Grants for Public and State controlled institutions of higher education - Science and Technology

The NISTs Accelerating Federal Technology Transfer (AFTT) Program is seeking applications from eligible applicants for activities to help promote, educate, and facilitate federal technology transfer. Under the AFTT Program, members of the Federal Laboratory Consortiums (FLC) Executive Board, including NIST, will collaborate with the awardee on the development of outreach and educational programs, tools, and best practices that will enhance the ability of the academic and private sectors to engage with Federal laboratories in technology transfer and research commercialization. Specifically, the awardee will collaborate with the FLCs Executive Board, including NIST, in the areas of technology transfer and research commercialization by: developing the necessary tools and services to promote the utilization of Federal intellectual property, user facilities, and other R resources by non-federal partners; creating a suitable education and training infrastructure in technology transfer for the relevant stakeholders; and engaging industry, academic, and state and local government communities to facilitate access to federal R collaborations and federal technology transfer opportunities on both a regional and a national level.

Grant Title: Request for Information (RFI) - Three-Dimensional Characterization of the Subsurface by Advanced Modeling and Sensing Techniques: This grant seeks innovative ideas and technologies to improve the exploration and 3-D mapping of critical mineral deposits in the subsurface, aiming to enhance the accuracy and efficiency of mineral exploration in order to reduce U.S. reliance on foreign sources.

This funding opportunity supports partnerships between Minnesota educational institutions and MedTech businesses to develop training programs focused on AI and advanced technologies, enhancing workforce skills and job opportunities in the sector.

The LRP seeks to improve quality of life of persons with lupus using an intervention at the individual and/or health care system level. This effort is supported through two related, but separate, award mechanisms, the LRP TVDA and the LRP Transformative Vision Award (TVA).The TVDA is intended to provide support to conduct pilot studies that will generate preliminary data and demonstrate feasibility for achieving the aims of a future TVA project.The TVA supports applications that will fulfill an extraordinary vision for dramatically improving the quality of life of persons with lupus in the near term using an intervention at the individual and/or health care system level.Applicants are not required to be awarded a TVDA to submit a TVA application.Examples of suitable LRP TVDA preliminary studies would include development and optimization of an intervention, intervention safety studies, or refinement of trial design.The CDMRP encourages research on health areas and conditions that affect women uniquely, disproportionately, or differently from men, including studies analyzing sex as a biological variable. Such research should relate anticipated project findings to improvements in women's health outcomes and/or advancing knowledge for women's health.

This program provides funding to U.S. colleges and universities for collaborative materials research and education initiatives that promote innovation and broaden participation in STEM fields.

This funding opportunity supports U.S. higher education institutions in developing advanced research platforms for innovative materials, focusing on alloys, amorphous, and composite materials, while promoting collaboration and engagement across diverse scientific disciplines.

This funding opportunity supports innovative, time-sensitive research projects that enhance ongoing clinical studies related to arthritis, musculoskeletal, and skin diseases by leveraging existing patient data and samples.

The Northeast SARE Professional Development Grant program aims to advance sustainable agriculture practices by enhancing the knowledge, awareness, skills, and attitudes of agricultural and other service providers. This directly aligns with the foundation's mission to support sustainable agriculture through education and professional development. The grant focuses on empowering professionals who work with farmers, enabling them to teach, advise, or assist in the adoption of sustainable methods. The program seeks to create a ripple effect, where trained service providers then apply their learned expertise to help farmers improve their agricultural practices, fostering a more sustainable food system within the Northeast region. The primary beneficiaries of this program are agricultural service providers, including those in non-profit organizations, colleges, universities, Cooperative Extension, and other entities that serve the farming community. Additionally, the program extends its reach to other service providers such as real estate agents, bankers, and attorneys, who can indirectly influence farmers. The overarching impact goal is to cultivate a more resilient and sustainable agricultural landscape in the Northeast by equipping these professionals with the necessary tools and knowledge. Expected outcomes include increased adoption of sustainable and climate-smart agricultural practices by farmers, improved ecological and economic resilience to climate change, and a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. The program prioritizes a wide array of topics, encompassing marketing and business, crop production, raising livestock, aquaculture, social sustainability, urban and Indigenous agriculture, and traditional ecological knowledge. A significant focus is placed on climate-smart agriculture practices, which are intended to improve ecological, social, and economic resilience to climate change. This includes practices such as reduced and no-till farming, cover cropping, prescribed grazing, ruminant feed management, manure management, fertilizer management, and on-farm energy efficiency. The program's strategic priorities are clearly aligned with addressing contemporary agricultural challenges through education and practical application. Northeast SARE actively encourages projects from, or in collaboration with, women, the LGBTQIA+ community, and Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC). Furthermore, it encourages proposals from Minority Serving Institutions and other organizations in the Northeast that work with historically underserved communities, demonstrating a commitment to equity and inclusivity in agricultural development. The theory of change behind these priorities is that by supporting a diverse range of voices and institutions, the program can foster more innovative and equitable solutions for sustainable agriculture, leading to broader and more effective adoption of sustainable practices across the region. The expected measurable results include an increase in the number of service providers trained in sustainable agriculture, a documented increase in farmers adopting climate-smart practices, and the successful implementation of projects that demonstrate improved ecological, social, and economic resilience. Awards typically range from $30,000 to $150,000, with project lengths usually spanning 2 to 3 years, and a maximum allowed duration of 3.5 years. The program's geographical focus is exclusively on the Northeast region, which includes Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, West Virginia, Vermont, and Washington, D.C., ensuring targeted and localized impact within this specific area.

The "FY25 Ocean Acidification Coastal Research: Uniting Investigations and Shipboard Experiments (OA CRUISE)" grant aims to fund projects that enhance coastal research on ocean acidification, particularly in relation to the upcoming East Coast Ocean Acidification Cruise (ECOA-4) in summer 2026, focusing on the impacts of ocean chemistry changes on marine ecosystems and coastal communities.

This program provides funding for researchers to analyze publicly available data about Mars to improve our understanding of its surface, climate, and potential for supporting life.

The purpose of this NOFO is to solicit applications for the Exploratory Advanced Research (EAR) Program to award cooperative agreements. The NOFO will result in the distribution of up to $2,000,000.The EAR program addresses the need for longer-term, higher risk breakthrough research with the potential for transformational improvements to plan, build, renew, and operate safe, congestion free, and environmentally sound transportation systems. The overall goal of this NOFO is to collect diverse pedestrian data, provide researchers access to this data, and encourage novel approaches for analysis of diverse data in support of increasing the safety and mobility of all people. The authority to enter into a cooperative agreement for this effort is found under 23 U.S.C. 502(b)(3)(C ). And funding for this effort is provided in in BIL (P. L. 117-58) Sec. 11101(c)(1)(A).

This funding opportunity supports community-based organizations in the Mid-Atlantic region to implement sustainable forestry initiatives that promote environmental justice, improve public health, and create green job opportunities in disadvantaged areas.

This funding opportunity provides financial support to Sea Grant Programs for creating hands-on aquaculture internships that help develop workforce skills in the U.S. aquaculture industry for students and interested individuals, including veterans and commercial fishers.

This funding opportunity provides financial support for the creation and implementation of humanities-based exhibits that engage the public and enrich Oklahoma's cultural landscape.

This funding opportunity is designed to empower emerging leaders in the space sector across the Middle East and North Africa by providing training and resources to enhance collaboration with the United States in space policy and commerce.

Priority Program Areas: A successful proposal will include a robust calendar of activities through serial programming spanning at least two months and directly address at least one of the three key programming areas: Digital Policy, STEM Education and Workforce Development: Programming to expand understanding of emerging technologies and digital policy challenges such as cybersecurity, Intellectual Property Rights, artificial intelligence, fintech, and quantum computing, as well as initiatives to expand technical and soft skills through participatory and interactive workshops on STEM fields, digital trade, digital arts, gaming, and related business practices for online activities for SMEs and/or use of the existing makerspaces at the American Centers. Climate Solutions, Health Security and Sustainability: Programming to achieve measurable goals to improve environmental protection and preservation, climate change adaptation, pollution reduction, renewable energy, climate-smart agriculture, transboundary water challenges, clean energy, and health security and public health preparedness. Information Literacy and Research Skills: Workshops to build critical thinking skills to find, evaluate, organize, use, and communicate information in all its various formats, including through the use of data, digital media, and AI, and develop audiences ability to conduct research and evaluate and use information responsibly and ethically using American Spaces databases and open education resources.

This grant provides funding for interdisciplinary research teams from various institutions to tackle significant biological questions and promote diversity in science education and outreach.

The NSF Engineering (ENG) Directorate has launched a multi-year initiative, theProfessional Formation of Engineers, to create and support an innovative and inclusive engineering profession for the 21stcentury. Professional Formation of Engineers (PFE) refers to the formal and informal processes and value systems by which people become engineers. It also includes the ethical responsibility of practicing engineers to sustain and grow the profession in order to improve quality of life for all peoples. The engineering profession must be responsive to national priorities, grand challenges, and dynamic workforce needs; it must be equally open and accessible to all. Professional Formation of Engineers includes, but is not limited, to: Introductions to the profession at any age; Development of deep technical and professional skills, knowledge, and abilities in both formal and informal settings/domains; Development of outlooks, perspectives, ways of thinking, knowing, and doing; Development of identity as an engineer and its intersection with other identities; and Acculturation to the profession, its standards, and norms. The goal of the Research in the Formation of Engineers (RFE) program is to advance our understanding of professional formation. It seeks both to deepen our fundamental understanding of the underlying processes and mechanisms that support professional formation and to demonstrate how professional formation is or can be accomplished. Ultimately RFE aims to transform the engineer-formation system, and thus the impact of proposed projects on this system must be described. Principal Investigators (PIs) should provide a roadmap detailing how they envision the proposed research will eventually broadly impact practice within the engineer-formation system, even if these activities are not within the scope of the submitted proposal. In order to accomplish its goals, RFE welcomes proposals in two categories: Research Projects, and Design and Development Projects. Research Projects address fundamental questions of professional formation, while Design and Development Projects provide new approaches to achieving professional formation. Additional details are provided below. Projects in both categories should address the iterative cycle in which research questions that advance understanding are informed by practice and the results of research are, in turn, translated into practice. In other words, proposals should explain how the research results will travel, translate, transfer, or scale. Successful projects identify specific target audiences, effective communication channels, and novel partnerships to ensure effective propagation and scaling. Proposal titles should begin with either Research: or Design and Development: as appropriate. Research Projects Research proposals are particularly welcome in the following areas: Research that addresses lifelong learning by the engineering workforce. Research on the impact of engineering education research. Proposals addressing this topic could investigate questions such as: How can we measure the impacts of engineering education research? What are effective strategies for scaling reforms? How can we translate knowledge from research to practice? What are the roles of technologies, networks and communities in achieving impact? RFE does not support efficacy, effectiveness, or scale-up studies for specific interventions. Research that addresses culture change in engineering education. Included in this topic are investigations of normative cultures of engineering at any level in the engineering education ecosystem and how these cultures may disadvantage certain groups. Research that addresses engineering formation at the two-year college and graduate education levels in both formal and informal settings. Research that investigates engineering in P?12 settings. Research in this area could include understanding of approaches to engineering in P?12, how to develop engineering ways of thinking, or the relationship between practices within the sciences and mathematics and engineering thinking. Research on the transitions between education levels, e.g., from high school to two-year college, high school to four-year college/university, two-year college to four-year college/university, undergraduate to graduate school, education settings to the workforce or professoriate, etc. Research that addresses the relationship between engineering and the public. Proposals addressing this topic could consider the social impact of engineering solutions, citizen engineering, education of an informed public, etc. Research that develops or adapts novel methodologies and frameworks appropriate for studying the professional formation of engineers, and especially minoritized, marginalized, or underserved populations. Research that addresses ways in which new technologies (such as artificial intelligence and machine learning) are changing engineering education. Proposals submitted to the Research Projects category should have clear research questions informed by an appropriate theoretical framework and a research design that includes sampling, data collection, and data analysis methods. This category will not support proposals that seek funding primarily to develop tools, curriculum, or laboratories, or that seek to implement classroom innovations that have already been shown to be effective in engineering. The program will evaluate the value of proposals by considering the impact and the cost. Research track projects that are small, exploratory, or speculative are especially encouraged. Larger Research track projects should have a correspondingly larger impact. Design and Development Projects RFE supports Design and Development projects (see https://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=nsf13126) that seek to develop and test new approaches in the following areas: Graduate education. Transitions between education levels, e.g. high school to two year college, high school to 4 year college/university, two year college to 4 year college/university, undergraduate to graduate school, education settings to the workforce or professoriate, etc. K12, especially approaches to develop engineering thinking, or providing links between engineering, science, and mathematics Proposals in this category should propose the design and development of new approaches that are informed by existing literature and theory. There should be clear objectives and the evaluation plan should be designed to determine if those objectives have been met. Projects cannot be solely demonstration projects, but must add to the engineering education literature to inform future work.

Supports applications for innovative research projects addressing critically important questions that will significantly advance knowledge of the causes, prevention, and/or treatment of cancer. • Applicants may request a maximum of $300,000 per year for a 3-year period. • Multi-Principal Investigators (MIs) are allowed under this Request for Applications (RFA). See the Information for Applicants (IFA) document for definition and eligibility of MIs. See application limitations for Principal Investigators (PIs)/MIs, regardless of whether the MI is from the prime institution or a subcontracted institution. • Note that CPRIT does not allow the use of the term Co-PI. • Minimum effort for the PI and/or MIs throughout the project period is required. • A PI and/or MI may not submit more than one application for this RFA (defined as either a new application, resubmission application, or *competitive renewal application). • *Renewal applications are limited to one competitive renewal under this RFA, regardless of the year of the funded parent IIRA award. • The FY25 salary cap is $225,000 per year.

The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) is interested in receiving white papers for Research and Development projects which offer potential for advancement and improvement of NAWCAD operations. Research Opportunity Areas of Interest:  Aeromechanics. Areas of research include but are not limited to the following: aerodynamic and flight controls (manned and unmanned), aeromechanics modeling and analysis tools, flight performance, rotorcraft aerodynamics and performance, ship/aircraft aerodynamic interactions, and unmanned aviation and integration including pilot augmentation and automation and UAV autonomous landing flight mechanics.  Artificial Intelligence (AI) / Machine Learning (ML) (Priority). Areas of research include but are not limited to the following: Autonomous system development, testing, evaluation, verification and validation tools, airworthiness and risk quantification/acceptance, collaborative autonomy, complex reasoning, multiagent based operation and decision making, airspace integration including sense and avoid algorithms, deep reinforcement learning, neural networks, and demand forecasting.  Avionics, Sensors & Electronic Warfare: Areas of research include but are not limited to the following: passive/active sensor systems (RF, EO/IR, and acoustic), advanced/alternative precision navigation and timing (PNT), advanced computational/open system architectures, advanced signal and image processing, flight information and control systems, and advanced concepts in electronic warfare systems.  Cyber (Priority). Areas of research may include but are not limited to the following: cyber effects modeling, reverse engineering, behavioral analysis, intrusion, adaptive cybersecurity, simulation and interface research, concolic testing and systems configuration management. Page | 4  Data Science & Visualization. Areas of research include but are not limited to the following: predictive modeling algorithms, complex big-data environments, data access, storage and retrieval, data visualization techniques, risk assessment and uncertainty quantification, and statistical analysis.  Digital Engineering (Priority). Areas of research include but are not limited to the following: advancements in the use of Digital Twin technology and concepts to support predictive maintenance, automated sustainment environment, diagnostics and prognostics, predictive maintenance, digital communication of system requirements using model-based systems engineering (MBSE)/Systems Modeling Language (SysML) views, engineering models and virtual environments to test designs across broader parameters than what live testing permits  Human Systems. Areas of research include but are not limited to the following: human performance assessment and modeling, cognitive performance/workload, human-machine interface/teaming, protective equipment, controls and displays, ergonomics, anthropomorphic measurement, virtual environments, and human factor engineering (social, behavioral, health, and cultural).  Hypersonic Systems (Priority). Areas of research include but are not limited to the following: external and internal high-speed aerodynamic, multi-physic modeling and simulation, hypersonic system testing and evaluation, high temperature and specific strength materials, structures and coatings, guidance, navigation and control and advanced air-breathing propulsion.  Materials and Aircraft Structures. Areas of research include but are not limited to the following: additive manufacturing, corrosion prevention, non-destructive inspection, structural repair and repair processes for metals and ceramics, polymers and composites, analysis and simulation of aircraft structures, structural mechanics, fouling, low observable, high temperature material, low temperature icing resistant and life management of airframes.  Mechanical Systems. Areas of research include but are not limited to the following: fire and ice protection for aviation systems, fuel containment, hydraulic systems, pneumatic systems and landing gear systems analysis.  Power and Propulsion Systems. Areas of research include but are not limited to the following: reliability engineering, fuel systems, prognostics and diagnostics, energy storage/efficiency, air‐breathing engines, fuels and lubricants, electrical power generation, auxiliary power, low observable signature technologies, propulsion life management, and mechanical and drive systems. Page | 5  Quantum (Priority). Areas of research may include but are not limited to the following: secure communication and sensing capabilities, nitrogen vacancy diamond sensing, quantum encryption and quantum computing.  Secure Communications & Networks (Priority): Areas of research include but are not limited to the following: resilient data and communications networks for Command and Control, architecture, analysis and software development, information assurance including blockchain networks and security, platform/system health monitoring, effective data transfer of both communications and video and integration of security end to end in software development, all with consideration for autonomous applications, while performing in dynamic and contested environments.  Support Equipment. Areas of research include but are not limited to the following: launch and recovery equipment, electro‐magnetics, high‐energy generation and control, environmental sensing, prognostics and health monitoring, automatic testing of hardware and software, displays, advanced maintenance technologies, information systems and intelligent agents, and advanced computer and data processing applications.  Test and Evaluation Engineering. Areas of research include but are not limited to the following: telemetry, communications, data links and data acquisition, signature technologies, mission system testing, system of systems testing environments, virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), extended reality (XR), target engineering, airborne threat simulation, integrated battle‐space simulation (Live Virtual Constructive Environments), hardware‐in‐the‐loop testing, flight instrumentation, ground radar analysis, test article configuration, navigation, and identification, manned-unmanned teaming, advance training systems to include instructional techniques and strategies, and game-based training.  Warfare Analysis. Areas of research include but are not limited to the following: operational suitability, signal extraction, clutter reduction, modeling and simulation, maritime effectiveness, vulnerability and capability based assessment, and conceptual aircraft design.