Announcements

Use-Inspired Research at the U.S. National Science Foundation

Use-Inspired Research at the U.S. National Science Foundation

Join Erwin Gianchandani, U.S. National Science Foundation assistant director for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships, as he explores the intersection of fundamental science and practical applications. Hear from NSF program officers and NSF-funded PIs as they share their insights on:

• What use-inspired research is
• Alignment with current work
• Why federal funders, like the NSF, are increasingly embracing this innovative approach

There will be an opportunity to connect with NSF program officers and network with fellow PIs in Zoom breakout sessions. Tara Hudiburg, Professor of Ecosystem Ecology in the College of Natural Resources, will be the University of Idaho PI representative in the panel discussion.

When and Where

Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024

11:00 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. PT | Presentation and Panel Discussion

12:15 – 1:00 p.m. PT | Breakouts with panel members

Zoom registration is required through our partner, University of Nevada, Reno

This virtual event is produced as part of a research development collaboration between the University of Idaho; the University of Nevada, Reno; the University of Nebraska-Lincoln; Montana State University; and Utah State.

Questions?  Please contact the RFD Team.

DEPSCoR Funding Opportunities

FY24 DEPSCoR Funding Opportunities 

The Defense Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (DEPSCoR) has the following two funding opportunity announcements (FOA) available as well as an informational webinar - see below:

DEPSCoR - Research Collaboration
FOA-AFRL-AFOSR-2024-0007
View it here.

DEPSCoR - Capacity Building
FOA-AFRL-AFOSR-2024-0006
View it here.
_______________

DEPSCoR webinar
Tuesday, April 16th. 2024 (1:00PM until 3:00PM EDT)  

The webinar will include overviews of the FOAs and an opportunity to ask questions. To participate in the DEPSCoR Webinar, register by 5:00PM EDT on Monday, April 15th here. Participants are also encouraged to view the "Connect & Collaborate" portion of the site which may help identify research collaborations.

EPSCoR Live!

The U.S. National Science Foundation’s Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) team is excited to announce its next EPSCoR Live! event.

When: April 30 at 4:00pm ET

Audience: This EPSCoR Live! session will be of particular interest to researchers and leaders within research administration in EPSCoR jurisdictions, who would like to learn more about the building EPSCoR research ecosystems through the E-CORE and E-RISE funding opportunities.

Summary of Topic: Join Program Officers, Casonya Johnson and J.D. Swanson to discuss EPSCoR's new funding opportunities, E-CORE (NSF 23-587) and E-RISE (NSF 23-588). 

How to Attend: Advance registration is required. Click here to register. Please use an institutional email address for registration. 

How to Submit Questions: EPSCoR Live! participants are encouraged to submit questions in advance through the registration form or by sending an email to epscor-live@nsf.gov.   

While real-time captioning will be available, requests for additional accommodations may be sent to epscor-live@nsf.gov.

If you missed the last event or would like to review the presentation again, please visit our EPSCoR Live! webpage.  

Please share with faculty and other PIs within your institution who might be interested, and invite them to sign up here for our mailing list to receive notifications of events (such as EPSCoR Live!) and solicitations from EPSCoR. 

Nebraska Research & Innovation Conference

Dear EPSCoR Colleagues,

We are less than one month away from Nebraska’s Track-1 “EQUATE” (quantum materials science) 2024 symposium registration deadline; this year the 2024 Nebraska Research & Innovation Conference is themed “Diamond Quantum Sensing: Challenges and Opportunities.” We invite interested colleagues from other EPSCoR jurisdictions to attend, by registering at the link below!

2024 Nebraska Research & Innovation Conference:

FREE, one-day event on March 14 at Lincoln’s Embassy Suites Hotel (1040 P St.)

"Diamond Quantum Sensing: Challenges & Opportunities"

https://nric.nebraska.edu

The event is FREE to attend (pre-registration required) and includes lunch and refreshments. We have a stellar slate of speakers coming from Princeton University, University of Chicago, Georgia Tech, UC-Berkeley, and more. There is a reduced room rate at the hotel for those coming from a distance to attend this event. This event is supported by the National Science Foundation’s award, OIA-2044049.

Please share this information with your jurisdiction’s researchers who may be interested in this topic.

If there are questions about this event, please email epscor@nebraska.edu.

NSF Virtual Grants Conference

The National Science Foundation (NSF) will be hosting the Fall 2023 NSF Virtual Grants Conference during the week of December 4 – 7, 2023.

Registration will be free of charge and is now open! To learn more and/or register for the conference, visit nsfpolicyoutreach.com. 

You may also view the Spring 2023 Virtual Grants Conference recordings on our YouTube page. For those who cannot attend the live conference, all recorded conference sessions will be available on-demand shortly after the event and posted on our website and our YouTube page.

If you have any logistical questions about this virtual conference, please contact: grants_conference@nsf.gov

NSF EPSCoR Office Hour

The National Science Foundation will be hosting the third Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) Office Hour.

When: Wednesday, November 15, 2023 from 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm (EST)

Office Hour Audience for November 15th Session: This Office Hour will be of broad interest to stakeholders in EPSCoR jurisdictions, including potential future principal investigators.

Summary of Topic: The report on Envisioning the Future of NSF EPSCoR, published in August 2022, provided 8 recommendations for program improvement. Join us to find out what specific activities NSF EPSCoR has been working on in response to these recommendations and where the “Future of NSF EPSCoR” is heading. The discussion will include EPSCoR Section Head Sandra Richardson, NSF EPSCoR program officers, and the Future of EPSCoR subcommittee co-chair(s).

How to Attend: Advance registration is required. Register here to receive the link for the session. Please use an institutional email address for registration.

How to Submit Questions: Office Hour participants are encouraged to submit questions in advance through the registration form or by sending an email to epscor-office-hours@nsf.gov with “Office Hour Question” in the subject line.

If you missed the last office hour, or would like to review the presentation again, please visit the Office Hours website.

You can also learn more about NSF EPSCoR before the event at https://www.nsf.gov/epscor.

Idaho EPSCoR Committee Annual Business Meeting

The Idaho EPSCoR Committee annual meeting will be held November 2nd at 2 pm at Idaho State University, Idaho Central Credit Union Bengal Alumni Center.

EPSCoR Collaborations for Optimizing Research Ecosystems Research Infrastructure Improvement Program (E-CORE RII)

The E-CORE RII program supports jurisdictions in building capacity in one or more targeted research infrastructure cores that underlie the jurisdiction's research ecosystem. Based on the evidence-based and self-identified need of the jurisdiction, capacity building supported by E-CORE RII may include (but is not limited to) development, enhancement, and/or sustainability of: jurisdiction-wide research administration; research facilities; higher education pathways; STEM education (K-16) pathways; broadening participation; workforce development; national and global partnerships; community engagement and outreach; economic development and use-inspired research; and/or early career research trainee pathways. 

E-CORE RII projects must be designed to support the sustainability of the infrastructure core(s) beyond the award period. In E-CORE RII’s support of one or more research infrastructure cores in an EPSCoR-eligible jurisdiction, the program will also support the development and growth of new jurisdictional networks, and the leveraging of existing jurisdictional networks, that can drive demonstrable and sustainable impact to advance the jurisdiction-wide research ecosystem.

Deadline date: December 6, 2023

Award information: Up to $37,500,000 annually, to support up to 15 newly funded E-CORE RII awards

NSF E-CORE RII website: https://new.nsf.gov/funding/opportunities/epscor-collaborations-optimizing-research

EPSCoR Research Incubators for STEM Excellence Research Infrastructure Improvement (E-RISE RII)

The E-RISE RII program supports the incubation of research teams and products in a scientific topical area that links to research priorities identified in the submitting jurisdiction’s approved Science and Technology (S&T) Plan. E-RISE RII invites innovative proposals that will lead to development and implementation of sustainable broad networks of individuals, institutions, and organizations that will transform the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) research capacity and competitiveness in a jurisdiction within the chosen field of research.

E-RISE RII projects must be designed to incubate (i) areas of research capacity building within a chosen research topic; (ii) development of a skilled workforce that is relevant to the project and its outcomes; (iii) promotion of diversity, equity, access, and a culture of inclusion of different types of academic institutions (see below) and non-academic sectors (e.g., industry and government); (iv) integration of the research with societal impacts in a timebound manner; and (v) sustainability of a clear pathway towards preserving the resulting research incubator's team and products beyond E-RISE RII funding.

Deadline date: January 16, 2024

Award information: Up to $31,500,000 annually, to support up to 18 newly funded awards for the first four years.

NSF E-RISE RII website: https://new.nsf.gov/funding/opportunities/epscor-research-incubators-stem-excellence

NSF announces 6 new EPSCoR Track-1 awards to expand the geography of innovation across the nation

The U.S. National Science Foundation has awarded six jurisdictions $20 million each through ESPCoR, the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research, a program that aims to build and bolster infrastructure to advance scientific progress and elevate discovery nationwide.  

"For the United States to remain the global leader in science, engineering and technology, we must energize talent in every region and every state in our nation. Through EPSCoR, NSF catalyzes the development of research capabilities across the country, creating sustainable scientific infrastructure and communities of innovation," said NSF Director Sethuraman Panchanathan. "This year's EPSCoR awards will serve individual states and the country as a whole with critical research on wildfire management, climate change resilience, biomanufacturing and advanced biomedical devices, and data science in the service of all disciplines." 

The five-year Research Infrastructure Improvement Track-1 awardees will pursue ambitious research that addresses the impact of climate change on energy-water systems, biomanufacturing, wildfire management, using artificial intelligence to revolutionize health care and transdisciplinary research into transformative language-based data science.  

The  awardees and summary of each project are listed below: 

• Iowa - Building Capacity Across Iowa to Meet Human Needs From Things That Grow.  
  Referred to as "Chemurgy 2.0," this project aims for Iowa to become an advanced biomanufacturing leader by building and integrating research capacity in biosciences and advanced manufacturing, 3D-printing and composite fabrication processes. 

• Idaho - Idaho Community-engaged Resilience for Energy-Water Systems (I-CREWS).  
  This project will advance a system of innovative solutions and capacity-building to proactively address the impacts of climate, population and technological change on energy-water systems. 

• Montana - Integrating Montana's Environmental Research With Smart Sensors (IMERSS). 
  The Western U.S. is under increasing wildfire threat. This statewide project will transform the understanding of prescribed fire dynamics and the impact of prescribed fire on Montana's communities and public lands. 

• South Carolina - ADAPT in SC: AI-enabled Devices for the Advancement of Personalized and Transformative Healthcare in South Carolina. 
  The vision of this project is to build research capacity at the nexus of artificial intelligence, life and social sciences, and bioengineering through fundamental research, education, workforce development and industry partnerships. 

• Vermont - Harnessing the Data Revolution for Vermont: The Science of Online Corpora, Knowledge, and Stories (SOCKS). 
  This project will advance initiatives grounded in principled methods through the quantitative measurement of sentiment and stories across a diverse portfolio of corpora. It will also provide new insights into the power and use of stories and narratives across a broad array of social, economic and health domains through integrated data and teams.   

• West Virginia - West Virginia Network for Functional Neuroscience and Transcriptomics (WV-NFNT). 
  The scientific vision of this project is to transform neuroscience research in West Virginia by establishing connections and enabling access to the technologies and expertise needed for high-resolution structure-function studies. 

View NSF news release here.

To learn more about NSF's ESPCoR, visit nsf.gov/epscor.