§ Federal grant opportunity · PD-23-7643
Environmental Sustainability
U.S. National Science Foundation is accepting applications for Environmental Sustainability. The deadline is Rolling / not published and the published award range is Award amount not published.
Key facts
- Funder
- U.S. National Science Foundation
- Application deadline
- Rolling / not published
- Award range
- Award amount not published
- Eligibility
- Eligibility criteria are published in the funding opportunity announcement.
- Geography
- United States
- Focus areas
- Research
- Opportunity number
- PD-23-7643
Program overview
The Environmental Sustainabilit y program is part of the Environmental Engineering and Sustainability cluster together with 1) the Environmental Engineering program and 2) the Nanoscale Interactions program. The goal of the Environmental Sustainability program is to promote sustainable engineered systems that support human well-being and that are also compatible with sustaining natural (environmental) systems. These systems provide ecological services vital for human survival. Research efforts supported by the program typically consider long time horizons and may incorporate contributions from the social sciences and ethics. The program supports engineering research that seeks to balance society's need to provide ecological protection and maintain stable economic conditions. There are five principal general research areas that are supported. Circular Bioeconomy Engineering: This area includes research that enables sustainable societal use of food, energy, water, nitrogen, phosphorus, and materials, with the reduction and eventual elimination of fossil fuel combustion that lacks carbon capture. The program encourages research that helps build the raw material basis for the functioning of society principally on biomass, drawing heavily on sustainable agriculture and forestry. Additionally, material flows must reduce or preferably eliminate waste, with an emphasis on closed-loop or "circular" processing. Industrial ecology: Topics of interest include advancements in modeling such as life cycle assessment, materials flow analysis, net energy analysis, input/output economic models, and novel metrics for measuring sustainable systems. Innovations in industrial ecology are encouraged. Green engineering: Research is encouraged to advance the sustainability of manufacturing processes, green buildings, and infrastructure. Many programs in the Engineering Directorate support research in environmentally benign manufacturing or chemical processes. The Environmental Sustainability program supports research that would affect more than one chemical or manufacturing process or that takes a systems or holistic approach to green engineering for infrastructure or green buildings. Improvements in distribution and collection systems that will advance smart growth strategies and ameliorate effects of growth are research areas that are supported by Environmental Sustainability. Innovations in management of storm water, recycling and reuse of drinking water, and other green engineering techniques to support sustainability may also be fruitful areas for research. Ecological engineering: Proposals should focus on the engineering aspects of restoring ecological function to natural systems. Engineering research in the enhancement of natural capital to foster sustainable development is encouraged. Earth systems engineering: Earth systems engineering considers aspects of large-scale engineering research that involve mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions, adaptation to climate change, and other global concerns. All proposed research should be driven by engineering principles, and be presented explicitly in an environmental sustainability context. Proposals should include involvement in engineering research of at least one graduate student, as well as undergraduates. Incorporation of aspects of social, behavioral, and economic sciences is welcomed. NOTE: Water treatment, air pollution (both outdoor and indoor), soil remediation, and solid waste treatment proposals are to be submitted to the Environmental Engineering program (CBET 1440). Innovative proposals outside the scope of the four core areas mentioned above may be considered. However, prior to submission, it is recommended that the Principal Investigator contact the program director to avoid the possibility of the proposal being returned without review. For proposals that call for research to be done on regions that are outside of the United States, an explanation must be presen
How to apply
- Confirm your organization meets the eligibility criteria above.
- Read the full funding opportunity announcement from U.S. National Science Foundation.
- Draft your narrative against the funder's stated priorities and review criteria.
- Submit before Rolling / not published, allowing time for registration and validation.
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