Engineering Research Initiation (ERI)

*Who May Serve as PI:

The PI of an ERI proposal must hold a doctoral degree in a field supported by NSF and must hold an appointment at an ERI-eligible institution. Postdoctoral fellow researchers are not eligible to serve as PI on an ERI proposal.

At the time of the proposal submission deadline,the PI maynothave been a PI or Co-PI on any current or prior awarded NSF research grant (including subaward) or have had research support from any other Federal Agency (within the United States or abroad) totaling $200,000 or more within the past five (5) calendar years from the proposal submission deadline date, with the following exceptions:

<ul>
<li>Grants not directly for research purposes such as workshops, conferences, travel, instrumentation and equipment (e.g., Major Research Instrumentation; MRI), Research Experiences for Undergraduate Students (REU) and Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) Sites, etc.;</li>
<li>Awards that exclusively support pre-tenure-track activities (postdoctoral fellowships and Graduate Research Fellowships/GRFP);</li>
<li>I-Corps, Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR), or Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) awards; and</li>
<li>Awards that originated as NSF or other F

*Who May Serve as PI:
The PI of an ERI proposal must hold a doctoral degree in a field supported by NSF and must hold an appointment at an ERI-eligible institution. Postdoctoral fellow researchers are not eligible to serve as PI on an ERI proposal.
At the time of the proposal submission deadline,&nbsp;the PI may&nbsp;not&nbsp;have been a PI or Co-PI on any current or prior awarded NSF research grant (including subaward) or have had research support from any other Federal Agency (within the United States or abroad) totaling $200,000 or more within the past five (5) calendar years from the proposal submission deadline date, with the following exceptions:

Grants not directly for research purposes such as workshops, conferences, travel, instrumentation and equipment (e.g., Major Research Instrumentation; MRI), Research Experiences for Undergraduate Students (REU) and Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) Sites, etc.;
Awards that exclusively support pre-tenure-track activities (postdoctoral fellowships and Graduate Research Fellowships/GRFP);&nbsp;
I-Corps, Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR), or Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) awards; and
Awards that originated as NSF or other Federal funds but were distributed locally without naming the submitting ERI PI in the Federal funding proposal (such as: NASA Space Grant Project or other non-NSF federally-funded opportunities, NSF EPSCoR Research Infrastructure Improvement Program.).

The Department Chair's/Dean's letter must explicitly verify each of the PI eligibility criteria. See Section V.A. for additional information.

Grants not directly for research purposes such as workshops, conferences, travel, instrumentation and equipment (e.g., Major Research Instrumentation; MRI), Research Experiences for Undergraduate Students (REU) and Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) Sites, etc.;
Awards that exclusively support pre-tenure-track activities (postdoctoral fellowships and Graduate Research Fellowships/GRFP);&nbsp;
I-Corps, Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR), or Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) awards; and
Awards that originated as NSF or other Federal funds but were distributed locally without naming the submitting ERI PI in the Federal funding proposal (such as: NASA Space Grant Project or other non-NSF federally-funded opportunities, NSF EPSCoR Research Infrastructure Improvement Program.).

The Department Chair's/Dean's letter must explicitly verify each of the PI eligibility criteria. See Section V.A. for additional information.