ENG Newsletter: Research opportunities on emerging industries and net-zero goals

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 expand our communication with the research community about current and new opportunities at NSF, I'm pleased to share NSF Directorate for Engineering (ENG) updates with you through a new newsletter. Our newsletters, the latest updates and more are available on the website, and you can also sign up for NSF Update emails like this one. The goal is to increase access to and transparency about exciting opportunities, and we encourage you to contact us to learn about them.

First, I'd like to highlight NSF opportunities for engineering research and education to advance emerging industries and net-zero climate goals. ENG core programs seek proposals to expand what's possible in seven areas:

Second, NSF recently released new solicitations for large cross-NSF investments:

  • Future Manufacturing supports planning and research grants (up to $3M each) to catalyze new manufacturing capabilities that do not exist today. Topic areas are bio-, cyber- and eco-manufacturing, with an optional component on the Future of Work to study human-worker interaction with technological advances in manufacturing. Proposals are due April 11, 2024.
  • Future of Semiconductors cultivates holistic co-design efforts that enable rapid progress in new semiconductor technologies. Topics are domain-specific computing, heterogenous integration, and new materials for semiconductor-based systems. This opportunity is co-funded by industry partners Ericsson, Intel, Micron and Samsung. Proposals are due March 14, 2024.

Third, the Engineering Directorate and The Lemelson Foundation have partnered to support environmental and social sustainability in engineering education. The partnership will co-fund projects for sustainability that, for example, address societal challenges, develop case studies and course content, explore engineering identities and sustainability beliefs, and/or integrate sustainability with engineering design.

For all these opportunities, I encourage engineering researchers from every state and territory and from any eligible institution to send us their exciting ideas — together, we can make our future more sustainable and prosperous. Extending beyond our Broadening Participation in Engineering program, creating opportunities everywhere is a theme that permeates Engineering Directorate activities.

Best wishes in the new year,

Susan Margulies
NSF Assistant Director for Engineering

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