Scalable Nanomanufacturing  (SNM)

CONTACTS

PROGRAM GUIDELINES

Solicitation  12-544

Important Notice to Proposers

A revised version of the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG), NSF 13-1, was issued on October 4, 2012 and is effective for proposals submitted, or due, on or after January 14, 2013. Please be advised that, depending on the specified due date, the guidelines contained in NSF 13-1 may apply to proposals submitted in response to this funding opportunity.

Please be aware that significant changes have been made to the PAPPG to implement revised merit review criteria based on the National Science Board (NSB) report, National Science Foundation's Merit Review Criteria: Review and Revisions. While the two merit review criteria remain unchanged (Intellectual Merit and Broader Impacts), guidance has been provided to clarify and improve the function of the criteria. Changes will affect the project summary and project description sections of proposals. Annual and final reports also will be affected.

A by-chapter summary of this and other significant changes is provided at the beginning of both the Grant Proposal Guide and the Award & Administration Guide.

SYNOPSIS

The National Science Foundation (NSF) announces a second year of a program on collaborative research and education in the area of scalable nanomanufacturing, including the long-term societal implications of the large-scale implementation of nanomanufacturing innovations.  This program is in response to and is a component of the National Nanotechnology Initiative Signature Initiative: Sustainable Nanomanufacturing - Creating the Industries of the Future (http://www.nano.gov/node/611).  Although many nanofabrication techniques have demonstrated the ability to produce relatively small quantities of nanomaterials and devices, the emphasis of this program is research that supports the identification and demonstration of nanomanufacturing processes with high potential to scale to economically and industrially relevant production levels.  The mode of support is Nanoscale Interdisciplinary Research Teams (NIRT).  Proposals submitted to this program must address at least one, and preferably more than one, of the following interconnected themes:

• Novel processes and techniques for continuous and scalable nanomanufacturing;
• Directed (e.g. physical/chemical/biological) self-assembly processes leading to heterogeneous nanostructures with the potential for high-rate production;
• Fundamental scientific research in well-defined areas that are compellingly justified as critical roadblocks to scale-up;
• Principles and design methods to produce machines and processes to manufacture nanoscale structures, devices and systems; and/or
• Long-term societal and educational implications of the large-scale production and use of nanomaterials, devices and systems, including the life-cycle analysis of such nanomaterials, devices and systems.

Other research and education projects in nanoscale science and engineering will continue to be supported in the relevant programs and divisions.

THIS PROGRAM IS PART OF

Cross Division/Directorate Funding Opportunities

What Has Been Funded (Recent Awards Made Through This Program, with Abstracts)

Map of Recent Awards Made Through This Program