Announcements
NSF Webinar Opportunities for E-CORE and E-RISE Scheduled for June 6th and 7th, 2023
The Future of NSF EPSCoR:
There will be two webinars on June 6th and 7th, 2023, for each of the two new NSF EPSCoR opportunities, E-CORE and E-RISE respectively, which are intended to replace the NSF EPSCoR RII Track-1 Program in fiscal year 2024. Idaho public universities, however, will not be eligible to submit to the E-CORE RII and E-RISE-RII programs until 2027.
The EPSCoR Collaborations for Optimizing Research Ecosystems Research Infrastructure Improvement (E-CORE RII) Program is a new program that focuses on the transformation of a jurisdiction's research ecosystem based on jurisdictional need, variation, and integration of core elements. The EPSCoR Research Incubators for STEM Excellence Research Infrastructure Improvement (E-RISE RII) Program is a new program that focuses on the development and sustainability of EPSCoR-eligible jurisdictions' research capacity and competitiveness in a scientific topical area.
- The E-CORE webinar will be held on June 6th, 2023 at 1:00 p.m. EST. Register in advance for this meeting here.
- The E-RISE webinar will be held on June 7th, 2023 at 1:00 p.m. EST. Register in advance for this meeting here.
**After registering, participants will receive a confirmation email and zoom link
Contact: For more information email either of the respective programs at EPSCoR-CORE@nsf.gov or EPSCoR-RISE@NSF.gov
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:
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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.
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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.
Workshop Opportunity: Building Bridges to Use-Inspired Research and Science-Informed Practices
You are invited to participate in a workshop series that aims to build stronger connections among academic, private, and government partners to translate basic science research into solutions that benefit society. The workshop series is called “Building Bridges to Use-Inspired Research and Science-Informed Practices” and will consist of two synchronous online events called MicroLabs (April 14 and May 12), followed by an in-person three-day workshop in Boise, Idaho (June 12-14).
View PDF flyer here
Who is this workshop targeting? Anyone in any organization at any career stage who is interested in building stronger connections among academic, private, and government partners to translate basic science research into solutions that benefit society.
What will participants do? Participants of the workshop will co-create the structures and processes that guide how diverse organizations collaboratively support and value use-inspired science. NSF defines use-inspired research as research and training that is intentionally co-designed by teams of scientists and engineers, practitioners, and users to address the nation's environmental, societal, and economic challenges and grow a diverse and versatile STEM workforce. The vision of the workshop is to support researchers across career stages who want to take advantage of new funding and partnership opportunities within and associated with the new Technology, Innovation, and Partnership Directorate at NSF and to support government and private organizations who want their science needs to be more broadly understood and incorporated into research priorities.
Events:
We invite you to register for the free interactive Pre-Workshop MicroLab Series and apply for the In-Person Workshop. Because the events are designed to build off of each other, we ideally ask you to try to be available for both of the Pre-Workshop MicroLabs. The in-person event will include an application where diverse participants representing all three STEM communities (academic, private, government) will be selected. We will provide travel support for all in-person participants.
Each MicroLab is an interactive, online event designed to facilitate stimulating discussions in smaller, more intimate virtual breakout groups. During the two Pre-Workshop MicroLabs, you will hear from NSF directors and individuals working in diverse use-inspired careers (non-profit, industry, government). Panels will facilitate active discussions that answer questions, share knowledge, and generate ideas to help build stronger connections among academic, private, and government STEM communities.
Dates & Times:
- Pre-Workshop MicroLab Series: April 14, 2023 and May 12, 2023 - 12:00p to 2:00p MDT (Register Here)
- In-Person Workshop: June 12 - 14, 2023 - 9:00a to 5:00p MDT (Application opens 04/14/23)
The end goals of this virtual and in-person workshop series are to:
- Engage academic, private, and governmental communities in building awareness of the reciprocal benefits of strong partnerships that leverage and inspire innovations in basic and applied science
- Identify shared interests, community needs, and barriers to functional partnerships
- Transfer knowledge of successful strategies from existing use-inspired science activities
- Develop recommendations for new structures and processes that will accelerate the translation of research to innovations that benefit society
- Enhance and expand inclusive and experiential training opportunities to prepare a globally competitive, STEM-adaptable workforce
The workshop outcomes are not meant to replace basic science investments, but rather leverage and expand successful use-inspired activities and change how academic and non-academic organizations support and value collaborative activities that accelerate innovation, prepare a workforce for diverse careers, and benefit society.
Please share this workshop invitation broadly with your academic, private, and governmental partners.
To learn more, please visit our website.
Co-organizers:
- Jennifer S. Forbey (Professor of Biological Sciences, Boise State University)
- Michael G. Muszynski (Associate Professor of Tropical Plant & Soil Sciences, University of Hawaii at Manoa)
If you have questions or need additional information regarding registration, please contact: ryan.hammer@knowinnovation.com.
Check out NSF's new resource, the Education and Training Application (ETAP)
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has a new website – the Education and Training Application (ETAP) - designed to help people find and apply to education and training opportunities to strengthen their academic career. Principal Investigators of NSF Awards can customize NSF’s ETAP application to provide opportunities for applicants to participate in. NSF ETAP opens doors to valuable opportunities, including:
- Active field research experiences
- Hands-on learning and mentorship
- Summer programs and teaching assistantships
- Internships and career experience
- Scholarships and fellowships
Learn more at etap.nsf.gov
Boise State hydrologist lauded for research excellence
A Boise State University hydrologist is the recipient of the 2022 Jean’ne M. Shreeve National Science Foundation (NSF) Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) Research Excellence Award. James McNamara, a professor in Boise State’s Department of Geosciences, received the award during October’s 2022 Idaho NSF EPSCoR meeting in Boise.
The award recognizes the accomplishments of faculty members at Boise State University, Idaho State University, University of Idaho and other state institutions of higher education who have been active participants in the NSF EPSCoR program. McNamara’s significant body of published works in hydrology and contributions to Boise State programming, facilities, and students over the course of his 25-year career with the institution were key factors in his selection.
FY22 DEPSCoR funding opportunities available now
Two FY22 Defense Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (DEPSCoR) funding opportunity announcements are now available on grants.gov. DEPSCoR is a capacity building program that is designed to strengthen the research infrastructure at institutions of higher education in underutilized States/Territories.
Quantum DNA research receives $5M grant from DOE
Boise State's Quantum DNA (qDNA) Research Group received a $5M grant from the Department of Energy Basic Energy Science's (BES) EPSCOR as part of a broader announcement of funded energy-related research projects.
Composed of five research teams that span multiple departments and colleges at Boise State, and involving almost 30 faculty, professional staff and students, the qDNA Research Group is pioneering the use of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) as a programmable, self-assembling architecture that organizes light-absorbing dye molecules to achieve quantum entanglement.
University of Idaho scientists working to develop COVID-19 cure
MOSCOW, Idaho - Scientists at the University of Idaho are currently working to identify a cure for COVID-19.
According to U of I, the Department of Biological Sciences team expects to finish preliminary tests within a year. Researchers will also develop a pipeline for identifying drugs that can block viruses from infecting human cells.
The project was funded through a $100,000 National Science Foundation EPSCoR grant issues to U of I physics professor Marty Ytreberg.
“Funding agencies are giving leeway to researchers with existing grants to shuttle resources toward the COVID pandemic,” Ytreberg said. “We decided this was a good investment, because it has the potential to lead to a therapeutic and fits within the theme of the grant.”
Click on link to view full article.