Opportunity Information: Apply for 14 528
Apply for 14 528
- The National Science Foundation in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Secure and Trustworthy Cyberspace Secure, Trustworthy, Assured and Resilient Semiconductors and Systems" 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.
- This funding opportunity was created on Dec 27, 2013 and posted on Dec 27, 2013.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Mar 26, 2014 Full Proposal Deadline(s) March 26, 2014. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- The funding agency has allocated a total of $3,000,000.00 to eligible and selected applicants.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 6 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 Secure and Trustworthy Cyberspace: Secure, Trustworthy, Assured and Resilient Semiconductors and Systems (SaTC STARSS) grant opportunity (NSF Publication / Funding Opportunity Number 14-528) is a National Science Foundation (NSF) solicitation focused on strengthening cybersecurity at the hardware and system-design level. It sits within NSF's broader Secure and Trustworthy Cyberspace (SaTC) program and aligns with the federal cybersecurity R and D strategy released in 2011 by the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) in coordination with NSF. That strategy emphasizes "changing the game" in cybersecurity by building a stronger scientific foundation for security, moving strong research results into real-world use, and improving cybersecurity education and training. In this context, STARSS is aimed at the parts of the computing stack that are often hardest to secure after the fact: semiconductors and the systems built from them.
At its core, this opportunity is about "Design for Assurance," meaning security and trust properties are designed in from the earliest stages rather than added later through patches, monitoring, or operational controls. NSF and the Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC) are partnering to support research that develops new approaches for architecture, specification, and verification of secure systems. A key motivation is that many of the most damaging or subtle failures originate in places where current formal methods and verification tools are limited, missing, or too difficult to apply. The solicitation explicitly highlights interest in research that strengthens these weak points in the design pipeline so that designers can better prove, validate, or otherwise ensure that chips and systems behave only as intended.
The desired outcomes focus on several practical security and trust goals. First, projects should aim to reduce the likelihood of unintended behavior or unauthorized access, which includes flaws that can become exploitable vulnerabilities as well as behaviors that arise from complexity, integration issues, or ambiguous requirements. Second, the solicitation calls for improved resistance and resilience to tampering, reflecting concerns about both physical and logical manipulation of hardware and embedded systems. Third, it emphasizes authentication across the supply chain and in the field, recognizing that modern semiconductor development and manufacturing are distributed across many organizations and geographies, creating opportunities for counterfeit components, malicious modifications, or untrusted insertions. Taken together, these priorities point to research that helps stakeholders trust what they are building, what they are buying, and what they are deploying over time.
From an administrative standpoint, this is a discretionary grant program in the Science and Technology and other Research and Development category, with CFDA numbers 47.041 (Engineering Grants) and 47.070 (Computer and Information Science and Engineering). The solicitation anticipated approximately 6 awards with an estimated total funding level of $3,000,000. Individual proposals were supported up to $500,000 total budget for project durations of up to three years, and there was no cost sharing or matching requirement listed. Eligibility was described as unrestricted (open to any type of entity), subject to any clarifications in the full solicitation text. Key dates included a posted date of December 27, 2013 and a full proposal deadline of March 26, 2014, with the opportunity later archived on April 26, 2014.
Overall, SaTC STARSS is best read as a targeted call to advance the science and engineering of trustworthy hardware and system design, especially where existing verification and assurance techniques are not yet strong enough. The partnership with SRC underscores the intent to support research that can influence real semiconductor and system development practices, with an emphasis on preventing vulnerabilities and improving trust end-to-end, from initial design choices through manufacturing and deployment.
SaTC STARSS (NSF 14-528) Grant FAQs
1) What is the SaTC STARSS grant opportunity?
SaTC STARSS stands for Secure, Trustworthy, Assured and Resilient Semiconductors and Systems. It is an NSF solicitation (Publication/Funding Opportunity Number 14-528) that supports research to strengthen cybersecurity at the hardware and system-design level, with a focus on semiconductors and the systems built from them.
2) Which agency runs this program?
The program is run by the National Science Foundation (NSF).
3) Is STARSS part of a larger NSF program?
Yes. STARSS sits within NSF's broader Secure and Trustworthy Cyberspace (SaTC) program.
4) What is the main purpose of the STARSS solicitation?
The solicitation is focused on advancing the science and engineering of trustworthy hardware and system design. It targets parts of the computing stack that are difficult to secure after deployment, aiming to prevent vulnerabilities by improving assurance methods during design and development.
5) What does "Design for Assurance" mean in this solicitation?
"Design for Assurance" means building security and trust properties into chips and systems from the earliest design stages, rather than trying to add protection later through patches, monitoring, or operational controls.
6) What kinds of research topics does STARSS emphasize?
The solicitation highlights research that develops new approaches for architecture, specification, and verification of secure systems, particularly where existing formal methods and verification tools are limited, missing, or too hard to apply in practice.
7) Why is NSF interested in architecture, specification, and verification?
A stated motivation is that many damaging or subtle failures can originate in parts of the design pipeline where proof, validation, and verification are weak. STARSS is intended to strengthen those weak points so designers can better ensure chips and systems behave only as intended.
8) What security and trust outcomes is STARSS trying to achieve?
The opportunity describes practical goals including: (1) reducing unintended behavior or unauthorized access; (2) improving resistance and resilience to tampering (physical and logical); and (3) strengthening authentication across the supply chain and in the field to address counterfeit parts, malicious modifications, or untrusted insertions.
9) What does "reducing unintended behavior" refer to in this context?
It includes flaws that may become exploitable vulnerabilities and behaviors that arise from complexity, integration problems, or ambiguous requirements in hardware and embedded system design.
10) What does the solicitation mean by tampering resistance and resilience?
It reflects concerns about both physical manipulation of hardware and logical manipulation of hardware/embedded systems, and supports research that improves the ability of systems to resist or recover from such tampering.
11) Why does STARSS focus on supply chain authentication?
Modern semiconductor development and manufacturing are distributed across organizations and geographies, which creates opportunities for counterfeit components, malicious modifications, or untrusted insertions. STARSS emphasizes research that improves trust from manufacturing through deployment.
12) Does this solicitation involve any partnerships?
Yes. NSF partnered with the Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC) to support research aligned with semiconductor and system development practices.
13) How does this solicitation connect to federal cybersecurity strategy?
It aligns with the federal cybersecurity R&D strategy released in 2011 by the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) in coordination with NSF. That strategy emphasized strengthening the scientific foundation for security, transitioning strong research into real-world use, and improving cybersecurity education and training.
14) What type of funding mechanism is STARSS?
It is a discretionary grant program in the "Science and Technology and other Research and Development" category.
15) What CFDA numbers are associated with this opportunity?
The opportunity lists CFDA 47.041 (Engineering Grants) and 47.070 (Computer and Information Science and Engineering).
16) How many awards were expected under this solicitation?
The solicitation anticipated approximately 6 awards.
17) What was the estimated total funding level?
The estimated total funding level described was $3,000,000.
18) What was the maximum award size per proposal?
Individual proposals were supported up to a $500,000 total budget.
19) How long could projects run under this solicitation?
Project durations could be up to three years.
20) Was cost sharing or matching required?
No cost sharing or matching requirement was listed in the information provided.
21) Who was eligible to apply?
Eligibility was described as unrestricted (open to any type of entity), subject to any clarifications in the full solicitation text.
22) When was the solicitation posted?
The posted date was December 27, 2013.
23) What was the full proposal deadline?
The full proposal deadline was March 26, 2014.
24) Is this opportunity still open?
No. The opportunity was later archived on April 26, 2014.
25) What is the overall takeaway for the kind of work STARSS supports?
STARSS is best read as a targeted call to improve trustworthy semiconductor and system design by making assurance stronger earlier in the pipeline, especially where verification and assurance techniques are not yet sufficient, and by improving trust end-to-end from design through manufacturing and deployment.
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