Opportunity Information: Apply for EPA G2012 STAR C1
Apply for EPA G2012 STAR C1
- The Environmental Protection Agency in the environment sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Centers for Sustainable Molecular Design" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 66.509 Science To Achieve Results (STAR) Research Program.
- This funding opportunity was created on Apr 7, 2012 and posted on Jan 3, 2012.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Apr 9, 2012 Please see the announcement including Section IV for additional submission information.. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- The funding agency has allocated a total of $10,000,000.00 to eligible and selected applicants.
- Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $5,000,000.00 in funding.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 2 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).
- Please see Section III of the announcement for eligibility information.
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Opportunity Summary:
The Centers for Sustainable Molecular Design funding opportunity (EPA-G2012-STAR-C1) was a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) solicitation under the Science to Achieve Results (STAR) Research Program (CFDA 66.509) to create interdisciplinary research centers focused on designing safer chemicals from the outset. The core idea is to move beyond evaluating hazards after chemicals are already in use and instead build a scientific foundation that lets researchers intentionally design molecules whose inherent properties make them less hazardous to people and the environment. The centers were expected to develop practical parameters, strategies, and design criteria that connect molecular structure and physicochemical properties to toxicity, persistence, bioaccumulation, exposure potential, and other drivers of risk across a chemical's full life cycle, from manufacture and use to disposal and environmental fate.
Scientifically, the opportunity emphasizes generating actionable design principles that steer the creation of "next generation" chemicals that minimize, and ideally eliminate, adverse impacts. That includes advancing methods that help predict and avoid harmful outcomes before a molecule is synthesized or scaled, such as improved modeling, screening, and decision frameworks that relate intrinsic molecular features to real-world hazards and exposures. A major motivation described in the announcement is that discovering correlations between a chemical's inherent properties and downstream adverse impacts requires better tools for sustainable molecular design, meaning the centers would not just propose safer alternatives but also develop generalizable approaches and methods that others can use to design safer chemical classes in the future.
From a program and funding standpoint, this was a discretionary grant competition in the environmental research category. EPA anticipated making about two awards, with an estimated total funding level of $10,000,000 and an award ceiling of $5,000,000 per award (no stated award floor). There was no cost-sharing or matching requirement. The opportunity was posted January 3, 2012, created April 7, 2012, and had a listed original closing date of April 25, 2012, with a current closing date shown as April 9, 2012 (the announcement directed applicants to consult Section IV for submission details and any updates). The archive date was May 9, 2012.
Eligibility was not fully specified in the excerpted fields and was described as "Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification)," with applicants instructed to consult Section III of the full announcement for formal eligibility rules. For access issues and application questions, the listing provided contacts covering eligibility, electronic submission, and technical topics, including James Gentry (eligibility), Todd Peterson (electronic submissions), and technical contacts Nora Savage and Jose Zambrana at EPA.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): Centers for Sustainable Molecular Design (EPA-G2012-STAR-C1)
1) What is the Centers for Sustainable Molecular Design funding opportunity?
This funding opportunity, titled "Centers for Sustainable Molecular Design" (EPA-G2012-STAR-C1), was a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) solicitation under the Science to Achieve Results (STAR) Research Program (CFDA 66.509). It supported the creation of interdisciplinary research centers focused on designing safer chemicals from the outset.
2) What problem was this opportunity trying to address?
The solicitation emphasizes shifting away from a model where hazards are evaluated after chemicals are already in use. Instead, it aims to build a scientific foundation that allows researchers to intentionally design molecules whose inherent properties make them less hazardous to people and the environment.
3) What is meant by "sustainable molecular design" in this announcement?
In the context of this opportunity, sustainable molecular design refers to developing tools, parameters, strategies, and criteria that connect molecular structure and physicochemical properties to outcomes such as toxicity, persistence, bioaccumulation, and exposure potential, across a chemical's full life cycle (from manufacture and use through disposal and environmental fate).
4) What were applicants expected to produce or develop?
The centers were expected to develop practical parameters, strategies, and design criteria that relate intrinsic molecular features to key drivers of risk, including toxicity, persistence, bioaccumulation, and exposure potential. The emphasis was on producing actionable design principles that can steer the creation of "next generation" chemicals that minimize, and ideally eliminate, adverse impacts.
5) Does the opportunity focus only on proposing safer chemical alternatives?
No. A major motivation described in the announcement is to develop generalizable approaches and methods that others can use to design safer chemical classes in the future. That means the centers were expected not only to suggest safer alternatives but also to advance broadly usable tools and frameworks for sustainable molecular design.
6) What kinds of scientific methods or approaches were highlighted?
The opportunity highlights advancing methods that help predict and avoid harmful outcomes before a molecule is synthesized or scaled. Examples mentioned include improved modeling, screening, and decision frameworks that relate intrinsic molecular features to real-world hazards and exposures.
7) What is the intended impact of the research centers?
The intended impact is to generate actionable design principles and improved tools so researchers can proactively design chemicals with reduced inherent hazard and reduced exposure potential, rather than discovering adverse impacts only after widespread use. The research focus spans the full life cycle of a chemical.
8) What program was this opportunity issued under?
This was issued under EPA's Science to Achieve Results (STAR) Research Program, with CFDA number 66.509.
9) What type of grant competition was this?
It was described as a discretionary grant competition in the environmental research category.
10) How many awards did EPA anticipate making?
EPA anticipated making about two awards.
11) How much total funding was expected to be available?
The estimated total funding level was $10,000,000.
12) What was the maximum award amount?
The award ceiling was $5,000,000 per award.
13) Was there an award minimum (award floor)?
No award floor was stated in the information provided.
14) Was cost-sharing or matching required?
No. The opportunity stated there was no cost-sharing or matching requirement.
15) When was the opportunity posted?
The opportunity was posted on January 3, 2012.
16) When was the opportunity created?
The listing shows a created date of April 7, 2012.
17) What were the closing dates, and why do two dates appear?
The listing shows an original closing date of April 25, 2012, and a current closing date of April 9, 2012. The announcement directed applicants to consult Section IV for submission details and any updates, which suggests applicants needed to rely on the full announcement for the authoritative deadline and submission instructions.
18) When was the archive date for this opportunity?
The archive date was May 9, 2012.
19) Who was eligible to apply?
Eligibility was not fully specified in the excerpted fields. It was described as "Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification)," and applicants were instructed to consult Section III of the full announcement for formal eligibility rules.
20) Where should applicants look for the official eligibility rules?
Applicants were instructed to consult Section III of the full announcement for formal eligibility requirements.
21) Where should applicants look for submission requirements and any deadline updates?
The announcement directed applicants to consult Section IV for submission details and any updates.
22) Who could applicants contact for eligibility questions?
The listing provided James Gentry as a contact for eligibility questions.
23) Who could applicants contact for electronic submission questions?
The listing provided Todd Peterson as a contact for electronic submissions.
24) Who were the technical contacts for the opportunity?
The listing named Nora Savage and Jose Zambrana as technical contacts at EPA.
25) What life-cycle considerations were explicitly included in the research scope?
The scope explicitly included a chemical's full life cycle, including manufacture, use, disposal, and environmental fate, and it emphasized linking molecular structure and physicochemical properties to outcomes like toxicity, persistence, bioaccumulation, and exposure potential across that life cycle.
26) What outcomes or risk drivers were specifically mentioned?
The opportunity specifically mentioned toxicity, persistence, bioaccumulation, exposure potential, and "other drivers of risk" as targets for connecting molecular design choices to downstream impacts.
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