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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1) What is the name of this funding opportunity?

This opportunity is titled the Joint Mathematics/Computer Science Institute grant opportunity.

2) What is the Funding Opportunity Number (FON)?

The Funding Opportunity Number is DE-PS02-09ER09-22.

3) Which federal agency is offering this grant?

The opportunity is offered by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Science.

4) Which DOE office is running the solicitation?

The solicitation is run through the DOE Office of Advanced Scientific Computing Research (ASCR).

5) What is the overall purpose of the program?

The program’s core purpose is to fund coordinated, collaboratively managed research efforts that bring applied mathematics and computer science together to address the growing mismatch between complex scientific application software and rapidly evolving next-generation high-performance computing (HPC) hardware.

6) What problem is DOE trying to solve with this funding?

The solicitation highlights a mismatch between sophisticated scientific software and fast-changing HPC hardware architectures. DOE is seeking integrated research that helps make future architectures usable for real scientific discovery rather than relying on incremental updates to existing programming approaches.

7) What does the opportunity mean by "extreme scale" computing?

In this announcement, “extreme scale” refers to the next major step beyond petascale computing. DOE anticipates systems becoming feasible on roughly a 10 to 15 year horizon from the time of the announcement, potentially featuring on the order of 10 million to 100 million processing elements/cores.

8) What kinds of hardware and architectural changes are anticipated?

The notice anticipates major shifts such as very large multicore integration (potentially up to thousands of cores per chip or more), along with power and energy constraints and packaging limitations. These constraints are presented as key drivers for needing new approaches in software, algorithms, and methods.

9) Why does DOE say existing approaches will not be enough?

The solicitation states that simply extending existing programming approaches will not be sufficient to effectively use extreme-scale systems. It calls for more fundamental, transformational advances that integrate applied mathematics and computer science.

10) What research areas does this funding emphasize?

The emphasis is on innovative, integrated research combining applied mathematics and computer science to create ideas, tools, and methods required for extreme-scale simulation to work in practice. The focus is framed around enabling real scientific discovery on rapidly evolving next-generation HPC systems.

11) What types of activities may be supported?

Based on the announcement, proposed activities may include basic research, development of algorithms tailored to advanced architectures, and demonstrations that validate new mathematical concepts, computer science techniques, and algorithmic approaches relevant to extreme-scale computing.

12) Are demonstrations or validation efforts allowed?

Yes. The solicitation explicitly mentions demonstrations that validate new mathematical concepts, computer science techniques, and algorithmic approaches relevant to extreme-scale computing.

13) Does the opportunity support conferences, workshops, or summer schools?

Potentially, yes. The announcement indicates that community-building and knowledge-sharing activities such as conferences, summer schools, and similar collaborative events may be considered, as long as they directly support the combined applied mathematics and computer science agenda for enabling extreme-scale HPC.

14) What is the assistance listing (CFDA) number for this program?

The solicitation is described as a discretionary grant under the DOE Office of Science Financial Assistance Program with CFDA 81.049.

15) Is cost sharing or matching required?

No. The announcement states that cost sharing or matching is not required.

16) Who is eligible to apply?

Eligibility is listed as unrestricted, meaning the competition is open to any entity type, subject to any clarifications in the full announcement.

17) Are partnerships encouraged?

Yes. DOE strongly encourages partnerships that connect universities, National Laboratories, and industry, reflecting that extreme-scale computing challenges span theory, software, hardware constraints, and real application needs.

18) When was the opportunity posted?

The posted and creation date is May 6, 2009.

19) What is the application closing date?

The original/current closing date is June 5, 2009.

20) When was the opportunity archived?

The archive date is May 6, 2010.

21) Who are the primary technical contacts for questions about the solicitation?

The primary technical contacts listed are Karen Pao (karen.pao@science.doe.gov, 301-903-5384) and Osni Marques (oamarques@ascr.doe.gov, 301-903-9925).

22) Who should be contacted for system access or linkage issues?

For access or system issues, the notice points to the IIPS HelpDesk (iipshelpdesk@e-center.doe.gov). It also references Lori Jernigan (Lori.Jernigan@science.doe.gov) for assistance with linkage or access problems.

23) What is the broader DOE/ASCR context for this solicitation?

The opportunity is framed around the DOE/ASCR strategy of sustaining U.S. leadership in scientific computing by supporting both cutting-edge computing facilities (production and leadership-class systems) and the research needed to make future architectures usable for real scientific discovery.

24) What is the central scientific computing transition highlighted in the announcement?

A central theme is the transition from petascale computing toward extreme-scale systems, with an expected feasibility timeframe of roughly 10 to 15 years from the time of the announcement.