Below are highlights of recent fellowship opportunities from the Office of Naval Research (ONR) and the National Science Foundation (NSF):
ONR 2024 Vannevar Bush Faculty Fellowship
This funding opportunity was shared by Lewis-Burke Associates LLC on July 20, 2023.
The Office of Naval Research (ONR) released the fiscal year 2024 Vannevar Bush Faculty Fellowship (VBFF) funding opportunity announcement. ONR, facilitator of the program on behalf of the Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, is seeking single investigators to conduct basic, unclassified research in Department of Defense (DOD) areas of interest. Particularly, DOD is seeking ambitious “blue sky” science and engineering research proposals that could spark new, revolutionary capabilities. The program seeks to develop long-term relationships with VBFF Fellows, who go on to become experts and conveners in defense science and technology communities. DOD anticipates granting 8-10 awards with a maximum individual award amount of $3 million over a five-year period of performance.
Applicants must identify one of the program’s scientific areas to which their proposal best corresponds. If the proposal is multidisciplinary and does not fit one area perfectly, then applicants are allowed to identify a primary and secondary scientific area or submit under the “other” category.
Those areas, with more information on each of them in the full FOA, include:
- Applied Mathematics and Computational Science
- Networks and Artificial Intelligence
- Neuroscience and Fundamentals of Cognition and Intelligence
- Fundamentals of Bioengineering
- Quantum Information Science
- Electronics, Photonics and Quantum Materials
- Material Science
- Soft Materials and Multiscale Structures
- Other fields of research
The DOD Basic Research Office hosted a virtual webinar to discuss the program. Find the slides and transcript here.
Eligibility and Limitations:
- The competition is open to accredited U.S. institutions of higher education with doctoral degree-granting programs.
- Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Minority Institutions are highly encouraged to submit or join others in a proposal.
- The program seeks outstanding faculty with tenure, who are either a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, to apply as the principal investigator (PI). PIs may submit only one application, but there is no limit to the number of applications an institution may submit.
- Nonprofit and for-profit organizations may collaborate on proposed research and may receive VBFF funds via subaward or subcontract, but the program is geared towards funding research at universities.
Deadlines:
Sources and Additional Information:
The full solicitation can be found at www.grants.gov under solicitation number "N0014-23-S-F-006".
DOD’s overview of the VBFF program can be found here.
NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program
This funding opportunity was announced on the behalf of NSF:
A revised NSF solicitation (NSF 23-605) is now available: Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP).
The purpose of the National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) is to help ensure the quality, vitality, and diversity of the scientific and engineering workforce of the United States. The program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students who are pursuing full-time research-based master's and doctoral degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) or in STEM education. The GRFP provides three years of support over a five-year fellowship period for the graduate education of individuals who have demonstrated their potential for significant research achievements in STEM or STEM education. NSF actively encourages submission of applications from the full spectrum of diverse talent in STEM.
NSF GRFP was established to recruit and support individuals who demonstrate the potential to make significant contributions in STEM. Thus, NSF especially encourages applications from undergraduate seniors and bachelor's degree-holders interested in pursuing research-based graduate study in STEM. First- and second-year graduate students in eligible STEM fields and degree programs are also encouraged to apply.
Eligibility and Limitations:
- Applicant must be a U.S. citizen, national, or permanent resident.
- Applicant must intend to enroll or be enrolled in a research-based master’s or doctoral degree program in an eligible field of study in STEM or STEM education.
- Applicant has never previously accepted a Graduate Research Fellowship
- If previously offered a Graduate Research Fellowship, applicant has declined by the acceptance deadline.
- Applicant has never previously applied to GRFP while enrolled in a graduate degree program.
- Applicant has never earned a doctoral or terminal degree in any field.
- Applicant has never earned a master’s or professional degree in any field or completed more than one academic year in a graduate degree-granting program, unless (i) returning to graduate study after an interruption of two or more consecutive years immediately preceding the application deadline, and (ii) not enrolled in a graduate degree program at the application deadline.
- Applicant must NOT be a current NSF employee.
Applicants are expected to self-certify that they are eligible to receive the Fellowship by taking an eligibility questionnaire.
Deadlines:
All submissions are due by 5:00 p.m. local time of applicant's mailing address.
- Life Sciences: October 16, 2023
- Computer and Information Science and Engineering, Materials Research, Psychology, Social Sciences, STEM Education and Learning: October 17, 2023
- Engineering: October 19, 2023
- Chemistry, Geosciences, Mathematical Sciences, Physics and Astronomy: October 20, 2023
For each of the three years of support, NSF provides a $37,000 stipend and $16,000 allowance towards the cost of education to the graduate degree-granting institution of higher education for each Fellow who uses the support in a fellowship year. NSF will support at least 2,500 new Graduate Research Fellowships per fiscal year under this program solicitation pending availability of funds.
Sources and Additional Information:
Please visit the GRFP website for more details and contact information. The full solicitation can be found under NSF 23-605.
Applicants are expected to self-certify that they are eligible to receive the Fellowship by taking Eligibility questionnaire.
Applicants are expected to self-certify that they are eligible to receive the Fellowship by taking Eligibility questionnaire.
Applicants are expected to self-certify that they are eligible to receive the Fellowship by taking Eligibility questionnaire.