Limited Submission Opportunity: NSF 25-508 Designing Materials to Revolutionize and Engineer our Future (DMREF) 2025
OBJECTIVE:
DMREF is the primary program by which NSF supports the Materials Genome Initiative (MGI). MGI recognizes the importance of materials science and engineering to the well-being and advancement of society and aims to “deploy advanced materials at least twice as fast as possible today, at a fraction of the cost.”
DMREF seeks to foster the design, discovery, and development of materials to accelerate their path to deployment by harnessing the power of data and computational tools in concert with experiment and theory. DMREF emphasizes a deep integration of experiments, computation, and theory; the use of accessible digital data across the materials development continuum; and strengthening connections among theorists, computational scientists, data scientists, mathematicians, statisticians, and experimentalists as well as those from academia, industry, and government. DMREF will accordingly support activities that significantly accelerate the materials discovery-to-use timeline by building the fundamental knowledge base needed to advance the design, development, or manufacturability of materials with desirable properties or functionality.
DMREF is committed to the education and training of a next-generation materials research and development (R&D) workforce; well-equipped for successful careers as educators and innovators; and able to take full advantage of the materials development continuum and innovation infrastructures that NSF is creating through partnership with other federal and international agencies.
FUNDING INFORMATION:
Awards can range from $1.5 to $2 million over a 4-year duration.
The proposed research must involve a collaborative and iterative “closed-loop” process wherein theory guides computational simulation, computational simulation guides experiments, and experimental observation further guides theory.
ELIGIBILITY RESTRICTIONS:
BU may forward up to 5 proposals. An individual may only appear as a Senior/Key Personnel on 1 proposal. International or federal partners cannot be listed as Senior/Key Personnel.
Proposals submitted to this solicitation must be directed by a team of at least two Senior/Key Personnel with complementary expertise who hold either of the following:
- Tenured or tenure-track position
- Primary, full-time, paid appointment in a research or teaching position with exceptions granted for family or medical leave, as determined by the submitting institution
NSF recognizes the unique lived experiences of individuals from communities that are underrepresented and/or underserved in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and the barriers to inclusion and access to STEM education and careers. NSF highly encourages the leadership, partnership, and contributions in all NSF opportunities of individuals who are members of such communities supported by NSF.
INTERNAL SELECTION PROCESS:
Interested applicants should submit the following materials via InfoReady Review by: 12/16/2024
- Questions outlined in InfoReady Review application
- 2-page Proposal Description addressing the following:
- The data and software cyberinfrastructure of the project and how the research infrastructure will achieve the project goals
- Plans to train and develop a diverse and inclusive MGI workforce
- For proposals that include collaboration, explain how the proposal would benefit the DMREF team and the collaboration partners and advance the goals of the project
- 1-page Budget Summary
- Up-to-date CV or Biosketch for the listed Senior/Key Personnel
A faculty committee drawn from both campuses will review internal proposals and select nominees to submit proposals by 2/4/25.
DEADLINES:
Internal Materials Due: Monday, December 16, 2024 by 11:59 pm ET
Full Proposal Deadline: Tuesday, February 4, 2025 by 5:00 pm ET