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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is this funding opportunity?

This opportunity is the National Science Foundation (NSF) Control Systems (CS) program, a discretionary grant opportunity supporting research in control theory and control technology that is strongly motivated by real-world applications.

What is the Funding Opportunity Number and CFDA listing?

The Funding Opportunity Number is PD 10 1632. The CFDA listing is 47.041 (Engineering Grants).

What kinds of projects is the Control Systems (CS) program trying to fund?

The program supports research that advances how feedback-based systems are modeled, analyzed, and designed, with outcomes that can influence practical engineered systems rather than remaining purely theoretical.

Is the program focused on theory, applications, or both?

Both. The CS program funds control algorithms and theory, but emphasizes work that is strongly motivated by real-world applications and can impact practical engineered systems.

Does the program accept proposals in established control areas?

Yes. The program accepts transformative proposals within established areas such as model-based control.

What is the central emphasis of the program?

The central emphasis is on paradigm-shifting ideas for control strategies, including approaches that depart from conventional assumptions or standard architectures.

What does NSF mean here by "paradigm-shifting" control ideas?

Based on the description, this includes control strategies inspired by nature, approaches in unconventional application domains, and rethinking control for highly distributed systems.

What technical themes are highlighted in the opportunity description?

A key theme is the combined role of feedback and uncertainty in complex systems that include large numbers of sensors and actuators, particularly where uncertainty, noise, delays, and incomplete information are unavoidable design constraints.

What kinds of modern system settings does the program mention?

The description points to challenges such as networked control, cyber-physical systems, large-scale autonomous platforms, and dense sensing/actuation environments.

Are proposals expected to address uncertainty and imperfect information?

The program description highlights uncertainty, noise, delays, and incomplete information as unavoidable design constraints in the targeted problem settings, indicating strong alignment for work that explicitly addresses these realities.

Does the program fund only control algorithms, or can hardware concepts be part of the work?

The program also funds new sensor and actuator concepts that tightly integrate feedback with signal processing to accomplish a sensing or actuation objective.

What does it mean to integrate feedback with signal processing for sensing or actuation?

In practical terms (as described), proposals may focus on co-design where sensing, actuation, estimation, and feedback are intentionally developed together, rather than treating sensing as passive measurement and actuation as open-loop.

Are co-design approaches encouraged?

Yes. The description explicitly notes interest in co-design ideas where sensing, actuation, estimation, and feedback are developed together, and in projects that treat sensing and actuation as active, feedback-driven processes.

Who is eligible to apply?

Eligibility is listed as unrestricted, meaning the opportunity is open to any type of applicant entity, subject to any clarifications that may appear in the full announcement.

Is cost sharing or matching required?

No. The opportunity does not require cost sharing or matching.

What is the activity category for this opportunity?

The activity category is Science and Technology and other Research and Development.

When are proposals typically due?

The solicitation historically used recurring annual submission windows with due-date ranges of January 15 to February 15 and September 1 to October 1. Proposals were due by 5 p.m. local time.

What posted date and closing date are shown in this listing?

The record shows a posted date of Aug 13, 2010, and a current closing date listed as Feb 15, 2013.

Does the listed closing date mean the program is no longer active?

The information indicates the specific listing is from an earlier cycle (with a closing date in 2013), even though the program topic itself may continue under updated NSF solicitations.

Where does the listing direct applicants for access or technical issues?

For access issues, the listing directs applicants to NSF's grants.gov support at grantsgovsupport@nsf.gov and notes separate help for linking problems to the announcement.

What should applicants do if they have linking problems to the announcement?

The listing notes that there is separate help available for linking problems to the announcement (in addition to the grants.gov support contact provided).