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 ERI at eri-pre@iastate.edu 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.

 

 

Advanced barrier systems for paper packaging

Halo

https://www.halo.science/request_for_solutions/high-barrier-paper-packaging

Posted Date: March 09, 2026

Proposal Due Date: May 01, 2026

We’re proactively developing a next-generation packaging platform that keeps materials in circulation—designed for strong recyclability in paper streams and credible compostability pathways where appropriate. This direction also aligns with evolving policy and infrastructure: frameworks such as the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) and California Senate Bill 54 (SB54) are accelerating expectations for packaging that is demonstrably recyclable or compostable, increasing market pressure on formats that fall short.

We are seeking coating materials, barrier systems, fiber treatments, or process technologies that enable high-barrier paper-based packaging with strong functional performance and compatibility with high-speed Horizontal Form-Fill-Seal (HFFS) flow-wrap and Stand-up-Pouch (SUP) equipment. The ultimate goal is reliable forming, sealing, and cutting performance at commercial speeds (~100 ppm), along with structural integrity through processing and distribution.

CONSORTIUM FOR NUCLEAR FORENSICS

NNSA

Solicitation: DE-FOA-0003567

https://simpler.grants.gov/opportunity/4d6a2cbd-bce7-4cd3-93c6-83f5a0f04357

Posted Date: March 04, 2026

Proposal Due Date: June 10, 2026 by 11:59 pm ET

Direct-fund basic research at universities that complement applied research in nuclear forensics at the DOE National Laboratories to include foundational disciplines of radiochemistry; geochemistry; shock physics; nuclear physics, science and engineering; radiation detector science; nuclear material science engineering; nuclear chemical engineering; modeling, simulation and optimization methods for nuclear applications; and seismology and infrasound methods supporting yield determination. A secondary benefit to this research is the development of a diverse and highly talented cadre of technical professionals, including scientists, engineers, technicians, and operational personnel, who will become the next generation of technical leaders in nuclear missions, such as nuclear forensics, nonproliferation, incident response, intelligence, and energy. These professionals are expected to primarily benefit the DOE National Laboratories as future research staff but will also benefit academia, private industry, and U.S. government agencies, including Energy, State, Defense, Homeland Security, Justice, and the Intelligence Community.

 

Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence Applications in Power Electronics and Power Devices

DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory

Solicitation: ARL-C-SEDD-300057

https://zintellect.com/Opportunity/Details/ARL-C-SEDD-300057

Posted Date: March 7, 2025

Due Date: Open

 

The CCDC. Army Research Laboratory is seeking a qualified researcher to perform work in the areas of machine learning (ML), artificial intelligence (AI), power electronics and power semiconductor devices. Qualified candidates must have recently obtained a
bachelor’s degree in Electrical or Computer Engineering and must currently be enrolled in a Master’s or Ph.D. Degree in Engineering. The selected applicant will perform research in power semiconductor module-level AI/ML implementation on
embedded systems. These systems will utilize new and existing sensor devices and techniques to allow the module to autonomously alter its trade space parameters.

Responsibilities of the selected applicant include:
* Perform an extensive literature review of existing AI/ML algorithms
* Design and build power semiconductor module prototypes with embedded computational power to execute AI/ML algorithms
* Implement AI/ML algorithms in the embedded system
* Setup a suitable testbed to analyze, test, identify and validate the benefits of the AI/ML implementation
* Write reports and make presentations to document the outcomes of the research

Natural Language Processing on Army Operational Data

DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory

Solicitation: ARL-R-ARD-400022-F1

https://zintellect.com/Opportunity/Details/ARL-R-ARD-400022-F1

Posted Date: March 7, 2025

Due Date: Open

The Army Research Laboratory Research Associateship Program (ARL-RAP) is designed to significantly increase the involvement of creative and highly trained scientists and engineers from academia and industry in scientific and technical areas of interest and relevance to the Army. Scientists and Engineers at the CCDC Army Research Laboratory (ARL) help shape and execute the Army’s program for meeting the challenge of developing technologies that will support Army forces in meeting future operational needs by pursuing scientific research and technological developments in diverse fields such as: applied mathematics, atmospheric characterization, simulation and human modeling, digital/optical signal processing, nanotechnology, material science and technology, multifunctional technology, combustion processes, propulsion and flight physics, communication and networking, and computational and information sciences.

Resilient Materials, Devices, and Sensors

DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory

Solicitation: ARL-R-SEDD-300090-ES

https://zintellect.com/Opportunity/Details/ARL-R-SEDD-300090-ES

Posted Date: March 7, 2025

Due Date: Open

This opportunity is available at the U.S. Army Research Laboratory located at Adelphi, MD.  The Energy Sciences Division (ES) is seeking candidates with a strong interest in future energy technologies who has recently studied or is currently studying in engineering or science. Energy demand is expected to increase across the board and we are working on technologies to harvest local power, condition it efficiently, and store it quickly and for long times. These multi-disciplinary problems require materials, electronics, 3D printing, and design expertise.

Evolution of Metallic Microstructures

Air Force

Solicitation: 13.25.05.C0255

https://ra.nas.edu/RAPLab10/Opportunity/opportunity.aspx?LabCode=13&ROPCD=132505&RONum=C0255

Posted Date: March 7, 2025

Due Date: Open

 

The size, shape, and spatial distributions of phases and defects in a material comprise its microstructure. During thermomechanical processing, microstructures evolve in ways that affect the useful life and properties of structural metallic materials. Fast and accurate prediction of microstructures and their temporal evolution is needed for optimization of the processing routes used for producing aerospace components out of new alloys. Taking into account the micromechanisms activated by complex deformation processing phenomena (which may concurrently include grain boundary sliding, dynamic recrystallization, and precipitation of secondary phases) requires the development of new techniques for measuring microstructure morphology, topology, and statistics; for generation of representative synthetic microstructures; for running mesoscale simulations of microstructure evolution under realistic processing conditions; and for improving our understanding of the effects of deformation processing on microstructures through emerging characterization techniques. Proposals are sought that (1) have significant potential for simultaneously advancing both computational and experimental capabilities in-house at AFRL; (2) present pathways for incorporation of understanding of micromechanistic phenomena of microstructure evolution into fast-acting multi-scale models suitable for coupling with finite element simulations of thermomechanical processes; and (3) address novel alloy systems with significant potential for aerospace applications.

Physics of wide bandgap and ultra-wide bandgap semiconductor electronic and optoelectronic devices

DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory

Solicitation: ARL-R-ESS-400045-F1

https://zintellect.com/Opportunity/Details/ARL-R-ESS-400045-F1

Posted Date: March 7, 2025

Due Date: Open

The U.S. Army DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory (ARL), located in Adelphi, MD outside of Washington, DC, is seeking Postdoctoral Fellows to study the physics of wide bandgap and ultra-wide bandgap semiconductor electronic and optoelectronic devices. Fellows will have the opportunity to conduct their research using a wide variety of experimental capabilities, including ultrafast and continuous wave lasers and other light sources spanning the 200 nm to 2500 nm spectral range and a picosecond ultrafast electron source, coupled to experimental techniques such as time-resolved and continuous wave photoluminescence, cathodoluminescence, electron beam induced current, Terahertz spectroscopy, and other pump-probe photomodulation spectroscopies such as photoreflectance, electroreflectance, and both time domain and frequency domain thermoreflectance. The Fellows will also have the opportunity to collaborate with a multidisciplinary team that includes material growth, device fabrication, and both theoretical physics and device modeling, as well as with academic and industrial collaborators.

Multifunctional Materials for Naval Applications II

NRL

Solicitation: 64.15.85.C0847

https://ra.nas.edu/RAPLab10/Opportunity/opportunity.aspx?LabCode=64&ROPCD=641585&RONum=C0847

Posted Date: March 7, 2025

Due Date: Open

 

This research opportunity invites applicants to join an active team of researchers with a mission to perform basic and applied research in (a) developing and characterizing new material systems with multifunctional capabilities (e.g., structural plus functional) of interest to Navy, DoD, and the broader materials community, (b) developing novel manufacturing or processing protocols that induce new functionalities (not present in raw materials) and enable integration of materials at multiple length scales, and (c) developing in-situ or ex-situ testing capabilities to characterize the mechanical properties of new and existing materials and  their interfaces and monitor their fracture and fatigue behaviors. Successful candidates will participate in on-going research projects and develop new research directions.

The current research programs focus on 1) modeling and characterizing dynamic adhesion of elastomer at micro- and nanoscale, 2) pneumatic and thermal actuation of polymer membranes, 3) transfer printing of 1D or 2D nanomaterials, and 4) additive manufacturing and diffusion bonding of aluminum alloys. Desired skillsets for candidates include 1) mechanical-material design & testing at multiple scales (nano to macro) and/or multiple physics (structural + thermal, electrochemical, etc.) such as tensile, compression, bending, fatigue/fracture, and dynamical mechanical analysis, and especially, in-situ MEMS/NEMS mechanical devices or in-situ nanoindentation, 2) adhesion-based transfer printing using elastomer, in particular, instrumentation development and dynamic adhesion modeling, and 3) AM of aluminum alloys and post-processing. The following additional skills will be a plus: 1) micro- and nanofabrication experience in cleanroom and 2) computer programming for experimentalists like Python, Matlab, Labview, etc.

Robotics and Artificial Intelligence

DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory

Solicitation: ARL-R-USMA-400051

https://zintellect.com/Opportunity/Details/ARL-R-USMA-400051

Posted Date: March 23, 2025

Due Date: Open

 

This research involves conducting fundamental and applied research in the field of Robotics and Autonomous Systems (RAS) and Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning (AI/ML). The fellowship position is based at the United States Military Academy’s Robotics Research Center in West Point, New York.

The following areas have the most opportunities (this is not an exhaustive list and is provided to convey scope):

  • Design and development of robotic prototype systems for applied research
  • Developing multi-agent systems in communications-limited environments
  • Optimization, simulation, and modelling of robot behaviors and embodied intelligence
  • Sensor integration and fusion for distributed simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM)
  • Machine perception for object detection, identification, and tracking
  • Test, Evaluation, Verification, and Validation of robotic and intelligent systems
  • Develop tactics, techniques, and procedures for employing RAS in military formations
  • Large Language Models with emergent reasoning capabilities
  • Modeling hierarchical, contextual knowledge for complex multi-modal scene understanding
  • Neuro-symbolic architectures for representation, learning, reasoning and inference
  • Biologically-inspired metacognitive AI paradigms, such as hyperdimensional computing

Pressure Gain Combustion for Emerging Propulsion and Power Systems

Air Force

Solicitation: 13.30.08.C0260

https://ra.nas.edu/RAPLab10/Opportunity/opportunity.aspx?LabCode=13&ROPCD=133008&RONum=C0260

Posted Date: March 27, 2025

Due Date: Open

 

Pressure gain combustion concepts, including Rotating Detonation Engines (RDE) are a potentially revolutionary technology which utilize pressure rise from the combustion process to produce momentum and/or pressure. Recent research at the Detonation Engine Research Facility (DERF) at Wright-Patterson AFB has advanced the state-of-the-art through computational and experimental studies utilizing several in-house developed codes and research engines. Areas of work include combustion/detonation initiation, fuel injection, controls, materials, power extraction, heat transfer, inlets, nozzles, ejectors, hybrid detonation/turbine engines, acoustics, emissions, operability and diagnostics. A wide variety of research opportunities are available utilizing the unique detonation research facilities capable of simulating numerous air breathing engine applications and equipped with state of the art instrumentation, diagnostics, computational tools and research engines. Recent research projects have included hydrocarbon RDEs, radial RDEs, injector response and full engine large eddy simulations.

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