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Physics at the Information Frontier (PIF) - FAQ

What is the Physics at the Information Frontier (PIF) program?

PIF is a National Science Foundation (NSF) Physics Division grant opportunity focused on advancing physics research by strengthening the computing, data, and information infrastructure that modern physics increasingly relies on. The program emphasizes physics-focused cyberinfrastructure, including tools, software, networks, workflows, and computing approaches needed to do research at scale.

What does PIF mean by "cyberinfrastructure" for physics?

In this program, cyberinfrastructure refers to the computing and information foundations that enable cutting-edge physics research. This includes software and codes, algorithms, data platforms and services, computing hardware utilization approaches (such as high performance computing), networking and distributed systems, and the end-to-end workflows that connect data generation, processing, analysis, sharing, and long-term preservation.

Which research communities are the primary focus of PIF?

The primary target is the set of disciplines supported by NSF's Physics Division. However, the program explicitly values broader impacts, including benefits that extend to other scientific fields and to general-purpose cyberinfrastructure.

What are the main subareas supported by PIF?

PIF supports proposals in three main subareas: (1) computational physics, (2) information or data intensive physics, and (3) quantum information science and revolutionary computing.

What types of projects fit under the computational physics subarea?

The computational physics subarea emphasizes enabling high performance computing for physics research through substantial, long-term development of codes, software tools, and related infrastructure. It also supports medium-to-large community research networks, particularly those that bring physicists into sustained collaboration with applied mathematicians and computer scientists.

What makes a computational physics proposal competitive in PIF?

Competitive projects are expected to pair strong physics-driven scientific goals with a clear computational advance or a genuinely new enabling capability. Examples include algorithm development, adapting physics computing to new hardware architectures, or major improvements to widely used community codes and shared cyberinfrastructure used by many researchers.

What is meant by "community research networks" in the computational physics track?

This refers to medium-to-large networks that support a broader research community, often by organizing sustained collaborations and shared capabilities. PIF especially highlights networks that connect physicists with applied mathematicians and computer scientists over the long term.

What types of projects fit under information or data intensive physics?

This subarea targets physics research in which data volumes and complexity are extreme, including exabyte-level data stores. It supports projects that improve rapid, secure, and efficient access to massive datasets, including in settings that depend on heterogeneous and distributed computing resources and networks with varying reliability and performance.

What challenges in large-scale physics data does PIF highlight?

PIF highlights the need for fast, secure, and efficient access to very large datasets, even when computing and networking resources are distributed and heterogeneous. It also emphasizes the challenge of building consistent, workable approaches for sharing common resources across large research networks, multiple collaborations, and globally distributed virtual organizations.

What are "virtual organizations" in the context of PIF?

In PIF's context, virtual organizations are geographically distributed collaborations that operate at global scale, sharing computing and data resources across institutions and networks.

What kinds of data platforms or services does PIF encourage in the data-intensive subarea?

PIF encourages building data services and platforms that support reliable digital preservation, access, integration, and curation for data produced by Physics Division experimental facilities. It also encourages data handling and analysis tools that increase the scientific return from those datasets.

What does PIF prioritize for data-intensive tools and services?

Priority is given to tools and services that can serve a broad physics community, can be repurposed by other data-intensive communities needing secure large-scale access, or deliver dramatic new capabilities for a specific physics subfield.

What types of projects fit under quantum information science and revolutionary computing?

This subarea supports theoretical and experimental proposals exploring how quantum mechanics can enable new computing paradigms relevant to physics. It also supports efforts that build strong interdisciplinary connections among physicists, mathematicians, and computer scientists. Areas highlighted include quantum computation, quantum cryptography, and quantum communication, including the transmission and manipulation of quantum information.

Does PIF support interdisciplinary work?

Yes. PIF explicitly encourages interdisciplinary connections, particularly among physicists, mathematicians, and computer scientists. Interdisciplinary collaboration is emphasized in multiple subareas, including computational physics and quantum information science.

Does PIF encourage proposals that span multiple NSF divisions or programs?

Yes. PIF encourages cross-divisional proposals. If a project naturally spans NSF divisions or programs, applicants are encouraged to request co-review by naming the other relevant divisional program on the proposal cover sheet.

How does an applicant request cross-divisional co-review?

Applicants can request co-review by naming the other relevant divisional program on the proposal cover sheet, which helps ensure appropriate expertise is included in the review process and that the other program participates.

Are broader impacts required for PIF proposals?

Yes. Like standard NSF proposals, submissions must address broader impacts. The program also notes that proposals may include an educational component.

Can proposals include education or training activities?

Yes. The program states that proposals may include an educational component, in addition to addressing broader impacts.

Who is eligible to apply?

Eligibility is listed as unrestricted (open to any type of entity), subject to any clarifications in the full solicitation.

Is this funding opportunity active or archived?

The opportunity described in the provided record is archived. It is identified as Funding Opportunity Number PD 12-7553 and was later replaced by PD 13-7553.

What is the Funding Opportunity Number for the archived PIF record?

The archived record lists Funding Opportunity Number PD 12-7553.

When was PD 12-7553 originally posted?

It was originally posted on May 16, 2012.

What was the full proposal target date mentioned for that cycle?

The record notes a full proposal target date of the last Friday in November, identified as November 30, 2012 for that cycle.

What NSF/CFDA category is associated with this opportunity?

The opportunity is categorized under CFDA 47.049 (Mathematical and Physical Sciences).

What type of grant opportunity is PIF categorized as?

It is categorized as a discretionary grant opportunity within science and technology research and development.

Is cost sharing or matching required?

No cost sharing or matching requirement is indicated in the provided record.

Does PIF value benefits beyond physics?

Yes. While the program targets Physics Division disciplines, it explicitly values broader impacts and spillover benefits to other scientific fields and to general-purpose cyberinfrastructure.