Opportunity Information: Apply for 12 504
Apply for 12 504
- The National Science Foundation in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Network for Computational Nanotechnology (NCN)" 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 47.070 Computer and Information Science and Engineering 47.080 Office of Cyberinfrastructure.
- This funding opportunity was created on Aug 4, 2014 and posted on Oct 20, 2011.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Opportunity has been archived.. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- The funding agency has allocated a total of $5,200,000.00 to eligible and selected applicants.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 4 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).
- Organization Limit Proposals may only be submitted by the following Only U.S. universities with Ph.D. degree granting programs in science and engineering may serve as the lead institution for each award. The Cyber Platform award will be submitted as a single university proposal with no partner universities or other institutions. For the Node proposals, the lead university may be joined by a small number of partner domestic universities/institutions (e.g. federal labs) but may not be joined by foreign universities/institutions. It should be noted that a multi university configuration is not requireda nameftnref1 href/#ftn1 titleftnref11/a. If a multi university proposal is submitted, the lead university must submit the proposal. Separately submitted collaborative proposals are not acceptable and will be returned without review. br / hr / a nameftn1 href/#ftnref1 titleftn11/a If a partner is a Federal lab, NSF funds cannot be used to support the laboratory. PI Limit The PI of the Cyber Platform proposal and the Node proposals must be tenured faculty members at the lead university of each proposal. The PI and co PI(s) on the full proposal must be the same as those named in the Letter of Intent.
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Opportunity Summary:
The National Science Foundation (NSF) grant opportunity titled Network for Computational Nanotechnology (NCN) (Funding Opportunity Number 12-504) was a competitive solicitation to reconfigure and continue a major national service capability for nanoscience and nanoengineering researchers and educators. NCN originally began in 2002 at Purdue University under the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) to give the community practical, easy-to-use access to theory, modeling, and simulation resources for nanoscale science, while also strengthening science and engineering education. Over time, NCN’s cyber platform, nanoHUB.org, grew into a large, widely used online ecosystem for computational tools and learning materials, serving more than 170,000 users worldwide across researchers, instructors, students, and professionals. Because the original NSF award supporting NCN was set to expire in September 2012, NSF opened this solicitation to let the broader community compete to restructure and operate the next phase of NCN.
At the core of the reconfigured program was a new stand-alone Cyber Platform award. This Cyber Platform was intended to be the primary, user-facing online service that delivers computation, simulation, and educational services to the nanoscience and engineering communities, including continued hosting and dissemination of the existing nanoHUB tools and educational content. NSF’s design emphasized that the Cyber Platform would be supported by a single cooperative agreement award to one U.S. university, and that it would serve as the central distribution and community hub for the entire network. In other words, one institution would be responsible for the main platform’s operations, reliability, user support, community engagement, and broad delivery of resources to the worldwide audience.
To ensure ongoing innovation rather than only maintaining the status quo, NSF paired the Cyber Platform with three additional, separately funded content-development Nodes. These Nodes were responsible for creating new computational tools, simulation capabilities, and educational materials, which would then be delivered through and disseminated on the Cyber Platform to the global community. Together, the four awards (one Cyber Platform plus three Nodes) would form the reconfigured NCN, connected via their cooperative agreements to function as one integrated service delivery system linking theory, simulation, and experimentation in support of research and education.
NSF defined the goals of the reconfigured NCN in continuity with the original program. The solicitation emphasized four main aims: (1) grow an ever larger and more diverse cyber community that shares high-quality nanoscale computational research and educational resources; (2) speed the translation of nanoscience into nanotechnology by better integrating simulation with experimentation; (3) advance open-source software and practices that encourage data sharing; and (4) inspire and educate the next-generation workforce by making advanced nanoscale learning and research tools broadly accessible. The Nodes were explicitly expected to blend theory and experimentation while producing tools and content that users could adopt quickly through the platform.
Importantly, NSF limited Node proposals to three specific, pre-defined topic areas, and stated that proposals in any other Node area would be returned without review. The three Node areas were: NanoBIO, focused on integrated computational tools that simulate biological phenomena across multiple length scales to support the design of devices and systems; NanoMFG, aimed at computation and simulation software that tackles the challenges of scaling nanoscale innovations into manufacturing; and the Nano Engineered Electronic Device Simulation Node (NEEDS), focused on tools that enable development of nanoelectronics-based circuits, devices, and systems. NSF planned to make one award per Node, and while each Node could be led by a single university or involve a small group of domestic partner institutions, the program structure still required a clear lead institution and a cohesive plan for delivering outputs through the central Cyber Platform.
The funding mechanism for all awards was a cooperative agreement, reflecting NSF’s expectation of substantial involvement and coordination across awardees to maintain a unified network. The solicitation projected four total awards and an estimated total funding level of $5.2 million, with no cost-sharing or matching requirement. The activity categories spanned engineering, computer and information science and engineering, and cyberinfrastructure (CFDA 47.041, 47.070, and 47.080), reflecting the program’s blend of nanoscale domain science and scalable online computational delivery.
Eligibility rules were specific. Only U.S. universities with Ph.D.-granting programs in science and engineering could serve as the lead institution for an award. For the Cyber Platform award, the proposal had to come from a single university with no partner universities or other institutions. For Node awards, the lead university could include a small number of domestic partners (including, for example, federal laboratories), but could not include foreign universities or institutions. If a federal lab participated as a partner, NSF funds could not be used to support the laboratory itself. NSF also required that the principal investigator (PI) for both Cyber Platform and Node proposals be a tenured faculty member at the lead university, and it required consistency between the Letter of Intent and the full proposal team: the PI and co-PIs named in the full proposal had to match those listed in the required Letter of Intent. The solicitation also prohibited separately submitted collaborative proposals; if multiple universities were involved for a Node, the lead university had to submit a single integrated proposal.
In terms of timing, the opportunity was posted October 20, 2011, with a required Letter of Intent due December 16, 2011 (by 5 p.m. local time of the proposer), and full proposals due January 17, 2012. The opportunity is now archived (archive date August 4, 2014), but it provides a clear snapshot of NSF’s strategy at the time: keep a stable, centrally managed cyber platform for broad community access while simultaneously funding targeted innovation Nodes that continuously refresh the platform with new tools and educational content in high-priority nanoscale application areas.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is this NSF opportunity?
This was an NSF competitive solicitation titled Network for Computational Nanotechnology (NCN) (Funding Opportunity Number 12-504). Its purpose was to reconfigure and continue a major national service capability that provides nanoscience and nanoengineering researchers and educators with practical access to theory, modeling, simulation, and educational resources.
What is NCN and why did NSF re-compete it?
NCN began in 2002 at Purdue University under the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) and grew into a large online ecosystem centered on nanoHUB.org. NSF opened this solicitation because the original NSF award supporting NCN was set to expire in September 2012, and NSF wanted the broader community to compete to restructure and operate the next phase.
What is nanoHUB.org in the context of this program?
nanoHUB.org is the cyber platform that grew out of NCN into a widely used online ecosystem of computational tools and learning materials. The solicitation described it as serving more than 170,000 users worldwide, including researchers, instructors, students, and professionals.
How was the reconfigured NCN structured?
The reconfigured NCN was designed as four coordinated awards: one stand-alone Cyber Platform award and three separately funded content-development Node awards. Together, these awards were intended to operate as one integrated service delivery system.
What was the Cyber Platform award intended to do?
The Cyber Platform award was intended to be the primary, user-facing online service delivering computation, simulation, and educational services to the nanoscience and nanoengineering communities. It was also expected to continue hosting and disseminating the existing nanoHUB tools and educational content.
How many institutions could receive the Cyber Platform award?
NSF’s design emphasized that the Cyber Platform would be supported by a single cooperative agreement award to one U.S. university, serving as the central distribution and community hub for the entire network.
Could the Cyber Platform proposal include partner institutions?
No. The solicitation stated that the Cyber Platform proposal had to come from a single university with no partner universities or other institutions.
What responsibilities would the Cyber Platform lead institution have?
The lead institution would be responsible for the main platform’s operations and being the central hub for distribution and community access. The solicitation highlighted responsibilities such as operations, reliability, user support, community engagement, and broad delivery of resources to a worldwide audience.
What were the Node awards?
The Nodes were separately funded awards focused on developing new computational tools, new simulation capabilities, and new educational materials. Their outputs were expected to be delivered through and disseminated on the central Cyber Platform.
Why did NSF include Nodes instead of only funding platform operations?
NSF paired the Cyber Platform with Nodes to ensure ongoing innovation rather than only maintaining the status quo. The Nodes were intended to continuously refresh and expand what the community could access through the platform.
How many Node awards were planned?
NSF planned to make three Node awards, with one award per Node topic area.
What were the only allowable Node topic areas?
Node proposals were limited to three pre-defined topic areas:
- NanoBIO: integrated computational tools simulating biological phenomena across multiple length scales to support the design of devices and systems
- NanoMFG: computation and simulation software addressing challenges of scaling nanoscale innovations into manufacturing
- Nano Engineered Electronic Device Simulation Node (NEEDS): tools enabling development of nanoelectronics-based circuits, devices, and systems
What happened if an applicant proposed a Node outside the three allowed areas?
The solicitation stated that proposals in any other Node area would be returned without review.
Could a Node include more than one institution?
Yes. A Node could be led by a single university or involve a small group of domestic partner institutions, but the program required a clear lead institution and a cohesive plan for delivering outputs through the central Cyber Platform.
Could a Node include foreign universities or institutions?
No. The solicitation stated that Node collaborations could not include foreign universities or institutions.
Could a federal laboratory participate in a Node?
Yes, as a domestic partner (the solicitation gave federal laboratories as an example). However, if a federal lab participated, NSF funds could not be used to support the laboratory itself.
Were separately submitted collaborative proposals allowed?
No. The solicitation prohibited separately submitted collaborative proposals. If multiple universities were involved for a Node, the lead university had to submit a single integrated proposal.
What type of funding mechanism was used for these awards?
All awards used a cooperative agreement mechanism, reflecting NSF’s expectation of substantial involvement and coordination across awardees to maintain a unified network.
How many total awards and how much total funding were projected?
The solicitation projected four total awards (one Cyber Platform and three Nodes) and an estimated total funding level of $5.2 million.
Was cost-sharing or matching required?
No. The solicitation stated there was no cost-sharing or matching requirement.
What were the main goals of the reconfigured NCN?
The solicitation emphasized four main aims:
- Grow an ever larger and more diverse cyber community sharing high-quality nanoscale computational research and educational resources
- Speed translation of nanoscience into nanotechnology by integrating simulation with experimentation
- Advance open-source software and practices that encourage data sharing
- Inspire and educate the next-generation workforce by broadly expanding access to advanced nanoscale learning and research tools
What expectations were placed on Node outputs?
The Nodes were explicitly expected to blend theory and experimentation while producing tools and content that users could adopt quickly through the Cyber Platform.
Who was eligible to be a lead institution?
Only U.S. universities with Ph.D.-granting programs in science and engineering could serve as the lead institution for an award.
What were the PI eligibility requirements?
The principal investigator (PI) for both Cyber Platform and Node proposals had to be a tenured faculty member at the lead university.
Was a Letter of Intent required?
Yes. A Letter of Intent was required.
What was the rule about consistency between the Letter of Intent and the full proposal?
NSF required consistency between the Letter of Intent and the full proposal team: the PI and co-PIs named in the full proposal had to match those listed in the Letter of Intent.
When was the opportunity posted and what were the key deadlines?
The opportunity was posted on October 20, 2011. The required Letter of Intent was due December 16, 2011 (by 5 p.m. local time of the proposer). Full proposals were due January 17, 2012.
Is this funding opportunity still open?
No. The opportunity is archived (archive date August 4, 2014).
What NSF areas or activity categories did this solicitation span?
The solicitation spanned engineering, computer and information science and engineering, and cyberinfrastructure, reflecting the program’s combination of nanoscale domain science and scalable online computational delivery.
Which CFDA numbers were associated with this opportunity?
The solicitation referenced CFDA 47.041, 47.070, and 47.080.
How were the Cyber Platform and Nodes expected to work together?
The Cyber Platform served as the central distribution and community hub, while the Nodes developed new tools and educational materials. The solicitation described these cooperative agreements as being connected so the four awards functioned as one integrated system linking theory, simulation, and experimentation in support of research and education.
What was NSF's overall strategy reflected by this solicitation?
The archived solicitation provides a snapshot of NSF’s strategy at the time: maintain a stable, centrally managed cyber platform for broad community access while also funding targeted innovation Nodes that continuously add new tools and educational content in high-priority nanoscale application areas.
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