Research Funding

NSF EPSCoR Research Infrastructure Improvement Track-2 Focused EPSCoR Collaborations (RII Track-2 FEC) Award

Deadline: Anticipated to be January 2015

Nebraska EPSCoR anticipates issuance of a request for proposals by the National Science Foundation for its new EPSCoR Research Infrastructure Improvement (RII) Track-2 Focused EPSCoR Collaborations (FEC) award program in early November Preparations to respond to this RFP must begin now. The major proposal conditions will be:

  1. a) Research collaboration between a minimum of two EPSCoR jurisdictions (the EPSCoR jurisdictions are listed at the bottom of this call),
  2. b) Nebraska may submit only one proposal for which one of its faculty is serving as the lead PI of the multi-jurisdictional proposal,
  3. c) Nebraska faculty can serve as Co-PI on any number of other Track 2 proposals,
  4. d) PI’s and Co-PI’s must be active researchers in the field of proposed research activities,
  5. e) Proposals should budget funds to recruit or develop junior or early-career faculty, and
  6. f) The NSF proposal will be due in late January 2015.

Award Size and Duration:

  • Maximum award $6M over four years
  • Maximum award per year $1.5M regardless of the number of jurisdictions
  • Maximum award per jurisdiction $500k per year

Focus Areas for FY 2015 solicitation:

  1. Understanding the Human Brain
  2. Water-Energy-Food Nexus

A. Understanding the Human Brain

NSF’s goal is to enable scientific understanding of the full complexity of the brain, in action and in context, through targeted, cross-disciplinary investments in research, technology, and workforce development. RII Track-2 FEC proposals on Understanding the Brain should focus on one or more thematic areas of the NSF BRAIN Initiative (http://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/brain/initiative/):

  • Multi-scale Integration of the Dynamic Activity and Structure of the Brain – elucidate and link dynamics of the brain and neural circuits with brain function, including its real-time physiological, behavioral and cognitive outputs.
  • Neurotechnology and Research Infrastructure – create tools to image, sense, record and affect real-time brain function and complex behavior, and develop theories and systems to collect, visualize, analyze, model, store, and distribute BRAIN data.
  • Quantitative Theory and Modeling of Brain Function -reveal emergent properties of the brain and provide predictive theoretical frameworks to guide future research.
  • Brain-Inspired Concepts and Designs- capitalize on insights gained from BRAIN to inspire novel conceptual paradigms and innovative technologies and designs that will benefit society.

B. Water-Energy-Food (WEF) Nexus

The WEF Nexus is a complex, global grand challenge that reflects the interconnectedness and interdependencies among these resources. Proposals in the WEF Nexus area must integrate all three elements of the nexus. Emphasis must be on transformative research that improves fundamental understanding of the underlying dynamics, processes, and interactions between WEF systems. Proposals to apply existing methods or technologies to demonstrate or quantify aspects of the WEF Nexus will not be considered by NSF.

WEF Nexus Example Thematic Areas:

  • Integrated analysis and modeling- develop analytical methods and models to identify critical connections to global and regional energy and water resources that influence food production, investigate relationships among food, water, and energy technology options and socioeconomic factors such as population fluxes in urban and rural areas, economic drivers, and competing resource demands.
  • Advanced materials and technological solutions – development of materials and technologies that can yield economically-relevant improvements in the WEF nexus.
  • The integrated science behind improvements of feedstock production systems, including aquaculture -the area encompasses improved understanding of the basic processes and interactions that underpin crops, agricultural, and aquaculture techniques that improve water quality, co-production and value-added products that reduce energy intensity and environmental protection across the food productions lifecycle. Basic and fundamental research bridging the hydrological, environmental, ecological, geochemical, energy, and engineering sciences is encouraged.
  • Advanced sensors and analytics- technologies for reliable measurement-based data of water availability, quality, and demand to support food and energy production and deliver relevant land-use and climate scenarios to support decisions related to water and resource allocation. Technologies may include subsurface sensing and characterization, remote sensing, and treatment systems to tailor water quality to specific food and energy production requirements.

Contact the UNMC Office of Research, 559-8490 or Associate Vice Chancellor for Basic Science Research for further information. NSF EPSCOR RII Track-2 FEC 2014

Leave a Reply

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.