Opportunity Information: Apply for PD 15 7396
Apply for PD 15 7396
- The National Science Foundation in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Engineering for Natural Hazards" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 47.041 Engineering Grants.
- This funding opportunity was created on Mar 4, 2015 and posted on Nov 21, 2014.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Sep 15, 2015. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility.
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Opportunity Summary:
The National Science Foundation (NSF) Engineering for Natural Hazards (ENH) program (PD 15 7396) is a research grant opportunity focused on reducing the likelihood that natural hazards turn into large-scale disasters, especially by improving how civil infrastructure is designed, built, and evaluated under hazardous conditions. A central theme of the program is moving beyond studying hazards in isolation and instead treating them within the broader multi-hazard reality that communities face, where earthquakes, windstorms, tsunamis, landslides, and related events can interact with one another and with the built environment across an infrastructure's full lifetime.
ENH replaced the former annual NEES research solicitations (the George E. Brown, Jr. Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation research program) and shifted submissions into NSF CMMI's two recurring unsolicited proposal windows each year. It also consolidated and continued threads of hazard-focused engineering work that previously fit under NSF's Hazard Mitigation and Structural Engineering (HMSE) and Geotechnical Engineering (GTE) programs, while expanding the scope to cover a wider range of natural hazards beyond earthquakes alone. In practical terms, the program is designed to support fundamental, solution-oriented engineering research that can improve hazard mitigation outcomes across multiple hazard types and multiple infrastructure classes.
The types of civil infrastructure covered are broad and include complete building systems, not just structural frames. That means research can involve the soil-foundation-structure system, building envelopes, nonstructural components, facade and roofing systems, and other critical structural and geotechnical elements. The program also explicitly includes geostructures and underground facilities such as tunnels, reflecting the fact that hazard impacts are not limited to above-ground buildings and that underground and earth-supported systems have distinct failure modes and performance needs.
While projects may focus on a single hazard (for example, earthquake-induced liquefaction or hurricane wind loading), ENH encourages proposals that take a multi-hazard approach, meaning designs and performance assessments that account for more than one hazard acting over the life of the asset. This multi-hazard framing supports research that looks at resilience and sustainability together, such as how design decisions that improve performance under one hazard might introduce vulnerabilities under another, or how to optimize lifetime performance when hazards vary in frequency, intensity, and uncertainty.
The program is intentionally multidisciplinary. It welcomes work that integrates geotechnical, structural, and architectural engineering with advances from other domains including earth and atmospheric sciences, materials science, mechanics of materials, dynamics and control, systems engineering, decision theory, risk analysis, high-performance computational modeling and simulation, and even social, behavioral, and economic sciences when they strengthen the engineering basis for mitigation and implementation. NSF also encourages multidisciplinary and international collaboration, signaling interest in teams that combine complementary expertise, data sources, methods, and hazard contexts.
ENH highlights several research directions of particular interest. One major area is system-level design concepts for both new and existing civil infrastructure to achieve a desired lifetime performance under single or multiple hazard loadings, with an emphasis on sustainability and long-term resilience rather than short-term code compliance alone. Another key area is geotechnical engineering advances that improve hazard resistance of foundations and geostructures, including liquefaction mitigation, soil-foundation-structure interaction, stability of levees and earth dams, and analysis and mitigation of landslides, mudflows, and debris flows, especially where field performance and system-level behavior are central. The program also calls out decision theory and related methods as important tools for designing infrastructure that meets performance objectives under uncertainty, and it emphasizes computational modeling and simulation approaches that thoughtfully combine theory, computation, experimentation, and data to strengthen predictive capability and practical mitigation strategies.
Beyond producing journal papers, ENH places value on knowledge dissemination and technology transfer that can lead to real-world adoption and broader societal benefit. This reflects an expectation that funded research should not only advance fundamental understanding but also help enable implementation pathways for improved hazard mitigation in the civil infrastructure sector.
ENH also aligns with national research priorities, explicitly supporting work responsive to two major community roadmaps: the National Research Council report on grand challenges in earthquake engineering research and the NIST roadmap for windstorm and coastal inundation impact reduction. At the federal program level, ENH-funded awards can contribute to NSF's role in the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP) and the National Windstorm Impact Reduction Program, connecting individual research projects to larger national hazard risk reduction efforts.
The opportunity also includes clear boundaries on what it will not fund. ENH does not support research focused on blast loads or fire effects on civil infrastructure, sensor technology development, or long-term structural and field site monitoring. In other words, the emphasis is on engineering science and mitigation methods for natural hazards affecting civil infrastructure, rather than security-related loading, fire engineering, instrumentation R&D, or monitoring programs as primary objectives.
Administratively, the opportunity is a discretionary NSF grant in the science and technology research and development category (CFDA 47.041, Engineering Grants) with no cost sharing or matching requirement, and eligibility is listed as unrestricted subject to any specific clarifications in the full program description. The original posting dates and submission window information reflect the active period for this particular listing (posted in 2014, with 2015 windows, and later archived), but the core program description captures the intent and scope of the ENH program as NSF's mechanism for fundamental engineering research aimed at reducing the impacts of major natural hazards on constructed civil infrastructure.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): NSF Engineering for Natural Hazards (ENH) Program
What is the NSF Engineering for Natural Hazards (ENH) program?
The National Science Foundation (NSF) Engineering for Natural Hazards (ENH) program (PD 15 7396) is a research grant opportunity focused on reducing the likelihood that natural hazards become large-scale disasters. It emphasizes improving how civil infrastructure is designed, constructed, and evaluated under hazardous conditions, with the goal of advancing hazard mitigation outcomes and long-term resilience.
What is the central theme of ENH?
A central theme is moving beyond studying hazards in isolation and instead treating them within the multi-hazard reality communities face. ENH emphasizes how earthquakes, windstorms, tsunamis, landslides, and related events can interact with one another and with the built environment over an infrastructure asset's full lifetime.
How does ENH approach single-hazard versus multi-hazard research?
Projects may focus on a single hazard (for example, earthquake-induced liquefaction or hurricane wind loading), but ENH encourages multi-hazard approaches. Multi-hazard work considers more than one hazard acting over the life of the asset and can address tradeoffs, such as design choices that improve performance under one hazard while increasing vulnerability under another.
What kinds of hazards are within scope for ENH?
ENH is focused on natural hazards affecting civil infrastructure, including earthquakes, windstorms, tsunamis, landslides, and related phenomena (such as mudflows and debris flows). The program is explicitly framed around the broader multi-hazard environment rather than earthquakes alone.
What types of civil infrastructure are covered?
The program covers a broad range of civil infrastructure, including complete building systems (not just structural frames). Covered elements can include soil-foundation-structure systems, building envelopes, nonstructural components, facade and roofing systems, and other critical structural and geotechnical components. ENH also explicitly includes geostructures and underground facilities such as tunnels.
Does ENH fund research on underground and earth-supported systems?
Yes. ENH explicitly includes geostructures and underground facilities such as tunnels, recognizing that underground and earth-supported systems have distinct failure modes and performance needs under natural hazards.
What kinds of research outcomes is ENH trying to enable?
ENH is designed to support fundamental, solution-oriented engineering research that improves hazard mitigation. In addition to advancing understanding, the program places value on knowledge dissemination and technology transfer that can lead to real-world adoption and broader societal benefit.
Is ENH limited to earthquake engineering?
No. While it continues and expands threads of hazard-focused engineering work that previously aligned with earthquake-related programs, ENH broadened the scope to cover a wider range of natural hazards beyond earthquakes alone.
How is ENH related to NEES?
ENH replaced the former annual NEES research solicitations (the George E. Brown, Jr. Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation research program). It shifted submissions into NSF CMMI's two recurring unsolicited proposal windows each year.
How is ENH related to NSF programs like HMSE and GTE?
ENH consolidated and continued hazard-focused engineering work that previously fit under NSF's Hazard Mitigation and Structural Engineering (HMSE) and Geotechnical Engineering (GTE) programs, while expanding the hazard scope.
Is ENH a multidisciplinary program?
Yes. ENH is intentionally multidisciplinary and welcomes work integrating geotechnical, structural, and architectural engineering with other domains such as earth and atmospheric sciences, materials science, mechanics of materials, dynamics and control, systems engineering, decision theory, risk analysis, high-performance computational modeling and simulation, and (when it strengthens the engineering basis for mitigation and implementation) social, behavioral, and economic sciences.
Does ENH encourage international or cross-institutional collaboration?
Yes. NSF encourages multidisciplinary and international collaboration, indicating interest in teams that combine complementary expertise, data sources, methods, and hazard contexts.
What are examples of research directions ENH highlights as particularly important?
ENH highlights several research directions of interest, including: system-level design concepts for new and existing infrastructure to achieve desired lifetime performance under single or multiple hazards; geotechnical engineering advances that improve hazard resistance of foundations and geostructures; decision theory and related methods for meeting performance objectives under uncertainty; and computational modeling and simulation that combine theory, computation, experimentation, and data to improve predictive capability and mitigation strategies.
What does ENH mean by system-level design and lifetime performance?
ENH emphasizes system-level design concepts that address both new and existing civil infrastructure and target desired lifetime performance under single or multiple hazard loadings. The focus is on sustainability and long-term resilience, not only short-term code compliance.
What geotechnical topics are specifically called out by ENH?
Examples include liquefaction mitigation, soil-foundation-structure interaction, stability of levees and earth dams, and analysis and mitigation of landslides, mudflows, and debris flows, especially where field performance and system-level behavior are central.
Why does ENH emphasize decision theory, risk analysis, and uncertainty?
ENH calls out decision theory and related methods as important tools for designing infrastructure that meets performance objectives under uncertainty. This supports designing for variable hazards with differing frequencies, intensities, and uncertainties over an asset's lifetime.
What role do computational modeling and simulation play in ENH proposals?
ENH emphasizes computational modeling and simulation approaches that thoughtfully combine theory, computation, experimentation, and data. The goal is stronger predictive capability and practical mitigation strategies for civil infrastructure subject to natural hazards.
Beyond publications, what does ENH expect in terms of broader impact?
Beyond journal papers, ENH values knowledge dissemination and technology transfer that can lead to real-world adoption and broader societal benefit, reflecting an emphasis on implementation pathways for improved hazard mitigation in civil infrastructure.
How does ENH align with national research priorities and roadmaps?
ENH aligns with national research priorities by supporting work responsive to major community roadmaps, including the National Research Council report on grand challenges in earthquake engineering research and the NIST roadmap for windstorm and coastal inundation impact reduction.
How is ENH connected to national hazard risk-reduction programs?
ENH-funded awards can contribute to NSF's role in the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP) and the National Windstorm Impact Reduction Program, connecting individual projects to broader national efforts.
What does ENH explicitly not fund?
ENH does not support research focused on blast loads or fire effects on civil infrastructure. It also does not support sensor technology development or long-term structural and field site monitoring as primary research objectives.
Does ENH fund sensor development or monitoring programs?
No. Sensor technology development and long-term structural and field site monitoring are explicitly listed as outside the program's scope.
Does ENH fund research on blast loading or fire engineering?
No. Research focused on blast loads or fire effects on civil infrastructure is explicitly excluded.
What is the administrative grant type and CFDA number?
The opportunity is a discretionary NSF grant in the science and technology research and development category, listed under CFDA 47.041 (Engineering Grants).
Is cost sharing or matching required?
No. The opportunity states there is no cost sharing or matching requirement.
Who is eligible to apply?
Eligibility is listed as unrestricted, subject to any specific clarifications in the full program description.
How and when are proposals submitted?
ENH shifted submissions into NSF CMMI's two recurring unsolicited proposal windows each year. The listing described posted dates and windows reflecting an active period (posted in 2014 with 2015 windows, later archived), while the program description captures the intent and scope of ENH.
Is ENH still tied to a single annual solicitation cycle?
No. ENH replaced the former annual NEES research solicitations and moved to NSF CMMI's two recurring unsolicited proposal windows each year.
What is the overall purpose of ENH in practical terms?
In practical terms, ENH supports fundamental engineering research that is solution-oriented and aimed at improving hazard mitigation across multiple hazard types and multiple classes of civil infrastructure.
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