Physical Sciences & Engineering

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An entity may submit only one Concept Paper and one Full Application for each topic area of this FOA.

With this FOA, SETO aims to promote innovative solar research, technology development, and product demonstration that can substantively increase U.S. domestic manufacturing across the solar energy supply chain and expand private investment in America’s solar manufacturing sector. These investments will help accelerate the growth of the solar industry, identify emerging opportunities, and drive down costs for our domestic energy market, positioning the United States on the leading edge of solar industry advances.

Topic Area 1: Solar Research and Technology Development
Topic Area 2: Solar Technology Demonstration
Topic Area 3: Solar Permitting Software Outreach, Education, and Development

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*An entity may submit only one Concept Paper and one Full Application for each topic area of this FOA.

A. Anani (Department of Mining and Geological Engineering)– Topic 4: Smart Technologies for Sustainable and Competitive U.S. Mining 

Q. Hao (Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering) - Topic 3: Smart Manufacturing for High Performance Materials 

Topic Areas:

• Topic 1: Smart Manufacturing for a Circular Economy 
• Topic 2: Smart Manufacturing of Tooling and Equipment for Sustainable Transportation 
• Topic 3: Smart Manufacturing for High Performance Materials 
• Topic 4: Smart Technologies for Sustainable and Competitive U.S. Mining 

This funding opportunity announcement (FOA) is being issued by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office (AMMTO). The mission of AMMTO is: “We inspire people and drive innovation to transform materials and manufacturing for America's energy future.” This is in alignment with AMMTO’s vision for the future – a globally competitive U.S. manufacturing sector that accelerates the adoption of innovative materials and manufacturing technologies in support of a clean, decarbonized economy.

This FOA seeks applications to address the development of smart manufacturing technologies –including through “smart RD&D” – that can contribute to a resilient, responsive, leading-edge, and efficient manufacturing sector that delivers the technologies needed for the nation’s clean energy transition. The manufacturing community can reduce manufacturing costs and accelerate time-to-market by integrating performance characteristics of final products with processes aided by a smart manufacturing framework. The information-driven collaborative orchestration of physical and digital processes across the entire value chain is one aspect of smart manufacturing. Smart manufacturing relies on a combination of physical and virtual technologies to make designing, processing, and manufacturing faster, higher value-added, more resilient, sustainable, and more cost-effective. Individual processes within a plant, factory, or entire value chain are integrated and continually monitored with sensing, process modeling, and predictive analytics. The physical processes focus on controlling and optimizing processing conditions for desired outcomes, while virtual processes uncover underlying complex interactions between the physical processes and provide insight into better ways to design and manufacture products (i.e., feedback for physical processes). This FOA seeks to implement smart manufacturing across several diverse application areas and market sectors to: (a) show the benefits of incorporating smart manufacturing in areas aligned with AMMTO’s mission, and (b) to provide practical experience which will be used to further refine AMMTO’s smart manufacturing strategy and future R&D direction.

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An entity may submit only one Concept Paper and one Full Application to this FOA.

This FOA seeks applications for new and/or expanded water power incubation or accelerator programs to address the commercialization needs of entrepreneurs and small businesses in marine energy and/or hydropower. The strategic goals of this FOA are to:

• Foster business creation, innovation, and competition in the water power field.
• Increase the diversity of people, perspectives, and ideas in water power.
• Ease commercialization pathways for water power entrepreneurs and small businesses to accelerate the commercialization of water power systems and solutions.

Limit: 1 // J. Roveda (Electrical and Computer Engineering)

Institutionally Coordinated // Please contact the Office of HSI Initiatives for more information.

 HSI Initiatives would coordinate the submission for the Institutional Transformation Track (ITT) and HSI Program Resource Hubs (Hubs).
UArizona does not have any active Institutional Transformation Track (ITT), so there should not be any limit on the Departmental/Division Transformation Track (DDTT) track proposals.
UArizona is not eligible for the Emerging Faculty Research Track (EFRT).

Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSI) are an important component of the nation’s higher education ecosystem and play a critical role in realizing the National Science Board Vision Report for a more diverse and capable science and engineering workforce. Aligned with this vision and the NSF Strategic Plan 2022 -2026 the goals of the NSF HSI Program are to:

1. Enhance the quality of undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education at HSIs.

2. Increase the recruitment, retention, and graduation rates of students pursuing associate’s or baccalaureate degrees in STEM at HSIs.

Meeting these goals requires institutions to understand and embrace their students’ strengths, challenges, identities and lived experiences. This can happen in many ways and across many areas of an institution. As such, the IUSE: HSI program provides multiple opportunities to support an institution’s goal to become more student centered, including the Equitable Transformation in STEM Education (ETSE) competition. This competition includes the following tracks:

• Departmental/Division Transformation Track (DDTT) - New

• Institutional Transformation Track (ITT)

• Emerging Faculty Research Track (EFRT) - New

• HSI Program Resource Hubs (Hubs)

This solicitation will also accept conference proposals and planning proposals, as defined by the PAPPG.

The ETSE competition focuses on (1) institutional transformation projects that support HSIs in their effort to achieve equity in STEM education, and (2) the infrastructure—the HSI-Net network of resource hubs—which supports the overall program goals.

Institutions are encouraged to consider how their HSI designation, and their organizational mission align to better support STEM success of all students. The ETSE competition welcomes proposals that look to implement and evaluate promising practices and/or conduct research related to broadening participation or improving recruitment, retention, graduation, and other successful outcomes in STEM undergraduate education.

The ETSE solicitation supports projects designed to catalyze change and help HSIs meet students where they are, accounting for their assets and the challenges they may face. Identities and experiences are not determined solely by membership in a single monolithic population of students (e.g., Hispanic, first-generation, commuter, etc.). Consequently, institutions are expected to use institutional data to identify equity gaps, identify areas of need, and unpack the factors that shape students’ individual identities and shared experiences. The perspectives gained from this data should be central to the design of the proposed project.

Please see below for specific information about each track. While proposals are focused on mechanisms for transforming undergraduate STEM education, projects should also consider student voices and include mechanisms to aggregate and analyze existing student feedback and collect quantitative and qualitative student data throughout the life of the proposed project.

Limit on Number of Proposals per Organization:

DDTT proposals: Eligible institutions with an active Track 3: Institutional Transformation project (ITP) award from NSF 22-611, NSF 22-545, or NSF 20-599 or an active ITT award from this solicitation must describe how the proposed DDTT project is compatible with the efforts being undertaken by the active award.

ITT proposals: Eligible institutions may submit one proposal and may not have an active Track 3 Institutional Transformation Project (ITP) award from, NSF 22-611, NSF 22-545, or NSF 20-599. Institutions with an active DDTT award from this solicitation must describe how the proposed ITT project is compatible with the departmental/divisional transformation effort being undertaken by the active award.

EFRT and Hub proposals: No Restrictions

Limit: 1// I. Reyes ( Collge of Education -  Borderlands Education Center (BEC))

Planning Grant (these require approval from the NSF Program Officer): J. Watkins (Math)

In response to the CHIPS Act of 2022 (Pub.L. 117-167), NSF is establishing the National STEM Teacher Corps Pilot Program. The purpose of this program is to elevate the profession of STEM teaching by establishing a National STEM Teacher Corps Pilot Program to recognize outstanding STEM teachers in our Nation’s classrooms, reward them for their accomplishments, elevate their public profile, and create rewarding career paths to which all STEM teachers can aspire, both to prepare future STEM researchers and to create a scientifically literate public.

With this solicitation, NSF is inviting proposals to establish an initial set of Regional Alliances responsible for (a) recruiting eligible applicants to become members of the National STEM Teacher Corps (see definitions in section II.A.); (b) screening, interviewing, and selecting members; and (c) supporting other activities detailed in the Program Description and the law (136 STAT. 1515).

Each Alliance will be awarded as a cooperative agreement that represents the breadth of activities important to National STEM Teacher Corps Pilot Program and serves to elevate the public profile of STEM teachers within the region. Collectively these Alliances are expected to have a national impact. 

The National STEM Teacher Corps also welcomes planning proposals submitted at any time during the year. See Section II.E for additional information about the preparation and submission of planning proposals.

 // Limit: 2 // Tickets Available: 0

E. Mcleod (Wyant College of Optical Sciences)

J. Thangavelautham (Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering)

There will be two webinars to learn more about the Schmidt Science Polymaths selection process, on Wednesday, June 26, 2024 (11:00 a.m. CT) and Thursday, August 1, 2024 (10:00 a.m. CT). Register here.

The Schmidt Science Polymath Program seeks to empower intensely creative, early-to-mid-career researchers to take adventurous leaps into new research domains, experiment with new methodologies and ideas, and inspire impactful scientific breakthroughs. Achieving tenure, or equivalent status, should be a moment when professors feel a new sense of freedom that allows them to innovate and attempt new research paths. Unfortunately, this time is often coupled with a lack of resources and a pressure to continue producing results within their established research portfolio.

The Schmidt Science Polymath program (“the program”) recognizes extraordinary researchers with remarkable track records, promising futures, and a desire to expand their research portfolios by exploring a substantive disciplinary or methodological shift soon after achieving tenure. The program will offer long-term research support to professors who have recently achieved tenure or an equivalent status (within the past three calendar years) with remarkable track records and highly promising futures. Each professor will be awarded $500,000 per year, paid through their institution, for up to five years to help support a research group through talent, such as three to four students or postdocs, and resources. These grants are intended to make possible the exploration of new ideas across disciplines, using emerging technologies to test risky theories that may not otherwise receive funding or support. They are not intended to relieve the researcher of pursuing other grants to continue their mainstream work, nor to be large enough to fully support a modern lab.

Schmidt Sciences will review all nominations and send eligible and promising nominees an invitation and instructions on how to apply. We especially encourage nominee submissions from geographies outside of the US and/or who belong to demographic groups that are currently underrepresented in scientific research. Please note that not all nominees will be invited to apply. We encourage you to nominate only the strongest candidates who demonstrate the selection criteria outlined in this guide. The review is highly selective; fewer than 10% of applicants are selected to receive the award each year. Nominations are typically collected from June to mid-August, applications are due in October, and decisions are shared in April.

Tenure or Equivalent Status

We recognize that tenure is not a global status, and that even among institutions that award tenure there is variation in title and experience. We are looking for candidates who have recently reached a level of security, seniority, and permanence in their positions who should have significant academic freedom. The three-year window is intended to reflect a period of a candidate's career, not their position in many universities, so eligible candidates should have received tenure or a permanent faculty position for the first time at any institution within the past three years. At many American research universities, eligible candidates are Associate Professors, though depending on the institution, eligible candidates may range from Senior Lecturers to Professors.

Candidate Criteria

In order to be eligible for nomination to the Schmidt Science Polymaths application process, candidates must meet the following qualifications: ● Have achieved tenure or an equivalent status within the past three calendar years (January 1, 2021 or later), ● Have a remarkable record of accomplishment in mathematics, computer science, natural sciences, and/or engineering, ● Have a demonstrated history of pursuing and publishing results in more than one field, ● Have a desire and plan to expand their research portfolios by exploring a substantive disciplinary or methodological shift, but have not yet launched such shifts, ● Demonstrate a need for additional funding to enable new experiments, explorations, or shifts in research directions

Selection Criteria

We are looking for the brightest minds in mathematics, computer science, natural sciences, and/or engineering who have gained recognition for significant progress on multiple research problems while also showing a capacity for generating a continuing flow of innovative new ideas and approaches in a variety of areas. They will have demonstrated their high variance thinking through successful research in areas widely divergent from their main field of expertise. Schmidt Science Polymaths are expected to be intensely creative science leaders who demonstrate an immense capacity for innovative new thinking or shifts in research directions that can lead to impactful breakthroughs given flexible resources. Applications will be judged based on: ● The breadth and depth of the candidates' work ● The quality, impact, and innovation displayed in the candidates work ● The candidates’ track-record of high variance thinking and approaches, as well as their capacity for creative new research or shifts in research directions given flexible resources ● The candidate’s proposed research directions and projects as outlined in their application, including likelihood of success and significant impact, and expectation that the candidate’s research directions will change over time

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*Applicant institutions are  limited to three pre-applications and three applications for each program (ASCR, BES, BER, FES, HEP, NP, DOE IP, ARDAP).

The Office of Science (SC) seeks applications for fundamental research in fields supported by SC to build research capacity at institutions historically underrepresented in the SC portfolio, i.e. non-R1 minority serving institutions (MSIs) and non-R1 emerging research institutions (ERIs). This FOA aims to build research capacity, including infrastructure and expertise at these institutions, through mutually beneficial relationships between applicants and DOE national laboratories, SC scientific user facilities, or R1 MSI/ERIs. 

SC supports fundamental research in applied mathematics, biology, chemistry, computer science, engineering, geoscience, isotope research, materials science, fusion energy science, and physics to transform our understanding of nature and catalyze scientific discoveries that can lead to technical breakthroughs. All applications to SC should focus on hypothesis-driven basic research. SC does not support applied research, product development, or prototyping.

Institutionally Coordinated // Limit: 1 // T. D. Swindle (Lunar & Planetary Laboratory) 

Proposals will only be accepted from the lead institution of Space Grant consortia in each state along with the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. NASA will only accept one proposal per consortium. 

Arizona Space Grant Consortium

University of Arizona

Dr. Timothy D. Swindle
Director, Arizona Space Grant Consortium
University of Arizona
Lunar & Planetary Laboratory

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)’s Office of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (OSTEM) Engagement solicits proposals for the National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program (Space Grant) Space Grant Opportunities in NASA STEM FY2025-2028. Each funded proposal is expected to define a comprehensive consortium program devoted to increasing student and youth’s understanding of space and aeronautics and to executing the assessment, development, and utilization of resources to bolster the STEM pipeline for aerospace. The funding opportunity is intended to provide four years of funding via an educational cooperative agreement.

Submit ticket request  // Limit: 4 // Tickets Available: 4

Applicant institutions are limited to no more than four (4) pre-applications or applications as a lead institution and no more than one pre-application or application for any individual PI.

The Department of Energy (DOE) Fusion Energy Science (FES) program is embarking on a transformative initiative aimed at creating a fusion innovation ecosystem, the “Fusion Innovation Research Engine (FIRE)”, by forming virtual, centrally managed teams called “Collaboratives”, that have a collective goal of bridging FES’s basic science research programs and growing fusion industries, including the activities supported under the FES milestone-based fusion development program.

At its core, FIRE represents a departure from traditional science programs. It is structured as a framework comprised of Collaboratives with the purpose of bridging the gap between foundational science and practical application. These Collaboratives are envisioned as dynamic hubs of innovation, driving advancements in fusion energy research in collaboration with both public and private entities. FES envisions the ecosystem surrounding the Collaboratives as a facilitator for collaboration and coordination with the basic science research program and other stakeholders, creating an engine for innovation. FIRE hopes to foster synergy and alignment of goals, accelerating progress towards the realization of fusion energy as a clean, sustainable power source. Moreover, this initiative aims to create new economic opportunities, bolster US-based manufacturing and supply chains, and enable the development of technologies crucial for national security, energy security, and defense.

FES envisions FIRE Collaboratives as a collection of virtual, centrally managed teams. These teams leverage expertise, capabilities, and facilities to systematically address FS&T gaps, fostering integrated research efforts, facilitating collaboration among diverse stakeholders, and enhancing communication to accelerate progress in enabling fusion energy. The term ‘fusion ecosystem’ refers to the network of collaborative relationships, resources, and initiatives aimed at advancing fusion energy. Within this ecosystem, FIRE Collaboratives serve as a pivotal component, driving coordinated efforts to address key challenges and accelerate advancements in fusion science and technology.