Program Description
The NSF Science and Technology Centers (STC): Integrative Partnerships program supports innovative, potentially transformative, complex research and education projects that require large-scale, long-term awards. STCs conduct world-class research through partnerships among academic institutions, national laboratories, industrial organizations, and/or other public/private entities, and via international collaborations, as appropriate. They provide a means to undertake significant investigations at the interfaces of disciplines and/or fresh approaches within disciplines. STCs may involve any area of science and engineering that NSF supports. STC investments support the NSF vision of creating and exploiting new concepts in science and engineering and providing global leadership in research and education.
Centers provide a rich environment for encouraging future scientists, engineers, and educators to take risks in pursuing discoveries and new knowledge. STCs foster excellence in education by integrating education and research, and by creating bonds between learning and inquiry so that discovery and creativity fully support the learning process. NSF expects STCs to demonstrate leadership in the involvement of groups traditionally underrepresented in science and engineering at all levels (faculty, students, and postdoctoral researchers) within the Center. Centers use either proven or innovative mechanisms to address issues such as recruitment, retention and mentorship of participants from underrepresented groups.
Centers must undertake activities that facilitate knowledge transfer, i.e., the exchange of scientific and technical information with the objective of disseminating and utilizing knowledge broadly in multiple sectors. Examples of knowledge transfer include technology transfer with the intention of supporting innovation, providing key information to public policy makers, or dissemination More…
Award Amount
Up to $16M in the first year, and, thereafter, $20M annually, pending the availability of funds . This is cooperative agreement with an initial commitment of five years, with the possibility of a five-year renewal.
Internal Application Process
A single organization may submit a maximum of three preliminary proposals as the lead institution. Therefore, interested applicants are asked to submit a preliminary application to my office by September 22, 2014 (via email to OR@research.uci.edu), with the following information:
- Brief proposal (up to three pages),
- Preliminary budget,
- Bio-sketches of the primary researchers (no more than two pages each),
- List of collaborating institutions (i.e. potential collaborators),
- Support letter from the Dean (or the equivalent in units without a Dean).
If necessary, an ad hoc committee will convene to review the preliminary applications. The selected PI(s) will be notified in time to meet NSF’s mandatory preliminary proposal deadline of December 11, 2014 (full proposals are due June 16, 2015).
Please Note: There is no limit on the number of proposals in which an organization participates as a partner institution. Applications where UCI is a partner need not be submitted to this internal call. Please instead contact your Contracts & Grants Officer in Sponsored Projects.
For the complete NSF STC guidelines, please refer to http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2014/nsf14600/nsf14600.htm. Questions about our internal campus review process may be directed to Greg Ruth at greg.ruth@uci.edu or x4-0372.
John C. Hemminger
Vice Chancellor for Research