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NSF Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) Grant Opportunity FAQs

1) What is the NSF Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) program?

The NSF Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) program supports research and education projects focused on systems where computing and the physical world are tightly integrated and must operate in close coordination. The solicitation emphasizes next-generation CPS that are significantly more capable than current systems, with improvements in adaptability, autonomy, efficiency, reliability, safety, and usability.

2) What types of systems or applications does NSF consider relevant to CPS?

The solicitation lists a wide range of motivating examples, including autonomous collision avoidance, high-precision robotic surgery, nano-tolerance manufacturing, autonomous platforms for hazardous or hard-to-reach environments (firefighting, search and rescue, exploration), large-scale distributed coordination (such as automated traffic control), energy-efficient infrastructure (including zero net energy buildings), and technologies that augment human abilities and improve quality of life (including assistive devices and ubiquitous healthcare monitoring and delivery).

3) What is the overall goal of the CPS program?

The opportunity aims to advance the science and engineering needed to make integrated cyber-physical systems trustworthy and broadly deployable. In addition to fundamental advances, the program emphasizes practical progress that accelerates real-world CPS realization.

4) Which NSF directorates lead the CPS program?

The CPS program is jointly led by NSF's Directorates for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) and Engineering (ENG), reflecting the program's cross-disciplinary nature and its importance to U.S. competitiveness and security.

5) What sectors does NSF identify as being impacted by CPS research?

The solicitation frames CPS as foundational research with relevance across multiple critical sectors, including aerospace, automotive systems, chemical production, civil infrastructure, energy, healthcare, manufacturing, materials, and transportation.

6) Does the program emphasize cross-cutting research or domain-specific solutions?

A key goal is to move beyond domain-specific solutions and uncover cross-cutting principles that apply across application areas, so that advances in one sector can translate into progress in others.

7) Beyond theory, what kinds of deliverables or outcomes does NSF encourage?

In addition to fundamental research, the program emphasizes practical progress through the development of enabling tools, hardware and software components, runtime platforms, prototypes, and testbeds that help speed real-world CPS realization.

8) How are CPS research proposals organized within the program?

Research proposals are organized around three major themes: (1) Foundations, (2) Methods and Tools, and (3) Components, Runtime Substrates, and Systems.

9) What is covered under the Foundations theme?

The Foundations theme focuses on developing new scientific and engineering principles for CPS, including theories, models, algorithms, and analytic methods for understanding and designing systems that combine computation with physical dynamics.

10) What is the focus of the Methods and Tools theme?

The Methods and Tools theme targets the gap between traditional approaches used for software and networks versus those used for physical processes and engineered systems. It encourages advances such as multi-view modeling support, new programming languages and abstractions, and techniques for reasoning about CPS behavior, including formal verification of system properties when cyber and physical elements interact in complex ways.

11) What does the Components, Runtime Substrates, and Systems theme support?

This theme supports advances in CPS building blocks and the platforms that CPS runs on, as well as engineered systems motivated by grand challenge applications.

12) What dependability and assurance topics does NSF highlight across CPS themes?

Across all themes, NSF signals interest in approaches that make CPS demonstrably dependable. The solicitation specifically notes fault tolerance, availability, reliability, reconfigurability, and cybersecurity, particularly when these properties can be certified or assured in meaningful ways.

13) Is community-building part of this program?

Yes. The program includes a community-building element aimed at strengthening and expanding the CPS Virtual Organization (referenced as cps-vo.org) as a hub for the research and education community.

14) Are there expected meetings for awardees?

The solicitation anticipates regular principal investigator (PI) meetings to share results, align on emerging challenges, and build collaboration across institutions and disciplines.

15) What project sizes (scales) are supported under this solicitation?

Two project scales are supported: Medium Projects and Large Projects.

16) What are Medium Projects and what team structure is expected?

Medium Projects are intended for teams spanning one or more CPS themes and must involve at least two principal investigators. The team typically includes students and/or postdoctoral researchers.

17) What is the funding range and duration for Medium Projects?

Medium Project awards are funded in the range of about $300,000 to $500,000 per year, with project durations of three to four years.

18) What are Large Projects and what collaboration is expected?

Large Projects are designed for broader, multi-investigator and multi-university collaborations that bring together multiple disciplines across computer science, engineering, and relevant application domains.

19) What kinds of research agendas are expected for Large Projects?

Large Projects should address a coherent research agenda that either cuts across multiple CPS themes or explores one theme in exceptional depth.

20) What is the maximum funding and duration for Large Projects?

Large awards can reach up to about $1,000,000 per year for up to five years.

21) How many awards does NSF expect to make under this solicitation?

The opportunity indicates an expected number of awards around 30.

22) What is the estimated total funding level for this solicitation?

The solicitation estimates a total funding level of about $30,000,000.

23) What are the CFDA numbers associated with this NSF program?

This NSF discretionary research grant program is listed under CFDA numbers 47.041 (Engineering Grants) and 47.070 (Computer and Information Science and Engineering).

24) Does the solicitation indicate a cost sharing or matching requirement?

Yes. The administrative details indicate that a cost sharing or matching requirement is required.

25) Who is eligible to apply?

Eligible applicants include U.S.-based accredited universities and colleges (including community colleges) applying on behalf of their faculty. Eligibility also includes certain U.S. non-profit, non-academic organizations such as independent museums, observatories, research laboratories, professional societies, and similar entities associated with education or research activities.

26) What is the solicitation identification information?

The solicitation is identified as NSF Publication 11-516 with Funding Opportunity Number 11-516.

27) When was this opportunity originally posted and what deadlines are indicated?

The archived notice states it was originally posted in late 2010, with annual January deadlines indicated thereafter.

28) What makes this program explicitly cross-disciplinary?

The program is jointly led by CISE and ENG and is described as spanning computer science, engineering, and relevant application domains, with an emphasis on principles and platforms that generalize across multiple sectors.

29) Are proposals expected to address one theme only, or can they span multiple themes?

Medium Projects are described as spanning one or more CPS themes. Large Projects are described as addressing a coherent agenda that cuts across multiple themes or explores one theme in exceptional depth.

30) What is NSF trying to enable in terms of deployment and trust?

The solicitation highlights advancing science and engineering so that CPS can be trustworthy and broadly deployable, and it emphasizes dependability properties (fault tolerance, availability, reliability, reconfigurability, cybersecurity) especially when meaningful certification or assurance is possible.