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Past DER Weekly Newsletters |
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Weekly In Progress Report |
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Broader Impacts Spring Workshops: Winning Strategies for NSF Career Proposals (March 3, 2022, 10:00 a.m.)
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Broader Impacts Spring Workshops: Winning Strategies for NSF Career Proposals (March 3, 2022, 10:00 a.m. via Zoom) – Registration required
University Outreach and Engagement and the Office of Research and Innovation are excited to announce a series of workshops this spring semester designed to help faculty, students, and staff understand and effectively respond to the National Science Foundation’s broader impacts criterion. Registration for this session is required. Registration Deadline: Tuesday, March 1, 2022.
Next up: Winning Strategies for NSF Career Proposals, March 3, 2022 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. via Zoom
In this panel discussion, Dr. Angela Wilson, John A. Hannah Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and former director of the Chemistry Division of the National Science Foundation, and faculty members who have won CAREER awards offer their insights into how to write successful CAREER proposals that integrate their research and education plans. Additional panelists will include Dr. Kyla Dahlin
(MSU Geography, Environment, and Spatial Sciences), Dr. Julia Ganz (MSU Integrative Biology), and Dr. Muhammad Rabnawaz
(MSU School of Packaging). This session will be moderated by Dr. Lauren
Aerni-Flessner (Grant and Project Management Specialist in the College of Engineering) and Dr. Sara Steenrod (Grant Consultant, Office of Research and Innovation).
Register: https://events.engage.msu.edu/WSNSF
Future sessions:
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| Spotlight Opportunities & Information |
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Summary: The National Fish & Wildlife Foundation has released it 2022 Sustain Our Great Lakes RFP. They are soliciting proposals to benefit fish, wildlife, habitat and water quality in the Great Lakes basin. The program will award approximately $11.2 million in grants in 2022 to improve and enhance: 1) stream, riparian and coastal habitats; 2) water quality in the Great Lakes and its tributaries. Depending on are for which funds are requested and potential impact of the project, grants can be up to approximately $400,000. A brief overview and links are below. Preproposals are to be submitted, online, by Monday, February 28, 2022 at 11:59pm ET. Please forward this to any faculty in your units that may have interest.
National Fish & Wildlife FOUNDATION: https://www.nfwf.org/
GEORGRAPHIC FOCUS: Great Lakes Region
RFP: Sustain our Great Lakes: The Sustain Our Great Lakes (SOGL) program is soliciting proposals to benefit fish, wildlife, habitat and water quality in the Great Lakes basin. The program will award approximately $11.2 million in grants in 2022 to improve and enhance: 1) stream, riparian and coastal habitats; 2) water quality in the Great Lakes and its tributaries.
All proposals must specifically address how projects will directly and measurably contribute to the accomplishment of program goals. Further information on the program goals can be found in NFWF’s Great Lakes Business Plan. In 2022, grant funding will be awarded in six categories: 1. Restore and Enhance Stream and Riparian Habitat 2. Restore and Enhance Coastal Habitats 3. Expand Green Stormwater Infrastructure in Great Lakes Communities 4. Maintain and Enhance Benefits of Habitat Restoration through Invasive Species Control 5. Restore and Preserve Natural Areas and Biodiversity in Wisconsin’s Lake Michigan Watershed 6. Accelerate Implementation of Conservation Practices and Regenerative Agriculture on Working Lands. (See explanations of each category in RFP at link above.)
NOTE: If interested, please carefully review the full RFP (RFP: Sustain our Great Lakes)
GRANT AMOUNT
Approximately $11.2 million is expected to be available for grant awards in 2022. In the past three years, the program has awarded an average of 31 grants per year, representing an application success rate of 23%. The ratio of matching contributions offered to grant funding requested is one criterion considered during the review process, and projects that offer a 1:1 match ratio with contributions from nonfederal sources will be more competitive. Applicants are also encouraged to indicate relevant 13 federal contributions to demonstrate the scope of partner investment in the project. Matching contributions must be spent or applied between the start and end dates indicated in the application. *Matching contributions may include cash, in-kind contributions of staff and volunteer time, work performed, materials and services donated, or other tangible contributions to the project objectives and outcomes.
APPLICATION PROCESS
All application materials must be submitted online through National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s Easygrants system.
- Go to www.easygrants.nfwf.org
to register in our Easygrants online system. New users to the system will be prompted to register before starting the application (if you already are a registered user, use your existing login). Enter your applicant information.
- Once on your homepage, click the “Apply for Funding” button and select this RFP’s “Funding Opportunity” from the list of options.
- Follow the instructions in Easygrants to complete your application. Once an application has been started, it may be saved and returned to at a later time for completion and submission.
Easygrants Helpdesk Email: Easygrants@nfwf.org
Voicemail: 202-595-2497
DEADLINE
- Pre-Proposal Due Date: February 28, 11:59 PM ET
- Invitations for Full Proposals: Late-March
- Full Proposal Due Date: April 18, 11:59 PM ET
- Proposal Review Period: May – August 2022
- Awards Announced: September 2022
PROJECT CONTACT
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DOE Announces $150 Million to Reduce Climate Impacts of Energy Technologies and Manufacturing
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Chemical and Materials Science Research to Advance Clean Energy Technologies Like Solar, Next-Generation Batteries, and Carbon Capture and Storage
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced $150 million in open funding for research projects focused on increasing efficiency and curbing carbon emissions from energy technologies and manufacturing. This funding will support research underpinning DOE's Energy Earthshots Initiatives, which set goals for significant improvements in clean energy technology within a decade, including hydrogen, long duration storage, and carbon capture and sequestration. This research is fundamental to the climate solutions that will be critical to reaching President Biden’s goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
“Rapidly deploying existing climate technology while cranking up investments in early-stage climate research is the one-two punch we need to build long-term resilience to the climate crisis and meet our 2050 goals,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “From discovery to deployment, this research funding will draw on the talent of American colleges and universities to expedite the development of new technology that, paired with our current arsenal of climate solutions, will be key to tackling the climate crisis while creating good-paying jobs and bolstering American competitiveness.”
Funding will support an array of research topics in basic chemical and materials research, including new clean energy approaches that are inspired by energy-efficient biological processes, such as photosynthesis that harnesses sunlight to synthesize the molecules plants need for life. This research is foundational to the development of solar and nuclear energy technologies, energy storage, carbon capture, novel manufacturing processes, and the use of critical minerals in energy technologies and manufacturing. This funding will also support research underpinning DOE’s Energy Earthshots Initiatives, including the Hydrogen Shot, which aims to decrease the cost of producing hydrogen; the Long Duration Storage Shot, which seeks to reduce the cost and increase the duration of grid-scale energy storage; and the Carbon Negative Shot, which targets the decrease of costs to remove and durably store carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
DOE encourages applications led by, or in partnership with, Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) that are underrepresented in the Basic Energy Sciences portfolio and applications involving individuals from groups historically underrepresented in STEM. Applications are open to all accredited U.S. colleges and universities, national laboratories, nonprofits, and private sector companies. Contingent on congressional appropriations, total planned funding is up to $150 million, with up to $50 million in Fiscal Year 2022.
The Funding Opportunity Announcement, sponsored by the Office of Basic Energy Sciences within the Department’s Office of Science, can be found here.
The DOE Office of Basic Energy Sciences hosted a webinar on February 23 with Q&A about the 2022 “Chemical and Materials Sciences to Advance Clean Energy Technologies and Low-Carbon Manufacturing” Funding Opportunity Announcement (DE-FOA-0002676). Learn more Here.
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Guowei Wei seeks answers on omicron
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Using AI to fight Coronavirus
As scientists make strides in finding answers about COVID-19, artificial intelligence has aided one Michigan State University researcher and his team in finding answers about the new omicron variant. The MSU researchers report omicron and other variants are evolving increased infectivity and antibody resistance according to an artificial intelligence model. Therefore, new vaccines and antibody therapies are needed, the researchers say.
Understanding how SARS-CoV-2 evolves is essential to predicting vaccine breakthrough and designing mutation-proof vaccines and monoclonal antibody treatments. In a recent study in American Chemical Society Infectious Diseases, Guowei Wei, professor in MSU’s Departments of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Mathematics as well as and colleagues, analyzed almost 1.5 million SARS-CoV-2 genome sequences taken from people with COVID-19.
They identified 683 unique mutations in the region of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein that attaches to the human ACE2 receptor on the surface of human cells for virus cell entry, which initiates the infection. Then, they used an AI model to predict how these mutations affect the binding strength of spike protein and ACE2 as well as spike protein and 130 antibodies that created from prior infection or vaccination to prevent future viral infection. Several antibodies authorized by the FDA as COVID-19 therapies were also included in the study.
The team found that mutations to strengthen infectivity are the driving force for viral evolution---a process in which the most competitive variant is selected for dominancy whereas in highly vaccinated populations, mutations that allow the virus to escape vaccines become dominant. The researchers also predicted that certain combinations of mutations have a high likelihood of massive spread.
“With this AI model we can predict how infectious each variant is, how often vaccinated individuals become infected when exposed to the virus, and how well vaccines protect against new variants without using extra experimental data,” Wei said.
… Learn more Here.
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Federal, State, and Foundation Funding
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Resources for finding Federal, State and Foundation funding opportunities.
Learn more Here.
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New discovery supports reusable helmet padding
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Findings build on previous research on liquid nanofoam
While developing a reusable liquid nanofoam material for football helmets, Michigan State University researchers have made a big discovery that puts the material that much closer to practical use in a variety of applications.
Weiyi Lu, an associate professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and his research associate, Mingzhe Li, found that liquid flowing into a nanopore acts more like a solid. The liquid pulls itself apart like stretching a piece of saltwater taffy creating a thin “neck” in the center of the nanopore that eventually breaks, causing the liquid to flow out of opposite ends of the nanopore.
This discovery will have a significant impact on the prototype design of liquid nanopore pads that aim to be more effective and resilient than foam pads.
“From previous research, we knew how the liquid flowed into the nanopores and now, we know how it flows out,” Lu said. “Our laboratory testing and the simulation work of Baoxing Xu, an associate professor at the University of Virginia, and Yuan Gao, a postdoctoral scholar at University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, helped make this important discovery
The new finding means the liquid nanopore material can meet the goal of being reusable, flexible and more comfortable. Future liquid nanofoam devices can have potential applications off the football field, in cars and wearable devices to monitor health conditions.
The research was published on Dec. 15 in the journal Matter.
***
This article was originally published on Oct. 22, 2020
Liquid nanofoam could be a game changer for future football helmets
A liquid nanofoam liner undergoing testing could prolong the safe use of football helmets, says a Michigan State University researcher.
… Learn more Here.
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The chart above shows DER's Proposal Volume from 2018 to 2022 as of (02/25/2022).
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Available now on demand (this and other past seminars)
Description: The first seminar of 2022 will engage individuals from DER, OSP, and CGA to provide an overview of the lifecycle of an award - from proposal development to award close-out. Join us for a clearer understanding of the roles and responsibilities at each stage. You will be better prepared to submit fundable proposals and to effectively and efficiently manage subsequent awards from start to finish with the help of your MSU support system. All researchers are welcome and are encouraged to be prepared with any questions. Watch it now on demand!!!
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| Internal Funding Notifications & News |
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| International Funding Opportunities Update 02/24/2022 |
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OIRC becomes Global IDEAS
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| External Sponsor Notifications & News |
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| Ongoing Updates and Posts |
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| NSF News Releases |
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| Ongoing Updates and Posts |
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| NAMC Opportunities |
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| Ongoing Updates and Posts |
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| Press Releases and Funding Opportunities |
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U.S. Department of Defense |
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National Aeronautics and Space Administration |
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National Institutes of Health |
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National Science Foundation |
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Office of Naval Research |
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Research in Germany - Land of Ideas |
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U.S. Department of Energy |
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United States Department of Agriculture |
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