Opportunity Information: Apply for 16 529
Apply for 16 529
- The NSF in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Petascale Computing Resource Allocations" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 47.070,.
- This funding opportunity was created on Jan 05, 2016 and posted on Jan 05, 2016.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Apr 04, 2016. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 15 candidate(s).
- 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) grant opportunity titled "Petascale Computing Resource Allocations" (Funding Opportunity Number 16-529) invites research groups to apply for access to the Blue Waters petascale supercomputing system hosted at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Blue Waters was deployed in 2013 with NSF support, and its central purpose is to enable science and engineering work that cannot realistically be done on smaller computing platforms. The program is essentially an allocation opportunity: rather than funding a traditional research project in the usual sense, it focuses on awarding time and capacity on a major national high-performance computing resource so investigators can run extremely large simulations, data analyses, or computational workflows that push beyond conventional limits.
Applicants are expected to make a strong case that their research problems genuinely require petascale computing and that their team can use the system effectively. In practical terms, proposals need to describe compelling science or engineering challenges that are both large enough and technically suited to exploit Blue Waters capabilities, meaning the work should be able to scale and take advantage of massive parallelism and high-end system architecture. The solicitation emphasizes readiness and feasibility: teams should be prepared to demonstrate that their codes, methods, and computational plans are appropriate for Blue Waters, and that the requested allocation is justified by the scope and complexity of the proposed work.
The opportunity is open to a broad range of applicants (eligibility is listed as unrestricted, subject to any additional clarifications in the official notice), and it covers NSF research and development areas associated with CFDA numbers 47.070. NSF also explicitly encourages proposals that come from, or include, junior researchers. One of the stated goals is community-building: expanding the pool of scientists and engineers who can productively use petascale systems, not just supporting already-established high-performance computing groups.
Key administrative details include an application due date of April 4, 2016, with the opportunity posted and created on January 5, 2016. The award ceiling is not specified in the provided data, and the solicitation anticipates making around 15 awards. Overall, this opportunity is aimed at enabling ambitious, computation-intensive research by providing access to a flagship petascale resource, with a strong emphasis on projects that both need and can efficiently leverage that level of computing power.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is the "Petascale Computing Resource Allocations" opportunity (NSF 16-529)?
This National Science Foundation (NSF) opportunity titled "Petascale Computing Resource Allocations" (Funding Opportunity Number 16-529) invites research groups to apply for allocations on the Blue Waters petascale supercomputing system hosted at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Is this a traditional research funding grant?
No. Based on the provided description, this program is primarily an allocation opportunity. Instead of funding a typical research project with a stated dollar amount, it focuses on awarding access (time and capacity) on the Blue Waters high-performance computing resource so investigators can run very large simulations, analyses, or computational workflows.
What is Blue Waters and why is it being offered through this opportunity?
Blue Waters is a petascale supercomputing system hosted at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It was deployed in 2013 with NSF support. Its central purpose is to enable science and engineering work that cannot realistically be done on smaller computing platforms.
What kinds of research activities are supported by this solicitation?
The solicitation targets computation-intensive science and engineering activities such as extremely large simulations, large-scale data analyses, and other computational workflows that push beyond conventional computing limits and can effectively exploit petascale resources.
What is the main goal of the program?
The main goal is to enable ambitious research that genuinely requires petascale computing by providing access to a flagship national high-performance computing system. An additional stated goal is community-building, including expanding the pool of researchers who can productively use petascale systems.
Who can apply?
Eligibility is described as unrestricted, subject to any additional clarifications in the official notice. The provided summary indicates the opportunity is open to a broad range of applicants.
Are junior researchers encouraged to participate?
Yes. NSF explicitly encourages proposals that come from, or include, junior researchers, as part of the opportunity's community-building goals.
How many awards does NSF expect to make?
The solicitation anticipates making around 15 awards.
When was this opportunity posted and created?
The opportunity was posted and created on January 5, 2016, according to the provided information.
What is the application due date?
The application due date listed in the provided information is April 4, 2016.
What is being awarded to selected projects?
Selected projects are awarded an allocation of Blue Waters computing resources, described as time and capacity on the petascale system. The intent is to enable projects to run large-scale computations that would not be feasible on smaller systems.
What do reviewers or NSF expect proposals to demonstrate?
Proposals are expected to make a strong case that (1) the research problem truly requires petascale computing, and (2) the team can use the system effectively. The solicitation emphasizes readiness and feasibility, including whether the codes, methods, and computational plans are appropriate for Blue Waters and whether the requested allocation is justified by the scope and complexity of the work.
What does it mean for a project to be "suited to exploit Blue Waters capabilities"?
The provided description emphasizes that projects should be large enough and technically suited to take advantage of Blue Waters, including the ability to scale and leverage massive parallelism and high-end system architecture.
Do applicants need to justify the size of the allocation they request?
Yes. The opportunity stresses that the requested allocation should be justified by the scope and complexity of the proposed work, and that the computational plan should be feasible and appropriate for Blue Waters.
Does the opportunity specify a maximum award amount (award ceiling)?
No award ceiling is specified in the provided data. The focus is described as allocation of computing resources rather than a typical dollar-denominated award.
What NSF program area is associated with this opportunity?
The opportunity covers NSF research and development areas associated with CFDA number 47.070, based on the information provided.
What is the program trying to achieve beyond supporting existing high-performance computing groups?
One stated objective is to expand the community of scientists and engineers who can productively use petascale systems. This includes encouraging participation from junior researchers and not limiting the opportunity to only already-established high-performance computing teams.
What kinds of proposal content appear important based on the description?
Based on the provided summary, proposals should clearly describe: the compelling science or engineering challenge; why it cannot realistically be done on smaller platforms; how the work will scale and use massive parallelism; evidence of readiness (codes, methods, computational plan); and a well-justified request for Blue Waters time and capacity.
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