Physical Sciences & Engineering

No applicants // Limit: 1 // Tickets Available: 1 

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

The research and development (R&D) activities to be funded under this FOA will support the government-wide approach to the climate crisis by driving the innovation that can lead to the deployment of clean energy technologies, which are critical for climate protection. Specifically, this FOA will invest in R&D to support continued innovation and cost reduction for high-voltage direct current (HVDC) voltage-source converter (VSC) transmission systems. This investment is intended to enable future grid upgrades required to integrate increasing renewable energy generation on to the grid, both onshore and offshore.EERE expects to make a total of approximately $10M of federal funding available for new awards under this FOA, subject to the availability of appropriated funds. EERE anticipates making approximately 3-4 awards under this FOA. EERE may issue one, multiple, or no awards. Individual awards may vary between $2.5M and $3.3M

No applicants // Limit: 1 // Tickets Available: 1 

Only one application can be submitted per institution. Each application submitted under this announcement must address one, and only one, of the Project Areas.

Through this grant program, EPA is soliciting applications to assist in the development and utilization of innovative activities relating to workforce development and career opportunities in the water utility sector, which may include:
(A) expanding the use and availability of activities and resources that relate to the recruitment, including the promotion of diversity within that recruitment, of individuals to careers in the drinking water and wastewater utility sector, including stormwater;
(B) expanding the availability of training opportunities for (i) individuals entering the water and wastewater utility sector; and (ii) individuals seeking to advance careers within the water and wastewater utility sector;
(C) expanding the use and availability of activities and strategies, including the development of innovative activities and strategies, that relate to the maintenance and retention of a sustainable workforce in the water and wastewater utility sector; and
(D) expanding the availability of workforce development and training that enables drinking water and wastewater utility workers to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and other air pollutants to benefit disadvantaged communities. 

Project areas:

• Project Area 1: Targeted internship, apprenticeship, pre-apprenticeship, and post-secondary bridge programs for skilled water utility trades.
• Project Area 2: Education programs designed for elementary, secondary, and higher education students.
• Project Area 3: Regional industry and workforce development collaborations to address water utility employment needs and coordinate candidate development, particularly in areas of high unemployment or for water utilities with a high proportion of retirement eligible employees.
• Project Area 4: Leadership development, occupational training, mentoring, or cross-training programs that ensure incumbent drinking water and wastewater utility workers are prepared for higher level supervisory or management-level positions.
• Project Area 5: Education and training programs, including internship or apprenticeship programs, designed for decentralized water workers (i.e., private well and/or septic system service professionals) to support public health outcomes for communities that rely on private wells for drinking water or decentralized systems for adequate treatment and disposal of wastewater.

Institutionally Coordinated // Limit: 3* // PI:  E-J. Lee (Electrical and Computer Engineering)

 

*UArizona is invited to submit up to three nominations, one for each of the three disciplinary categories: Life Sciences; Physical Sciences & Engineering; and Chemistry.

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

Interested applicants or nominators should contact Marie Teemant, Associate, Research Development Services.

Limit: 2  // PIs: 
Kenry (Pharmaceutics & Pharmacokinetics)
S. Song (Biomedical Engineering)

Only two nominations are allowed per institution.

These competitive research awards provide seed money for junior faculty members that often result in additional funding from other sources. The award amount provided by ORAU is $5,000. The applicant’s institution is required to match the award with at least an additional $5,000. This is a one-year grant (June 1 to May 31).

Eligibility for the Powe Awards is open to full-time assistant professors at ORAU member institutions within two years of their tenure track appointment at the time of application. If there is a question about eligibility, your ORAU Councilor makes the final determination. Only two nominations are allowed per institution.

Research projects must fall within one of these five disciplines:

• Engineering and Applied Science
• Life Sciences
• Mathematics/Computer Sciences
• Physical Sciences
• Policy, Management, or Education

Junior faculty members interested in applying should consult their ORAU Councilor, and visit the frequently asked questions.

Limit: 1  // PI: M. Chertkov (Mathematics)

Uarizona may submit one proposal.

Despite decades of research, scientists do not fully understand the dynamic nature of pathogen and disease emergence. Emerging (and re-emerging) pathogens represent a continuing risk to national security because they threaten health (animal, human, and ecosystem) and economic stability. Often, society falls short on the coordination and breadth of expertise needed to respond to such threats. Effective responses to emerging pathogens will require sustained, global-scale efforts of researchers and organizations. This can only be accomplished by synergistic integration of innovative scientific and technological advances across disciplines and scales, and effective knowledge transfer into practice. As part of these efforts, NSF is organizing a set of activities around the broad theme of Predictive Intelligence for Pandemic Prevention (PIPP).

The PIPP initiative focuses on foundational research and development activities needed to tackle grand challenges in infectious disease pandemics through prediction and prevention. The PIPP Phase II Centers Program expands upon the Phase I Development Grant Program and is the NSF's flagship program to establish a network of Centers or large-scale awards/investments that will support interdisciplinary team-based approaches to accelerate research and development activities in emerging infectious diseases and pandemics. The overall goal of the PIPP Phase II Centers program is to support research and development activities needed to transform society's ability to forecast the likelihood of pandemic-scale events, detect outbreaks early, and respond efficiently.

Continued advancement, enabled by sustained federal investment channeled toward issues of national importance holds the potential for further economic impact and public health improvements.

Informed by visioning activities in the scientific community as well as a previous round of development grant activities (PIPP Phase I), the program invites proposals for Centers that have a principal focus in one of the following multidisciplinary themes:

Theme 1: Pre-emergence - Predicting and detecting rare events in complex, dynamical systems

Theme 2: Data, AI/ML and Design - Computing, manufacturing and technology innovation for pandemics

Theme 3: The Host as the Universe - Identifying host-pathogen tipping points that dictate control or spread of an infection

Theme 4: Human Systems - The role of human behavior, activities and environments in disease emergence, transmission, and response or mitigation

These components directly support the NSF's strategic goals by funding cutting edge science aimed at societal challenges and opportunities that face the Nation, while concurrently working to develop a globally competitive and diverse science, engineering and technology-adept workforce.

The Directorates for Biological Sciences (BIO), Computer Information Science and Engineering (CISE), Engineering (ENG), Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences (SBE), and Mathematics and Physical Sciences (MPS) are jointly collaborating to support the PIPP Phase II activities. Involvement of and collaboration with other research communities with significant effort in related spaces, including use-inspired research is highly encouraged.

Limit: 3  // PIs: 
O. Zhupanska (Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering)
E. Butcher (Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering)
H. Fasel (Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering)

For more information about this funding program, please contact:

• Cody Nicholls, PhD, Associate Director, National Security Programs
• Nate Gahr, Senior Director, National Security Programs

UArizona may submit three (3) applications.

The Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (OUSD(R&E)), in the Department of Defense (DOD), released a funding opportunity announcement (FOA) for the fiscal year (FY) 2024 DOD Research and Education Program for Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Minority-Serving Institutions (HBCU/MI).  As you know, this effort is DOD’s premiere program in providing support to advance basic research at HBCUs and MIs.  In particular, this FOA seeks to:

• Improve the programs and capabilities of HBCUs/MIs in science and engineering disciplines relevant to DOD;
• Increase the participation of HBCUs and MIs in flagship DOD research programs by furthering HBCU/MI capacity; and
• Increase the number of underrepresented minority graduates in STEM fields relevant to the Department.

Principal Investigators (PIs) should consider novel approaches for proposed projects, with a focus on enhancing the capabilities of their institutions to develop stronger STEM programs to better HBCU/MI participation in competitive defense research programs.  The ultimate goal of the program is to promote STEM research to underrepresented students and encourage them to pursue STEM careers in disciplines of importance to DOD.  Proposed research should align with the areas of interests that have been identified by each of the branches, which can be found in previous broad agency announcements (BAAs) from the Army Research Laboratory (ARL), the Office of Naval Research (ONR), and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR).  More information on each of these BAAs can be found in the full solicitation.  

DOD anticipates awarding a total of $50 million, up to $1 million per grant, for a performance period of 48 months. 

Institutionally coordinated  // Limit: 2 // PI: A. Zabludoff (Astronomy)

Institutionally coordinated submission. Contact RDS for more information.
Number of pre-proporsals allowed as lead institution: two

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has advanced tremendously and today promises personalized healthcare; enhanced national security; improved transportation; and more effective education, to name just a few benefits. Increased computing power, the availability of large datasets and streaming data, and algorithmic advances in machine learning (ML) have made it possible for AI research and development to create new sectors of the economy and revitalize industries. Continued advancement, enabled by sustained federal investment and channeled toward issues of national importance, holds the potential for further economic impact and quality-of-life improvements.

The 2023 update to the National Artificial Intelligence Research and Development Strategic Plan, informed by visioning activities in the scientific community as well as interaction with the public, identifies as its first strategic objective the need to make long-term investments in AI research in areas with the potential for long-term payoffs in AI. AI Institutes represent a cornerstone Federal Government commitment to fostering long-term, fundamental research in AI while also delivering significantly on each of the other eight objectives in that strategy. The National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence (NSCAI) identifies AI Institutes as a key component of a bold, sustained federal push to scale and coordinate federal AI R&D funding and to reinforce the foundation of technical leadership in AI.

This program is a multisector effort led by the National Science Foundation (NSF), in partnership with the Simons Foundation (SF), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Department of Defense (DOD) Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (OUSD (R&E)), Capital One Financial Corporation (Capital One), and Intel Corporation (Intel).

This program solicitation expands the nationwide network of AI Research Institutes with new funding opportunities over the next two years. In this round, the program invites proposals for institutes that have a principal focus in one of the following themes aimed at transformational advances in a range of economic sectors, and science and engineering fields:

• Group 1 - Awards anticipated in FY 2024:
  • Theme 1: AI for Astronomical Sciences
     
• Group 2 - Awards anticipated in FY 2025:
  • Theme 2: AI for Discovery in Materials Research
  • Theme 3: Strengthening AI

Limit: 1  // PI selected:  M. Eichenfield (Optical Sciences)

Number of applications allowed per institution: 1

The NSF is introducing the National Quantum Virtual Laboratory (NQVL) concept as an overarching shared infrastructure designed to facilitate the translation from basic science and engineering to the resultant technology, while at the same time emphasizing and advancing its scientific and technical value. The NQVL aims to develop and utilize use-inspired and application-oriented quantum technologies. In the process, NQVL researchers will explore quantum frontiers, foster Quantum Information Science and Engineering (QISE) workforce education and training, engage in outreach activities at all levels, and promote broadening participation, diversity, equity, and inclusion in QISE, thereby lowering barriers at all entry points of the research enterprise.

The engagement of the entire United States (U.S.) QISE community will be necessary for this initiative to succeed, and, indeed, the project is designed to include participation from a full spectrum of organizations who have expertise to contribute. In particular, NSF recognizes that the involvement of industry partners is essential and will welcome these to be a part of the overall structure. Partnerships with other U.S. Federal agencies under the NQI umbrella are also encouraged.

This solicitation lays out a vision for the entire NQVL program that includes Quantum Science and Technology Demonstration (QSTD) projects, support for enabling technologies through Transformative Advances in Quantum Systems (TAQS), as well as a central coordination hub. Proposals for Pilot phase QSTDs are solicited at this time.

This opportunity is for Pilot phase QSTD proposals only.
QSTD Pilot awards may be funded at a level up to $1,000,000 for 12 months per project.

Limit: 3  // PIs selected: 
Shafae & Satam (Center for Semiconductor Manufacturing)
H.Rastgoftar (Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering)
Y. Vitaliy (Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering) 

Number of applications allowed per institution: 3

The Department of Defense (DoD) is soliciting applications for the acquisition of equipment/instrumentation under the Fiscal Year 2024 Research and Education Program for HBCU/MI. The Research and Education Program is designed to enhance the research capabilities of HBCUs and MIs and to strengthen their STEM education programs. The purpose of funding under this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is to (1) support the acquisition of equipment/instrumentation to augment existing capabilities or to develop new capabilities in research areas of interest to DoD, and (2) attract students to pursue studies leading to STEM careers. Although funding provided under this FOA cannot be used for student support, in order to further DoD’s objective of attracting students to pursue studies leading to STEM careers, applicants must address the impact of the requested equipment/instrumentation on student participation in research. 

No applicants // Limit: 1 // Tickets Available: 1 

UArizona may submit one proposal to the  to the GSI track. UA not eligible for research reactor track.

The Office of Nuclear Energy (NE) mission is to advance nuclear energy science and technology to meet U.S. energy, environmental, and economic needs. DOE intends to facilitate the education and training of nuclear scientists, engineers, and policy-makers through graduate and undergraduate study, two-year programs, and R&D that is relevant to the Department and the U.S. nuclear energy industry in general. Within Nuclear Energy University Program (NEUP), the specific goals of this Infrastructure FOA are: 

• To support, maintain, or enhance the institution’s capacities to attract and teach high quality students interested in nuclear energy-related studies;
• Build the institution’s research or education capabilities; and
• Enhance the institution’s capabilities to perform R&D that is relevant to NE’s mission.

The average GSI award will be approximately $250,000 for the total project period. No Cost Share / 1:1 Cost Match >$250k**.