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ERI Funding Opportunities

Welcome to the ERI Funding Opportunities Site

College of Engineering campus
Research drives excellence in the College of Engineering by serving as a magnet to attract and retain outstanding faculty and students. Funding opportunities relevant to the College of Engineering will be posted here. If you are interested in pursuing any of these opportunities please contact Lori Jarmon (ljjarmon@iastate.edu, 294-3316) for assistance or additional information. New opportunities are posted weekly. To have the new opportunities delivered directly to your inbox please subscribe using your ISU email address. One email per week.

Equitable Community Solar and Energy Assistance Fellowship

DoE

https://www.energy.gov/communitysolar/equitable-community-solar-and-energy-assistance-fellowship?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery

Posted Date: December 06. 2024

Application Due Date: December 30, 2024

he Equitable Community Solar and Energy Assistance Fellowship offers energy professionals the opportunity to work with state and regional organizations to support the implementation of the Clean Energy Connector. This online tool, developed by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), in partnership with three pilot regions (Washington, D.C., Illinois, and New Mexico), aims to make community solar subscriptions that include verified savings and strong consumer protections more accessible to households participating in government-run low-income support programs, beginning with HHS’s Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP).

The fellowship will enable talented candidates from diverse backgrounds to spend up to two years working at host organizations in participating pilot regions. Fellows receive a stipend, health benefits, and an educational allowance. You can find more information on eligibility and how to apply below.

Fellows will assist community solar and LIHEAP program offices in piloting the tool, which may include:

  1. Coordinating with DOE, HHS, and the state/region office on the implementation of the Connector;
  2. Supporting the management and verification of community solar projects on the Connector;
  3. Supporting local LIHEAP administrator education and capacity needs;
  4. Creating and providing education and outreach materials to support income-verified household enrollment in low-income community solar subscriptions;
  5. Liaising between the community solar and LIHEAP programs to increase state capacity; collaboration, and coordination and adding additional capacity support where needed;
  6. Engaging with community solar subscription managers to encourage their participation on the Connector;
  7. Supporting the growth and expansion of the Connector as opportunities arise; and
  8. Additional duties as required.

Breakthrough Technological Innovations and AI-Integrated Solutions for Complex Societal Challenges

NSF

https://new.nsf.gov/events/breakthrough-technological-innovations-ai-integrated

Posted Date: December 09, 2024

Webinar Date: February 27, 2025

https://nsf.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_HI7b1MSoQeq5OjDnZrReyg#/registration

Complex societal challenges require an “all hands on deck” approach, requiring methodologies and infrastructure to support collaborative teams. This talk will outline the critical role and synergistic catalysis potential of advanced cyberinfrastructure (CI) and artificial intelligence (AI) in enhancing the effectiveness and scalability of innovations and team work, discussing both the technological underpinnings and practical implementations of AI-integrated solutions and systems. Through examining real case studies leveraging open data platforms and scalable CI, the talk will highlight the role of composable systems and services to catalyze platforms to empower users from all backgrounds to engage in meaningful research, learning, and discovery. We will explore interdisciplinary approaches that combine expertise from multiple fields, enabling the creation of innovative, sustainable solutions that can adapt to evolving challenges. We will also discuss the needs for a digital continuum and AI-integrated ecosystem where data and research infrastructure are seamlessly integrated and universally accessible, bridging the gaps between data and computing through robust services, facilitating an inclusive AI landscape that empowers diverse research communities and domains. This approach underscores the importance of open, extensible, and equitable systems in driving forward the capabilities of AI, ultimately contributing to the resolution of grand scientific and societal challenges. Lastly, we will overview how the National Data Platform (NDP) and WIFIRE use this integrated use-inspired services approach to lower the barriers to entry and to streamline research and education workflows as well as societal challenges.

Water, Landscape, and Critical Zone Processes (WaLCZ)

NSF

Solicitation: 25-519

https://new.nsf.gov/funding/opportunities/walcz-water-landscape-critical-zone-processes/nsf25-519/solicitation

Posted December 06, 2024

Proposals Accepted Anytime

The Water, Landscape, and Critical Zone Processes program supports research on the Earth’s near-surface environment and how that environment responds to change. The Program focuses on the complex interplay amongst and between hydrologic, geomorphic, and geochemical processes and how they regulate the structure and function of the Earth’s near surface. These processes drive weathering and soil development, control water availability and quality, and help regulate the Earth’s climate system, all of which are important for natural resource sustainability and mitigation of natural hazards. It is expected that the research funded in this program will advance fundamental knowledge in Earth surface processes, leading to transformational discoveries in Earth Sciences.

Structure and Physics of the Solid Earth (SPSE)

NSF

Solicitation: 25-518

https://new.nsf.gov/funding/opportunities/spse-structure-physics-solid-earth/nsf25-518/solicitation

Posted Date: December 06, 2024

Proposals Accepted Anytime

The Structure and Physics of the Solid Earth Program (SPSE) aims to advance fundamental knowledge about the ongoing dynamical processes over the age of the Earth that evolve the structure of planet Earth and underpin geohazards. SPSE supports research at all temporal and spatial scales, from the Earth’s core to its crust. Through laboratory, field, theoretical, and computational studies, the program encompasses a wide range of disciplines including structural geology, tectonics, and geophysics. Research in these areas can help improve our understanding of natural hazards including earthquakes and mass flows, as well as Earth’s formation and its magnetic field.

Chemical Evolution of the Solid Earth and Volcanology (CESEV)

NSF

Solicitation: 25-516

https://new.nsf.gov/funding/opportunities/cesev-chemical-evolution-solid-earth-volcanology/nsf25-516/solicitation#elig

Posted Date: December 09, 2024

Proposals Accepted Anytime

The Chemical Evolution of the Solid Earth and Volcanology (CESEV) program aims to advance fundamental knowledge about the origin and evolution of our home planet including its core, mantle, and continental crust. The program encourages a wide range of laboratory, field, experimental, theoretical, and/or computational studies that explore the continuous high-temperature igneous and metamorphic geochemical and petrologic processes that shape the Earth. Volcanology and magmatic processes, ore deposits and economic geology, and geochronology are all in the purview of this program. Research in these areas can help improve our understanding of volcanic and other natural hazards, and the distribution of mineral and other natural resources.

Security, Privacy, and Trust in Cyberspace

NSF

Solicitation: 25-515

https://new.nsf.gov/funding/opportunities/satc-20-security-privacy-trust-cyberspace/nsf25-515/solicitation#elig

Posted Date: December 05, 2024

Proposal Due Date(s): September 29, 2025,  Last Monday in September, Annually Thereafter

January 26, 2026,  Last Monday in January, Annually Thereafter

The Security, Privacy, and Trust in Cyberspace (SaTC 2.0) program aims to build trust in global cyber ecosystems. Trust is the core tenet of this program and, for the purposes of this solicitation, is broadly defined to include our confidence in the security, privacy, and resilience of cyberspace, particularly in the face of malicious intent. Achieving this level of confidence in cyberspace requires not only understanding the vulnerabilities in a system that could be exploited and how they can be addressed, but also understanding the social and technical dimensions of trust in cyber systems, along with the educational efforts needed to increase public awareness of risks in cyberspace, and building a well-trained corps of privacy and security professionals.

SaTC 2.0 spans the interests of NSF’s Directorates for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE), Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS), Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences (SBE), and STEM Education (EDU). Proposals must be submitted pursuant to one of the following designations, each of which may have additional requirements:

  • RES: The Research (RES) designation is the focus of the multidisciplinary SaTC 2.0 research program. RES projects are limited to $1,200,000 in total budget, with durations of up to four years. Proposals with a total budget of more than $600,000 have additional requirements including Broadening Participation in Computing and collaboration plans. RES proposals may include an optional Transition to Education (TTE) plan with a budget up to $50,000 (within the RES total budget request) to co-evolve novel educational initiatives in the context of the proposed research.
  • EDU: The Education (EDU) designation is used to identify proposals focusing on education and workforce training in building trust in security, privacy, and resilience of cyberspace. EDU proposals are limited to $500,000 in total budget, with durations of up to three years. EDU proposals that primarily focus on education research with demonstrated collaboration, as reflected in the PI team between cybersecurity subject matter experts and education researcher(s), may request an additional $100,000 beyond the $500,000 limit.
  • SEED: The Seedling (SEED) category is intended for special topics defined by accompanying Dear Colleague Letters. SEED projects are limited to $300,000 in total budget, with durations of up to two years.

HARMONY: Human-Centric Analytics for Resilient & Modernized Power sYstems

DoE

Solicitation: DE-FOA-0003446

https://www.fedconnect.net/FedConnect/PublicPages/PublicSearch/Public_Opportunities.aspx

Concept Paper Submission Due Date: January 27, 2025, 5:00 PM ET

Full Proposal Submission Due Date: March 20, 2025, 5:00 PM ET

This NOFO seeks applications to enhance grid reliability and resilience in the face of growing uncertainties and in the age of big data to accelerate pathways towards grid modernization goals. Proposed solutions to this Announcement will support and ensure a more secure, resilient, and reliable energy delivery system by mitigating and enabling better understanding of cascading failures in power grids. To ensure a reliable and resilient grid operations and operational planning in this rapidly evolving landscape and to effectively manage the emerging risks, a more rigorous understanding, characterization, and visualization of uncertainties is crucial. Detailed technical descriptions of the major subject matter areas are provided in the sections that follow.

Risk Analytics
o Advance the state-of-the-art probabilistic risk analysis, and metrics, that reflect both epistemic and aleatory sources of uncertainty in power system operations and planning.
o Push the frontiers of knowledge in risk science that can provide an integrated framework for grid resilience under deep uncertainty.
o Characterize and assess centralized vs decentralized (agile/modular) control architecture’s response to uncertainty.
o Develop novel assumption-deviation analytics to allow for effective communication of model’s underlying assumptions to power system decision-makers.

Cybersecurity and Grid Communications
o Develop advanced methodologies for quantifying cyber risk in electric power grid systems.

o Develop advanced risk and data analytics tools that streamline vulnerability impact assessment across the supply chain, enhance compatibility checks for diverse system patches, and incorporate human factors to optimize decision-making processes in critical patch management, minimizing disruptions and cost-related hesitations in infrastructure maintenance.
o Ensure secure, interoperable communications at the grid edge with distributed energy resources (DER), through data analytics and human-centered design, enhancing integration and resilience across diverse systems and communication protocol spaces.
o Develop a common operating picture between grid operations centers and network operations centers. Assess the extent to which the coupling of grid network data feeds and grid management system data feeds enhance situational awareness, anomaly detection, and response decisions. Develop solutions and guidelines for building the common operating picture and integrating it into grid operator human-machine interfaces.

Human Factors
o Identify topics related to novel market and rate design as well as econometrics of DERs and distributed assets that leverage data analytics and incorporate risks associated with uncertainties in human behavior.
o Characterize, assess, and visualize metrics on power system uncertainty to improve the grid operational human machine interfaces (HMI).

Nuclear Data InterAgency Working Group (NDIAWG) Research Program

DoE

Solicitation: DE-FOA-0003498

https://pamspublic.science.energy.gov/WebPAMSExternal/Interface/Proposal/Solicitation/FOAList.aspx

Posted Date: December 3, 2024

LOI Submission Deadline: January 2, 2025 at 11:59 PM ET (Required)

Full Proposal Submission Deadline: March 3, 2025 at 11:59 PM ET

The DOE SC programs in Nuclear Physics (NP) and Fusion Energy Sciences (FES) hereby announce their interest in receiving applications to the Nuclear Data InterAgency Working Group Research Program for research projects intended to answer nuclear data questions of interest to the research communities supported by those programs.

Key Areas of Focus:

  • Nuclear Cross-Sections: Accurate measurement and modeling of neutron cross-sections for materials used in fusion reactors, with an emphasis on detailed sensitivity studies to prioritize data gaps critical for reactor design and safety.
  • Decay Schemes and Activation Products: Understanding radioactive decay pathways and resultant activation products, particularly for candidate materials, and integrating updated evaluations of medium and heavy elements.
  • Material Selection Criteria: Integrating nuclear data with material selection processes, supported by comprehensive uncertainty quantification, to optimize performance and reduce the radiological impact.
  • Waste Management Implications: Predicting the long-term behavior of activated materials, with a focus on comprehensive uncertainty analysis and the development of collaborative repositories to enhance data accessibility and integration

Fiscal Year 2025 Technology Transfer (T2) Notice of Funding Opportunity

DoT

Solicitation: FTA-2025-002-TRI

https://www.transit.dot.gov/notices-funding/fy25-technology-transfer-t2-program-notice-funding-opportunity

Posted Date: December 03, 2024

Proposal Due Date: February 11, 2025, 11:59 PM ET

FTA is soliciting applications to develop and implement a new T2 program to facilitate the deployment of promising innovative research solutions resulting from FTA’s research investments. A strategic aim for this work includes strengthening U.S. manufacturing by encouraging technology transfer and, as appropriate, supporting small businesses and nonprofit organizations’ retention of intellectual property and helping commercialize their federally funded innovations. The goals of the T2 program are to: (1) Develop processes, systems, and resources to support the deployment and adoption of FTA’s innovative research results in the public transportation industry. lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1 (2) Support the commercialization and production of technologies developed in the U.S., in part through FTA-funded research and development. (3) Overcome barriers and challenges affecting the adoption of research products in transit agencies.

Life and Environments Through Time (LET)

NSF

Solicitation: 25-517

https://new.nsf.gov/funding/opportunities/let-life-environments-through-time

Posted Date: December 06, 2024

Full Proposal Accepted Anytime

The Life and Environments Through Time (LET) program supports research that advances knowledge about the patterns and processes relating to the origin and evolution of Earth’s climate, environments, life, and sedimentary record. This research takes place at the molecular, local, regional, and global scales from the Archean Eon through the Holocene epoch. LET-supported research can be useful for predicting and planning for future global change, and for the maintenance and security of ecosystem services and human societies.

Examples of topics within the broad scope of LET include scientifically and societally relevant areas of interest. These include but are not limited to:

  • Patterns and processes related to the origin, ecology, and evolution of life on Earth.
  • Biological, geochemical, mineralogical, sedimentological, and geological processes responsible for forming and shaping the Earth’s sedimentary lithosphere and its materials.
  • Paleoclimate, climate proxy, and model-based studies advancing knowledge of the drivers, mechanisms, and feedback systems of Earth’s climate.
  • Development of geochemical and geobiological proxies, tools, methods, and models that will advance the understanding of life and environments through time.
  • Biological, geochemical, and physical processes through which critical minerals and materials are mobilized, concentrated, and separated.
  • Research that aims to better understand geohealth and the effects of environmental pollution, geochemical exposures, and climate change on human health and well-being.
  • Research on bioeconomy to address regional or global societal challenges such as climate change, carbon sequestration, bioremediation, and environmental sustainability.
  • Studies on conservation paleobiology to advance knowledge on environmental and human drivers of ecological change.
  • Studies of geological hydrogen that advance knowledge on geochemical and microbial processes that stimulate or enhance hydrogen production from geological materials and reservoirs.

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