Abstract collage of science-related imagery

EPSCoR Research Infrastructure Improvement Track 4: EPSCoR Research Fellows

Status: Archived

Archived funding opportunity

This document has been archived. See NSF 24-528 for the latest version.

Important information about NSF’s implementation of the revised 2 CFR

NSF Financial Assistance awards (grants and cooperative agreements) made on or after October 1, 2024, will be subject to the applicable set of award conditions, dated October 1, 2024, available on the NSF website. These terms and conditions are consistent with the revised guidance specified in the OMB Guidance for Federal Financial Assistance published in the Federal Register on April 22, 2024.

Important information for proposers

All proposals must be submitted in accordance with the requirements specified in this funding opportunity and in the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) that is in effect for the relevant due date to which the proposal is being submitted. It is the responsibility of the proposer to ensure that the proposal meets these requirements. Submitting a proposal prior to a specified deadline does not negate this requirement.

Supports early-career investigators located in eligible jurisdictions to go on extended collaborative visits to private, government or academic research centers. Investigators may be affiliated with institutions of higher education or nonprofits.

Synopsis

The Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) is designed to fulfill the mandate of the National Science Foundation (NSF) to promote scientific progress nationwide. EPSCoR jurisdictions that are eligible for RII competitions are listed in the RII Eligibility table, which can be found here. Through this program, NSF establishes partnerships with government, higher education, and industry that are designed to effect sustainable improvements in a jurisdiction's research infrastructure, Research and Development (R&D) capacity, and hence, its R&D competitiveness. One of the strategic goals of the EPSCoR program is to establish sustainable Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) professional development pathways that advance STEM workforce development. 

EPSCoR Research Infrastructure Improvement Track 4: EPSCoR Research Fellows provides awards to build research capacity in institutions and transform the career trajectories of investigators and further develop their individual research potential through extended collaborative visits to the nation’s premier private, governmental, or academic research centers. Through collaborative research visits at the host site, fellowship awardees will be able to learn new techniques, develop new collaborations or advance existing partnerships, benefit from access to unique equipment and facilities, and/or shift their research toward potentially transformative new directions. The experiences gained through the fellowships are intended to have lasting impacts that will enhance the Fellows’ research trajectories well beyond the award period. These benefits to the Fellows are also expected to improve the research capacity of their institutions and jurisdictions more broadly.  Principal Investigators must either hold a non-tenured faculty appointment at an institution of higher education or an early-career, career-track appointment at an eligible non-degree-granting institution.  Only single-PI proposals will be considered. No co-PIs should be included in the proposal. 

EPSCoR Research Infrastructure Improvement Track 4: EPSCoR Research Fellows offers the following tracks: RII Track-4:NSF and RII Track-4:Fellows Advancing Science and Technology (RII Track-4: FAST).  While they are similar in achieving the same goals, RII Track-4:NSF is open to a broad community and RII Track-4:FAST focuses on faculty from specific institutions of higher education to collaborate with researchers at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) participating research centers.  PIs who are eligible for both tracks may apply for only one track per competition cycle. 

RII Track-4:NSF provides support to further develop the individual research potential of Principal Investigators (PIs) through extended collaborative visits to the Nation’s premier private, governmental, or academic research centers of their choice. 

RII Track-4:FAST provides opportunities for PIs from specific institutions of higher education with high enrollments of trainees from underrepresented populations in STEM (See Section "IV. Eligibility Information" for more details).  Trainees must be undergraduate or graduate students enrolled full-time in an accredited degree program. The aim of this opportunity is to further develop their individual research potential through extended collaborative visits to NASA research facilities located at NASA Centers throughout the United States.   

Program contacts

NASA Agency Contacts are to be contacted only for inquiries that refer to the RII Track-4:FAST track.  

Chinonye Nnakwe Whitley
cwhitley@nsf.gov (703) 292-8458 OD/OIA
Subrata Acharya
acharyas@nsf.gov (703) 292-2451 CISE/CCF
Andrea Johnson
andjohns@nsf.gov (703) 292-5164 OD/OIA
Jose Colom-Ustariz
jcolom@nsf.gov (703) 292-7088 OD/OIA
Eric W. Lindquist
elindqui@nsf.gov (703) 292-7127
JD Swanson
jswanson@nsf.gov (703) 292-2898 TIP/ITE
Jeanne Small
jsmall@nsf.gov (703) 292-8623 OD/OIA

Awards made through this program

Browse projects funded by this program
Map of recent awards made through this program