Alternatives to Foundational Research in Robotics

Treasury is publishing multiple funding opportunity notices for its RESTORE Act grant programs. This announcement applies only to the Centers of Excellence Research Grants Program.Trust Fund amounts are available to establish one or more Centers of Excellence through competitive subawards to nongovernmental entities and consortia in the Gulf Coast Region, including institutions of higher education. Funds may be used to establish Centers of Excellence, and by those Centers of Excellence for science, technology, and monitoring in one or more of the following disciplines as described in the RESTORE Act and Treasury’s implementing regulations at 31 CFR 34.704: 1) Coastal and deltaic sustainability, restoration, and protection, including solutions and technology that allow citizens to live in a safe and sustainable manner in a coastal delta in the Gulf Coast Region. 2) Coastal fisheries and wildlife ecosystem research and monitoring in the Gulf Coast Region. 3) Offshore energy development, including research and technology to improve the sustainable and safe development of energy resources in the Gulf of Mexico. 4) Sustainable and resilient growth, economic and commercial development in the Gulf Coast Region. 5) Comprehensive observation, monitoring, and mapping of the Gulf of Mexico.Eligible applicants issuing subawards to Center(s) of Excellence must establish and implement a program to monitor compliance with its subaward agreements.

The Cyberinfrastructure for Public Access and Open Science (CI PAOS) program within the Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure (OAC) aims to catalyze new and transformative socio-technical partnerships supporting research data infrastructure ecosystems across d omains through early-stage collaborative activities between cyberinfrastructure researchers, scie ntists , research computing experts, data management experts , research labs , university libraries , and other communities of practice. The CI PAOS program supports the NSF Public Access Initiative by encouraging innovation across the CI ecosystem t o address accessibility, discoverability, reliability, reproducibility, sustainability, and utility of data products in alignment with NSF and national goals for public access and open science [ See: NSF Public Access Initiative , Office of Science and Technology Policy Memorandum on Ensuring Free, Immediate, and equitable Access to Federally funded Research , and Desirable Characteristics of Data Repositories for Federally Funded Research ] . CI PAOS builds on previous investments including those through Dear Colleague Letters NSF 19-069 , NSF 20 -068 , NSF 23-018 , and the FAIROS R esearch C oordination N etworks ( RCN ) p rogram solicitation ( NSF 22-553 ) . NSF accepts proposals pursuant to this Program Description year-round. From time to time , NSF may also issue Dear Colleague Letters to encourage proposals on special thema tic interests and opportunities related to this progra m . GUIDANCE TO POTENTIAL PROPOSERS A primary feature of successful CI PAOS projects is a robust, synergistic collaborative team comprising skills from across communities of science/engineering, research data science, and information science discipline(s) and expertise in leveraging connections between cyberinfrastructure researchers and providers and data specialists . Leveraging international collaboration to build shared norms and address c hallenges related to developing and implementing PAOS policies and practices is encouraged . Research and education in science and engineering benefit immensely from international cooperation. P roposals with an international component are also welcome [See: International Collaborations Opportunities at NSF ] . Proposers must target one or more of th e following themes/pathways: Competency Building, Capability Building, and /or Community Building. Competency Building Open s cience /engineering-driven collaboration . A socio -technical collaborative approach in addressing disciplinary , interdisciplinary , domestic, and international data lifecycle challenges is critical to informing and guiding the development of principles, requirements , and standards of a CI ecosystem that fosters pipelines to good data management and pathways to access. Propos al s should clearly describe the goals, challenges, and rationale for the proposed data science and engineering project and include an explanation of the potential for transformative research and broader impacts on the open science ecosystem [ See: U.S. NSF Broader Impacts ] . Successful proposals will also clearly identify utilization science scenarios and use cases . C apability Building Exploratory and pilot activities. <span class="TextRun SCXW92189242 BCX4" lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US" d

The Biomechanics and Mechanobiology (BMMB) program is part of the Mechanics of Materials cluster within the Division of Civil, Mechanical, and Manufacturing Innovation. The BMMB program supports fundamental and transformative research that advances our understanding of engineering biomechanics and/or mechanobiology. The program emphasizes the study of biological mechanics across multiple domains, from sub-cellular to whole organism. Distinct from conventional engineering materials, the program encourages the consideration of diverse living tissues as smart materials that are self-designing. BMMB projects must have a clear biological component, a clear mechanics component, and must improve our understanding of the mechanical behavior of a living system. Investigations of the mechanical behavior of biological molecules, cells, tissues, and living systems are welcome. An important concern is the influence of in vivo mechanical forces on cell and matrix biology in the histomorphogenesis, maintenance, regeneration, repair, and aging of tissues and organs. The program is also interested in efforts to translate recent biomechanical and mechanobiological discoveries into engineering science. Multiscale mechanics approaches are encouraged but not required. Projects may include theoretical, computational, or experimental approaches, or a combination thereof. NSF does not support clinical trials; however, feasibility studies involving human volunteers or animal subjects may be supported if appropriate to the scientific objectives of the project. Proposals should address the novelty and/or potentially transformative nature of the proposed work compared to previous work in the field. Also, it is essential to address why the proposed work is important in terms of engineering science, and to state the potential impact of success in the research on society and/or industry. Innovative proposals outside of these specific areas of biomechanics and mechanobiology will be considered. However, prior to submission of particularly unique topics, it is strongly recommended that Principal Investigators (PIs) contact the program director to discuss how the proposed work fits within the scope of the program and avoid the possibility of the proposal being returned without review. Related programs also fund certain aspects of biomechanics and mechanobiology research, and PIs are encouraged to examine these to find the appropriate program for submission. Proposals with a heavy emphasis on tissue engineering or developing validated models of tissue and organ systems should consider the Engineering of Biomedical Systems (EBMS) program.Projects addressing biological questions about the physiological mechanisms and structural features of organisms should consult the Physiological Mechanisms &amp; Biomechanics (PMB) program.Projects elucidating aspects of neural control may consider the Perception, Action, &amp; Cognition (PAC) program or the Mind, Machine, and Motor Nexus (M3X) program if the project contains work relevant to human-machine interaction. Projects in rehabilitation engineering should consider the Disability and Rehabilitation Engineering (DARE) program. Projects focused on fundamental research related to design, characterization, and modification of biomaterials should consider the Biomaterials (BMAT) program. Manufacturing systems proposals should consider the Advanced Manufacturing (AM) program. Work on the interplay between structure, dynamics, and function of biomolecules without advancing our understanding of the mechanics of a living system should consider the Molecular Biophysics program. Researchers who believe their work may span multiple programs are particularly encouraged to contact the cognizant program directors well in advance of submission. The duration of unsolicited proposal awards is generally up to three years; proposals for a shorter duration are welcome. Single-investigator award budgets typically include support for one graduate student (or equivalent trainee) and up to one month of PI time per year (awards for multiple investigator projects are typically larger). Proposal budgets or durations that are much larger than typical should be discussed with the program director prior to submission. Proposers can view budget amounts and other information from recent awards made by this program via the &ldquo;What Has Been Funded (Recent Awards Made Through This Program, with Abstracts)&rdquo; link towards the bottom of this page.

The objective of this Agreement is to advance historic preservation at the local level by establishing a task agreement between the National Park Service and the National Alliance of Preservation Commissions (NAPC) to provide training opportunities, promote the Federal Certified Local Government program, and strengthen local preservation commissions by providing bi-annual State Certified Local Government Coordinator Training

The Probability Program supports research on the theory and applications of probability. Subfields include discrete probability, stochastic processes, limit theory, interacting particle systems, stochastic differential and partial differential equations, and Markov processes. Research in probability which involves applications to other areas of science and engineering is especially encouraged. Conferences Principal Investigators should carefully read the program solicitation &quot;Conferences and Workshops in the Mathematical Sciences&quot; (link below) to obtain important information regarding the substance of proposals for conferences, workshops, summer/winter schools, and similar activities. Conference and workshop proposals should be submitted eight months before the requested start date.

The program in Foundations supports research in mathematical logic and the foundations of mathematics, including proof theory, recursion theory, model theory, set theory, and infinitary combinatorics. Conferences Principal Investigators should carefully read the program solicitation &quot;Conferences and Workshops in the Mathematical Sciences&quot; (link below) to obtain important information regarding the substance of proposals for conferences, workshops, summer/winter schools, and similar activities. Conference and workshop proposals should be submitted eight months before the requested start date.

The Combinatorics program supports research on discrete structures and includes algebraic, enumerative, existential, extremal, geometric, and probabilistic combinatorics, including graph theory. Conferences Principal Investigators should carefully read the program solicitation &quot;Conferences and Workshops in the Mathematical Sciences&quot; (link below) to obtain important information regarding the substance of proposals for conferences, workshops, summer/winter schools, and similar activities. Conference proposals must be submitted at least six months in advance of the conference, and in the same fiscal year (which begins October 1) if possible.

The Analysis Program supports research in analysis. Areas of current activity include complex, harmonic, and real analysis; dynamical systems and ergodic theory; functional analysis; mathematical physics; operator theory and operator algebras; partial differential equations and calculus of variations. Conferences Proposals to the Analysis Program for conferences or workshops must be submitted through the program solicitation "Conferences and Workshops in the Mathematical Sciences" (link below). Principal Investigators should carefully read the solicitation to obtain important information regarding the substance of proposals for conferences, workshops, and similar activities. To facilitate timely notification of the availability of support, proposals for conferences, workshops, and similar activities should be submitted 8 months in advance of the start date of the proposed event.

The Algebra and Number Theory program supports research in algebra, algebraic and arithmetic geometry, number theory, and representation theory. Conference proposals The Algebra and Number Theory program also provides support for conferences, workshops, summer/winter schools, and similar activities. Proposals should be submitted to PD 20-1264 using the "Conference" proposal type in research.gov. Proposals with budgets not exceeding $50,000, which in accordance with NSF policy can be reviewed internally, should be submitted: in May for events that will take place in January through April of the following year in October for events that will take place in May through December of the following year. In order to allow time for external review, proposals with budget requests exceeding $50,000 should be submitted nine to twelve months before the event is scheduled to take place.

The Mathematical Biology Program supports research in all areas of mathematical sciences with relevance to the biological sciences. Successful proposals must demonstrate mathematical innovation, biological relevance and significance, and strong integration between mathematics and biology. Some projects of interest to the Mathematical Biology Program may include development of mathematical theories, methodologies, and tools traditionally seen in other disciplinary programs within the Division of Mathematical Sciences. In general, if a proposal is appropriate for review by more than one NSF program, it is advisable to contact the program officers handling each program to determine when and where the proposal should be submitted and to facilitate the review process. The Mathematical Biology Program regularly seeks joint reviews of proposals with programs in the Directorates of Biological Sciences and other relevant programs. Investigators are encouraged to discuss their project with program officers in relevant areas to determine whether it could be considered by more than one program. Research in Undergraduate Institutions (RUI) Investigators submitting an RUI proposal should read the RUI solicitation (link below), as the rules for proposal format may deviate from the Proposal &amp; Award Policies &amp; Procedures Guide (PAPPG). EAGER and RAPID Proposals Prior to submitting proposals for EArly-concept Grants for Exploratory Research (EAGER) or Rapid Response Research (RAPID), Investigators must contact the cognizant program directors. Requests for Award Supplements Principal Investigatorsare encouraged to contact the cognizant program director prior to submission of a proposal for an award supplement. See the PAPPG for more information. Conferences Investigators should carefully read the program solicitation, "Conferences and Workshops in the Mathematical Sciences," (link below) to obtain important information regarding the substance of proposals for conferences, workshops, summer/winter schools, and similar activities. To facilitate timely notification of the availability of support: proposals for conferences, workshops, etc., to be held in the US must be submitted 8 months in advance of the conference date; proposals to support group travel to meetings outside the US must be submitted 12 months in advance of the meeting date.

The Air Force Research Laboratory, Human Effectiveness Directorate (AFRL/RH) and the United States Air Force School of Medicine (USAFSAM) CHEERS Multiple Authority Announcement (MAA) is intended to provide a comprehensive strategy for AFRL/RH and USAFSAM's range of Science and Technology (S&amp;T) requirements, allowing for progression from basic research to technology maturation and transition. 20 Nov 2025: Amendment 01 - Annual Update The CHEERS Multiple Authority Announcement (MAA) MUST be reviewed in tandem with the solicitations in order to have access to all applicable attachments and instructions.&nbsp;There are three (3) open, 2-step, solicitations currently accepting white papers. Please see below for solicitation numbers. Multiple Authority Announcement (MAA), Notice FA238424S2233:&nbsp; 1. CHEERS MAA Open Period 1 – Broad Agency Announcement (BAA), Solicitation FA238424S2334 &nbsp; 2. CHEERS MAA Open Period 2 – Procurement for Experimental Purposes (ARA), Solicitation FA238424S2335&nbsp; &nbsp; 3.&nbsp;CHEERS MAA Open Period 3 - Commercial Solutions Opening (CSO), Solicitation FA238424S2336&nbsp;(NOTE: THIS CSO IS NOT GRANT-ELIGIBLE) Please reach out if you have any questions regarding the MAA and/or the solicitation(s). Technical questions may be directed to the technical POC’s identified in the announcement/solicitations. General questions may be directed to the CHEERS email org box: AFRL.711HPW.MAA@us.af.mil

The U.S. Army Research Office (ARO) in partnership with NSA’s Laboratory for Physical Science (LPS) is soliciting Incubator, Collaboration, and Fellowship research proposals for participation in the LPS Qubit Collaboratory (LQC). The mission of the LQC can be captured in three broad goals: 1) pursue disruptive fundamental research and enabling technologies with a focus on qubit development for quantum computing and other applications (such as sensing); 2) grow deep, collaborative partnerships to tackle the most difficult and relevant long-term problems in quantum information science and technology; and 3) build a quantum workforce of tomorrow through research experiences in government at LPS and at LQC partners. The LQC will offer a mechanism for collaborative research between LPS and academia, industry, FFRDCs, and Government Laboratories to advance foundational and transformative research on challenging problems that have hindered progress in quantum information processing and associated technologies. The goal of this BAA is to seek proposals that bring together expertise from the public and private sectors and their respective research infrastructures to advance solutions that may be best approached as a collaborative team. A Collaboratory is “a center without walls, in which the nation’s researchers can perform their research without regard to physical location, interacting with colleagues, accessing instrumentation, sharing data and computational resources, [and] accessing information in&nbsp;digital libraries.&nbsp;This BAA introduces LQC Research Thrusts ( A.1.1 ) which are the technical areas of interest—which will be updated periodically—where partners of the LQC will pursue joint research with LPS through Incubator ( A.1.2 ) and Collaboration ( A.1.3 ) collaborative agreements. The LQC BAA also fulfills the Government’s overarching interest--through the proposed research and on-site research experiences--in creating and training a workforce in quantum science and technology, generating pathways of solutions that feed technology development, establishing partnerships, and creating transition opportunities. In further support of training through research, Section A.1.4 calls for Quantum Computing Research (QuaCR) Graduate and Postdoctoral Fellowships for US citizens working in areas of interest. Substantial progress on solving the most difficult and long-term Quantum Information Science &amp; Technology (QIST) research problems that unleash further rapid progress in the field will constitute LQC success.&nbsp;Examples of such research problems include (but are not limited to): limits of performance due to device design, material selection, and/or control, the exploration of alternative qubit physics (e.g., different approaches to qubit encoding or types of gates) and lowering of barriers to such approaches, advances in materials that improve qubit gate fidelity, reducing the overhead of classical components in quantum information technology and optimizing classical performance, and the exploration of applications of quantum technologies to new domains. Three categories of proposals are sought for this BAA: 1.Incubator opportunities seek partnership proposals from single investigators and small research groups, including teaching colleges, who may have unique skillsets to contribute toward the pursuit of the research thrusts presented in A.1.1.&nbsp;Incubator proposals may also be the development of concepts into a detailed technical research approach to advance solution of problems of high interest to quantum information science research.&nbsp;Incubator proposals would avail themselves of the collaboration opportunities with LPS research staff and infrastructure made available at the Laboratory for Physical Sciences (LPS) to lay the groundwork for concepts that may be suitable for a Collaboratory proposal or responses to other DoD quantum information science research opportunities. 2.Collaboratory proposals seek research proposals that bring together a strong significant collaboration--researchers from academia, industry, FFRDCs, and/or Government Laboratories--to pursue long-term projects focused on fundamental problems of interest to qubit development and/or associated science and technology.&nbsp;These collaborative groups will propose to work together in a focused manner for a period of time expected to be one to three years in order to demonstrate a proof-of-concept experiment and/or theory exploration to determine the feasibility of their creative idea. 3.QuaCR Research Fellowship proposals seek to support talented U.S. citizen graduate students and postdoctoral researchers in the field of quantum information processing (primary interest) and quantum sensing (secondary interest). Applicants with a background from either within or outside QIS are encouraged. The proposed research areas are described in this BAA and must enhance active Quantum Information Science research efforts being supported by the Army Research Office and/or LPS. Research fellows are encouraged to complete an LPS Internship during their graduate career or visit during their postdoctoral fellowship. Funding Opportunity Title: LPS Qubit Collaboratory Special Research Topics Announcement: W911NF21S0009-SPECIALNOTICE-1 The U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM), Army Research Laboratory (ARL)-Army Research Office (ARO) is looking for proposed research and development solutions under the Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) W911NF21S0009-2 for Basic and Applied Scientific Research in Quantum Computing. The title for this Special Notice is “LPS Qubit Collaboratory Special Topics.” Upon receipt, compliant proposals will be reviewed through a technical and programmatic process in accordance with the evaluation criteria referenced in the W911NF21S0009-2 LQC BAA to determine which proposal may be awarded Grant, Cooperative Agreement, or Procurement Contract under this topic.