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Mechanics of Materials and Structures (MOMS)

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 fundamental research on the behavior of deformable solid materials and structures under internal and external actions.

Supports fundamental research on the behavior of deformable solid materials and structures under internal and external actions.

Synopsis

The Mechanics of Materials and Structures program supports fundamental research in mechanics as related to the behavior of deformable solid materials and structures under internal and external actions. The program supports a diverse spectrum of research with emphasis on transformative advances in experimental, theoretical, and computational methods. Submitted proposals should clearly emphasize the contributions to the field of mechanics.

Proposals related to material response are welcome, including, but not limited to, advances in fundamental understanding of deformation, fracture, and fatigue as well as contact and friction. Proposals that relate to structural response are also welcome, including, but not limited to, advances in the understanding of nonlinear deformation, instability and collapse, and wave propagation. Proposals addressing mechanics at the intersection of materials and structures, such as, but not limited to, meta-materials, hierarchical, micro-architectured and low-dimensional materials are also encouraged.

Proposals that explore and build upon advanced computing techniques and tools to enable major advances in mechanics are particularly welcome. For example, proposals incorporating reduced-order modeling, data-driven techniques, and/or stochastic methods with a strong emphasis on validation are encouraged.  Also welcome are proposals addressing data analytics for deformation or damage response deduction from large experimental and computational data sets. Similarly, proposals that explore new experimental techniques to capture deformation and failure information for extreme ranges of loading or material behavior are also encouraged. Finally, experimental and computational methods that address information across multiple length and time scales, potentially involving multiphysics considerations are also welcome.

Proposals with a focus on buildings and civil infrastructure system are welcome in CMMI and should be submitted to the program on Structural and Architectural Engineering Materials (SAEM). Proposals addressing processing and mechanical performance enhancements should be submitted to the Materials Engineering and Processing (MEP) program. Investigators with proposals focused on design methodological approaches and theory enabling the accelerated development and insertion of materials should consider the Design of Engineering Material Systems (DEMS) program. Lastly, investigators with interest in developing a combined theoretical and experimental approach to accelerate materials discovery and development should direct their proposals to the Designing Materials to Revolutionize and Engineer Our Future (DMREF) opportunity.

Proposers are actively encouraged to email a one-page project summary to MOMS@nsf.gov before full proposal submission to determine if the research topic falls within the scope of the MOMS program.

Program contacts

Siddiq Qidwai
moms@nsf.gov (703) 292-2211 ENG/CMMI
Wendy Crone
Expert
moms@nsf.gov (703) 292-8360 ENG/CMMI
Caglar Oskay
Expert
moms@nsf.gov (703) 292-5080 ENG/CMMI
Kiran Solanki
moms@nsf.gov (702) 292-4526 ENG/CMMI
Ashfaq Adnan
Expert
moms@nsf.gov (703) 292-7386 ENG/CMMI

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