NSF Offering $26 million for Research Centers in FY 2003

To create new research centers in FY 2003, the National Science Foundation (NSF) is offering approximately $26 million through its Engineering Research Centers (ERC) Program. 



At least two awards totaling up to $13 million each will be made. The awards, subject to 10 percent cost sharing, will be distributed as follows: $2.5 million (year 1), $3 million (year 2), $3.5 million (year 3), and $4 million (years 4 and 5). 



Each new center will focus on the definition, fundamental understanding, development, and validation of the technologies needed to realize a well-defined class of engineered systems with the potential to spawn whole new industries or radically transform the product lines, processing technologies, or service delivery methodologies of current industries. 



Only U.S. academic institutions with undergraduate and doctoral engineering programs may submit pre-proposals as the lead institution. If the ERC is a multi-university effort, the lead university will be joined by long-term core partner institutions that share the responsibility for the ERC. 



These core partner institutions must have undergraduate and graduate engineering programs. Whether a single or multi-university center, short-term outreach in research and education involving a limited number of faculty, other investigators, and teachers from other universities or colleges and pre-college institutions outside the lead and core partner institutions is required. 



The Center Director must be a tenure-track or tenured faculty member in an engineering department at an eligible institution. In the case of a multi-institution ERC, the director must be a tenure-track or tenured member of the faculty of the lead university. The director's doctoral degree must be in engineering or a field of science. 



Playing critical roles in research, education, diversity, outreach and industrial collaboration, ERC innovations in research and education are expected to impact curricula at all levels from pre-college to life-long learning, to employ and reach out to a population that reflects the diversity of the U.S., and to be disseminated to and beyond academic and industry partners. 



A required letter of intent is due by March 15, 2002. Full proposals are not due until December 3, 2002. More information on the ERC program is available through NSF at: http://www.nsf.gov/cgi-bin/getpub?nsf0224