Molecular Foundations for Sustainability: Sustainable Polymers Enabled by Emerging Data Analytics (MFS-SPEED)

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NSF 24-567

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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.

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Supports cross-disciplinary, collaborative research focused on the discovery and ultimate manufacturing of new sustainable polymers or sustainable pathways to existing polymers using state-of-the-art data science.

Supports cross-disciplinary, collaborative research focused on the discovery and ultimate manufacturing of new sustainable polymers or sustainable pathways to existing polymers using state-of-the-art data science.

Synopsis

The Molecular Foundations for Sustainability: Sustainable Polymers Enabled by Emerging Data Analytics program (MFS-SPEED) is a cross-directorate funding call in response to The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 and the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act. It is supported by the NSF Directorates for Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS) and Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (TIP), and five industry partners: Procter & Gamble, PepsiCo, BASF, Dow, and IBM.

The goal of MFS-SPEED is to support fundamental research enabling the accelerated discovery and ultimate manufacturing of sustainable polymers using state-of-the-art data science, and to enhance development of a cross-disciplinary workforce skilled in this area. In particular, through this solicitation the research community is encouraged to address the discovery and elaboration of new sustainable polymers or sustainable pathways to existing polymers by the creation and use of a data-centric environment where research projects are:

(1)         focused on new approaches to predicting structure and properties of polymers and advanced soft materials,

(2)         with insights enabled by data analytics including Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning;

(3)         This includes more efficient, scalable preparation of monomers and polymers using existing or new synthetic routes

(4)         and this call aims to train a technical workforce that leverages data analytics to create sustainable polymers and soft materials.

Molecular Foundations for Sustainability: Sustainable Polymers Enabled by Emerging Data Analytics (MFS-SPEED,) research grants – Awards will be supported in FY24/25 up to $2M per award for up to a three-year grant period, commensurate with the scope and team size. This program seeks to fund collaborative team research that transcends the traditional boundaries of individual disciplines to achieve the program goals.

Program contacts

Kenneth Moloy
NSFMFS@nsf.gov (703) 292-8441 MPS/CHE
Tomislav Pintauer
NSFMFS@nsf.gov (703) 292-7168 MPS/CHE
Kenneth R. Carter
NSFMFS@nsf.gov (703) 292-2335
David Darwin
NSFMFS@nsf.gov (703) 292-4728 TIP/ITE

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