Completed

Limit: 2* // Tickets Available: 1

Category I: Tickets Available: 1
Category II: T. Swetnam (CAIO Institute) 

Limiting Language*
An organization may submit only one proposal as lead institution for each of Category I and Category II for each solicitation deadline but may be a subawardee on other Category I and II proposals responding to this solicitation. The restriction to no more than one submitted proposal as lead institution is to help ensure that there is appropriate institutional commitment necessary for responsible oversight, by the potential recipient institution, of a national data infrastructure resource. This restriction does not apply to Category III proposals. 

Program Synopsis
The Integrated Data Systems and Services (IDSS) program supports operations-level national-scale cyberinfrastructure systems and services that broadly advance and facilitate open, data-intensive and artificial intelligence-driven science and engineering research, innovation, and education.

Through this solicitation, the IDSS program is accepting proposals for three categories of projects:

• Category I. Development, deployment, and operation of novel national-scale integrated data systems and services, which may include interfacing with or leveraging other existing capabilities, systems and services, as appropriate to the project;
• Category II.  Transition of established smaller scale, regional, pilot, or prototype data-focused systems and services to national-scale production/operational quality/level. This may also include enhancement and expansion of existing national-scale data-focused operational systems and services; and
• Category III. Planning grants for future potential development/deployment or transition/enhancement IDSS projects. 

NSF and the Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure (OAC) have long supported the development of innovative foundational and application-specific cyberinfrastructure resources and systems to address data-intensive research needs at the campus, regional, and community scales, through programs such as Cyberinfrastructure for Sustained Scientific Innovation (CSSI), Campus Cyberinfrastructure (CC*), and other investments. The primary goal of the IDSS program is to support national-scale foundational data cyberinfrastructure that broadly enables data- and artificial intelligence-driven research for many communities. The IDSS program supports foundational transdisciplinary and demonstrably multi-disciplinary projects aimed to broadly impact the science and engineering research and education community. Projects that aim to primarily benefit a single science discipline, domain, project, or application are not supported.

It is recommended that prospective PIs contact program officer(s) from the list of Cognizant Program Officers to gain insight about alignment of their project ideas with the priorities of the IDSS program and Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure. As part of contacting Cognizant Program Officers, prospective PIs are also encouraged to ascertain that the focus and budget of their proposed work are appropriate for this solicitation.

Limit: 3* // Tickets Available: 1 (see below)

Life Sciences - Tickets Available: 0 
M.M. Kaelberer (Physiology)

Physical Sciences and Engineering -  Tickets Available: 0 
E. Krause (Astronomy)

Chemical Sciences - Limit: 1 // Tickets Available: 1

* The University of Arizona may submit three nominations, one in each of the following disciplines: Life Sciences, Physical Sciences and Engineering, and Chemical Sciences

Overview:
The Blavatnik National Awards for Young Scientists recognize the United States' most promising faculty-rank researchers in Life Sciences, Physical Sciences & Engineering, and Chemical Sciences. One Blavatnik National Awards Laureate in each disciplinary category will receive $250,000 in unrestricted funds, and additional nominees will be recognized as Finalists, and will receive $15,000 in unrestricted funds.

Eligibility Criteria:
The nominee must:

• Have been born in or after 1984*.
• Hold a doctorate degree (PhD, DPhil, MD, DDS, DVM, etc.).
• Currently hold a tenured or tenure-track academic faculty position, or equivalent, at an eligible institution in the United States.
• Currently conduct research as a principal investigator in one of the disciplinary categories in Life Sciences, Physical Sciences & Engineering, or Chemical Sciences.

Nomination of underrepresented populations in STEM
In spite of tremendous advancements in scientific research, information, and education, opportunities are still not equally available to all. Women, persons with disabilities, and individuals identifying as Black, American Indian, or Hispanic/Latinx continue to be underrepresented in STEM fields1,2.

The Blavatnik Awards strongly encourages all those submitting nominations to the Awards—including institutional nominators, Scientific Advisory Council members, and past Blavatnik Awards Laureates—to diversify the population of candidates nominated for this Award.

The Blavatnik Awards are proud to have honored 158 women scientists since the Awards’ inception in 2007—approximately 30% of all Blavatnik Awards recognize women. Blavatnik Awards honorees hail from 53 countries on six continents, and approximately 60% of all Blavatnik Awards honorees are immigrants to the country in which they were honored.

A more diverse scientific workforce will accelerate discovery and innovation, and the Blavatnik Awards are committed to honoring the most talented young scientists—regardless of race, ethnicity, disability status, gender, or field of study.

No Applicants // Limit: 2 (1 per country of implementation: DRC or Indonesia) // Tickets Available: 2

Limiting Language
Multiple applications from an organization are allowed. Applicants can submit up to one application per country. If multiple applications for one country are received, the most recent application submitted by the deadline will be accepted. If the most recent application is disqualified for any reason, USDOL will not replace it with an earlier application. Applicant entities are not precluded from participating as partners on another entity’s application.

Executive Summary 
The Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB), U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL, or the Department), announces the availability of approximately $9 million total costs (subject to the availability of Federal funds) for 2 cooperative agreements aimed at securing fair and reliable critical mineral supply chains free of child labor (CL) and forced labor (FL). ILAB intends to fund one cooperative agreement of up to $5 million in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and one cooperative agreement of up to $4 million in Indonesia. The duration of each project will be 54 months from the award date. Applicants may propose a shorter period of performance in line with their proposed strategy. Applicants may choose to apply for one or both cooperative agreements. Applicants that wish to apply for both Cooperative Agreements must submit two distinct applications.

The cooperative agreements will be focused on the supply chains of critical minerals identified in the List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor, published by the Department of Labor as required under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005 and subsequent reauthorizations (TVPRA List). Applications must propose a strategy to address CL and/or FL in the supply chains of at least one (1) of the following minerals in one (1) of the following countries:
• DRC: Cobalt, copper, tantalum, tin, and/or tungsten.
• Indonesia: Nickel, with the option to also include tin.

Applicants must propose to work with key stakeholders to identify and address child labor and/or forced labor, and related labor abuses in their proposed country of implementation. Applicants must propose a strategy to conduct activities under each of the following two focus areas:

Focus Area 1: Policy and Legal Frameworks. Applicants will propose a strategy to assist partner governments and supply chain actors to bring their mining, labor, procurement, trade rules, and other relevant policy frameworks into full alignment with international standards,
particularly U.S. forced-labor import requirements, International Labor Organization
conventions, and other due diligence guidelines and best practices

Focus Area 2: Capacity Building for Monitoring, Identification, Enforcement, and
Remediation. Applicants will propose a strategy to improve national and local systems for monitoring and identifying child labor and/or forced labor in critical mineral supply chains. Applicants must also propose a strategy to strengthen public and private sector entities responsible for addressing child labor and/or forced labor in critical mineral supply chains through enforcement actions and through remediation measures for children and individuals placed in conditions of child labor and/or forced labor.

In addition to work under the two Focus Areas outlined above, applicants must propose a strategy to conduct a supply chain research study and produce a final report in close coordination with ILAB. Applicants should plan to produce a final research product within the first three years of the project period of performance.

Eligible applicants include any commercial, international, educational, or non-profit
organizations, including any faith-based organizations, community-based organizations, or public international organizations (PIOs). Please see section III of this funding opportunity announcement for complete eligibility requirements. Faith-based organizations are encouraged to apply, as are all organizations. Those that meet the eligibility requirements may receive awards under this funding opportunity. DOL will not, in the selection of recipients and administration of the grant, discriminate on the basis of an

No Applicants // Limit: 1 // Tickets Available: 1

Limiting Language
Multiple applications from an organization are not allowed. If multiple applications are received, the most recent application submitted by the deadline will be accepted. If the most recent application is disqualified for any reason, USDOL will not replace it with an earlier application. Applicant entities are not precluded from participating as partners on another entity’s application.

Executive Summary
The Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB), U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL, or the Department), announces the availability of approximately $8,000,000 total costs (subject to the availability of Federal funds) for 1 cooperative agreement to fund an $8,000,000 technical assistance project with the objective to contribute to sustaining the future of the shipbuilding industry in the United States by establishing mechanisms for international collaboration to draw on expertise in support of expanding the number of skilled U.S. workers and training institutions with shipbuilding skills and knowledge. The 4-year project will create an international shipbuilding fellowship and training development program that would facilitate the training ofU.S. workers in allied countries with advanced shipbuilding expertise, as well as the
development of a specialized internationally recognized trade curricula to enable subsequent training in the United States. The project will partner U.S.-based educational institutions (career technical education programs, community colleges, etc.), training centers, and, where possible, shipyards, with foreign educational institutions, training centers, and/or shipyards in Canada, Finland, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and/or other countries. The duration of the project will be 48 months from the award date. Applicants may propose a shorter period of performance in line with their proposed strategy.

Eligible applicants include any commercial, international, educational, or non-profit
organizations, including any faith-based organizations, community-based organizations, or public international organizations (PIOs). Please see section III of this funding opportunity announcement for complete eligibility requirements.

Faith-based organizations are encouraged to apply, as are all organizations. Those that meet the eligibility requirements may receive awards under this funding opportunity. DOL will not, in the selection of recipients and administration of the grant, discriminate on the basis of an organization’s religious character, affiliation, exercise, or lack thereof, or on the basis of conduct that would not be considered grounds to favor or disfavor a similarly situated secular organization.

Applicants may propose outcomes they consider realistic and essential to achieving the project objective.

Applicants selected for award will be required, within the first six months of award, to carry out additional in-country needs assessments and consultations with partners and relevant stakeholders to assess and identify gaps, risks, and opportunities, analyze stakeholder capabilities and interests, understand potential harm and refine and/or validate the proposed project design, including performance indicators and targets, assumptions, risk mitigation and project sustainability strategies. All post-award refinements to the project strategy will be subject to approval by USDO

Limit: 1 // Tickets Available: 0

J. Thanga (Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering) 

Limiting Language 
Only one application per institution (normally identified by having a unique UEI number) is allowed. As defined in the HHS Grants Policy Statement, applications received in response to the same NOFO generally are scored individually and then ranked with other applications under peer review in their order of relative programmatic, technical, or scientific merit. CDC/NIOSH will not accept any application in response to this NOFO that is essentially the same as one currently pending initial peer review unless the applicant withdraws the pending application.

Purpose
NIOSH is seeking applications from qualified organizations for a National Center for Construction Safety and Health Research and Translation (also known as the NIOSH National Construction Center). Applicants are expected to propose multi-disciplinary approaches for impactful applied and intervention research and hazard identification and controls, to develop partnerships for implementing prevention and intervention activities, and to serve as leaders in research translation and research-to-practice for the protection of construction workers in the United States. The NIOSH National Construction Center will accomplish these goals by 1) integrating and advancing research, 2) translating and disseminating best practices, 3) disseminating information, 4) informing policy, and 5) building capacity. Applicants must describe the occupational health and safety burden(s) addressed in their proposals. In addition, they must link the need for the proposed research and related activities to the planned outputs and outcomes that will help address or alleviate the construction sector burdens described. Applicants should also describe the anticipated impacts and potential outcomes of the proposed research and related activities that will occur during the 5-year project period and beyond.

Limit: 1 // Tickets Available: 0

D. Ferguson (COM-P)

Limiting Language
BRF will only accept one LOI per institution

Overview
Brain Research Foundation’s Annual Seed Grant Program was initiated in 1981. The purpose of our program is to provide start-up monies for new research projects in the field of neuroscience that will likely lead to extramural funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) or other outside funding sources. 

The objective of the BRF Seed Grant Program is to support new and innovative projects, especially those of junior faculty, who are working in new research directions. BRF Seed Grant awards are not intended to supplement existing grants

Funding Specifics
1.) Funding is to be directed at pilot research projects that are both innovative and will likely lead to successful grant applications to NIH and other public and private funding entities. 

2.) Assistant Professor – Junior faculty with a new research project that will generate pilot data that will lead to RO1 funding or a comparable outside grant will be first priority. • Must provide abstract and specific aims for current grants and indicate if there is any overlap. 

3.) Associate Professor – Faculty who are pursuing new research directions. • Must explain how the project is a new research direction. • Must provide abstract and specific aims for current grant(s) and indicate if there is any overlap. 

4.) A new technique is not considered a new direction unless it pertains to a different area of study. 

5.) Grants are NOT to be used for bridge funding between grants. 

For full guidelines, please visit https://www.thebrf.org/seed-grants/ 

Limit: 2 // Tickets Available: 0 

Tenured Scholar - F. Gonzalez (Government and Public Policy) 
Untenured Scholar - D. Alharthi (Information Science) 

Limiting Language 
The University of Arizona may nominate two scholars - one tenured and one non-tenured.

Program Overview 
The Andrew Carnegie Fellows Program was established in 2015 to provide philanthropic support for high-caliber research in the humanities and social sciences.

The program asks scholars to help Americans understand how and why our society has become so polarized and what we can do to strengthen the forces of cohesion in our society. Political polarization is characterized by threats to free speech, the decline of civil discourse, disagreement over basic facts, and a lack of mutual understanding and collaboration.

Carnegie anticipates that the work of the Andrew Carnegie Fellows Program will explore the many ways political polarization in the United States manifests itself in society and suggest ways that it may be mitigated. Studies of polarization in other countries are welcome, provided they offer lessons that can be applied to the United States. Projects based in disciplines across the humanities and social sciences are welcome.

Candidates who have been nominated for the Fellows Program since the change of focus to polarization (i.e., who were nominated for the 2024 or 2025 fellowships) may not be nominated again during the current three-year period, regardless of who nominated them.

For more information, please see the program website: https://www.carnegie.org/awards/award/andrew-carnegie-fellows/ 

Limit: 1 // Tickets Available: 0

E. Hamden (Space Institute) 

 Limiting Language
Applicants and partners, subcontractors, or consortium members, include, but are not necessarily limited to, registered U.S. and non-U.S. non-profit organizations; for-profit organizations and small businesses; private voluntary organizations; foundations; private institutions of higher education, public or state institutions of higher education; and faith-based and community institutions. All applicants must be legally registered organizations prior to applying to this announcement. Applicants may submit only one application.

Synopsis
The United States has a unique opportunity to drive select countries in the Middle East and North Africa firmly into the U.S. space ecosystem. Countries within the Middle East and North Africa region are increasingly eager to develop their space capabilities to both diversify their economies and expand their nation’s expertise in science and technology. These countries are looking to cooperate with partners with advanced capabilities in space sciences, and this project aims to position the United States as the partner of choice by engaging and empowering a new generation of leaders in target countries with the necessary skills to harness the global space economy’s vast opportunities.

This initiative seeks an implementing partner with demonstrated expertise in building capacity for shaping and navigating space policy, diplomatic and leadership skills, technical know-how, and business engagement. This approach ensures participants acquire practical skills for space sector advancement while reinforcing United States Government values of responsible technological practices, transparency, innovation, and security. Emphasizing technological interoperability among space partners will drive substantial commercial opportunities for U.S. private sector companies while building sustainable international cooperation frameworks aligned with American space governance principles.

Limit: 1 // Tickets Available: 0
M. Beidaghi (Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering)

Limiting Language
An institution may submit only a single proposal in response to this solicitation, as the lead institution.

If more than one proposal is submitted from an institution, the first proposal submitted from that institution will be considered, and remaining proposals will be returned without review.

An institution may serve as a non-lead institution on more than one proposal.

Synopsis of Program
Autonomous experimentation is poised to accelerate research and unlock critical scientific advances that bolster U.S. competitiveness and address pressing societal needs. Programmable Cloud Laboratories are able to execute automated workstreams, including self-driving lab workflows, to efficiently move research goals through artificial intelligence (AI) enabled experiment design, laboratory preparations, data collection, data analysis and interpretation. While limited-scale efforts have shown promise, versatile programmable and self-driving labs capable of addressing complex research questions with trustworthy results will require coordinated technological advances and an engaged research community. Additional challenges include the availability of automated laboratory infrastructure, standardized approaches to data collection for interoperability, advances in AI for data interpretation and experimental design, and more. This solicitation aims to address such gaps and realize the potential of autonomous experimentation.

The Test Bed: Toward a Network of Programmable Cloud Laboratories (PCL Test Bed) program seeks to establish and facilitate the operation of distributed autonomous laboratory facilities. These laboratories will combine technological and human capacity to enable integration, testing, evaluation, validation, and translation of cutting-edge technology solutions in automated science and engineering. The PCL Test Bed will consist of a set of Programmable Cloud Laboratory Nodes (PCL Nodes) that can be remotely accessed to run custom workflows specified and programmed by users, that are linked together via computational networking, shared science questions, and data and artificial intelligence (AI) standards.

The PCL Test Bed will facilitate access to advanced scientific equipment, accelerate translation and scaling of basic research into industry applications, enhance reproducibility and the exchange of experimental data, and assist in training the next generation of scientists and engineers in state-of-the art methodologies. It will help develop community norms, best practices, and formal standards for automated laboratory procedures, workflows, and instrument testing and validation. It will also advance consistent practices for the collection, sharing, and use of metadata and training data and the use and exploitation of AI methods. This program will also support the development of automated laboratory methods, including self-driving autonomous experiment workflows.

Proposals must have a set of well-defined science drivers poised to derive significant benefit from targeted use of the PCL Test Bed capabilities, including but not limited to synthesis, optimization, and/or characterization experiments, in specific sub-disciplines within materials science, biotechnology, chemistry or other areas of science and engineering. These science drivers will guide the protocols and standards necessary for each node and facilitate collaboration across the Test Bed. For example, science drivers could include but are not limited to:

• Materials science, materials synthesis and characterization efforts that advance U.S. competitiveness.
• Biotechnology experiments in scalable, high-throughput engineering and characterization services for proteins or microbes with novel applications in the U.S. bioeconomy.
• High-throughput experimentation for the accelerated development of catalysts to support more efficient chemical synthesis to address urgent national needs.

User Recruitment and On-Boarding Workshops will be a key component of the PCL Test Bed program and will serve to recruit users to individual PCL Nodes and the Test Bed to help make progress on the proposed science drivers, provide access to technology, test the limits of the experimental set-up of the nodes, and explore new research opportunities between the PCL Nodes and institutions including, but not limited to, R2 Universities, PUI (Primarily Undergraduate Institutions), and two-year institutions.

The PCL Test Bed will be available to researchers in academia as well as industry, including current and former awardees from the Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) programs. The portfolio of projects is available here, https://seedfund.nsf.gov/portfolio.

PCL Nodes are expected to develop and implement plans for continued operation after the period of this award.

No Applicants // Limit: 1 // Tickets Available: 1

Limiting Language
Applicants are only allowed to submit one proposal per organization. If more than one proposal is submitted from an organization, all proposals from that institution will be considered ineligible for funding.

Executive Summary
Priority Region: Jordan

This project leverages American excellence in water conservation projects. It shares U.S. know how with Jordanian audiences in a manner that serves Jordanian needs for creative strategies in changing behavior around water use. At the same time, it amplifies the way in which American campaigns have successfully changed consumer behavior to reach positive ends. A more knowledgeable and water-conscientious population may open the door for American businesses with water infrastructure and hydro-engineering expertise to enter the Jordan market with solution-oriented products. Jordan is the second-most water scarce county in the world. To keep taps flowing, Amman and other urban communities rely on both legacy and new water infrastructure. Even with successful and timely completion of new water projects, including the National Conveyance Project that the United States is supporting through foreign assistance, Jordan estimates it will again face a water deficit by 2035. This, coupled with Jordan’s arid landscape and increased water demands due to population growth, demands a significant need for consumer conservation, as well as a broader understanding among the younger generation about water scarcity issues in Jordan. If young Jordanians have increased awareness of and implement effective water-saving practices, they can become valuable advocates for water efficiency and conservation among their peers, within their families, and throughout Jordanian communities.

The embassy’s Public Diplomacy Section announces a funding opportunity for the “Make Every Drop count: A Youth Water Conservation Project” project and invites proposals for social media campaigns geared toward Jordanian youth (generation Z) that focus on the need for and implementation of water conservation efforts. The eventual title of the project is part of the proposal, and should be Jordan specific, relevant to youth, and use youth vernacular.

The “Make Every Drop Count” project will target 16 – 25-year-old youth in Jordan and showcase expertise from the United States in youth community engagement programs, resource management, media analysis, and social media strategy. Successful proposals will highlight a proven track record in launching successful direct-action campaigns led by and for youth, strong and established connections with experts in the United States and Jordan, knowledge of and willingness to work with existing water conservation efforts in Jordan, previous experience in youth engagement, and ties to youth education institutions or centers.

This initiative aligns with the embassy’s broader efforts to enhance Jordan’s water security, foster local water stewardship, and ensure sustainable access to water for Jordanians, while highlighting U.S. expertise in this area.