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Scalable Nanomanufacturing (NSF Publication 14-544) - FAQs

What is the Scalable Nanomanufacturing grant opportunity (NSF 14-544)?

It is a National Science Foundation (NSF) program focused on moving nanotechnology beyond small, laboratory-scale demonstrations and toward reliable, low-cost, industrially relevant production. The emphasis is on enabling nanomanufacturing at scale while meeting environmental, health, and safety expectations.

What is the main goal of this program?

The core purpose is to fund collaborative research and education that address the scientific and engineering barriers that prevent nano-enabled materials, structures, devices, and systems from being manufactured at scale with strong yield, repeatability, and cost effectiveness.

How does this program relate to national nanotechnology priorities?

The opportunity represents the fourth year of an NSF effort aligned with the National Nanotechnology Initiative Signature Initiative on Sustainable Nanomanufacturing: Creating the Industries of the Future.

What kind of work is NSF looking for under this solicitation?

NSF is looking for proposals that translate proof-of-concept nanofabrication into manufacturing reality. Projects should focus on practical scale-up barriers such as process variability, integration and assembly challenges, defects and yield loss, limited or insufficient in-line measurement, and the lack of manufacturing standards or robust process-control strategies.

Is this program intended for basic discovery of new nanoscale phenomena?

Not primarily. The program is not mainly about discovering a new nanoscale phenomenon in isolation. Fundamental research may be appropriate only when it is tightly framed as necessary to remove critical obstacles to scale-up and integration.

What are the expected characteristics of successful nanomanufacturing outcomes?

NSF emphasizes the ability to consistently produce high-quality nano-enabled products with good yield, repeatability, and cost effectiveness, suitable for industrially relevant production contexts.

What are the three key elements NSF expects competitive proposals to include?

Competitive proposals are expected to include: (1) a credible case that the target nanomaterial, nanostructure, device, or system has real or likely market demand that would justify scale-up; (2) a well-defined set of research issues that must be solved to enable low-cost production of high-quality nano-enabled products; and (3) a strong research plan with specific objectives and methods that directly address those issues.

Does NSF expect proposals to consider market demand?

Yes. Teams are expected to make a credible case that the target technology has real or likely market demand that would justify eventual scale-up.

What types of technical bottlenecks are considered relevant for this program?

Examples named in the opportunity include process variability, integration and assembly challenges, defects and yield loss, insufficient in-line measurement, and missing manufacturing standards or robust control strategies.

What kinds of research topics are explicitly highlighted as relevant examples?

Examples include novel scalable processes for large-area or continuous manufacturing of nanoscale structures, and methods for assembly or integration of those structures into higher-level components and systems.

What does it mean to "engage the nanomanufacturing value chain"?

Based on the program description, it means the proposed work should connect to real manufacturing pathways and address scale-up, integration, quality, measurement, control, and other downstream considerations that determine whether nano-enabled products can be produced reliably at industrially relevant scales.

How important are metrology, standards, and process control in this solicitation?

They are emphasized as part of manufacturing-oriented design and platform thinking. The program highlights the need to identify metrology, instrumentation, standards, and process-control approaches to monitor quality, manage variability, and improve yield.

What is the expected project structure or mechanism for awards?

Awards are made through the Nanoscale Interdisciplinary Research Teams (NIRT) mechanism, indicating multi-investigator, cross-disciplinary, team-based projects rather than single-PI efforts.

Are single-PI proposals appropriate for this program?

The opportunity indicates awards use the NIRT mechanism and implies multi-investigator, cross-disciplinary team projects rather than single-PI efforts.

Are education and workforce development activities expected?

Yes. NSF expects funded projects to include meaningful training and education components that prepare students to work in nanomanufacturing, reflecting workforce development goals alongside technical goals.

Are industry partnerships required?

No. Partnerships with industry are not mandatory, but they are strongly encouraged and may significantly strengthen a proposal by helping validate demand assumptions, guide scale-up constraints, and increase the credibility of manufacturing pathways.

Who is eligible to submit proposals?

Proposals may be submitted by U.S. academic institutions: accredited universities and two- and four-year colleges (including community colleges) with a U.S.-based campus, acting on behalf of faculty members.

Who can serve as Principal Investigator (PI)?

Principal Investigators must be faculty or equivalent, according to the submission rules described.

How must collaborative projects be submitted under this program?

Collaborative projects must be submitted as a single proposal, using subawards/subcontracts as needed. NSF does not allow multiple separate collaborative proposals from different investigators for the same project under this program.

Does this opportunity require cost sharing or matching funds?

No. The funding details state that no cost sharing or matching is required.

How much funding was NSF planning to award under this solicitation?

NSF anticipated about 8 awards with an estimated total program funding of $5,000,000.

What is the expected award size for individual projects?

Individual awards were expected to range from $1,000,000 to $1,500,000.

When was this opportunity posted, and what were the key dates?

The opportunity was posted March 19, 2014. The original full proposal deadline was June 16, 2014. It was later archived on September 17, 2014, with a note indicating it was awaiting new publication at the time of the listing.

What is the funding activity category for this opportunity?

The funding activity category is Science and Technology and other Research and Development.

What CFDA numbers are associated with this solicitation?

The CFDA numbers listed are 47.041 (Engineering Grants) and 47.049 (Mathematical and Physical Sciences).

What does "archived" mean in the context provided?

The listing indicates the opportunity was archived on September 17, 2014, and noted as awaiting new publication at that time. The provided information does not specify any new deadline or replacement solicitation details.