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Physical Sciences & Engineering

2026 Blavatnik National Awards for Young Scientists

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.

Funding Type
Internal Deadline
External Deadline
12/10/2025
Solicitation Type

Securing Fair and Reliable Critical Mineral Supply Chains

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

Funding Type
Internal Deadline
External Deadline
9/26/2025

Revitalizing Domestic Manufacturing by Developing the Next Generation of America’s Shipbuilders through International Partnerships

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

Funding Type
Internal Deadline
External Deadline
9/26/2025

Advancing Strategic Space Partnerships in the Middle East - DFOP0017462

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.

Funding Type
Internal Deadline
External Deadline
8/25/2025

NSF 25-541: Test Bed: Toward a Network of Programmable Cloud Laboratories

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.

2025 Innovative Grants - The Legacy Foundation of Southeast Arizona

Limit: 1 per department 

L. O'Neill - (Center on Aging)

Limiting Language
My organization is a government, a tribal entity, or a university: You may submit one application per department. You may submit another if, and only if, you are collaborating with another organization.  
o If you would like to submit a second application on behalf of a collaborative group of organizations, submit only one application per project. This means choosing just one organization to submit the collaborative application.  
o If several departments are applying for the same project, please treat it as a collaborative application. 
o A government or tribal agency, or university may apply for projects separate from those the individual departments apply for.   

Grant Description
All organizations requesting grants must provide services that directly benefit populations residing in Cochise County and eastern Santa Cruz Counties. 

The Legacy Foundation of Southeast Arizona is seeking applications for Innovative grants.  

Grant Cycle – June 2, 2025 through September 26, 2025. Awards will be announced by December 13, 2025.  Grants will be awarded January 2026.  

Every year the Legacy Foundation of Southeast Arizona funds Innovation Grants for projects up to $50,000 that are aligned with the Foundation Mission of Promoting Population Health and Community Wellness. 

Collaboration and forging partnerships with other community organizations are key determinants in funding decisions. 

The Legacy Foundation of Southeast Arizona will kick off the Innovative Grant Cycle with a workshop that will provide full information regarding the goals of the cycle. 
 

University Consortium for Applied Hypersonics Project Call - TEES/JHTO-RPP-2025-001

Limit: 3 // Tickets Available: 0

O. Zhupanska (Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering)
M. Krunz (Electrical and Computer Engineering)
B. Revil-Baudard (Materials and Science Engineering)

Limiting Language:

Each PPP is limited to a maximum of four PIs. No university shall exceed leading three PPPs. Candidate must be a University Consortium Member prior to submitting a Notice of Intent (NOI)

Topics: 

  1. TOPIC 1: IMPROVED SUB-SCALE HYPERSONIC AIR-BREATHING PROPULSION TEST CAPABILITIES  
  2. TOPIC 2: DIGITAL TWIN ARCHITECTURE FOR HYPERSONIC AIR-BREATHING SYSTEM AND MISSION DESIGN TRADE STUDIES
  3. TOPIC 3: SHOCK PROPERTIES OF ADDITIVELY MANUFACTURED MATERIALS (AMM)
  4. TOPIC 4: EXPERIMENTAL & MODEL BASED ENDOTHERMIC FUEL PROPERTIES
  5. TOPIC 5: CERAMIC TESTING FOR HYPERSONIC VEHICLES
  6. TOPIC 6: MITIGATION OF THERMAL DEGRADATION IN HYPERSONIC WINDOWS
  7. TOPIC 7: NETWORKING AND COLLABORATIVE COMMUNICATIONS 

Questions regarding the Project Call may be emailed to UCAH@tamu.edu through September 5, 2025 at 5:00 PM EST. Answers to the questions will be posted on the UCAH website for this RPP Project Call. All questions and answers will be made available to all proposers, unless they involve proprietary or CUI material. 

Funding Type
Internal Deadline
External Deadline
10/1/2025 (Notice of Intent), 10/31/2025 (Prototype Project Proposals)

The Circular Supply Chains Accelerator - DE-FOA-0003512

Request Ticket // Limit: 2* // Tickets Available: 2

Concept paper - Limit: 1 // Tickets Available: 1

Associated Application - Limit: 1 // Tickets Available: 0 
H. Jin (Systems and Industrial Engineering)

Limiting Language
An entity may submit only one concept paper and one associated application to this NOFO. The concept paper and application must address no more than one topic area identified in Key Facts section above. If an entity submits more than one concept paper the DOE will only review the last submission. Thislimitation does not prohibit an applicant from collaborating on other applications (e.g., as a potential subrecipient or partner) so long as the entity is listed as the applicant on only one concept paper and one associated application submitted under this NOFO.

Executive Summary
The Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office (AMMTO) supports the development of a globally competitive U.S. energy industrial base that drives supply chain resiliency and energy security through materials and manufacturing innovation. The development of circular supply chains that enable efficient use of materials through reuse, repair, remanufacture, and recycling is important toward accomplishing these goals.1,2 Efforts to achieve a robust and competitive manufacturing sector through innovation in circular supply chains cannot be successful without: (1) a comprehensive understanding of the landscape of technical and non-technical factors that could impact the adoption of emerging technologies and (2) strong connections across the circularity field to accelerate innovations from R&D- scale to commercial practice. This NOFO seeks to establish a new accelerator which will address this need through the development of a comprehensive technical and market analysis portfolio and stakeholder engagement activities.

The Accelerator’s analysis portfolio will establish a comprehensive understanding of both technical and non-technical factors impacting the adoption of emerging technologies for circular supply chains. Technical factors of interest include the state of emerging technologies in terms of performance and cost metrics. Awareness of these technical factors requires strong understanding of the R&D landscape as well as the state of industrial practice. Non-technical factors of interest include market conditions, supply chain dynamics, policy and regulatory landscape, workforce readiness, infrastructure capabilities, among others. These non- technical market factors may be region-specific and would be critical to inform a systems-level perspective of potential barriers and pathways to widespread commercial adoption. The Accelerator will leverage understanding of technical and non-technical factors to analyze market opportunity within specific product and material market segments. This will identify specific early adopter markets and seq

Internal Deadline
External Deadline
7/18/2025

2025 Schmidt Sciences Polymaths

Limit: 2 // Tickets Available: 0 

B. Bash (Elecrical and Computer Engineering)
I. Barton (Mining Engineering & Mineral Resources)

Limiting Language:
We welcome you to submit up to two nominations from University of Arizona

Eligibility Criteria:

  • Have achieved tenure or an equivalent status prior to the nomination deadline and within the past three calendar years (between January 1, 2022 and August 10, 2025),
  • 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.


Overview
We are especially interested in supporting highly creative, original, and risky research that is clearly distinct from past areas and directions. We strongly encourage you to consider nominating not simply your most accomplished researchers, but specifically extraordinary researchers whose work and ideas are adventurous, bold, highly creative, and less likely to receive traditional funding or support. Successful applicants propose potential new projects that are wholly original and very different from any of their past work.
 

Funding Type
Internal Deadline
External Deadline
8/10/2025
Solicitation Type

G. Harold & Leila Y. Mathers Foundation: 2025 Basic & Translational Research Grants - Fall Cycle

Limit: 3 // Tickets Available: 0

M. Bhattacharya (Neuroscience)
J. Streicher (Pharmacology)
K. Huntoon (Neurosurgery)

The mission of The G. Harold and Leila Y. Mathers Foundation is to advance knowledge in the life sciences by sponsoring scientific research that will benefit mankind. The foundation’s grants program seeks to support basic science, ideally with potential translational applications. Immunology, microbiome, genomics, structural biology, cellular physiology, neuroscience, etc., are some noteworthy examples of current research support.

For many years the Foundation has enjoyed special recognition in the research community for supporting “basic” scientific research, realizing that true transformative breakthroughs usually occur after a thorough understanding of the fundamental mechanisms underlying natural phenomena. More recently, and with the advent of newer investigative methodologies, technology, and tools, the Foundation now embraces innovative translational research proposals.

The grant duration must be three years. The budget should be reasonable based on the aims of the project. Indirect costs may not exceed 10%. Preliminary Budgets are required during the LOI phase. A detailed budget justification is not required until the proposal phase. The Foundation’s grant award is not intended to be utilized for purchasing capital equipment (“bricks-and-mortar”) for the lab and is intended only to support the actual investigation. The Foundation assumes and expects that capital equipment must be provided by the research institution or university.

Application Guidance:

  • Grant budgets cannot exceed $600-750K
  • The Foundation primarily supports basic science, ideally with potential translational applications.
  • Immunology, microbiome, genomics, structural biology, cellular physiology, neuroscience, etc., are some noteworthy examples of current research support.
  • Covid-19-related research projects (aims or sub-aims) will not be considered for support.
  • Medical imaging technology-related projects and/or electrical engineering technology development projects will not be considered for support.
  • Plant Biology Research, Oceanography, Space Exploration. and Global warming-related research will not be considered for support.
  • As technology continues to advance, it is apparent that investigations in the area of basic science and translational research may become more and more reliant on collaborative, interdisciplinary projects. It is important to note that any interdisciplinary project proposals may require additional information regarding the collaborator(s)’ achievements and relevant expertise.
  • Feedback for declined LOI Requests will not be provided; LOIs or Formal Proposals that have been declined should not be resubmitted at a later date for consideration.
  • Renewal applications for the same or related research will not be accorded priority consideration. It is strongly advised that any re-application for grant renewal consider a new direction based on prior research or emphasize some new potential translational aspects and not merely an extension of previously funded research.
  • Requests for funding previously federally supported research and/or applications pending federal approval will not be accorded priority consideration.
  • Requests for support of clinical trials or drug discovery will not be approved. The Foundation will not support projects which we consider pre-clinical drug development.




Fall 2025

Nominations and Portal Registration due date: September 19, 2025 (Friday, 8 PM EST (5 PM PST)
Nominations can be submitted beginning August 1, 2025.

Due date for LOI applications: October 3, 2025 (Friday, 8 PM EST (5 PM PST) 
Applicants notified of proposal invitation or LOI rejection within one month of the due date. 

Due date for invited formal proposals: December 12, 2025 (Friday, 8 PM EST (5 PM PST) 
Applicants are notified of proposal approval or rejection within 2 ½ months of the due date. 

 *Late nominations and/or registrations will not be approved.
 

Funding Type
Internal Deadline
External Deadline
9/19/2025