Title: 2003 Environmental Technologies and Systems
Date: 11/27/02
Replaced: NSF 01-76
2003 Environmental Technologies and Systems
NSF/EPA PARTNERSHIP FOR ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH
Program Solicitation
NSF 03-510
Replaces Document NSF 01-76
National Science Foundation
Directorate for Engineering
Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences
Environmental Protection Agency
Full Proposal Deadline(s) (due by 5 p.m proposer's local time):
February 25, 2003
Technology for a Sustainable Environment (TSE)
March 04, 2003
New Technologies for the Environment (NTE)
SUMMARY OF PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS
General Information
Program Title:
2003 Environmental Technologies and Systems
NSF/EPA PARTNERSHIP FOR ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH
Synopsis of Program:
In this solicitation, NSF and EPA are offering funds for
fundamental and applied research in the physical and biological
sciences and engineering that will lead to environmentally-benign
methods for industrial processing/manufacturing; sustainable
construction processes; and new technologies for pollution
sensing and remediation. The competition addresses technological
environmental issues of design, treatment, synthesis, processing,
and energy conversion; environmentally conscious construction and
disaster management; and the production, use, detection, and
ultimate disposition of products in continuous and discrete
manufacturing industries as well as in construction industries
and in the environment.
There are two parts to this competition. Together they are
designed to address pollution avoidance, prevention, treatment,
and remediation processes and methodologies. They also support
scientific and engineering research with potential long-term
industrial and/or societal impacts. Under the Technology for a
Sustainable Environment (TSE) part, research proposals are
invited that advance the discovery, development, and use of
innovative technologies and approaches to avoid or minimize the
generation of pollutants at the source. In preventing pollution
at its source, the life cycle of both materials and energy can
also be considered. Under the New Technologies for the
Environment (NTE) part, proposals are invited that explore new
technologies that can be applied to environmental remediation,
environmental sensing, and small drinking water systems.
NEW ASPECTS of this year's NSF/EPA Solicitation
* Combination of TSE and NTE into one overall solicitation
with two separate deadlines
* Inclusion of Sustainable Construction Processes in TSE
(Contact: Miriam Heller, NSF)
* Inclusion of Breakthrough Control Systems for Energy
Conversion or Transportation Technologies under the
Non-Reaction-Based Engineering portion of TSE (Contact: Paul
Werbos, NSF)
* Inclusion of Environmental Sensing technologies in NTE
(Contacts: Paul Werbos, NSF and Nick Clesceri, NSF)
* Treatment Technologies for Arsenic in Small Drinking Water
Systems added to NTE (Contact: April Richards, EPA)
Cognizant Program Officer(s):
* Robert M Wellek, Deputy Division Director, National Science
Foundation, Engineering/Chemical & Transport Systems, fax: (703)
292-9054, email: rwellek@nsf.gov
* Stephen Lingle, Division Director, Environmental Protection Agency,
Environmental Engineering Research Division, telephone: (202)
564-6820, email: lingle.stephen@epa.gov
Applicable Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number(s):
* 47.041 --- Engineering
* 47.049 --- Mathematical and Physical Sciences
* 66.500 --- Environmental Protection Agency
Eligibility Information
* Organization Limit: Academic and not-for-profit institutions located
in the U.S. are eligible. Profit-making firms and federal agencies are
not eligible to apply to this program. However, personnel in
profit-making firms may participate as non-funded co-investigators.
* PI Eligibility Limit: Only one proposal may be submitted by a
Principal Investigator and he/she may only collaborate in one other
proposal as a co-Investigator. A Principal Investigator cannot submit
an NTE Phase II proposal unless he/she has completed an NTE Phase I
exploratory project.
* Limit on Number of Proposals: None for the Institution
Award Information
* Anticipated Type of Award: Standard or Continuing Grant
* Estimated Number of Awards: 45 - New NSF and EPA awards combined
* Anticipated Funding Amount: $9,500,000 in Standard and Continuing
Grants: approximately $6.0 million from NSF and $3.5 million from EPA,
pending the availability of funds and quality of proposals. Each award
will be made either by NSF or by EPA.
Proposal Preparation and Submission Instructions
A. Proposal Preparation Instructions
* Full Proposal Preparation Instructions: The program
announcement/solicitation contains supplements to the standard Grant
Proposal Guide (GPG) proposal preparation guidelines. Please see the
full program announcement/solicitation for further information.
B. Budgetary Information
* Cost Sharing Requirements: Cost Sharing is not required.
* Indirect Cost (F&A) Limitations: Not Applicable.
* Other Budgetary Limitations: Other budgetary limitations apply. Please
see the full funding opportunity document for further information.
C. Due Dates
* Full Proposal Deadline Date(s) (due by 5 p.m proposer's local time):
February 25, 2003
Technology for a Sustainable Environment (TSE)
March 04, 2003
New Technologies for the Environment (NTE)
Proposal Review Information
* Merit Review Criteria: National Science Board approved criteria.
Additional merit review considerations apply. Please see the full
funding opportunity document for further information.
Award Administration Information
* Award Conditions: Additional award conditions apply. Please see the
full funding opportunity document for further information.
* Reporting Requirements: Additional reporting requirements apply.
Please see the full funding opportunity document for further
information.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Summary of Program Requirements
I. Introduction
II. Program Description
III. Eligibility Information
IV. Award Information
V. Proposal Preparation and Submission Instructions
A. Proposal Preparation Instructions
B. Budgetary Information
C. Due Dates
D. FastLane Requirements
VI. Proposal Review Information
A. NSF Proposal Review Process
B. Review Protocol and Associated Customer Service Standard
VII. Award Administration Information
A. NSF Notification of the Award
B. NSF Award Conditions
C. Reporting Requirements
VIII.Contacts for Additional Information
IX. Other Programs of Interest
I. INTRODUCTION
The National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) announce their intent to continue to support an extramural
grants competition in fundamental environmental research to be held in
Fiscal Year (FY) 2003. This NSF/EPA research activity is based on a
Memorandum of Understanding between the agencies that establishes a
partnership emphasizing the support and merit review of fundamental and
applied environmental protection research.
This year the NSF/EPA Partnership solicits applications for the Technology
for a Sustainable Environment (TSE) program and adds the New Technologies
for the Environment (NTE) program, which ran as a separate NSF competition
in 2000 (NSF 00-49).
Further information may be obtained from the NSF and EPA officials below.
E-mail inquiries are preferred.
General Information on the NSF/EPA Partnership for Environmental Research:
Stephen Lingle, (202) 564-6820, lingle.stephen@epa.gov
Robert Wellek, Fax (703) 292-9054, rwellek@nsf.gov
Information on Technology for a Sustainable Environment (TSE):
Barbara Karn, NCER/EERC, (202) 564-6824, karn.barbara@epa.gov
April Richards, NCER/EERC, (202) 564-2297, richards.april@epa.gov
Nora Savage, NCER/EERC, (202) 564-8228, savage.nora@epa.gov
Nicholas Clesceri, BES Division, (703) 292-7940, nclescer@nsf.gov
Fred Heineken, BES Division, (703) 292-7944, fheineke@nsf.gov
Thomas Waite, BES Division, (703) 292-7499), twaite@nsf.gov
George Rubottom, CHE Division, (703) 292-4965, grubotto@nsf.gov
Richard Fragaszy, CMS Division, (703) 292-8360, rfragasz@nsf.gov
Miriam Heller, CMS Division, (703) 292-7025, mheller@nsf.gov
Dennis Wenger, CMS Division, (703) 292-7014, dwenger@nsf.gov
Thomas Chapman, CTS Division, (703) 292-8370, tchapman@nsf.gov
Geoffrey Prentice, CTS Division, (703) 292-8371, gprentic@nsf.gov
Glenn Schrader, CTS Division, (703) 292-8371, gschrade@nsf.gov
Robert Wellek, CTS Division, Fax (703) 292-9054, rwellek@nsf.gov
Delcie Durham, DMII Division, (703) 292-7060, ddurham@nsf.gov
Jan Twomey, DMII Division, (703) 292-8330, jtwomey@nsf.gov
Andrew Lovinger, DMR Division, (703) 292-4933, alovinge@nsf.gov
Paul Werbos, ECS Division, (703) 292-5386, pwerbos@nsf.gov
Information on New Technologies for the Environment (NTE):
April Richards, NCER/EERC, (202) 564-2297, richards.april@epa.gov
Nicholas Clesceri, BES Division, (703) 292-7940, nclescer@nsf.gov
Fred Heineken, BES Division, (703) 292-7944, fheineke@nsf.gov
Thomas Waite, BES Division, (703) 292-7499), twaite@nsf.gov
Richard Fragaszy, CMS Division, (703) 292-8360, rfragasz@nsf.gov
Geoffrey Prentice, CTS Division, (703) 292-8371, gprentic@nsf.gov
Glenn Schrader, CTS Division, (703) 292-8371, gschrade@nsf.gov
Robert Wellek, CTS Division, Fax (703) 292-9054, rwellek@nsf.gov
Delcie Durham, DMII Division, (703) 292-7060, ddurham@nsf.gov
Paul Werbos, ECS Division, (703) 292-5386, pwerbos@nsf.gov
II. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
A. TECHNOLOGY FOR A SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENT (Prevention)
Introduction
As a nation, we seek long-term economic growth that creates jobs while
improving and sustaining the environment and preserving economic
opportunities and resources for future generations. It is increasingly
clear that "end-of-pipe" pollution controls for industrial operations are
not always a sufficient means of reaching these goals, nor is unconstrained
development of the supporting infrastructure of industrial facilities. A
new generation of cleaner industrial manufacturing, processing, and
construction technologies is needed that supports pollution
avoidance/prevention (at the source), efficient resource use, and
industrial ecology. Such a strategy can help industries become more
competitive by lowering resource and energy needs and reducing
waste/emissions-control costs, thereby fostering sustainable development
while maintaining a strong economy.
Besides addressing industrial and economic issues, more
environmentally-benign TSE industrial approaches could contribute to the
solution of global environmental problems by, for example, lessening the
negative impacts of industrialization on the climate and the biosphere.
Research proposals are invited that advance the development and use of
innovative manufacturing and processing technologies and approaches
directed at avoiding or minimizing the generation of pollutants at the
source. Other than those aspects that pertain to materials flows and reuse
within industrial processes, the TSE portion (Part A) of this competition
is not intended to address issues related to waste monitoring, treatment,
remediation, environmental sensors (except in-process sensors), recycling
or containment. These areas are very important, and they are supported by
the program activities in Part B, New Technologies for the Environment,
(NTE).
NSF and EPA are offering funds for fundamental and applied research in the
physical sciences and engineering that will lead to the discovery,
development, and evaluation of advanced and novel environmentally benign
methods for industrial processing, manufacturing, and construction. The
competition addresses technological environmental issues of design,
synthesis, processing, and the production, use, and ultimate disposition of
products in construction and in continuous and discrete manufacturing
industries. Projects must employ fundamental new approaches, and address or
be relevant to current national concerns for pollution avoidance/prevention
(at the source). Projects that are "on the cutting edge" or are
"high-risk/high-payoff" are encouraged. Projects that show the potential to
change research infrastructure by developing teams, using systems
approaches, and introducing new ways of conducting research will also be
considered.
Answering research questions related to environmental sustainability issues
often requires the analysis and evaluation of scientific and engineering
information and complex phenomena over large spatial and time domains. In
addition, the use of modern information technology and high-end computing
resources to do this research presents exciting opportunities to the
research community, and proposals using these approaches may fit in with
this program. Other examples of newer research emphases that are expected
to have major impacts on scientific and engineering approaches to
sustainability could include nanotechnology, molecular modeling,
computational chemistry, sensors, smart materials and buildings, adaptive
infrastructure, and simulation of physical, biological, and chemical
phenomena. Environmental technology research can also have a critical,
albeit indirect, role in developing reliable and affordable alternative
energy systems.
This is the seventh joint NSF/EPA solicitation of TSE. About 1,200
proposals have been submitted to the competitions, and about 13% of those
(more than 156 TSE projects) were funded. Previous TSE projects were
typically funded for three years at a level of about $120,000 per year.
Refer to the NSF/EPA Partnership websites for funding details and abstracts
of grants: http://www.nsf.gov/tse or http://www.epa.gov/ncer.
Description of Possible TSE Research Projects (PREVENTION)
The general areas covered by this part (Part A - TSE/Prevention) of the
solicitation are:
* Chemistry, Bioengineering, and Chemical Reaction-Based Science and
Engineering for Pollution Avoidance or Prevention;
* Non-Reaction-Based Engineering for Pollution Avoidance and Prevention;
* Environmentally Benign Systems and Design, Manufacturing, Processing,
and Industrial Ecology for Sustainable Product/Services Realization;
and
* Sustainable Construction Processes.
1. Chemistry, Bioengineering, and Chemical Reaction-Based Science and
Engineering for Pollution Avoidance or Prevention
The long-range goal of this activity is to develop substances and processes
that are safer, reduce health risks, and are environmentally friendly. For
the chemical industry, preventing pollution at the source, or "green
chemistry and engineering," involves the design of chemicals and
alternative chemical processes that do not use toxic feedstocks, reagents
or solvents; or processes that reduce the production of toxic by-products
or co-products. Data-oriented environmental research is also invited.
Appropriate areas of investigation span the broad range of chemistry and
chemical reaction-based engineering and include chemical synthesis and
catalysis; computational modeling; sensor innovation (for in-process
sensing); reaction mechanisms; and environmentally benign materials. Some
specific examples are:
* Alternative Reaction Conditions: Development of alternative new
reaction conditions, such as using solvents that are environmentally
benign, developing advanced laser control of reactivity, or increasing
reaction selectivity to reduce wastes and emissions.
* Safer Chemicals: Discovery or redesign of useful chemicals and
materials that are less toxic to health and the environment or safer
in terms of accident potential.
* Catalysis and Biocatalysis: Development of innovative synthetic
methods using catalysis or biocatalysis, including combinatorial or
self-assembly approaches; photochemical, electrochemical or biomimetic
activation; or starting materials that are environmentally benign or
renewable. Examples of catalyst research include: new multifunctional
catalysts that reduce the number of process stages or decrease
reaction temperatures; super-selective catalysts exploiting innovative
nano- and meso-scale structured environments; novel heterogeneous
catalysts that replace state-of-the-art homogeneous ones; supported
biocatalysts and biomimetic catalytic materials achieving high yields
through more efficient reaction pathways, especially in the
specialty/fine/pharmaceutical industries; and novel catalysts for
currently uncatalyzed reactions. Examples of biocatalysis include
research to convert waste biomass into useful products; genetic
engineering to produce more specific biocatalysts; and bioprocessing
to decrease use of hazardous reactants and eliminate harmful
byproducts.
* Unit Chemical and Material Processes: Improved reactor or
chemical/material process design in order to increase product yield,
improve selectivity, or reduce unwanted by-products. Novel reactors
such as reactor-separator combinations that provide for product
separation during the reaction, alternative energy sources for
reaction initiation, and integrated chemical process design and
operation, including in-process sensing and control, are of interest.
(NSF will not be funding reaction engineering proposals through this
competition. Instead, chemical reactor design and control proposals
may be submitted directly to the NSF Process and Reaction Engineering
program as regular research proposals. However, EPA will still
consider funding such projects via the TSE part of this solicitation.)
* Computational Chemistry and Molecular Simulation: Rapid advances in
computational speed along with the development of highly efficient
computational algorithms have begun to make computational chemistry
and molecular simulation viable partners to experimental efforts.
Areas of interest include molecular modeling work on catalytic and
reaction processes in zeolites, electrochemical systems, and other
heterogeneous systems, all with environmentally beneficial effects.
Applications of new, basic computational methods for the design of
chemical plants and/or control of their operation are also of
interest.
* Materials: Materials substitutions and process alternatives which
prevent or reduce environmental harm, such as changes in raw materials
or the use of less hazardous solvents in organic coatings, use of
materials less harmful to the environment, and materials substitutions
in metal plating systems. Combinatorial methods for rapid
identification of superior catalytic materials can also be used to
optimize the environmental performance of the reactor and process.
2. Non-Reaction-Based Engineering for Pollution Avoidance and Prevention
The focus of this program activity is to develop novel benign engineering
approaches for preventing or reducing pollution from industrial
manufacturing and processing activities, for non-discrete and discrete
processes. The scope includes: technology and equipment modification,
reformulation or redesign of parts or products, substitution of alternative
materials, in-process changes, process controls/testing methodologies to
reduce in-process waste, exploitation of intelligent control or
computational intelligence, and development of systems technology to enable
the practical insertion of pollution-free technologies.
Potential areas of research include:
* Bioengineering and Technology: Research in this area includes
development of innovative environmental technologies using
bioengineering techniques such as bioprocessing in bio-manufacturing
processes. Examples include: bioprocessing to increase energy
efficiency, or to develop more cost effective methods of producing
environmentally benign products. Bio-remediation research is not
covered by the TSE portion of this solicitation; it is covered by Part
B - NTE.
* Separations, Mass Transport, and Interfacial Phenomena: Non-reactive
mass transport and interfacial processes, including novel processes
for molecularly-controlled synthesis of thin films, and the use of
special surfactant systems for surface cleaning and reactions.
Solution thermodynamics of environmentally-benign solvents such as
ionic or near critical solutions. Separation methods, such as novel
cost-effective methods for the highly efficient in-process separation
of useful materials from the components of the process stream (for
example, field-enhanced and hybrid separation processes); separation
methods that reform feedstocks for improved efficiency; and separation
methods for recovering waste and other spent materials for reuse as
process feedstocks. Development of materials for advanced in-process
sensors with potential for reducing resource use or improving
production selectivity.
* Fluid and Thermal Transport Processes: Improved thermal processes and
systems that employ novel thermal or fluid and/or
multiphase/particulate systems resulting in significantly lower
hazardous effluent production. Examples include: novel refrigeration
cycles including heat-operated absorption systems using safe and
environmentally-benign working fluids to replace halogenated
hydrocarbons hazardous to upper atmosphere ozone levels; innovative
heat and mass transfer concepts and devices that facilitate
commercialization of such systems, heat transfer and fluid flow of
refrigerants such as carbon dioxide at supercritical pressures for
implementation in trans-critical heat pump cycles, development of
technologies for integrated space-conditioning and water heating
systems and the investigation of phase-change processes at the
corresponding near-critical pressures, application of micro-channel
geometries to the development of compact space-conditioning systems,
portable and wearable meso-scale heat pumps for operation in hazardous
environments, improved fuel-cell heat and mass transfer for reduced
pollutant production. (Combustion-related environmental research is
not supported in this solicitation.)
* Breakthrough in Control Systems for Energy Conversion or
Transportation Technologies: Proposals in this area should not involve
incremental progress within the scope of existing funding programs
elsewhere. Examples might include the use of new methods in
intelligent control to reduce NOx fifty percent beyond what seems
achievable with conventional methods, or new categories of energy
conversion system relevant to distributed generation and
non-hydrocarbon transportation systems. (This research area generally
relates to electrical power and control systems; however, the
representative from the NSF/ECS division should be consulted as to
program priority interests.)
Research related to flow stream recycle and process modification or
improvement inside the industrial plant is acceptable in this section.
Research involving recycle of materials from outside the industrial plant
boundaries is not acceptable in this section.
3. Environmentally Benign Systems and Design, Manufacturing, Processing,
and Industrial Ecology for Sustainable Product/Services Realization
Industrial ecology requires that an industrial system be viewed not in
isolation from its surrounding systems, but in concert with them. An
assessment of global manufacturing demonstrates the need for research on
environmentally benign manufacturing/processing and re-manufacturing of
materials and products, with particular emphasis on the connectivity within
industrial ecology. The systems view requires the approach by which one
seeks to optimize the total materials life cycle from extraction,
processing, design, and manufacture of product, through use and
re-manufacture, to recycling and ultimate disposal. Factors to be optimized
include resources, energy and capital.
Potential research topics include, but are not limited to, the following:
* Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA): Innovative methodologies for streamlined
and targeted life-cycle assessment and analysis, including product use
interactions with the environment and impact prioritization models.
Examples include: thermodynamic basis for LCA; strategic metals
extraction, usage and capture; cradle-to-grave budgets and cycles;
material and energy tradeoffs/balances.
* Green Design and Materials Cycles: Environmentally benign product
design methodologies, considering the entire life cycle for the
materials employed in the production, use, and disposal of products.
Examples include: decision-making tools for design based on
scientifically sound principles requiring less comprehensive data
inputs; re-manufacturing and refurbishing methods and tools including
those that evaluate the impact of product use and multi-life cycles;
material and energy flows studies ("industrial metabolism"); design
for disassembly, reuse, recycling and re-manufacturing.
* Environmentally Benign Manufacturing: Research in creating new or
modifying current manufacturing processes to reduce or eliminate
environmental impacts while also considering manufacturing
competitiveness. This includes process design for material and energy
minimization and indirect as well as direct impacts of manufacturing
over the life cycle. Examples include: novel joining/welding processes
that render fumes harmless and/or lead to enhanced
disassembly/separation; novel benign hybrid additive/subtractive
processing that improves energy and material use efficiency; reduction
of contaminant and sludge generation in processes such as
electrochemical machining; modified foundry approaches that reduce or
reuse current waste streams; novel hybrid processes including plasma
or beam processing that create functionality without the addition of
new material constituents; dry or controlled environment machining;
and nanomanufacturing that addresses pollution prevention or
remanufacturing.
4. Sustainable Construction Processes
The built environment provides services that sustain our economy and way of
life, though at the cost of heavy resource use and waste generation. In
1997, about 80% of all materials, by volume, were used by the construction
industry. Buildings over the course of their life-cycle account for 17% of
fresh water withdrawals, 25% of wood harvest, 40% of materials use, 54% of
energy used, and 50% of fossil fuels consumed. The construction phase of
U.S. commercial buildings alone generates on average 740 million tons of
carbon dioxide, 25% of CFC emissions, and 8-20% of all solid waste
annually. Many environmental consequences of the built environment, namely
buildings, are already being addressed. For instance, the U.S. Department
of Energy and the National Institute of Standards and Technology have
active programs dealing with the energy use and materials problems of
building design and operations.
Environmental issues that extend beyond the building envelope to encompass
the construction site and neighboring areas are now ripe for investigation.
Specifically, the resources used and wastes generated at the construction
site over the life of the project should be defined and eventually
integrated with life-cycle metrics of the facilities themselves. As we move
from traditional design and construction engineering and management toward
environmentally-conscious construction, new tools and types of service will
be needed to effectively and efficiently optimize construction processes
and materials, reduce design errors and omissions and construction defects,
meet the users needs, reduce resource requirements, and reduce the
environmental burdens associated with construction projects. New processes
and material options must then be evaluated on the basis of the economic
goals of the industry and concerns for global competitiveness.
Proposals in this section (Section A. 4) will be funded by NSF only. Please
contact the program directors for topic interest and funds
availability before submission.
Research in the following two areas is solicited:
* Environmentally Conscious Construction Processes: Construction can
constitute a very large-scale project of relatively long duration.
During a construction project various nonroad vehicles, engines, and
equipment contribute to air quality issues as mobile sources. Examples
of these are asphalt and concrete pavers, compaction, earth-moving,
and excavation equipment, concrete and industrial saws, cement and
mortar mixers, concrete trucks, cranes, etc. Additional construction
site equipment includes generators, pumps, compressors, welders, and
pressure washers. The impacts of these technologies remain largely
unquantified. Precipitation and construction-process water transport
other construction wastes, such as sealants, adhesives, mortar, and
eroded soil, without being subject to full accounting. Scrap and other
solid wastes are regularly generated and planned for, but design
errors and omissions as well as defects during construction processes
occur frequently, increasing both material use and waste. The full
impact of construction work requires characterization, quantification,
and improvement through:
o Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA): Adapted and new methodologies for
life-cycle assessment and analysis of construction site
operations, including interactions with the natural environment.
Examples include: nonroad vehicle emissions and energy use; waste
generation, transport and fate; strategic and nonrenewable
materials use and extraction; cradle-to-grave budgets and cycles;
material and energy tradeoffs/balances.
o Environmentally Benign Construction Processes: Research in
creating new or modifying current construction processes to
reduce or eliminate environmental impacts while also considering
construction costs and construction competitiveness. This
includes process design for material and energy minimization and
indirect as well as direct impacts of construction-related
decisions over the facility life cycle. Examples include:
real-time sensing and monitoring of construction processes to
reduce defects and the resulting additional wastes and emissions;
equipment substitution, technology innovation, or energy recovery
for reduced energy requirements and air emissions; novel
materials handling processes that improve energy and material use
efficiency; novel construction connections and reinforcement
technologies that facilitate deconstruction and material reuse
rather than demolition.
* Disaster Management for a More Sustainable Environment: Disaster
management, often a cyclical decision-making process, offers numerous
opportunities and challenges to move toward more sustainable
construction and construction practices. Research is needed that links
post-disaster recovery to mitigation and protection measures that will
result in more sustainable built and natural environments.
Pre-disaster mitigation measures also must be examined as they
relate to sustainable built and natural environments. Finally,
construction materials, methods, and design must be re-examined in
light of their possible failure and potential concomitant
environmental impact. Examples include improved understanding of the
cost and benefits of structural and non-structural mitigation measures
in geographies vulnerable to hazard(s); expected environmental impact
of debris from building collapse, and building design for material
reuse in the event of building failure.
New Grants for Past TSE Projects: Industrial Collaboration Required
Proposals that request new grants for continuing work on past or on-going
TSE projects MUST include some form of academic-industrial collaboration,
partnership or involvement.
Additional Information
Please refer to Section C for additional information on priorities and
special proposal requirements.
B. NEW TECHNOLOGIES FOR THE ENVIRONMENT (Remediation, Treatment, and
Sensing)
Introduction
As population continues to grow, there are increased pressures on society
and the ecosystem that supports it, including the global climate. Scarce
resources are being depleted. Air and water pollution causes human disease,
damages ecosystems, and harms organisms. Collectively, these pressures are
one significant reason for human conflict. These pressures are relieved by
advancing our scientific understanding of nature and the world around us,
as scientific solutions are implemented in engineered systems. Engineered
systems can cope with increased societal pressures, provide cleaner air and
water, and thereby reduce risks from environmental pollutants. This
provides economic benefits that enable a society to move forward, to care
for its people, to provide quality education and health care, and to feed,
clothe, and protect itself.
The New Technologies for the Environment program (NTE) focuses on new
technologies that can be applied to environmental sensing, remediation, and
treatment. The program has two parts: Phase I (exploratory feasibility
studies) and Phase II (regular research). All three technology areas
described below are appropriate for Phase I proposals. If a Phase I
exploratory project has already been successfully completed in area 1 or
area 3 (not area 2), the PI may apply for a Phase II grant in the same
area.
Phase I of NTE emphasizes high-risk/high-return, exploratory feasibility
studies of new technologies applied to the environment. Emphasis is placed
on the novelty and potential impact of the approach. Successfully completed
Phase I studies may compete for Phase II awards. A subsequent Phase II
competition may be held to allow successfully completed Phase I projects to
compete for Phase II funds. However, a Phase I award in the current 2003
competition does not necessarily imply that the next solicitation will
include Phase II, or that Phase II projects will be funded in the future.
Refer to section III. "Eligibility Information," section IV. "Award
Information," and section VI. "Proposal Review Information" for further
details about how NTE requirements and awards may differ from TSE.
Description of Possible NTE Research Projects
Proposals submitted must focus on one or more of the following three areas
of environmental technology.
1. Remediation
Research on new technologies for environmentally benign remediation through
biological processes, catalytic chemical processes, transport and
separation processes, and thermal and/or fluid processes.
Some examples include:
* Studies of microbial and plant communities and their interactions in
contaminated environments, and the use of native and non-native
species to effect remediation
* Exploration of novel tailored biocatalysts, membranes and micro- or
nano-scale environments such as micelles for separations, segregation,
and targeted chemical transformations
* Transport through porous media such as soil, membranes and macro-fluid
and air systems
* Transformations driven by electric field processing to ameliorate
existing and potential chemical and particulate environmental hazards
* Exploration of new materials and process technologies for capture of
carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases from effluent streams, such
as powerplant stack gases
Use of cutting-edge molecular simulation and modeling, micro- and
nano-scale technology and hybrid technologies (e.g., Bio plus Non-Bio) is
encouraged. Fundamental research leading to new remediation technologies in
the following focus areas is of special interest: source characterization
of pollutants, cost-effective separation technologies for dilute metals and
liquid contaminants, heavy metals removal from incineration gases, and
remediation of other gases potentially affecting global climate. Other
areas may be acceptable, depending on program interests.
2. Treatment Technologies for Arsenic in Small Drinking Water Systems
EPA is soliciting innovative, exploratory Phase I proposals that address
the treatment of arsenic in small drinking water systems. These systems
must provide low capital and operating cost, simplify operation, require
minimal monitoring and maintenance, and reduce residual waste generation.
EPA is particularly interested in highly innovative approaches that would
be significantly less costly than current treatment approaches. Proposals
on this topic should address this cost comparison issue.
Research technologies should be applicable to providing clean drinking
water with less than 10 ppb arsenic in a range of systems from dispersed
individual to small scale municipal (which serve less than 10,000 persons).
Work may involve innovative processes including ion exchange materials, new
adsorption methods, coagulation/filtration technologies, electrodialysis,
novel membrane processes, reverse osmosis, and/or point of use (at the
tap)/point-of-entry technologies.
For more information regarding arsenic in drinking water: visit
http://www.epa.gov/epahome/hi-arsenic.htm and
http://www.epa.gov/safewater/arsenic.html. Support for this activity is
primarily from EPA.
3. Environmental Sensing
Research on new sensing technologies to assess the impact of anthropogenic
(manmade) factors on natural and/or built environments. Examples of new
technologies applied to sensing and measurement could include:
* Molecular bioengineering
* Large and high-density sensor arrays
* Wireless transfer of data from sensor arrays
* Robust micro-sensors in the aquatic environment
* Intelligent-nose technology, combining on-going research into
environmental systems technology, sensor fusion or mixed-signal VLSI
to enable breakthrough capabilities in detecting trace organics in the
environment
* Sensor fusion from multiple modalities with on-board intelligent
processing of environmental signals
* Engineered sensor systems relevant to monitoring gases that might
stress and/or potentially change the global climate
* Integrated systems combining advanced electromagnetics and
computational intelligence to improve the quality and utility of
remote sensing of the environment
C. ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS for BOTH PROGRAMS (TSE and NTE)
1. Industrial-Academic, Government, and International Collaboration
A clearer understanding of problems and more creative solutions often
result from collaboration between academic researchers and the industrial
investigators who represent the eventual customers for the products of the
research. Therefore, applicants are strongly encouraged to seek meaningful
project collaboration with industrial partners on research issues that link
fundamental and applied aspects of pollution prevention/avoidance.
(Industrial collaboration is required for continuing funding of past TSE
research.) In some cases, government agencies such as the National
Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) or professional organizations
may be an appropriate substitute for an industrial partner. The Appendix of
the NSF General Grants Opportunities for Academic Liaison with Industry
(GOALI) program announcement (NSF 98-142, available online at
www.nsf.gov/home/crssprgm/goali/) describes several mechanisms for these
collaborations. Other mechanisms for collaboration will also be considered.
Government collaborations cannot be supported financially by this program.
However, interactions of a non-financial nature are acceptable with non-EPA
governmental organizations.
This competition will also entertain proposals that include international
collaborative activities, by using a variety of NSF mechanisms.
2. Exploratory Proposals
NSF will accept exploratory proposals in the above technical areas at an
early or proof-of-concept stage. These proposals can be prepared using the
format found in NSF Small Grants for Exploratory Research (SGER) proposal
guidelines (Chapter II, Section D1 of the NSF Grant Proposal Guide
http://www.nsf.gov/cgi-bin/getpub?gpg); however, these will not be
considered SGER proposals. This class of proposal will be reviewed in the
same panels as regular TSE and NTE proposals. The level of support for
exploratory projects will range up to $50,000 per year for one or two
years.
NSF may provide further support to a successful exploratory project. If the
initial concept was successful, a full proposal may be submitted in
response to a subsequent NSF/EPA Partnership solicitation or to a regular
NSF program. (Please note that the NTE program requires successful
completion of an exploratory Phase I project before entry to Phase II.)
3. Multidisciplinary Proposals
Environmental problems will often cross disciplinary boundaries. This
solicitation welcomes cross-disciplinary proposals that address the TSE and
NTE topic areas. Proposals may be submitted by individuals or small
cross-disciplinary groups of investigators from eligible institutions.
4. Student Involvement
Projects involving the training and education of junior scientists and
engineers in academia through the research experience (both graduate and
undergraduate students) are very strongly encouraged. All proposals should
address the ways in which education and training are integrated within the
research program. Efforts to incorporate interdisciplinary educational
activities and encourage student teamwork are also encouraged.
5. Impact of the Proposed Research
All TSE and NTE proposals MUST include a section entitled "Potential
Impact". (Refer to Chapter II of the Grant Proposal Guide for detailed
requirements.) This section must address the pollutants prevented or
remediated by the proposed research at the process industry level (if
applicable). It should address the significance of these reductions in
terms of reduced risk and other benefits such as reduced energy or other
raw materials usage; speculate about unintended consequences; and/or
describe a life-cycle approach.
In this section on potential impacts, it is strongly recommended that the
proposer address issues such as: the pollutant or class of pollutants the
research proposes to prevent or minimize; the seriousness, scope, level,
and importance of the environmental problem; and if the proposed technology
or method is more economical or more environmentally benign than current
technologies or methods. The proposal should contain quantitative
information on the pollutants prevented and estimate both process or plant
level and national level benefits. It should also address the potential and
estimated timeframe for commercial viability of the proposed approach.
While the proposed research may be related to an individual reaction, unit
operation, or unit process, the proposer should consider the environmental
benefits or impacts of the research in the broader context of the system of
which it is a part. In this regard, the proposal must contain a discussion
of expected potential environmental benefits or impacts of the proposed
research in the broadest systems sense, which may include considerations of
the efficient use of natural resources and energy, and materials flows in
manufacturing, product use, recycle, recovery or ultimate disposal. This
requirement does not imply the need for a full life-cycle analysis, but
should be as specific and quantitative as possible.
6. EPA Special Interests
EPA is particularly interested in research proposals that relate to
priority areas that have been identified by EPA. These areas may involve
priority pollutants or toxic chemicals or materials of importance in
furthering the mission of the Agency. Research projects could address the
elimination or minimization at the source of certain chemicals in an
environmentally benign and cost-effective way, e.g., Persistent
Bio-accumulative Toxics (PBTs); Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAPs); and
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs).
Further information on these substances may be found at the EPA websites
listed below:
Persistent Bioaccumulative Toxics List
http://www.epa.gov/pbt/cheminfo.htm
Hazardous Air Pollutants (inc. VOCs) List
http://www.epa.gov/ttn/atw/188polls.html
Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) Chemicals
http://www.epa.gov/triinter/chemical/index.htm
High Production Volume Chemicals
http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/chemrtk/hpv_1990.pdf
Waste Minimization Priority Chemicals http://www.epa.gov/wastemin
7. EPA Pollution Prevention Goals
EPA has developed long-term research goals in Pollution Prevention and New
Technologies. These goals may be useful in developing topics for research.
Goals under the EPA Green Chemistry and Engineering area include:
* Provide techniques such as greener synthesis and membrane applications
for cleaner manufacturing in the chemical and allied technology
sectors, e.g., find benign substitutes for hazardous solvents; provide
biotechnological substitutes for current chemical processes; develop
new catalysts that improve reactions and prevent formation of
hazardous by-products.
* Develop and demonstrate pollution prevention technologies for green
manufacturing in high-risk industrial and commercial sectors such as
electronics, polymers, steel, petroleum, coatings, and the automotive
or metal parts industries.
* Replace environmentally unacceptable materials used in buildings, or
in industrial, chemical or consumer sectors
Goals under the EPA Tools area include:
* Develop risk-based design tools for industrial processes using systems
approaches as an organizing concept for minimizing adverse impacts on
the environment, e.g., create life-cycle assessment tools, develop
design-for-the-environment tools
* Develop design tools for environmentally acceptable industrial and
consumer products that minimize human health and ecological risks,
e.g., design generic predictive tools for environmental impacts,
create product or process models
* Develop cost-effective, user-friendly tools for life-cycle assessments
of processes and products
Additional information on EPA programs in pollution prevention may be found
at:
Green Chemistry Program http://www.epa.gov/greenchemistry/
Green Engineering http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/greenengineering/
Design for the Environment http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/dfe
III. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION
Applicants are reminded that proposals will be disqualified if a "Potential
Impact" statement is lacking.
The categories of proposers identified in the Grant Proposal Guide are
eligible to submit proposals under this program announcement/solicitation.
EPA and NSF welcome applications from all qualified scientists, engineers,
and other professionals and strongly encourage women, members of
underrepresented groups, and persons with disabilities to compete fully in
any of the programs described in this solicitation.
In accordance with Federal statutes and regulations and EPA and NSF
policies, no person shall be excluded from participation in, denied the
benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or
activity receiving financial assistance from EPA or NSF based on grounds of
race, color, age, sex, national origin, or disability.
NTE Phase II Eligibility: NTE Phase II research requires previous support
of a successful NTE Phase I exploratory project, such as those funded in
NSF's 2000 NTE competition. (Note: NTE will not consider any Phase II
proposals in the area of Arsenic Treatment in Small Drinking Water
Systems.)
IV. AWARD INFORMATION
Estimated program budget, number of awards and average award size/duration
are dependent upon responsiveness of the proposals to this solicitation,
the quality, potential impact, and uniqueness of the proposed research, and
the availability of funds. However, the NSF/EPA Partnership expects about
$9.5 million in combined funding to be available for "regular" and
exploratory grants (approximately $6.0 million from NSF and $3.5 million
from EPA).
Award size and duration: Approximately 45 Standard and Continuing grants
ranging from $50,000 to $125,000 per year for one to three years.
Anticipated date of NSF awards: July 2003. EPA awards may be later.
Award dollar amounts for TSE and NTE may differ. TSE Awards may range from
$50,000 to $125,000 per year for one to three years. NTE Phase I Awards may
be funded for one or two years at a maximum of $50,000 per year, for a
total up to $100,000. NTE Phase II may provide funding for two or three
years for a total up to $350,000.
V. PROPOSAL PREPARATION AND SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS
A. Proposal Preparation Instructions
Full Proposal Instructions:
Proposals submitted in response to this program announcement/solicitation
should be prepared and submitted in accordance with the general guidelines
contained in the NSF Grant Proposal Guide (GPG). The complete text of the
GPG is available electronically on the NSF Website at:
http://www.nsf.gov/cgi-bin/getpub?gpg. Paper copies of the GPG may be
obtained from the NSF Publications Clearinghouse, telephone (301) 947-2722
or by e-mail from pubs@nsf.gov.
Principal Investigators are encouraged to review past TSE award lists on
the Web at http://www.nsf.gov/tse and http://www.epa.gov/ncer.
(1) Sorting Codes
To facilitate proper assignment and review of applications, each applicant
MUST identify the topic area in which the application is to be considered.
Failure to do so may result in delay. At various places within the
application, applicants will be asked to identify this topic area by using
the appropriate Sorting Code. The Sorting Codes correspond to the topic
areas within this solicitation and are shown below:
TSE (Prevention-Oriented)
* Chemistry, Bioengineering, and Chemical Reaction-based Engineering for
Pollution Avoidance or Prevention
o Chemistry TSE03-A
o Materials TSE03-B
o Chemical Processes and Reaction Engineering TSE03-C
o Biochemical and Biotechnical Engineering TSE03-D
* Non-Reaction-Based Engineering for Pollution Avoidance and Prevention
o Biochemical and Biotechnical Engineering
TSE03-D
o Interfacial, Transport, and Separations
TSE03-E
o Fluid and Thermal Systems TSE03-F
o Control Systems for Energy Conversion or Transportation
TSE03-G
* Environmentally Benign Systems and Design, Manufacturing, Processing,
and Industrial Ecology for Sustainable Product/Services Realization
o Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA) TSE03-H
o Green Design and Materials Cycles TSE03-I
o Environmentally Benign Manufacturing TSE03-K
* Sustainable Construction Processes
o Environmentally Conscious Construction Processes
TSE03-L
o Disaster Management for a More Sustainable Environment TSE03-M
NTE (Remediation-Oriented)
* Remediation
o Bioprocessing TSE03-N
o Chemical Processing TSE03-O
o Transport Processing (Mass, Thermal, and
Fluid) TSE03-P
o Other TSE03-Q
* Arsenic Treatment in Small Drinking Water Systems
TSE03-R
* Environmental Sensing TSE03-S
The Sorting Code must be placed at the end of the proposal title and
enclosed in parentheses, e.g., "Supercritical CO2 and CHF3 as Alternative
Solvents for Pollution Prevention (TSE03-C);" and this title and code must
also be placed on top of the project summary (abstract) page. NSF and/or
EPA may reassign proposals to other or multiple sorting categories to
ensure optimal review of proposals.
(2) The Application
Applicants are required to prepare their proposals for full electronic
submission to NSF using the FastLane system at http://www.fastlane.nsf.gov.
For further information, see section (4) below, entitled How to Apply.
To fulfill the requirements of section (3) below (optional at the proposal
stage), applicants should place the additional pages, clearly labeled, in
the Supplementary Documentation section of the FastLane proposal
preparation system. These extra pages do not count against NSF's fifteen
(15) page limit for the Project Description.
It is important that the application contain all the information requested
in the format described. If it does not, the application will be returned
without review. Once an applicant is chosen for an award (i.e., after
external peer review and internal programmatic review), EPA or NSF program
officers may request additional documentation and forms.
(3) Additional Pages - EPA Quality Assurance (QA) Narrative
The following additional information is optional at the proposal stage.
However, it will be required by EPA whenever an EPA award is made. If being
included the FastLane proposal, submit the information as Supplementary
Documentation, as detailed in Section I of the GPG. The two pages do not
count against NSF's 15-page limit for the Project Description.
For any project involving data collection or processing, conducting
surveys, environmental measurements, and/or modeling, or the development of
environmental technology (whether hardware-based or via new techniques) for
pollution control and waste treatment, provide a statement on quality
processes that will be used to assure that results of the research satisfy
the intended project objectives. The statement must describe a quality
system that complies with the requirements of ANSI/ASQC E4, "Specifications
and Guidelines for Quality Systems for Environmental Data Collection and
Environmental Technology Programs," and must not exceed two pages. For each
item below, the statement must present the required information or
reference the specific page and paragraph number of the Research Plan
containing that information, or explain why the item does not apply to the
proposed research.
* Discuss the activities to be performed or hypothesis to be tested and
criteria for determining acceptable data quality. (Note: Such criteria
may be expressed in terms of precision, accuracy, representativeness,
completeness, and comparability or in terms of data quality objectives
or acceptance criteria. Furthermore, these criteria must also be
applied to determine the acceptability of existing or secondary data
to be used in the project. In this context secondary data is data
previously collected for other purposes or from other sources,
including the literature, compilations from computerized databases, or
results from models of environmental processes and conditions.)
* Describe the study design, including sample type and location
requirements, all statistical analyses that were or will be used to
estimate the types and numbers of physical samples required, or
equivalent information for studies using survey and interview
techniques.
* Describe the procedures for the handling and custody of samples,
including sample collection, identification, preservation,
transportation, and storage.
* Describe the procedures that will be used in the calibration and
performance evaluation of all analytical instrumentation and all
methods of analysis to be used during the project. Explain how the
effectiveness of any new technology will be measured and how it will
be benchmarked to improve existing processes, such as those used by
industry.
* Discuss the procedures for data reduction and reporting, including a
description of all statistical methods, with reference to any
statistical software to be used to make inferences and conclusions;
discuss any computer models to be designed or used with associated
verification and validation techniques.
* Describe the quantitative and/or qualitative procedures that will be
used to evaluate the success of the project, including any plans for
peer or other reviews of the study design or analytical methods before
data collection.
If parts of the QA Statement are not applicable to the project, a brief
statement of justification should be substituted for that element of the QA
Statement. This is expected to occur infrequently.
ANSI/ASQC E4, "Specifications and Guidelines for Quality Systems for
Environmental Data Collection and Environmental Technology Programs," is
available for purchase from the American Society for Quality at
www.asq.org; or phone 1-800-248-1946 and request item E4-1999. Only in
exceptional circumstances should it be necessary to consult this document.
An EPA guidance document, "Guidance on Satisfying EPA Quality System
Requirements for STAR Grants (EPA QA/G-1STAR) is available for potential
applicants which addresses in detail how to comply with ANSI/ASQC E4. This
may be found on the Internet at http://www.epa.gov/ncer.
(4) How to Apply
Electronic Proposal Submission: FastLane
The NSF FastLane system MUST be used for electronic preparation and
submission of a proposal through the Web at the FastLane Web site,
http://www.fastlane.nsf.gov. The Sponsored Research Office (SRO or
equivalent) must provide a FastLane Password to each Principal Investigator
(PI) to gain access to the FastLane Proposal Preparation application. PIs
who have not submitted a proposal to NSF in the past must contact their SRO
to be added to the NSF PI database. This should be done as soon as the
decision to prepare a proposal is made.
A list of registered institutions and the FastLane registration form are
located on the FastLane Web page.
Proposals MUST be submitted to NSF by your institution's SRO before 5 p.m.
local time on the appropriate deadline date. Proposals or changes in
proposal content after that time will not be considered. Informal or
incomplete proposals will not be considered. Proposals not adequately
addressing the requirements in this solicitation will be returned to the
submitting organization, unreviewed.
A proposal will not be processed until the complete proposal (including the
Electronically Signed Cover Sheet sent within five working days following
proposal submission) is received by NSF.
On the Cover Sheet (NSF Form 1207) the Principal Investigator should select
the "Division of Chemical & Transport Systems" as the Division and
"INTERFAC TRANS,& THERMODYN PRO" as the program to initially receive and
then direct proposals to the proper program.
Proposers are reminded to identify the program announcement/solicitation
number ((03-510)) in the program announcement/solicitation block on the
proposal Cover Sheet. Compliance with this requirement is critical to
determining the relevant proposal processing guidelines. Failure to submit
this information may delay processing.
B. Budgetary Information
Cost Sharing:
Cost sharing is not required in proposals submitted under this Program
Solicitation.
Other Budgetary Limitations:
Budgets should include travel funds to Washington, D.C. for one TSE/NTE
conference or workshop annually.
Budget Preparation Instructions:
Subcontracts which exceed 40 percent of the total direct cost in any one
year in which a subcontract is awarded must be especially well-justified.
C. Due Dates
Proposals must be submitted by the following date(s):
Full Proposal Deadline(s) (due by 5 p.m proposer's local time):
February 25, 2003
Technology for a Sustainable Environment (TSE)
March 04, 2003
New Technologies for the Environment (NTE)
D. FastLane Requirements
Proposers are required to prepare and submit all proposals for this
announcement/solicitation through the FastLane system. Detailed
instructions for proposal preparation and submission via FastLane are
available at: http://www.fastlane.nsf.gov/a1/newstan.htm. For FastLane user
support, call the FastLane Help Desk at 1-800-673-6188 or e-mail
fastlane@nsf.gov. The FastLane Help Desk answers general technical
questions related to the use of the FastLane system. Specific questions
related to this program announcement/solicitation should be referred to the
NSF program staff contact(s) listed in Section VIII of this
announcement/solicitation.
Submission of Electronically Signed Cover Sheets. The Authorized
Organizational Representative (AOR) must electronically sign the proposal
Cover Sheet to submit the required proposal certifications (see Chapter II,
Section C of the Grant Proposal Guide for a listing of the certifications).
The AOR must provide the required electronic certifications within five
working days following the electronic submission of the proposal. Proposers
are no longer required to provide a paper copy of the signed Proposal Cover
Sheet to NSF. Further instructions regarding this process are available on
the FastLane Website at: http://www.fastlane.nsf.gov
VI. PROPOSAL REVIEW INFORMATION
A. NSF Proposal Review Process
Reviews of proposals submitted to NSF are solicited from peers with
expertise in the substantive area of the proposed research or education
project. These reviewers are selected by Program Officers charged with the
oversight of the review process. NSF invites the proposer to suggest, at
the time of submission, the names of appropriate or inappropriate
reviewers. Care is taken to ensure that reviewers have no conflicts with
the proposer. Special efforts are made to recruit reviewers from
non-academic institutions, minority-serving institutions, or adjacent
disciplines to that principally addressed in the proposal.
The National Science Board approved revised criteria for evaluating
proposals at its meeting on March 28, 1997 (NSB 97-72). All NSF proposals
are evaluated through use of the two merit review criteria. In some
instances, however, NSF will employ additional criteria as required to
highlight the specific objectives of certain programs and activities.
On July 8, 2002, the NSF Director issued Important Notice 127,
Implementation of new Grant Proposal Guide Requirements Related to the
Broader Impacts Criterion. This Important Notice reinforces the importance
of addressing both criteria in the preparation and review of all proposals
submitted to NSF. NSF continues to strengthen its internal processes to
ensure that both of the merit review criteria are addressed when making
funding decisions.
In an effort to increase compliance with these requirements, the January
2002 issuance of the GPG incorporated revised proposal preparation
guidelines relating to the development of the Project Summary and Project
Description. Chapter II of the GPG specifies that Principal Investigators
(PIs) must address both merit review criteria in separate statements within
the one-page Project Summary. This chapter also reiterates that broader
impacts resulting from the proposed project must be addressed in the
Project Description and described as an integral part of the narrative.
Effective October 1, 2002, NSF will return without review proposals that do
not separately address both merit review criteria within the Project
Summary. It is believed that these changes to NSF proposal preparation and
processing guidelines will more clearly articulate the importance of
broader impacts to NSF-funded projects.
The two National Science Board approved merit review criteria are listed
below (see the Grant Proposal Guide Chapter III.A for further information).
The criteria include considerations that help define them. These
considerations are suggestions and not all will apply to any given
proposal. While proposers must address both merit review criteria,
reviewers will be asked to address only those considerations that are
relevant to the proposal being considered and for which he/she is qualified
to make judgements.
What is the intellectual merit of the proposed activity?
How important is the proposed activity to advancing knowledge and
understanding within its own field or across different fields? How
well qualified is the proposer (individual or team) to conduct the
project? (If appropriate, the reviewer will comment on the quality of
the prior work.) To what extent does the proposed activity suggest and
explore creative and original concepts? How well conceived and
organized is the proposed activity? Is there sufficient access to
resources?
What are the broader impacts of the proposed activity?
How well does the activity advance discovery and understanding while
promoting teaching, training, and learning? How well does the proposed
activity broaden the participation of underrepresented groups (e.g.,
gender, ethnicity, disability, geographic, etc.)? To what extent will
it enhance the infrastructure for research and education, such as
facilities, instrumentation, networks, and partnerships? Will the
results be disseminated broadly to enhance scientific and
technological understanding? What may be the benefits of the proposed
activity to society?
NSF staff will give careful consideration to the following in making
funding decisions:
Integration of Research and Education
One of the principal strategies in support of NSF's goals is to foster
integration of research and education through the programs, projects,
and activities it supports at academic and research institutions.
These institutions provide abundant opportunities where individuals
may concurrently assume responsibilities as researchers, educators,
and students and where all can engage in joint efforts that infuse
education with the excitement of discovery and enrich research through
the diversity of learning perspectives.
Integrating Diversity into NSF Programs, Projects, and Activities
Broadening opportunities and enabling the participation of all
citizens -- women and men, underrepresented minorities, and persons
with disabilities -- is essential to the health and vitality of
science and engineering. NSF is committed to this principle of
diversity and deems it central to the programs, projects, and
activities it considers and supports.
ADDITIONAL REVIEW CRITERIA
All proposals will be evaluated by panel review. However, if a
proposal deals with a highly specialized area, supplemental mail
review may be used.
Special Criteria for Judging NTE proposals
o Research must be based on novel ideas that are NOT already widely
researched and published. (Phase I ideas may be supported by only
limited preliminary data.)
o The proposals must contain a high level of engineering technology
input.
o A reasonable plan for the feasibility demonstration within the
proposed budget and schedule must be included.
Industrially Relevant Issues and Impact
TSE has been established to address problems related to industrial
pollution prevention and avoidance at the source. Therefore, each TSE
proposal will be evaluated on its potential impact on industrial
pollution. The proposer may find much useful (though not required)
background information on the Internet. Significant process industry
concerns are highlighted in documents such as Vision 2020, on the Web
at http://www.ccrhq.org/vision/index.html. A list of toxic chemicals
can be found at http://www.epa.gov/tri/chemical.html. A list of high
production volume chemicals may be found at
http://www.epa.gov/chemrtk/hpvchmlt.htm.
Industrial collaborators are another source of environmental issues to
be addressed. If an industrial collaboration is described in the
proposal, reviewers will assess the collaborative contribution to
meeting the goals of this competition.
Collaboration on environmental projects with government laboratories
such as NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) is also
encouraged, especially when the project is fundamental and yet of
importance to industry. However, award funds may not be allocated to
government partners.
NSF/EPA Post-Review
Following the review panel, a joint selection panel of NSF and EPA
staff will review the recommendations of the panel and arrive at
agency funding recommendations. Applications that receive high merit
scores from the peer reviewers are subjected to a programmatic
("relevancy") review within EPA, the object of which is to assure a
balanced research portfolio for EPA. Scientists from the Office of
Research and Development (ORD) Laboratories and EPA program and
regional offices review these recommended applications in relation to
program priorities and their complementarity to the ORD intramural
program and recommend selections to the National Center for
Environmental Research (NCER) (http://www.epa.gov/ncer).
Staff from NSF and EPA will contact the potential grantee regarding
possible clarifications of the budget, scope, and format. Copies of
the evaluations by technical reviewers will be made available to each
applicant at the end of the decision process. In case of proposals
that may be funded by EPA, some different forms will be necessary to
conform to EPA format and policy requirements. Funding decisions are
the sole responsibility of EPA and NSF. Grants are selected on the
basis of technical merit, relevancy to the research priorities
outlined, program balance, and budget. The anticipated date of awards
is Summer 2003. The total funding will be about $9.5
million--approximately $6.0 million from NSF and $3.5 million from
EPA, subject to the availability of funds and proposal quality.
Proprietary Information
By submitting an application in response to this solicitation, the
applicant grants NSF and EPA permission to share the application with
technical reviewers both within and outside the Agencies. Applications
should not include proprietary or other types of confidential
information that cannot be evaluated on this basis.
B. Review Protocol and Associated Customer Service Standard
All proposals are carefully reviewed by at least three other persons
outside NSF who are experts in the particular field represented by the
proposal. Proposals submitted in response to this announcement/solicitation
will be reviewed by Panel Review.
Reviewers will be asked to formulate a recommendation to either support or
decline each proposal. The Program Officer assigned to manage the
proposal's review will consider the advice of reviewers and will formulate
a recommendation.
A summary rating and accompanying narrative will be completed and submitted
by each reviewer. In all cases, reviews are treated as confidential
documents. Verbatim copies of reviews, excluding the names of the
reviewers, are sent to the Principal Investigator/Project Director by the
Program Director. In addition, the proposer will receive an explanation of
the decision to award or decline funding.
NSF is striving to be able to tell applicants whether their proposals have
been declined or recommended for funding within six months. The time
interval begins on the date of receipt. The interval ends when the Division
Director accepts the Program Officer's recommendation.
In all cases, after programmatic approval has been obtained, the proposals
recommended for funding will be forwarded to the Division of Grants and
Agreements (or the equivalent EPA division) for review of business,
financial, and policy implications and the processing and issuance of a
grant or other agreement. Proposers are cautioned that only a Grants and
Agreements Officer may make commitments, obligations or awards on behalf of
NSF or authorize the expenditure of funds. No commitment on the part of NSF
should be inferred from technical or budgetary discussions with a NSF
Program Officer. A Principal Investigator or organization that makes
financial or personnel commitments in the absence of a grant or cooperative
agreement signed by the NSF Grants and Agreements Officer does so at their
own risk.
VII. AWARD ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION
A. NSF Notification of the Award
Notification of the award is made to the submitting organization by a
Grants Officer in the Division of Grants and Agreements. Organizations
whose proposals are declined will be advised as promptly as possible by the
cognizant NSF Program Division administering the program. Verbatim copies
of reviews, not including the identity of the reviewer, will be provided
automatically to the Principal Investigator. (See section VI.A. for
additional information on the review process.)
B. NSF Award Conditions
An NSF award consists of: (1) the award letter, which includes any special
provisions applicable to the award and any numbered amendments thereto; (2)
the budget, which indicates the amounts, by categories of expense, on which
NSF has based its support (or otherwise communicates any specific approvals
or disapprovals of proposed expenditures); (3) the proposal referenced in
the award letter; (4) the applicable award conditions, such as Grant
General Conditions (NSF-GC-1); * or Federal Demonstration Partnership (FDP)
Terms and Conditions * and (5) any announcement or other NSF issuance that
may be incorporated by reference in the award letter. Cooperative agreement
awards also are administered in accordance with NSF Cooperative Agreement
Terms and Conditions (CA-1). Electronic mail notification is the preferred
way to transmit NSF awards to organizations that have electronic mail
capabilities and have requested such notification from the Division of
Grants and Agreements.
*These documents may be accessed electronically on NSF's Website at
http://www.nsf.gov/home/grants/grants_gac.htm. Paper copies may be obtained
from the NSF Publications Clearinghouse, telephone (301) 947-2722 or by
e-mail from pubs@nsf.gov.
More comprehensive information on NSF Award Conditions is contained in the
NSF Grant Policy Manual (GPM) Chapter II, available electronically on the
NSF Website at http://www.nsf.gov/cgi-bin/getpub?gpm. The GPM is also for
sale through the Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office
(GPO), Washington, DC 20402. The telephone number at GPO for subscription
information is (202) 512-1800. The GPM may be ordered through the GPO
Website at http://www.gpo.gov.
Special Award Conditions:
Upon conclusion of the review process, meritorious applications may be
recommended for funding by either NSF or EPA at the option of the agencies,
not the applicant. Subsequent grant administration procedures will be in
accordance with the individual policies of the awarding agency.
EPA Grant Administration
The funding mechanisms for all EPA awards issued under this solicitation
will consist of grant agreements between EPA and the recipient. In
accordance with Public Law 95-224, grants are used to accomplish a public
purpose of support or stimulation authorized by Federal statute rather than
acquisition for the direct benefit of the Agency. In using a grant
agreement, EPA anticipates that there will be no substantial involvement
during the course of the grant between the recipient and the Agency.
EPA grants awarded as a result of this solicitation will be administered in
accordance with CFR Parts 30 and 40 or the most recent terms and conditions
of FDP-III, Federal Demonstration Partnership General Terms and Conditions,
depending upon the grantee institution.
EPA provides awards for research in the sciences and engineering related to
environmental protection. The awardee is solely responsible for the conduct
of such activities and preparation of results for publication. EPA,
therefore, does not assume responsibility for such findings or their
interpretation.
EPA abstracts (one-page project summaries), annual and final reports and
their summaries are to be submitted electronically. Abstracts and
summaries will be posted on the NCER home page on the Internet at
http://www.epa.gov/ncer.
C. Reporting Requirements
For all multi-year grants (including both standard and continuing grants),
the PI must submit an annual project report to the cognizant Program
Officer at least 90 days before the end of the current budget period.
The Investigator should consult with the cognizant NSF program officer
because individual program officers may have additional or more specific
guidelines for these reports.
Within 90 days after the expiration of an award, the PI also is required to
submit a final project report. Failure to provide final technical reports
delays NSF review and processing of pending proposals for the PI and all
Co-PIs. PIs should examine the formats of the required reports in advance
to assure availability of required data.
PIs are required to use NSF's electronic project reporting system,
available through FastLane, for preparation and submission of annual and
final project reports. This system permits electronic submission and
updating of project reports, including information on project participants
(individual and organizational), activities and findings, publications, and
other specific products and contributions. PIs will not be required to
re-enter information previously provided, either with a proposal or in
earlier updates using the electronic system.
EPA has its own reporting requirements and they will be outlined in EPA
award documents.
VIII. CONTACTS FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
General inquiries regarding this program should be made to:
* Robert M Wellek, Deputy Division Director, National Science
Foundation, Engineering/Chemical & Transport Systems, fax: (703)
292-9054, email: rwellek@nsf.gov
* Stephen Lingle, Division Director, Environmental Protection Agency,
Environmental Engineering Research Division, telephone: (202)
564-6820, email: lingle.stephen@epa.gov
* Barbara Karn, Environmental Protection Agency,Environmental
Engineering Research Division, Tel: (202) 564-6824, Email:
karn.barbara@epamail.epa.gov
For questions related to the use of FastLane, contact:
* FastLane HELPDESK, User Support, National Science Foundation, Monday
to Friday 8am to 8pm, telephone: 1-800-673-6188, email:
fastlane@nsf.gov
IX. OTHER PROGRAMS OF INTEREST
The NSF Guide to Programs is a compilation of funding for research and
education in science, mathematics, and engineering. The NSF Guide to
Programs is available electronically at
http://www.nsf.gov/cgi-bin/getpub?gp. General descriptions of NSF programs,
research areas, and eligibility information for proposal submission are
provided in each chapter.
Many NSF programs offer announcements or solicitations concerning specific
proposal requirements. To obtain additional information about these
requirements, contact the appropriate NSF program offices. Any changes in
NSF's fiscal year programs occurring after press time for the Guide to
Programs will be announced in the NSF E-Bulletin, which is updated daily on
the NSF Website at http://www.nsf.gov/home/ebulletin, and in individual
program announcements/solicitations. Subscribers can also sign up for NSF's
Custom News Service (http://www.nsf.gov/home/cns/start.htm) to be notified
of new funding opportunities that become available.
ENVIRONMENTAL PROGRAMS AND ACTIVITIES
This section describes a few of the numerous EPA and NSF activities related
to environmental technology. The activities described below are for
background information only. They may not necessarily be related to this
solicitation, and they may not currently be accepting proposals separate
from this solicitation.
Environmental Protection Agency
The NSF/EPA Technology for a Sustainable Environment activity is an
integral part of EPA's STAR program (Science To Achieve Results), and
supports EPA's Green Chemistry Challenge Program, Green Engineering, Design
for the Environment, and other pollution prevention activities in EPA.
The STAR Program (Science To Achieve Results): This is EPA's extramural
research grant program, an important mechanism for promoting a sound
scientific foundation for environmental protection. STAR is administered by
the Office of Research and Development's National Center for Environmental
Research (NCER). Specific programmatic announcements will be found on the
Internet at http://www.epa.gov/ncer.
The Green Chemistry Program: This EPA program is directed at preventing
pollution by promoting design of less toxic chemical substances and
alternative chemical pathways that involve less toxic feedstocks, reagents,
or solvents and generate fewer toxic products, by-products, or co-products.
As part of this program, EPA has initiated the Green Chemistry Challenge
Program to recognize and promote fundamental and innovative chemical
methodologies that accomplish pollution prevention through source reduction
and that have a broad application in industry. Green chemistry encompasses
all aspects and types of chemical processes--including synthesis,
catalysis, analysis, monitoring, separations, and reaction conditions--that
reduce negative impacts on human health and the environment relative to the
current state of the art. Through awards and grants programs, the Green
Chemistry Challenge Program recognizes and promotes fundamental and
innovative technologies that incorporate the principles of green chemistry
into chemical design, manufacture, and use. The Green Chemistry Challenge
Awards Program recognizes those in industry, academia, and government who
have met the Green Chemistry objectives in an exemplary way. The Green
Chemistry Challenge Grants Program, through projects awarded under TSE,
enhances support for cutting-edge research in this area.
National Green Chemistry and Engineering Conference: Held each year in
Washington, D.C. by the American Chemical Society with support from EPA,
NSF, and several other federal agencies and trade and professional
organizations, this conference presents the latest research findings and
provides a forum for an annual overview of research in the
environmental area.
Design for the Environment (DFE) and the Green Engineering Programs:
Through the DFE program, EPA provides businesses with information to make
environmentally-informed choices and ultimately prevent pollution and
reduce risks. DFE partners with industry, public interest groups,
universities, research institutions, labor groups, and other governmental
agencies to evaluate cleaner alternatives to existing products, processes,
or technologies. Across a wide variety of projects, the DFE program strives
to promote the consideration of environmental factors along with the
traditional business decision parameters of cost and performance.
Currently, DFE supports cooperative industry projects in eight sectors.
Other green engineering programs include educational partnerships for
curriculum development and professional training in pollution prevention,
and a project in environmental accounting.
National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation, in its core programs and in special
solicitations, supports fundamental research in a broad sweep of
environmental areas, including ecosystem studies, marine and freshwater
research, atmospheric sciences, risk analysis, polar regions, climate
change, as well as environmentall relevant engineering, materials sciences,
and computation. Programmatic descriptions are posted on the NSF web site,
http://www.geo.nsf.gov/ere.
A special NSF competition on Biocomplexity in the Environment is usually
held every one or two years. The last round was held in Spring 2002, and
solicited proposals in the following areas: Dynamics of Coupled Natural and
Human Systems; Coupled Bio-geochemical Cycles; Genome-Enabled Environmental
Science and Engineering; Instrumentation Development for Environmental
Activities, and Materials Use: Science, Engineering and Society. Those
interested in environmental technologies may find opportunities in each of
these areas. For example, research related to industrial ecology,
life-cycle analysis, genetic engineering, and sensor development may be
appropriate in the four areas, respectively. Research is required to be
highly interdisciplinary, involve complex systems, and include both
physical and living components, including humans. Quantitative methods,
education, and a global perspective are essential. See
http://www.nsf.gov/cgi-bin/getpub?nsf02010 for details.
Environmental Molecular Science Institutes (EMSI) and Collaborative
Research Activities in Environmental Molecular Science (CRAEMS): This
program, described in NSF 02-015, http://www.nsf.gov/mps/chem/emsi98.htm,
is aimed at increasing fundamental issues that underpin the amelioration of
environmental problems caused by societal activities that are energy- and
pollution-intensive. Projects are expected to advance the discipline of
chemistry and related molecular sciences, increase understanding of
environmental systems, serve as models for excellence in collaborative
interdisciplinary research, and contribute ultimately to beneficial
technologies and processes. The program is supported by the Division of
Chemistry and the Office of Multidisciplinary Activities in the
Mathematical and Physical Sciences Directorate, and are also supported by
the Office of Sciences (SC) of the Department of Energy.
Joint NSF and EPA Metabolic Engineering Activities
Interagency Announcement of Opportunities in Metabolic Engineering:
Metabolic Engineering proposals will not be funded in TSE or NTE and should
be directed to this program instead. This activity is designed to allow two
or more agencies to support Metabolic Engineering projects of common
interest. The most recent program announcement is NSF 02-037. It provides
an interagency definition of Metabolic Engineering and focuses on three
topic areas that are of particular interest to the eight participating
agencies (including EPA and NSF): bio-remediation,
environmentally-conscious manufacturing, and pollution prevention.
Researchers are strongly advised to consult with contacts within two or
more participating agencies prior to submitting a proposal. (The NSF
contact is Fred Heineken.)
Other Agencies
Federal research-support programs in the environmental area can be
complementary. For example, the research supported in this solicitation is
on the more fundamental end of the research continuum, although
collaboration with industrial researchers is strongly encouraged. Funding
from other agencies such as the Commerce Department (e.g., the National
Institute of Standards and Technology) tends to support more applied stages
of research and may require collaboration and co-funding by industry.
ABOUT THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
The National Science Foundation (NSF) funds research and education in most
fields of science and engineering. Awardees are wholly responsible for
conducting their project activities and preparing the results for
publication. Thus, the Foundation does not assume responsibility for such
findings or their interpretation.
NSF welcomes proposals from all qualified scientists, engineers and
educators. The Foundation strongly encourages women, minorities and persons
with disabilities to compete fully in its programs. In accordance with
Federal statutes, regulations and NSF policies, no person on grounds of
race, color, age, sex, national origin or disability shall be excluded from
participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to
discrimination under any program or activity receiving financial assistance
from NSF, although some programs may have special requirements that limit
eligibility.
Facilitation Awards for Scientists and Engineers with Disabilities (FASED)
provide funding for special assistance or equipment to enable persons with
disabilities (investigators and other staff, including student research
assistants) to work on NSF-supported projects. See the GPG Chapter II,
Section D.2 for instructions regarding preparation of these types of
proposals.
The National Science Foundation promotes and advances scientific
progress in the United States by competitively awarding grants and
cooperative agreements for research and education in the sciences,
mathematics, and engineering.
To get the latest information about program deadlines, to download
copies of NSF publications, and to access abstracts of awards, visit the
NSF Website at http://www.nsf.gov
* Location: 4201 Wilson Blvd.
Arlington, VA 22230
* For General Information (703) 292-5111
(NSF Information Center):
* TDD (for the hearing-impaired): (703) 292-5090
* To Order Publications or Forms:
Send an e-mail to: pubs@nsf.gov
or telephone: (301) 947-2722
* To Locate NSF Employees: (703) 292-5111
ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
The mission of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is to protect both
environmental quality and human health. Achievement of this mission
requires the application of sound science to assessment of environmental
problems and to evaluation of possible solutions. A significant challenge
is to support both "core" research that is longer term and addresses
cross-cutting environmental problems as well as problem-driven research
that addresses science issues relevant to meeting current Agency goals.
Requests for Applications issued by the Science To Achieve Results (STAR)
program are an important mechanism for promoting a sound scientific
foundation for environmental protection.
EPA's research programs focus on reduction of risks to human health and
ecosystems and on the reduction of uncertainty associated with risk
assessment. Through its laboratories and through grants to academic and
other not-for-profit institutions, EPA also fosters the development and
evaluation of new risk reduction technologies across a spectrum, from
pollution prevention through treatment, remediation and monitoring. In all
areas, EPA is interested in research that recognizes issues relating to
environmental justice, the concept of achieving equal protection from
environmental and health hazards for all people without regard to race,
economic status, or culture.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's National Center for
Environmental Research promotes and advances environmental science in
the United States by competitively awarding grants for research focusing
on reduction of risks to human health and ecosystems and on reduction of
uncertainty associated with risk assessment.
To get the latest information about program deadlines, to view
previously awarded grants, results and the latest announcements, and to
download text and forms, visit the EPA Web Site at
http://www.epa.gov/ncer.
To learn more about all of EPA's research, visit http://www.epa/ORD.
For EPA activities in general, visit http://www.epa.gov.
EPA is located at 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460.
* General Information Tel. (202) 260-7200
* TDD (for the hearing-impaired) Tel. (202) 260-3658
PRIVACY ACT AND PUBLIC BURDEN STATEMENTS
The information requested on proposal forms and project reports is
solicited under the authority of the National Science Foundation Act of
1950, as amended. The information on proposal forms will be used in
connection with the selection of qualified proposals; project reports
submitted by awardees will be used for program evaluation and reporting
within the Executive Branch and to Congress. The information requested may
be disclosed to qualified reviewers and staff assistants as part of the
proposal review process; to applicant institutions/grantees to provide or
obtain data regarding the proposal review process, award decisions, or the
administration of awards; to government contractors, experts, volunteers
and researchers and educators as necessary to complete assigned work; to
other government agencies needing information as part of the review process
or in order to coordinate programs; and to another Federal agency, court or
party in a court or Federal administrative proceeding if the government is
a party. Information about Principal Investigators may be added to the
Reviewer file and used to select potential candidates to serve as peer
reviewers or advisory committee members. See Systems of Records, NSF-50,
"Principal Investigator/Proposal File and Associated Records," 63 Federal
Register 267 (January 5, 1998), and NSF-51, "Reviewer/Proposal File and
Associated Records," 63 Federal Register 268 (January 5, 1998). Submission
of the information is voluntary. Failure to provide full and complete
information, however, may reduce the possibility of receiving an award.
An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to
respond to an information collection unless it displays a valid OMB control
number. The OMB control number for this collection is 3145-0058. Public
reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average
120 hours per response, including the time for reviewing instructions. Send
comments regarding this burden estimate and any other aspect of this
collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden,
to: Suzanne Plimpton, Reports Clearance Officer, Division of Administrative
Services, National Science Foundation, Arlington, VA 22230.
OMB control number: 3145-0058.
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