system science or system engineering relevance, but for which the predominant research contribution is within an existing program in CMMI, should be submitted to the appropriate disciplinary program, with the System Science program identified as a secondary program.

The Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) is pleased to offer a limited number of conference grants. These grants will be used to subsidize the cost of attendance for individuals to attend either CUR Dialogues 2015: Climbing the Ladder to Funding Success: Diverse Sources, Diverse Pathways or Undergraduate Research Programs: Building, Enhancing, Sustaining. Nominees are asked to provide contact and demographic information, a statement of expenses, a statement describing financial need, and a statement on expected outcomes from attending the conference. Historically under-represented groups and first-time attendees will be given priority. The review committee will work to ensure awardees represent a diverse subset of the applicants, specifically across discipline/CUR Division and geographic location. Awardees will receive the conference grant as a rebate after their confirmed participation in the conference, and the submission of reimbursement paperwork.

In September, Miami received notice from the government that our new F&A rates are: 44.5% for On Campus Organized Research 44.0% On Campus Sponsored Instruction 39.0% On Campus Other Sponsored Activities 26.0% Off Campus All Programs These rates are effective beginning September 1, 2014. Awards received beginning in September and all proposal submissions going forward will be required to use the new rates.

The OR program supports fundamental research leading to the creation of innovative mathematical models, analysis, and algorithms for optimal or near optimal decision-making, applicable to the design and operation of manufacturing, service, and other complex systems. In addition to the traditional areas of Operations Research which includes discrete and continuous optimization as well as stochastic modeling and analysis, new research thrusts include simulation optimization and self-optimizing systems that can observe, learn, and adapt to changing environments.

The Space/Time Analysis for Cybersecurity (STAC) program seeks to enable analysts to identify algorithmic resource usage vulnerabilities in software at levels of scale and speed great enough to support a methodical search for them in the software upon which the U.S. government, military, and economy depend. 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. See the full DARPA-BAA-14-60 document attached.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is soliciting innovative research proposals in the area of mathematical systems of representation and analysis as applied to complex phenomena. 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 Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is soliciting innovative research proposals in the area of processes and technology for assembly of systems, components, and materials at millimeter scale or larger from nanometer scale constituents. 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 Board of Regents is seeking high quality, focused cooperative education and internship program proposals from Ohio institutions of higher education and their partners. This program has been funded  through one-time casino licensing fees; it is expected that the funds will be awarded to build systems to sustain co-ops and internships beyond the direct investment from the State and to ensure these workbased learning opportunities are relevant to the needs of students and businesses. Funds will be awarded to build the capability and capacity of programs to engage more students, more businesses,  and more faculty members in co-op and internship programs. The programs should address the talent needs of JobsOhio key industries.