Division of Engineering Research
E-Funding News & Announcements
May 16, 2014 edition
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Do you need research subjects? If so, please note:
Michigan State University has recently partnered with ResearchMatch, a national volunteer
registry created to help match interested volunteers with researchers looking for participants.
ResearchMatch is a collaborative project led by Vanderbilt University and involves CTSA
consortium members and affiliates. https://ctsi.msu.edu/register-use-researchmatch
COMMUNITY INPUT ON FUTURE NSF NANOTECHNOLOGY INFRASTRUCTURE
SUPPORT PROGRAM
http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2014/nsf14068/nsf14068.jsp?WT.mc_id=USNSF_25&WT.mc_ev=click
The Engineering Directorate invites input from members of the science and engineering
community on a future NSF nanotechnology infrastructure support program that will succeed the
National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network. The input window for comment will be open
from May 2, 2014 through June 2, 2014.
USAID’s Global Development Lab and Bureau for Economic Growth, Education,
and the Environment (E3) will host its first biannual webinar with higher education
institutions next week. The purpose of these webinars is three-fold: 1) to bring attention to
USAID programs, policies and strategic investment areas that may be of interest to the Higher
Education community; 2) to highlight the work of diverse higher education institutions on a range
of development and global engagement fronts – with and without USAID funding; and 3) to
share upcoming opportunities for engagement with USAID.
Date & Time: Wednesday, May 28 from 10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. (EST)
Webinar Registration is required: https://usaidhighered.eventbrite.com
USAID Speakers:
Eric Johnson, Bureau for Economic Growth, Education, and Environment
Ticora Jones, U.S. Global Development Lab
Clara Cohen, Bureau for Food Security
Higher Education Institution Speakers:
Joan Smith, Red Rocks Community College – Clean Energy Partnership in Jordan
The College of William and Mary – Aid Data Center
Andrew Baird, RTI and university partners in Liberia and Philippines
APLU ISSUES NATURAL RESOURCES ROADMAP TO GUIDE RESEARCH, EDUCATION &
POLICY DECISIONS ON GRAND CHALLENGES OVER NEXT DECADE
The APLU released a Science, Education, and Outreach Roadmap for Natural Resources,
which details six “grand challenges” facing the U.S. in the areas of sustainability, water, climate
change, agriculture, energy, and education. The report recommends a series of research,
education and outreach activities to meet these challenges over the next decade…The six
grand challenges addressed in the report are: Sustainability; Water; Climate Change;
Agriculture; Energy; and Education. http://www.aplu.org/page.aspx?pid=2964
NEW FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
1. USDA FOR BIODIESEL FUEL EDUCATION PROGRAM
2. Commercialization Assistance Program (CAP): Supplemental Funding to
Current SBIR/STTR Phase II Awards (NSF 14-072)
3. NSF-Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) Collaborative Research (NSF 14071)
4. Coupling, Energetics, and Dynamics of Atmospheric Regions (CEDAR)
(NSF 14-545)
5. Decision Frameworks for Multi-Hazard Resilient and Sustainable Buildings
(RSB)
6. DE-FOA-0001127: DELIVERING EFFICIENT LOCAL THERMAL AMENITIES
(DELTA)
7. DE-FOA-0001002: OPEN INNOVATIVE DEVELOPMENT IN ENERGYRELATED APPLIED SCIENCE (OPEN IDEAS)
8. DE-FOA-0001128: METHANE OBSERVATION NETWORKS WITH
INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY TO OBTAIN REDUCTIONS (MONITOR)
9. NIH-Novel Technologies for Rapid and Sensitive Biomonitoring in Humans
(R43/R44)
10. Small Business Technology Transfer Program Phase I Solicitation (STTR)
(NSF 14-540)
11. Green Talents - International Forum for High Potentials in Sustainable
Development
1.
USDA FOR BIODIESEL FUEL EDUCATION PROGRAM
http://www.csrees.usda.gov/newsroom/news/2014news/05061_biodiesel.html
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture
announced the availability of almost $1 million in grant funding to programs that educate
consumers about the benefits of biodiesel fuel use. The funding is made available through the
Agricultural Act of 2014 (Farm Bill).
Due Date: June 27, 2014
2.
Commercialization Assistance Program (CAP): Supplemental Funding to Current
SBIR/STTR Phase II Awards (NSF 14-072)
http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2014/nsf14072/nsf14072.pdf
Commercialization Assistance Program (CAP) supplements to Small Business Innovation
Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program Phase II grants are
intended to assist the small businesses in their technology commercialization efforts.
Specifically, this supplemental funding is aimed at enabling the grantee to secure the services of
a third-party service provider that will assist with one or more of the following commercialization
activities:
A.
the identification and development of customers for the NSF-funded technology;
B.
providing advice on financing strategy and fundraising from private sector;
C.
establishing strategic partnerships with relevant stakeholders; and/or
D.
the evaluation and protection of intellectual property.
Due Date: 45 days prior to end of current award
3.
NSF-Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) Collaborative Research (NSF 14-071)
http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2014/nsf14071/nsf14071.pdf
NSF expects to award a small number of supplements (up to $20,000) to current NSF awards to
enable US-based researchers to collaborate with Germany-based researchers (who are
currently funded by DFG) on topics that fit the Design Automation part of the Software Hardware
Foundations program (http://www.nsf.gov/cise/ccf/shf_pgm12.jsp) of the CISE Division on
Computing and Communication Foundations. NSF encourages new collaborations, and, as part
of this initiative, also hopes to make strong topical connections to DFG's priority program on
"Design and Architectures of Dependable Embedded Systems."
Due Date: June 30, 2014.
4.
Coupling, Energetics, and Dynamics of Atmospheric Regions (CEDAR) (NSF 14-545)
http://nsf.gov/pubs/2014/nsf14545/nsf14545.pdf
CEDAR is a broad-based, community-guided, upper atmospheric research program. The goal is
to understand the behavior of atmospheric regions from the middle atmosphere upward through
the thermosphere and ionosphere into the exosphere in terms of coupling, energetics,
chemistry, and dynamics on regional and global scales. These processes are related to the
sources of perturbations that propagate upward from the lower atmosphere as well as to solar
radiation and particle inputs from above. The activities within this program combine
observations, theory and modeling.
Due Date: July 17, 2014
5.
Decision Frameworks for Multi-Hazard Resilient and Sustainable Buildings (RSB)
(NSF 14-557) http://nsf.gov/pubs/2014/nsf14557/nsf14557.pdf
Buildings are a significant part of our nation's civil infrastructure for our welfare, livelihood,
security, and safety. Buildings exist in an economic, social, technological, and natural context.
They must be designed for resilience to the multiple natural hazards, such as earthquakes,
tsunamis, windstorms (e.g., hurricanes and tornadoes), and floods, which may be experienced
over their lifespan. Their design must also accommodate emerging societal goals for
sustainability to reduce their impact on the natural environment. This high performance for multihazard resiliency and sustainability requires a comprehensive understanding of the risks, costs,
and opportunities for a range of decisions, from choosing the building materials to designing the
many systems comprising the building. Among these systems, the building's soil -foundation-
structural-envelope (SFSE) system is critical to maintain the integrity and functionality of the
building to protect occupants and the interior.
The goal of the Decision Frameworks for Multi-Hazard Resilient and Sustainable Buildings
(RSB) solicitation is to advance knowledge for new concepts for multi-hazard resilient and
sustainable SFSE building systems using decision frameworks for selection among alternative
building system designs. Research for multi-hazard resilient and sustainable SFSE building
systems supported under the this solicitation must include the consideration of a rational
decision framework, preferences, concepts for SFSE systems, and design optimization methods
for generating and choosing among alternative SFSE systems.
Due Date:July 24, 2014
6.
DE-FOA-0001127: DELIVERING EFFICIENT LOCAL THERMAL AMENITIES (DELTA)
https://arpa-e-foa.energy.gov/FileContent.aspx?FileID=e40148c3-4e45-4ef2-bc923e79990c7887
Building heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) account for 13% of energy
consumption in the United States. The DELTA program seeks to enable saving 2% of domestic
energy use by funding the development of Localized Thermal Management Systems (LTMS).
LTMS modify the local thermal envelope around the human body rather than the building. When
implemented in a built environment, LTMS are expected to enable an expansion of the
temperature setpoints in buildings. ARPA‐E analyses demonstrate that a potential energy
savings for building heating and cooling >15% is available when compared to traditional HVAC
setpoints.
Concept Paper Submission Deadline: 6/13/2014 5:00 PM ET
7.
DE-FOA-0001002: OPEN INNOVATIVE DEVELOPMENT IN ENERGY-RELATED APPLIED
SCIENCE (OPEN IDEAS)
https://arpa-e-foa.energy.gov/FileContent.aspx?FileID=1c56ac4a-0acd-43ee-a2ecab80b33f4146
This announcement is purposely broad in scope to encourage the submission of the most
innovative, out-of-the-box ideas in energy technology. Since the first law of thermodynamics
states that energy is always conserved, i.e. it can never be created or destroyed, our principal
concern is with the conversion of energy into useful energy or maximizing usable energy
(exergy). Useful energy can take many forms including: radiant energy from lights, electrical
energy for appliances, thermal energy to heat homes, mechanical energy for transportation,
chemical energy in the form of food, and energy used to make products. From the second law of
thermodynamics, the entropy of a system cannot decrease when converting energy from one
form to another (ΔS ≥ 0), the end effect being that all useful energy humans consume ultimately
results in the production of heat that is radiated into space, except for a few exceptions such as
the energy embedded in products. It is therefore our endeavor to identify technologies that
enable the efficient and cost-effective conversion between or within the various different forms
of energy while minimizing exergy destruction. Within this general framework, ARPA-E seeks
transformative ideas that enable the most efficient, economical, sustainable, and
environmentally benign conversion of energy while minimizing exergy destruction.
Concept Paper Submission Deadline: 9/26/2014 5:00 PM ET
8.
DE-FOA-0001128: METHANE OBSERVATION NETWORKS WITH INNOVATIVE
TECHNOLOGY TO OBTAIN REDUCTIONS (MONITOR)
https://arpa-e-foa.energy.gov/FileContent.aspx?FileID=b3b39122-6371-45a7-8b42eb01df3841aa
The goal of the MONITOR program is to support the development of disruptive approaches for
methane emission detection and measurement that will enable widespread utilization and
facilitate reductions in methane emissions. The program implementation focus is on “oil and gas
systems” from the wellhead to the end-user. Cost-effective measurement of methane emissions
will facilitate detection and early mitigation of leaks and process upsets, thus reducing the
overall emissions of methane from the production of natural gas.
Concept Paper Submission Deadline: 6/13/2014 5:00 PM ET
9.
NIH-Novel Technologies for Rapid and Sensitive Biomonitoring in Humans (R43/R44)
(RFA-ES-14-005) http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-ES-14-005.html
This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) solicits Small Business Innovative Research
(SBIR) grant applications from small business concerns (SBCs) to develop point-of-care or
benchtop instruments, or other laboratory-based approaches for the characterization of major
classes of analytes that include known and suspected toxicants and their major metabolites in
human biological samples, including blood, urine, and saliva, which are likely to be available
from both prospective and retrospective epidemiological cohorts. The focus of technology
development is on the ability to detect multiple chemical analytes with high sensitivity and
specificity in low volumes of biological specimens.
Due Date: August 15, 2014
10. Small Business Technology Transfer Program Phase I Solicitation (STTR) (NSF 14-540)
http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2014/nsf14540/nsf14540.pdf
The Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Program stimulates technological innovation
in the private sector by strengthening the role of small business concerns in meeting Federal
research and development needs, increasing the commercial application of federally supported
research results, and fostering and encouraging participation by socially and economically
disadvantaged and women-owned small businesses.
Due Date: June 11, 2014
11. Green Talents - International Forum for High Potentials in Sustainable Development
http://www.greentalents.de/
Since 2009, the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) has held the
prestigious “Green Talents – International Forum for High Potentials in Sustainable
Development” to promote the international exchange of ideas regarding green solutions. The
award, whose patron is Minister Professor Johanna Wanka, honours 25 young researchers from
around the world each year. The winners come from various scientific disciplines and are
recognised for their outstanding achievements in making our societies more sustainable. The
Green Talents 2014 will be selected by a high-ranking jury of German experts and are granted
unique access to the elite of the country’s sustainability research field.
Due Date: 16 June 2014, 12 p.m. CET.
Locate Funding Opportunities by keywords:
http://www.egr.msu.edu/der/funding-opportunities
http://vprgs.msu.edu/funding-opportunities/external
http://www.grants.gov/applicants/find_grant_opportunities.jsp