Ideas Lab Measuring Big G Challenge | Apply Online

Opportunity Summary:

The NSF "Ideas Lab Measuring Big G Challenge" (Funding Opportunity 15-591) was a Physics Division opportunity under the Mathematical and Physical Sciences Directorate aimed at tackling a long-standing and surprisingly practical problem in fundamental physics: we still do not have an agreed-upon high-precision value for Newton's gravitational constant, G. G sets the strength of gravity, and while it is one of the core constants used across physics, it is also notoriously hard to measure accurately because gravity is extremely weak compared to the other fundamental forces. What makes this solicitation notable is that it was not just looking for incremental improvements to existing setups; it was structured as an "Ideas Lab," meaning an intensive, workshop-style program designed to push participants toward unconventional thinking and cross-disciplinary experiment designs that could finally narrow the gap between conflicting measurements.

The scientific motivation behind the program was straightforward but high impact. Even after hundreds of measurements over roughly 250 years, modern experiments have produced values that disagree by about 0.05, which the announcement describes as around 40 times the uncertainty claimed by the best single experiment. That mismatch signals that some experiments are being limited by hard-to-detect systematic errors, or that different methods are sensitive to different subtle effects. NSF framed this as a grand challenge because resolving it is important on two fronts. First, any future theory that successfully unifies gravity with quantum physics (including quantum electrodynamics) might be able to predict G, and a reliable experimental value would become a serious benchmark for testing that theory. Second, the metrology and instrumentation lessons learned from measuring such a tiny force with absolute accuracy have spillover benefits for many other areas, including precision force measurements relevant to the Casimir effect, calibration of spring constants in atomic force microscopy cantilevers, and even force scales involved in biological and molecular systems such as intermolecular forces in DNA.

The central goal of the Ideas Lab was to catalyze brand-new experimental approaches capable of measuring G with relative uncertainties approaching, or even surpassing, 1 part in 100,000 (about 10^-5). NSF explicitly emphasized that mixing researchers from diverse scientific backgrounds was expected to produce fresh perspectives and innovative strategies, rather than relying only on the traditional small circle of groups that have historically performed G measurements. The intended output was not merely discussion; the Ideas Lab was meant to generate multidisciplinary concepts that could mature into full research proposals for NSF support, ultimately leading to next-generation experiments that could validate, reconcile, or improve upon current calculations and measurement techniques.

From an applicant and administrative standpoint, this was a discretionary grant opportunity in the science and technology research and development category. NSF anticipated making about 5 awards, with an estimated total funding level of $2,000,000. There was no cost sharing requirement listed. Eligibility was described as unrestricted (open to any type of entity), with the usual caveat that applicants should follow any clarifications in the solicitation text. Participation started with preliminary proposals submitted by US researchers, and submission for those preliminary proposals was only through NSF FastLane, reflecting the Ideas Lab format where the initial selection is about identifying promising participants and ideas for the in-person intensive. The opportunity was posted July 29, 2015, and the closing date for submissions was January 14, 2016, with the program later archived on February 13, 2016. The CFDA listing was 47.049 (Mathematical and Physical Sciences), and the publication reference was NSF 15-591.

In practical terms, the opportunity can be summarized as NSF trying to "reset the playing field" for one of the most stubborn precision-measurement problems in physics by convening a focused, competitive, and collaborative idea-generation environment. Instead of funding only standard proposals from the start, NSF used the Ideas Lab mechanism to recruit a mix of expertise, pressure-test concepts in real time, and accelerate the formation of teams and experimental plans that could plausibly overcome the systematic limits that have kept G measurements from converging.

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