Advanced Materials Center of Excellence | Apply Online

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1) What is this NIST funding opportunity about?

This was a discretionary, competitive NIST grant opportunity to establish an Advanced Materials Center of Excellence. The Center was intended to accelerate advanced materials development through close collaboration with NIST scientists, bringing together interdisciplinary researchers from academia and industry with NIST researchers.

2) What was the Center of Excellence expected to do?

The Center was designed around advanced materials research and development with a core technical emphasis on:

• Innovations in measurement science
• Creating or improving modeling and simulation tools
• Developing data and informatics tools that support modern materials R&D

The intent was to build capabilities that could be broadly useful to the wider materials community, such as improved measurement methods, better reference data, and validated models and simulations.

3) What type of award did NIST plan to use?

The award mechanism was a cooperative agreement. This typically indicates substantial programmatic involvement from NIST during the project, with active collaboration, coordination, and shared technical engagement rather than a hands-off relationship.

4) How is a cooperative agreement different from a typical grant in this context?

Based on the opportunity description, applicants should have expected a more integrated working relationship with NIST scientists and staff, including ongoing coordination and technical collaboration as part of executing the Center of Excellence.

5) What category did this opportunity fall under?

The opportunity was listed under the activity category "Science and Technology and other Research and Development."

6) What CFDA number was associated with this opportunity?

It was listed under CFDA 11.609, Measurement and Engineering Research and Standards.

7) Was cost sharing or matching required?

No. The opportunity explicitly stated that no cost sharing or matching was required.

8) What did the lack of cost sharing imply for applicants?

With no cost share or match required, the financial barrier to participation was reduced and the emphasis was placed on the technical strength of the proposed Center, the collaboration plan (including NIST-integrated work), and the team’s ability to deliver outcomes aligned with NIST’s mission in standards, measurement, and enabling technology.

9) Who was eligible to apply as the lead applicant?

Eligibility for the lead applicant was limited to accredited institutions of higher education and non-profit organizations located in the United States and its territories.

10) Could a lead applicant include partners or form a consortium?

Yes. The solicitation allowed the lead applicant to assemble a broader team or consortium through subawards, contracts, or other collaborative arrangements.

11) What types of organizations could be subawardees or partners?

Permissible subawardees included U.S. non-profit organizations, accredited universities, commercial (for-profit) organizations, and state, tribal, and local governments.

12) Can federal agencies participate?

Federal agencies could participate in the work, but they were not allowed to receive NIST funding through this opportunity.

13) How many proposals could an organization submit as the lead?

An organization could only serve as the lead organization on one proposal.

14) What was the submission deadline?

The electronic submission deadline was 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on Monday, August 12, 2013.

15) Were late applications accepted?

No. Late applications were explicitly not reviewed or considered.

16) When was the opportunity posted and when was it archived?

The announcement was posted on June 27, 2013. It was created on August 2, 2013, and archived on September 13, 2013.

17) What was the central collaboration expectation with NIST?

The Center was intended to operate through close collaboration with NIST scientists, and the cooperative agreement structure implied active NIST engagement during the project. Applicants would have been expected to plan for coordination and shared technical work with NIST.

18) What kind of technical focus areas were emphasized?

The core emphasis highlighted measurement science and the creation or improvement of modeling, simulation, data, and informatics tools to support modern materials research and development.

19) What kind of management approach would applicants likely have needed?

The Center of Excellence model implied a multi-partner structure and interdisciplinary coordination across academia and industry stakeholders, so applicants would likely have needed a management approach suited to coordinating shared goals, collaboration, and integrated work with NIST.

20) Where could applicants find the full announcement details?

The full details were provided in the revised full announcement document linked under the opportunity number "2013 NIST ADV MAT COE 01."

21) Who was the listed point of contact for help accessing the full announcement?

The listed point of contact was Christopher Hunton, Grants Technical Assistant, at 301-975-5718.