Science Grants

U.S. National Science Foundation

Revolutionizing Engineering Departments (hereinafter referred to as RED) is designed to build upon previous efforts in engineering education research. Specifically, previous and ongoing evaluations of the NSF Engineering Education and Centers Division program and its predecessors, as well as those related programs in the Directorate for STEM Education, have shown that prior investments have significantly improved the first year of engineering students experiences, incorporating engineering material, active learning approaches, design instruction, and a broad introduction to professional skills and a sense of professional practice giving students an idea of what it means to become an engineer. Similarly, the senior year has seen notable change through capstone design experiences, which ask students to synthesize the technical knowledge, skills, and abilities they have gained with professional capacities, using reflective judgment to make decisions and communicate these effectively. However, this ideal of the senior year has not yet been fully realized, because many of the competencies required in capstone design, or required of professional engineers, are only partially introduced in the first year and not carried forward with significant emphasis through the sophomore and junior years. The Directorates for Engineering (ENG) and STEM Education (EDU) are funding projects as part of the RED program, in alignment with the Improving Undergraduate STEM Education (IUSE) framework and Professional Formation of Engineers (PFE) initiative. These projects are designing revolutionary new approaches to engineering education, ranging from changing the canon of engineering to fundamentally altering the way courses are structured to creating new departmental structures and educational collaborations with industry. A common thread across these projects is a focus on organizational and cultural change within the departments, involving students, faculty, staff, and industry in rethinking what it means to provide an engineering program. In order to continue to catalyze revolutionary approaches, while expanding the reach of those that have proved efficacious in particular contexts, the RED program supports four tracks: RED Planning (Track 1), RED Adaptation and Implementation (Track 2), RED Innovation (Track 3), and RED Innovation Partnerships (Track 4). Two- and four-year institutions are encouraged to submit to any track as appropriate for their goals and context. RED Planning (Track 1) projects will support capacity-building activities at institutions of special interest to NSF s mission, including two-year engineering-centered programs building transfer partnerships, two-year or four-year institutions in EPSCoR jurisdictions, Primarily Undergraduate Institutions (PUIs), and Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs) in order to create more opportunities in engineering for students in every part of the country. Planning projects should provide the support for such institutions to explore the development of a RED Projects in Tracks 2, 3, & 4. RED Adaptation and Implementation (Track 2) projects will adapt and implement evidence-based organizational change strategies and actions to the local context, which helps propagate this transformation of undergraduate engineering education. RED Innovation (Track 3) projects will develop new, revolutionary approaches and change strategies that enable the transformation of undergraduate engineering education. RED Innovation Partnerships (Track 4) projects will achieve the same goals as Track 3 projects across multiple institutions. Of particular interest to this track are projects partnering two-year institutions with other eligible institutions. Projects in tracks 2, 3, & 4 will include consideration of the cultural, organizational, structural, and pedagogical changes needed to transform one or more departments to ones in which students are engaged, develop their technical and professional skills, and establish identities as professional engineers or technologists. The focus of projects in these tracks should be on the department s disciplinary courses and program. RED project initiatives are expected to be institutionalized at the end of the funding period. Proposals are especially encouraged that address areas of increased national interest including but not limited to advanced manufacturing, advanced wireless, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, microelectronics and semiconductors, net zero technologies, sustainability, systems engineering, and quantum engineering.

U.S. National Science Foundation

The NSF Research Traineeship (NRT) program seeks proposals that explore ways for graduate students in research-based master s and doctoral degree programs to develop the skills, knowledge, and competencies needed to pursue a range of STEM careers. The program is dedicated to effective training of STEM graduate students in high priority interdisciplinary or convergent research areas, through a comprehensive traineeship model that is innovative, evidence-based, and aligned with changing workforce and research needs. Proposals are requested that address any interdisciplinary or convergent research theme of national priority, as described in section II.D below. The NRT program addresses workforce development, emphasizing broad participation, and institutional capacity building needs in graduate education. The program encourages proposals that involve strategic collaborations with the private sector, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), government agencies, national laboratories, field stations, teaching and learning centers, informal science centers, and academic partners. NRT especially welcomes proposals that reflect collaborations between NRT proposals and existing NSF Eddie Bernice Johnson Inclusion across the Nation of Communities of Learners of Underrepresented Discoverers in Engineering and Science (INCLUDES) Initiative, Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU), Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP), NSF Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM), and NSF STEM Ed Organizational Postdoctoral Fellowship program (STEM Ed OPRF) projects, provided the collaboration will strengthen both projects. Researchers at minority serving institutions and emerging research institutions are strongly encouraged to submit proposals. Collaborations between NRT proposals and existing NSF INCLUDES projects should strengthen both NRT and INCLUDES projects.

U.S. National Science Foundation

The National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) are interested in proposals that will propel our understanding of the biomedical research enterprise by drawing from the scientific expertise of the science of science policy research community. NSF promotes the progress of science by maintaining the general health of research and education across all fields of science and engineering. The Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences (SBE) Directorate within NSF supports basic research on people and society. The SBE sciences focus on human behavior and social organizations; how social, economic, political, cultural and environmental forces affect the lives of people from birth to old age; and how people in turn shape those forces. SBE's Science of Science: Discovery, Communication and Impact Program (SoS:DCI) supports research designed to advance the scientific basis of science and innovation policy. The NIH is the U.S. federal agency charged with supporting biomedical research in the U.S.The National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) within the NIH supports basic biomedical research that increases understanding of biological processes and lays the foundation for advances in disease diagnosis, treatment and prevention. Both NSF and NIH believe that there are opportunities and needs for building and supporting research projects with a focus on the scientific research enterprise. The two agencies also recognize that when programmatic goals are compatible, coordinated management and funding of a research program can have a positive synergistic effect on the level and scope of research and can leverage the investments of both agencies. Therefore, NIGMS and SBE are partnering to enable collaboration in research between theSoS:DCI program and NIGMS. This partnership will result in a portfolio of high-quality research to provide scientific analysis of important aspects of the biomedical research enterprise and efforts to foster a diverse, innovative, productive and efficient scientific workforce, from which future scientific leaders will emerge. Prospective investigators are strongly encouraged to discuss theirproposals with the program officers before submission to determine project relevance to the priorities of both SBE and NIGMS. Specific questions pertaining to this solicitation can also be directed to the SBE and NIGMS program officers.

National Telecommunications and Information Admini

This NOFO is the fourth issued under NTIA s Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund (PWSCIF or Innovation Fund). Titled Solutions for AI-Native RAN, the goal of this NOFO is to support the development of a secure compute environment to enable or leverage native artificial intelligence ( AI ) capabilities in the Radio Access Network (RAN) that generate revenue for operators, cost savings, and innovative third-party services, and demonstrate a business case for one or more services that leverage these capabilities, accelerating commercial deployments and the export of open, interoperable, and secure equipment.

Bureau of Democracy Human Rights and Labor

Through this cooperative agreement, the Office of Children s Issues seeks to fund one research study whose goal is to better understand how international parental child abduction (IPCA) affects abducted children and their left-behind parents in order to better support impacted individuals, their families, and their communities in the United States. The study objectives are: 1) identify short- and long-term effects of IPCA on abducted children and left-behind parents across multiple domains (including psychological/mental health, child development, child welfare, economics/finance, social and community factors, legal, law enforcement and other governmental systems); 2) identify gaps in support for children and left-behind parents impacted by IPCA in the United States; and 3) recommend solutions to the identified gaps in support in the United States.

Geological Survey

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is offering a funding opportunity to a CESU partner for research in determining the effects that variations of spatial geotechnical sediment properties have on geomorphic response during storm impacts. This effort will advance capabilities to predict impacts of storms along the Nation's coastline. Hurricanes Ian and Fiona, which caused major damage ($50 65 billion) during the 2022 hurricane season, demonstrated increased stakeholder needs for data and tools to prepare for severe events. Risk models in coastal environments are needed to address multi-hazard threat sources including coastal flooding and erosion. In order to increase the security of the Nation, "We want a resilient national infrastructure that can withstand natural disasters, resist and thwart foreign threats, and prevent or mitigate any events that might harm the American people or disrupt the American economy", [National Security Strategy of the United States of America, Nov. 2025, page 3; 2025-National-Security-Strategy.pdf]. Predictions of these impacts require the concurrent simulation of ocean currents, water levels, wave groups, and coastal geomorphological evolution. It has been shown that coastal geotechnical variability can have a profound effect on the geomorphic response during extreme storm events, either enhancing or hindering the onset of barrier island breaching that can increase inland flooding. Geotechnical factors such as sediment porosity, grain size, and critical erosion stress can alter the beach response during conditions ranging from calm, moderate, to high intensity impacts. The USGS seeks a partner for research to advance a coupled ocean-wave-sediment modeling system for predictions of geomorphic change due to variation in geotechnical sediment properties. Results will produce coastal science that supports storm and emergency preparedness for management of existing or proposed engineering, infrastructure, and coastal protection systems. This project aligns with EO 14154 - Unleashing American Energy (January 20, 2025) and SO 3418 - Unleashing American Energy (February 3, 2025). Generation of domestic energy resources, including, but not limited to, on Federal lands requires knowledge of coastal processes, ocean currents, waves, and ocean sea floor characterization. Security of the nation's critical energy resources is required to prevent impacts from severe storms, necessitating the need to better understand how storms can impede the development of energy resources. This project also aligns with EO 14156 - Declaring a National Energy Emergency (January 20, 2025) and SO 3417 - Addressing the National Energy Emergency (February 3, 2025) The country requires reliable, diversified, and affordable supply of energy to drive the Nation's manufacturing, transportation, agriculture, and defense industries, and to sustain the basics of modern life and military preparedness. This necessitates the integrity and expansion of the Nation's energy infrastructure-from coast to coast, and identify potential threats to the acquisition and distribution of critical resources near the coast. Finally, this project is funded through the Congressional Authority Disaster Supplemental from Hurricane Ian (Public Law 117-328) to improve data and tools to assist stakeholders in preparing for severe events.

Geological Survey

The U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) Western Fisheries Research Center in partnership with the Grand Canyon Science Center and Wetland and Aquatic Research Center solicits technical assistance from a CESU partner to: a) integrate a novel road network model into an existing invasive quagga and zebra mussel risk assessment model for Washington State; and b) expand that model to establish a standardized risk assessment for golden mussels in California. This new optimization framework will be designed to identify ideal locations for mitigation interventions like watercraft inspection and decontamination (WID) stations and "clean-drain-dry" information campaigns. This work will leverage a collaborative multi-year effort that developed standardized risk assessment models in the Missouri and Columbia river basins (Raymond et al. 2024 and 2026). This risk-based approach is being done as part of a call to action by state and federal resource managers in Washington State and California. USGS staff will provide model development guidance, assist with gathering needed datasets, and will help facilitate relationships with state and federal resource management partners. This work supports the President's Executive Order 14154 Unleashing American Energy (January 20, 2025 and adjoining Interior Secretarial Order 3418 -Unleashing American Energy (February 3, 2025) as well as Executive Order 14156 - Declaring a National Energy Emergency (January 20, 2025) by protecting numerous hydro-electric facilities and ensuring reliable energy is readily accessible. It protects new water delivery infrastructure investments associated with Executive Order 14181 - Emergency Measures to Provide Water Resources in California and Improve Disaster Response in Certain Areas (January 24, 2025). It also ensures that the "Gold Standard of Science" (Executive Order 14303- Restoring Gold Standard Science (May 23, 2025) is being applied to issues of significant economic, safety, and security importance to the nation.