Opportunity Information: Apply for 10 618
Apply for 10 618
- The National Science Foundation in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Scalable Nanomanufacturing" 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.
- This funding opportunity was created on Sep 24, 2010 and posted on Sep 24, 2010.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Jan 10, 2011 Full Proposal Deadline(s) January 10, 2011. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- The funding agency has allocated a total of $10,000,000.00 to eligible and selected applicants.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 10 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 Universities and Colleges Universities and two and four year colleges (including community colleges) accredited in, and having a campus located in the US, acting on behalf of their faculty members. Such organizations also are referred to as academic institutions. PI LimitPrincipal Investigators must be at the faculty level or equivalent.
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Opportunity Summary:
The National Science Foundation (NSF) grant opportunity titled "Scalable Nanomanufacturing" focuses on moving nanotechnology from small, laboratory-scale fabrication into manufacturing approaches that can realistically scale to economically meaningful, industrial production levels. The program is framed as a collaborative research and education effort, and it also explicitly calls for attention to the long-term societal consequences of widespread nanomanufacturing. It is aligned with, and described as a component of, the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) Signature Initiative on Sustainable Nanomanufacturing, which emphasizes building future industries while considering sustainability and broader impacts.
At its core, the opportunity targets the gap between what nanofabrication can do in limited batches and what industry needs for high-throughput, reliable, and cost-effective production. Many nanofabrication methods can produce impressive prototypes or small quantities, but NSF is signaling that the priority here is process innovation that can be translated into continuous or otherwise scalable manufacturing. In other words, the program is not simply about discovering new nanoscale phenomena or demonstrating a one-off device; it is about identifying, engineering, and demonstrating manufacturing pathways that could plausibly be adopted at scale.
NSF expects proposals to be submitted as Nanoscale Interdisciplinary Research Teams (NIRT), meaning the work should be team-based and interdisciplinary by design. That structure reflects the reality that scalable nanomanufacturing usually requires expertise spanning materials science, chemistry, physics, mechanical and industrial engineering, process control, design, and often biology, along with education and societal-impact perspectives. The solicitation makes clear that projects should address at least one of several interconnected themes, and it suggests that stronger proposals will cover more than one, reflecting how scale-up challenges are rarely isolated to a single technical issue.
The first major theme is the development of novel processes and techniques for continuous and scalable nanomanufacturing. This points toward manufacturing concepts that can run in steady-state or high-throughput modes, potentially including roll-to-roll processing, continuous flow synthesis, large-area patterning, scalable deposition, or other process architectures designed to increase throughput while maintaining nanoscale precision and uniformity. The emphasis is on techniques that can move beyond proof-of-concept and show credible pathways toward industrial relevance in terms of yield, reliability, and cost.
A second theme is directed self-assembly, whether physical, chemical, or biological, aimed at producing heterogeneous nanostructures with potential for high-rate production. This area recognizes that self-assembly can, in principle, create complex nanoscale structures more efficiently than top-down lithography alone, but only if it can be controlled with sufficient precision and integrated into manufacturing-friendly workflows. The solicitation is especially interested in directed self-assembly that produces heterogeneous structures, which is often necessary for functional devices and systems rather than uniform materials.
The third theme emphasizes principles and design methods to create machines and processes capable of manufacturing nanoscale structures, devices, and systems. This is a call for manufacturing science and engineering approaches: process design, equipment design, modeling, metrology, process control, quality assurance, and systems-level methods that make nanoscale manufacturing reproducible and scalable. It is not limited to making the nanostructure itself; it includes the enabling machinery and process methodology that would make consistent production feasible.
The fourth theme broadens the focus to long-term societal and educational implications of large-scale production and use of nanomaterials, devices, and systems, including life cycle analysis. This indicates NSF is looking for projects that do not treat societal impacts as an afterthought. Considerations can include environmental health and safety, resource and energy use, waste streams, exposure pathways, risk governance, ethical and equity issues, and the full life cycle from raw materials through manufacturing, use, and end-of-life. The inclusion of education in the program description also suggests interest in workforce preparation and training models suitable for an emerging nanomanufacturing sector.
In terms of practical grant details, this is a discretionary NSF grant program in the science and technology research and development category, with an estimated total funding level of about $10,000,000 and an expectation of roughly 10 awards. The funding opportunity number is NSF 10-618, it was posted on September 24, 2010, and the full proposal deadline listed is January 10, 2011. There is no stated cost-sharing or matching requirement, which generally lowers barriers for academic teams assembling ambitious interdisciplinary efforts.
Eligibility is limited to U.S.-based academic institutions, specifically accredited two- and four-year colleges and universities (including community colleges) with a campus located in the United States, submitting on behalf of faculty members. Principal Investigators must be at the faculty level or equivalent, reinforcing that this solicitation is intended for established academic researchers leading interdisciplinary teams, rather than students or non-faculty staff serving as PI.
Overall, the opportunity is best understood as NSF pushing the nanotechnology community to confront scale-up head-on: to develop manufacturing processes, directed assembly methods, and manufacturing system designs that can transition nanoscale innovations into robust, high-throughput production, while also studying and teaching the societal, environmental, and life cycle implications that come with making and deploying nanotechnology at industrial scale.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): NSF Scalable Nanomanufacturing (NSF 10-618)
What is the goal of the NSF "Scalable Nanomanufacturing" grant opportunity?
The goal is to move nanotechnology from small, laboratory-scale fabrication to manufacturing approaches that can realistically scale to economically meaningful, industrial production levels. The emphasis is on credible scale-up pathways, not just prototypes or one-off demonstrations.
What does NSF mean by "scalable nanomanufacturing" in this program?
It refers to processes, techniques, and manufacturing systems that can increase throughput while maintaining nanoscale precision and uniformity, and that can plausibly be adopted for industrially relevant production in terms of yield, reliability, and cost.
Is this opportunity focused on basic nanoscience discoveries or on manufacturing translation?
Based on the program framing, the priority is manufacturing translation and process innovation that can be scaled, rather than purely discovering new nanoscale phenomena or demonstrating a single lab-scale device.
How is this program connected to the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI)?
The solicitation is aligned with, and described as a component of, the NNI Signature Initiative on Sustainable Nanomanufacturing. That alignment highlights both future industry development and the importance of sustainability and broader impacts.
What proposal structure does NSF expect for submissions?
NSF expects proposals to be submitted as Nanoscale Interdisciplinary Research Teams (NIRT), which implies team-based, interdisciplinary projects by design.
Why does NSF require an interdisciplinary team (NIRT) approach?
Scalable nanomanufacturing typically spans multiple areas of expertise (for example, materials science, chemistry, physics, mechanical and industrial engineering, process control, design, and sometimes biology), and the program also explicitly includes education and societal-impact perspectives.
What technical themes does the solicitation say projects should address?
The solicitation lists several interconnected themes: (1) novel processes and techniques for continuous and scalable nanomanufacturing, (2) directed self-assembly (physical, chemical, or biological) for heterogeneous nanostructures with potential for high-rate production, (3) principles and design methods for machines and processes capable of manufacturing nanoscale structures/devices/systems, and (4) long-term societal and educational implications of large-scale nanomanufacturing, including life cycle analysis.
Do projects need to address more than one theme?
The opportunity states that projects should address at least one theme, and it suggests stronger proposals will cover more than one because scale-up challenges are rarely isolated to a single technical issue.
What kinds of manufacturing approaches fit under "continuous and scalable" processes?
The description points toward steady-state or high-throughput manufacturing concepts such as roll-to-roll processing, continuous flow synthesis, large-area patterning, scalable deposition, or other process architectures designed to increase throughput while maintaining nanoscale control.
What is meant by "directed self-assembly" in this context?
Directed self-assembly refers to physical, chemical, or biological self-assembly methods that are guided or controlled so they can produce complex nanostructures reliably, and can be integrated into manufacturing-friendly workflows.
Why does the solicitation emphasize heterogeneous nanostructures for directed self-assembly?
The text highlights interest in directed self-assembly that produces heterogeneous structures, because functional devices and systems often require mixed or patterned features rather than uniform materials alone.
What does the "machines and processes" theme include besides making the nanostructure itself?
It includes manufacturing science and engineering elements such as process and equipment design, modeling, metrology, process control, quality assurance, and systems-level methods that enable reproducible, scalable production.
How does the program address sustainability and broader impacts?
It explicitly calls for attention to long-term societal consequences of widespread nanomanufacturing and is tied to the NNI Signature Initiative on Sustainable Nanomanufacturing, reinforcing sustainability and broader impacts as central considerations.
What societal and educational topics are explicitly called out?
The solicitation includes long-term societal and educational implications of large-scale production and use of nanomaterials, devices, and systems, including life cycle analysis. The provided description also notes potential considerations such as environmental health and safety, resource and energy use, waste streams, exposure pathways, risk governance, ethical and equity issues, and end-of-life considerations.
What is "life cycle analysis" referring to in this opportunity?
It refers to considering impacts across the full life cycle of nanomaterials and nano-enabled products, from raw materials and manufacturing through use and end-of-life.
Is education part of the program expectations?
Yes. The program is framed as a collaborative research and education effort, and the discussion of societal and educational implications suggests NSF is interested in workforce preparation and training models for an emerging nanomanufacturing sector.
How much total funding is estimated for this opportunity?
The estimated total funding level is about $10,000,000.
About how many awards does NSF expect to make?
The opportunity states an expectation of roughly 10 awards.
What is the funding opportunity number?
The funding opportunity number is NSF 10-618.
When was this opportunity posted?
It was posted on September 24, 2010.
What is the full proposal deadline?
The full proposal deadline listed is January 10, 2011.
Is cost sharing or matching required?
No stated cost-sharing or matching requirement is included in the provided details.
Who is eligible to apply?
Eligibility is limited to U.S.-based academic institutions: accredited two- and four-year colleges and universities (including community colleges) with a campus located in the United States, submitting on behalf of faculty members.
Are community colleges included in the eligible institution types?
Yes. The eligibility description explicitly includes accredited two- and four-year institutions, including community colleges, as long as they have a U.S. campus.
Who can serve as Principal Investigator (PI)?
Principal Investigators must be at the faculty level or equivalent, and the submission is on behalf of faculty members.
Is this opportunity intended for students or non-faculty staff to serve as PI?
The provided description indicates the PI must be faculty level or equivalent, which signals that the solicitation is aimed at established academic researchers leading interdisciplinary teams.
What is the main problem this program is trying to solve for nanotechnology?
It targets the gap between impressive lab-scale nanofabrication results (limited batches, prototypes) and what industry needs for high-throughput, reliable, cost-effective production. The program pushes the community to address scale-up head-on.
What types of outcomes is NSF signaling as most valuable here?
Outcomes centered on manufacturable pathways: process innovation that supports continuous or scalable production, credible industrial relevance (yield, reliability, cost), and integrated consideration of societal, environmental, and life cycle implications alongside research and education.
What category is this grant program listed under?
It is described as a discretionary NSF grant program in the science and technology research and development category.
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