Engineering Education and Centers
Engineering Research Centers
(ERC)
CONTACTS
PROGRAM GUIDELINES
Solicitation
11-537
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 Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI), a federal interagency research and development venture, was launched in FY 2001. Over the last decade, there has been considerable investment in fundamental research - from nanostructured materials to devices and manufacturing processes - that has revealed new phenomena and resulted in a plethora of important advances. At NSF the funding vehicles included individual grants (unsolicited and Nanoscale Exploratory Research - NERs), small teams (Nanoscale Interdisciplinary Research Teams - NIRTs), user networks such as National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network (NNIN) and the Network for Computational Nanotechnology (NCN), and centers (Nanoscale Science and Engineering Centers - NSECs). In addition, there were other NSF programs that supported research and education activities in nanotechnology. More information can be found at http://www.nsf.gov/nano/. At this time, some discoveries are at the phase to explore their integration into nanosystems, thus leading to adoption in applications critical for their commercial use. To enable this integration, the Engineering Research Centers (ERC) program is launching this new competition targeting the Transformational Nanotechnology of Engineered Systems Centers or NanoSystems ERCs (NERCs). These new centers will adopt and follow all the features of Generation-3 (Gen-3) ERCs. The goal of the Generation Three (Gen-3) Engineering Research Centers (ERC) Program is to create a culture in engineering research and education that links discovery to technological innovation through transformational fundamental and engineered systems research in order to advance technology and produce engineering graduates who will be creative U.S. innovators in a globally competitive economy. These ERCs will be at the forefront as the U.S. competes in the 21st century global economy where R&D resources and engineering talent are internationally distributed. Recognizing that optimizing efficiency and product quality are no longer sufficient for U.S. industry to remain competitive, these ERCs will optimize academic engineering research and education to stimulate increased U.S. innovation in a global context. They will develop this culture that joins discovery and innovation, i.e., an innovation ecosystem. An innovation ecosystem includes the people, institutions, policies, and resources that promote the translation of new ideas into products and processes and services. The innovation ecosystem of Gen-3 ERCs is achieved through a symbiotic relationship between the ERC's researchers, small businesses, larger industrial and practitioner partners, and partner organizations devoted to stimulating entrepreneurship and innovation. In essence this solicitation requires that the efforts be devoted to creating, developing, and enhancing capacities in ERCs from transformational fundamental research to technology commercialization and creating a continuous pipeline in engineering education from middle school to graduate studies. In order to achieve this, Gen-3 ERCs will: - Advance discovery and build bridges from science-based discovery to technological innovation to realize transformational engineered systems;
- Develop a culture in academe that joins research, education, and innovation to create and sustain an innovation ecosystem to enable the ERC's vision;
- Provide international opportunities for research and education collaboration that will prepare U.S. engineering graduates for leadership in innovation in a global economy;
- Form teams of diverse and talented faculty who will prepare diverse and talented domestic and international graduates to function effectively in a global world where research, design and production efforts cross national borders;
- Function with transformational engineering education programs that rest on partnerships with pre-college institutions to attract students to engineering and university departments to strategically impart in engineering graduates the capacity to create and exploit knowledge for technological innovation; and
- Build and sustain a culture that links discovery to innovation, the ERC innovation ecosystem, which will include partnerships with members firms/practitioners to strengthen the ERC and streamline technology transfer; translational research partnerships with small firms to accelerate commercialization of high risk ERC advancements; and innovation partnerships with local level organizations to stimulate entrepreneurship and job creation and enable technological innovation.
RELATED URLS
Engineering Research Centers Association
Frequently Asked Questions: (NSF 11-537)
THIS PROGRAM IS PART OF
Centers and Networks
What Has Been Funded (Recent Awards Made Through This Program, with Abstracts)
Map of Recent Awards Made Through This Program
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