ENG Newsletter: Investing in centers, research infrastructure and groundbreaking ideas

September 10, 2024

A message from the NSF Assistant Director for Engineering is below. Access the full newsletter and subscribe for more ENG updates.

Dear Engineering Community,

As we reflect on the investments of the 2024 fiscal year, we take pride in supporting over 1,400 proposals from more than 300 institutions for high-impact engineering research, education, infrastructure, training and conferences. To highlight just a few examples:

I am excited to announce four new NSF Engineering Research Centers (ERC). The new ERCs will develop technologies to tackle the carbon challenge, expand physical capabilities, make heating and cooling more sustainable and enable the U.S. supply and manufacturing of natural rubber. We hope the engineering community will again send great ideas for the next ERC competition, with new center awards in 2026.
We awarded the inaugural TRAILBLAZER grants for groundbreaking engineering ideas. Letters of Intent for our new TRAILBLAZER solicitation are due November 15.
Through a special call for future clean energy technologies research, we invested more than $26.5 million in four conferences, 19 RAISE awards, and 24 EAGER projects.
We funded $14 million in bioengineered systems and ethical biocomputing research through our Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation program.
Of the approximately 200 sites funded this year, we supported 20 new Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) sites related to microelectronics and semiconductors, and nine of these REU sites are co-funded by the Semiconductor Research Corporation.

The Engineering Directorate continues to prioritize research infrastructure. The community's input informed our plan for supporting the next 10 years of the NSF Natural Hazards Engineering Research Infrastructure (NHERI). Please keep an eye out for the new NHERI funding opportunity later this year.

Finally, I encourage you — researchers from every state and territory and any eligible institution — to send us your exciting ideas. Many NSF Engineering programs accept proposals all year long, and we welcome submissions from any institution of higher education (see PAPPG I.E for details), including historically Black colleges and universities, primarily undergraduate institutions, and institutions in NSF Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) locations.

Reach out to the program directors in the Directorate for Engineering with your questions, and we will help you find the right program that aligns with your exciting ideas for engineering research and education.

Best wishes,

Susan Margulies
NSF Assistant Director for Engineering