September 10, 2024

A message from the NSF Assistant Director for Engineering is below. Access the full newsletter and subscribe for more ENG updates.

Dear Engineering Community,

As we reflect on the investments of the 2024 fiscal year, we take pride in supporting over 1,400 proposals from more than 300 institutions for high-impact engineering research, education, infrastructure, training, and conferences. To highlight just a few examples:

• I am excited to announce four new NSF Engineering Research Centers. The new ERCs will develop technologies to tackle the carbon challenge, expand physical capabilities, make heating and cooling more sustainable and enable the U.S. supply and manufacturing of natural rubber. We hope the engineering community will again send great ideas for the next ERC competition, with new center awards in 2026.

• We awarded the inaugural TRAILBLAZER grants for groundbreaking engineering ideas. Letters of Intent for our new TRAILBLAZER solicitation are due November 15. 

• Through a special call for future clean energy technologies research, we invested more than $26.5 million in 4 conferences, 19 RAISE awards, and 24 EAGER projects.  

• We funded $14 million in bioengineered systems and ethical biocomputing research through our Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation program.

• Of the approximately 200 sites funded this year, we supported 20 new Research Experiences for Undergraduates sites related to microelectronics and semiconductors, and 9 of these REU sites are co-funded by the Semiconductor Research Corporation.

The Engineering Directorate continues to prioritize research infrastructure. The community’s input informed our plan for supporting the next 10 years of the NSF Natural Hazards Engineering Research Infrastructure (NHERI). Please keep an eye out for the new NHERI funding opportunity later this year.

Finally, I encourage you -- researchers from every state and territory and from any eligible institution -- to send us your exciting ideas. Many NSF Engineering programs accept proposals all year long, and we welcome submissions from any institution of higher education (see PAPPG I.E for details), including HBCUs, primarily undergraduate institutions, and institutions in EPSCoR locations. 

Reach out to program directors in the Directorate for Engineering with your questions, and we will help you find the right program that aligns with your exciting ideas for engineering research and education.

Best wishes,

Susan Margulies, Ph.D.
NSF Assistant Director for Engineering

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The U.S. National Science Foundation propels the nation forward by advancing fundamental research in all fields of science and engineering. NSF supports research and people by providing facilities, instruments and funding to support their ingenuity and sustain the U.S. as a global leader in research and innovation. With a fiscal year 2023 budget of $9.5 billion, NSF funds reach all 50 states through grants to nearly 2,000 colleges, universities and institutions. Each year, NSF receives more than 40,000 competitive proposals and makes about 11,000 new awards. Those awards include support for cooperative research with industry, Arctic and Antarctic research and operations, and U.S. participation in international scientific efforts.

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