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NSF Nanomanufacturing Grant Opportunity: Frequently Asked Questions

1) What is the main purpose of the NSF Nanomanufacturing grant opportunity?

The opportunity supports fundamental research focused on nanomanufacturing: developing the manufacturing methods, process rules, and system-level approaches needed to reliably produce nanoscale materials, structures, devices, and complete nanosystems in ways that are economically viable and suitable for real manufacturing environments.

2) What does NSF mean by "nanomanufacturing" in this program?

In this program, nanomanufacturing is not just making something small in a lab. It is the science and engineering of repeatable, controllable, scalable processes that can produce complex, heterogeneous nanosystems with predictable performance, including attention to quality, efficiency, reliability, safety, affordability, and manufacturability.

3) What kinds of research approaches are in scope (batch, continuous, top-down, bottom-up)?

The solicitation includes both batch and continuous production research, and it welcomes a wide range of fabrication philosophies. Examples include top-down approaches (adding/removing material to create nanoscale features) and bottom-up approaches such as directed self-assembly (structures forming through controlled organization rather than direct machining).

4) Is the program focused on making new nanomaterials, or on manufacturing methods?

The core focus is on manufacturing methods and the underlying science of manufacturing. Creating new nanomaterials in the lab is not the primary goal unless it is tied directly to manufacturing-process innovation and a manufacturability framework aimed at reliable, scalable production of functioning devices or systems.

5) What does NSF expect in terms of "system integration"?

Projects are expected to address full system integration so the output functions as a device or system, not merely an isolated material sample. This can include integrating across multiple length scales (nano to micro to macro) and demonstrating approaches that support complex, heterogeneous nanosystems.

6) What manufacturability themes does NSF emphasize?

Manufacturability is a central theme, including quality, efficiency, scalability, reliability, safety, and affordability. NSF is looking for proposals that treat manufacturing as an engineered process with measurable performance rather than a one-off demonstration.

7) Are modeling, simulation, and computation encouraged?

Yes. The program explicitly encourages the use of computation, modeling, and simulation to design and optimize manufacturing processes and to support predictable, controllable production.

8) What role do metrology and sensing play in competitive proposals?

The program encourages process metrology and in-line or at-line sensing, monitoring, and control. Strong proposals typically explain how product quality and performance will be assessed, how variation will be measured and reduced, and how process control will be maintained as systems scale or shift to continuous modes.

9) What kinds of nanoscale phenomena are relevant to this program?

The program recognizes that nanoscale phenomena can be highly sensitive to physical, chemical, electrical, thermal, mechanical, and biological effects. Advances in understanding these effects, and using that understanding to enable better manufacturing routes and process control, are aligned with the program.

10) What are examples of transformative or forward-looking manufacturing approaches mentioned in the solicitation?

Examples highlighted include microreactor and microfluidics-enabled nanosynthesis, bio-inspired nanomanufacturing, manufacturing by nanomachines, additive nanomanufacturing, hierarchical assembly strategies, and continuous high-rate nanofabrication methods such as roll-to-roll processing or massively parallel large-area processing.

11) Does the program support modular manufacturing platforms?

Yes. The program welcomes modular manufacturing platforms that can be adapted to build different nanosystems, as well as efforts aimed at fabricating nanomaterials by design, three-dimensional nanostructures, multilayer nanodevices, and multimaterial or multifunctional systems.

12) Are dynamic nanosystems (like nanorobots) within scope?

Yes. The solicitation explicitly notes interest in dynamic nanosystems such as nanomotors, nanorobots, and nanomachines, along with enabling advances in nanoscale transport and diffusion mechanisms that can unlock new manufacturing routes or improve process control.

13) What does NSF say about workforce development and education?

NSF emphasizes workforce development and responsible innovation. The program supports training and education of the next generation of researchers and encourages building an end-to-end nanomanufacturing workforce capable of working with systems from process development through integration.

14) Are environmental, health, and societal (EHS) considerations part of this program?

Yes. The solicitation calls out the importance of understanding long-term environmental, health, and societal implications tied to large-scale production and use of nanoscale materials, devices, and systems. Proposals that address safety, exposure, lifecycle considerations, or sustainability elements related to manufacturing may align well with these priorities, including the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) Signature Initiative on Sustainable Nanomanufacturing.

15) Is collaboration with industry or government labs encouraged?

Yes. Collaboration is encouraged, particularly for individual and small-group projects that partner with industry or government laboratories.

16) What is the GOALI mechanism and when is it relevant?

For industry-academic collaborations, NSF points applicants to the GOALI mechanism (Grant Opportunities for Academic Liaison with Industry), which is designed to structure cooperative research with industry partners.

17) Can researchers volunteer to serve on NSF proposal review panels for this program?

Yes. Interested researchers are invited to volunteer for NSF proposal review panels by contacting the program director with a brief biosketch and areas of expertise.

18) What are REU/RET supplement requests and when are they due?

REU/RET supplements support undergraduate research experiences (REU) and teacher research experiences (RET). The listing states that REU/RET supplement requests are expected to be submitted by March 31 each year.

19) What types of projects are explicitly excluded from this Nanomanufacturing Program?

The program explicitly excludes projects that are primarily about the synthesis and characterization of nanomaterials and nanostructures, or the processing/compounding/manufacture of nanomaterials and nanostructures in bulk quantities. Work centered on making new nanomaterials and describing their properties, without a clear manufacturing-process innovation or manufacturability framework, is expected to be redirected to more appropriate NSF programs.

20) What is the CFDA number and awarding agency for this opportunity?

The awarding agency is the National Science Foundation (NSF). The opportunity is listed under CFDA 47.041 (Engineering Grants) and is described as a discretionary NSF grant.

21) Is cost sharing required?

No. The listing states there is no cost-sharing requirement.

22) What is the estimated funding amount and the award ceiling/floor shown in the record?

The record shows an estimated total funding of $300,000, an award ceiling of $300,000, and an award floor of $1.

23) Who is eligible to apply?

Eligibility is described as unrestricted (open broadly to applicant types), subject to any additional eligibility language that may be included in the full announcement.

24) What dates are listed for this opportunity?

The record lists a posted date of November 18, 2013, and a current closing date of September 15, 2015, with an archive date of October 15, 2028. Applicants are expected to verify current submission windows and program deadlines directly in the full NSF publication.

25) Where can applicants get help if they have technical issues accessing the listing through Grants.gov?

The listing references NSF Grants.gov support at grantsgovsupport@nsf.gov for access issues.