Integrative, Hybrid & Complex Systems  (IHCS)

PROGRAM GUIDELINES

Apply to PD 05-7564 in FastLane. (standard Grant Proposal Guidelines) apply.)

As announced on May 21st, proposers must prepare and submit proposals to the National Science Foundation (NSF) using the NSF FastLane system at http://www.fastlane.nsf.gov/. This approach is being taken to support efficient Grants.gov operations during this busy workload period and in response to OMB direction guidance issued March 9, 2009. NSF will continue to post information about available funding opportunities to Grants.gov FIND and will continue to collaborate with institutions who have invested in system-to-system submission functionality as their preferred proposal submission method. NSF remains committed to the long-standing goal of streamlined grants processing and plans to provide a web services interface for those institutions that want to use their existing grants management systems to directly submit proposals to NSF.

Please be advised that the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) includes revised guidelines to implement the mentoring provisions of the America COMPETES Act (ACA) (Pub. L. No. 110-69, Aug. 9, 2007.) As specified in the ACA, each proposal that requests funding to support postdoctoral researchers must include a description of the mentoring activities that will be provided for such individuals. Proposals that do not comply with this requirement will be returned without review (see the PAPP Guide Part I: Grant Proposal Guide Chapter II for further information about the implementation of this new requirement).

DUE DATES

Full Proposal Window:  January 7, 2010 - February 7, 2010

January 7 - February 7, Annually Thereafter

These submission windows do not apply to proposals for workshops, Early-concept Grants for Exploratory Research (EAGER), or Rapid Response Grants (RAPID) . The Division deadline for Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) and Research Experience for Teachers (RET) Supplements is April 1st.

The ECCS Division discourages multiple proposals by the same PI and/or Co-PI within the same submission window.

SYNOPSIS

The Integrative, Hybrid and Complex Systems (IHCS) program is intended to spur visionary systems-oriented activities in collaborative, multidisciplinary and integrative research. IHCS supports innovative research and integrated educational activities in micro and nano systems, communications systems, and cyber systems. The goal is to design, develop and implement new complex and hybrid systems at all scales, including nano, micro, and macro, that lead to innovative engineering principles and solutions for a variety of application domains including, but not limited to, healthcare, medicine, the environment, communications, disaster mitigation, homeland security, transportation, manufacturing, energy, and smart buildings. IHCS also supports integration technologies at both the intra-and inter-chip levels, new and advanced radio frequency (RF), millimeter wave and optical wireless and hybrid communications systems architectures, and sensing and imaging at terahertz frequencies. IHCS supports systems research in hardware, signal processing techniques, and architectures to enable the next generation of cyber systems and to enable innovative cyber-physical systems (CPS) that leverage computation, communication, and algorithms integrated with physical domains. IHCS offers new challenges at all levels of systems integration to address future societal needs.

Areas of interest include:

Cyber Systems:

Position Vacant

• Cyber-enabled Engineered Systems
• Integrated Sensing, Communication, and Computational Systems
• Enabling Future Cyber Systems by Leveraging Device, Communications, and Other Technologies
• Realization of Signal Processing and Coding Techniques for Communications, Sensing, and Other Applications

Micro- and Nano-Systems:

Position Vacant

• Sensors, Actuators, and Electronic Interfaces
• Chemical, Biological, and Physical Diagnostic Systems
• Implantable Systems
• Environmental Monitoring
• Energy Scavenging and Storage in Systems
• Micro- and Nano-Systems for Large Scale Energy Applications
• System Level Fabrication, Packaging, and Assembly

Communications Systems:

Dr. Andreas Weisshaar

• RF-Wireless, Optical, and Hybrid Communications Systems
• Broadband and Low Power Communications
• Inter- and Intra-Chip Communications and Networking
• Submillimeter-Wave/Terahertz (THz) Imaging and Sensing
• Mixed Signal Circuits and Systems
• Enabling Technologies for Intelligent Communications Systems
• Interconnects and Packaging Technologies

Proposals for the IHCS program may involve collaborative research to capture the breadth of expertise needed for such multidisciplinary integrative activities. ECCS will consider supporting a limited number of intradisciplinary small-team proposals of three or more Investigators from different disciplines and/or universities.  Researchers for intradisciplinary proposals are invited to propose, and are encouraged to discuss, with the IHCS Program Directors, potential innovative systems, and associated areas of research.

Abstracts of Recent Awards Made Through This Program

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