Department of Energy’s Office of Science FAIR Grant: Building Research Capacity at Underrepresented Institutions

Using these criteria, a list of eligible institutions is provided at https://science.osti.gov/grants/Applicant-and-Awardee-Resources/Institution-Designations. An institution that meets these criteria but is not on this list of eligible institutions is welcome to submit a pre-application identifying whether the institution is a non-R1 MSI or emerging research institution. Eligibility will be assessed at that time.

This FOA aims to increase participation of underrepresented groups in SC’s research portfolio. SC is fully committed to advancing a diverse, equitable, and inclusive research community which is key to providing the scientific and technical expertise for U.S. scientific leadership. This FOA is intended to build research capacity across the SC research portfolio and leverage ongoing DOE efforts and capabilities.

The Office of Science (SC) seeks applications from institutions historically underrepresented in the SC portfolio, including non-R1 minority serving institutions (MSIs) and emerging research institutions, to perform basic research in fields supported by SC. A list of institutions eligible to lead applications is provided at https://science.osti.gov/grants/Applicant-and-Awardee-Resources/Institution-Designations. This FOA aims to build research capacity, infrastructure, and expertise at these institutions through mutually beneficial relationships between applicants and DOE national laboratories, SC scientific user facilities, or R1 MSIs. SC supports fundamental research in applied mathematics, biology, chemistry, computer science, engineering, geoscience, isotope research, materials science, and physics to transform our understanding of nature and catalyze scientific discoveries that can lead to technical breakthroughs. SC does not support applied research, product development, or prototyping.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

The SC mission is to deliver scientific discoveries and major scientific tools to transform our understanding of nature and advance the energy, economic and national security of the United States. SC is the Nation’s largest Federal sponsor of basic research in the physical sciences and the lead Federal agency supporting fundamental scientific research for our Nation’s energy future.

SC accomplishes its mission and advances national goals by supporting:

• The frontiers of science—exploring nature’s mysteries from the study of fundamental subatomic particles, atoms, and molecules that are the building blocks of the materials of our universe and everything in it to the DNA, proteins, and cells that are the building blocks of life. Each of the programs in SC supports research probing the most fundamental disciplinary questions.

• The 21st Century tools of science—providing the Nation’s researchers with 28 state-of-the-art national scientific user facilities, the most advanced tools of modern science, propelling the U.S. to the forefront of science, technology development and deployment through innovation.

• Science for energy and the environment―building the knowledge foundation to spur discoveries and innovations for advancing the Department’s mission in energy and environment. SC supports a wide range of funding modalities, from single principal investigators to large team-based activities, to engage in fundamental research on energy production, conversion, storage, transmission, and use, and on our understanding of the earth systems.