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The Engineering Design and Systems Engineering (EDSE) program supports fundamental research that advances design science and/or systems science through the creation of new knowledge about the design of engineered artifacts. Engineered artifacts include, but are not limited to, devices, products, processes, platforms, materials, organizations, systems, and systems of systems. The program focuses on design as a system, in which designers, the artifacts they create, the methods they use to create them, and the environment in which this occurs are all subject to rigorous scientific inquiry, along with the interactions among these elements. The EDSE program strongly encourages proposals that embrace the multidisciplinary nature of design and supports well-defined collaborations of experts in design science and/or systems science with experts in other domains, including (but not limited to) the social, behavioral, computational, and natural (biological and physical) sciences. Competitive proposals will be firmly grounded in theory, will demonstrate the potential of the proposed work to improve design, and will include a plan to rigorously assess the performance and effectiveness of the proposed research methods across all domains involved. In particular, the EDSE program supports fundamental contributions in areas that include but are not limited to design representation; design optimization; design validation; mechanism design; robotics and intelligent system design; design of engineered materials systems; design cognition; design collaboration; data science and artificial intel...

The Engineering for Civil Infrastructure (ECI) program supports fundamental research in geotechnical, structural, materials, architectural, and coastal engineering. The ECI program promotes research that can shape the future of the nation’s physical civil infrastructure and that can contribute to climate change adaptation and mitigation, and hazards and disaster resilience. Types of civil infrastructure that the ECI program considers include, but are not limited to, buildings, residential construction, earth and earth retaining structures, and components of flood protection systems; water, waste disposal, and wastewater systems; energy infrastructure (excluding nuclear); and transportation systems (excluding pavements). Both disciplinary and convergent research that can address the challenges of physical civil infrastructure to be resilient and sustainable over its service lifetime are of particular interest. Broader impacts of ECI research include fostering community welfare for an equitable and prosperous nation and promoting environmentally friendly, circular economy policies. The ECI program supports research that advances knowledge on the behavior of physical civil infrastructure subjected to and interacting with the natural environment during construction; under service and long-term conditions, including increased demands due to climate change adaptation and other emerging stressors; and under conditions caused by single or multiple extreme hazard events (extreme weather, windstorms, earthquakes, tsunamis, storm surges, landslides, and fire, including wildland-urban....

The Operations Engineering (OE) program supports fundamental research on advanced analytical methods for improving operations in complex decision-driven environments. Analytical methods include, but are not limited to, deterministic and stochastic modeling, optimization, decision and risk analysis, data science, and simulation. Methodological research is highly encouraged but must be motivated by problems that have potential for high impact in engineering applications. Application domains of particular interest to the program arise in commercial enterprises (e.g., production/manufacturing systems and distribution of goods, delivery of services), the public sector/government (e.g., public safety and security), and public/private partnerships (e.g., health care, environment and energy). The program also welcomes operations research in new and emerging domains and addressing systemic societal or technological problems. The OE program particularly values cross-disciplinary proposals that leverage application-specific expertise with strong quantitative analysis in a decision-making context. Proposals for methodological research that are not strongly motivated by high-potential engineering applications are not appropriate for this program. PIs are encouraged to send any program inquiries to both Program Directors.

The Advanced Manufacturing (AM) program supports the fundamental research needed to revitalize American manufacturing to grow the national prosperity and workforce, and to reshape our strategic industries. The AM program accelerates advances in manufacturing technologies with emphasis on multidisciplinary research that fundamentally alters and transforms manufacturing capabilities, methods and practices. Advanced manufacturing research proposals should address issues related to national prosperity and security, and advancing knowledge to sustain global leadership. Areas of research, for example, include manufacturing systems; materials processing; manufacturing machines; methodologies; and manufacturing across the length scales. Researchers working in the areas of cybermanufacturing systems, manufacturing machines and equipment, materials engineering and processing, and nanomanufacturing are encouraged to transcend and cross domain boundaries. Interdisciplinary, convergent proposals are welcome that bring manufacturing to new application areas, and that incorporate challenges and approaches outside the customary manufacturing portfolio to broaden the impact of America’s advanced manufacturing research. Proposals of all sizes will therefore be considered as justified by the project description. Investigators are encouraged to discuss their ideas with AM program directors well in advance of submission at AdvancedManufacturing@nsf.gov.

Crosscutting Activities in Materials Research (XC) coordinates and supports crosscutting activities within the Division of Materials Research (DMR) and more broadly across NSF. The emphasis within XC is diversity and inclusion, international cooperation, and education (including experiential learning at REU/RET Sites). Additionally, activities that broadly engage the community, such as summer schools, institutes, workshops, and conferences that do not fit within just one or two programs in the Division of Materials Research, may be supported by XC.If preparing a workshop proposal, follow the Special Guidelines for Conference Proposals outlined in the Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG). Occasionally projects crossing several programs in DMR are shifted to XC or co-funded by XC. The goal is to bring greater visibility to these projects through DMR’s XC website. Proposals are welcome that do not fit elsewhere at NSF that are also highly relevant for the materials research and education community. Some XC activities are co-funded with other NSF units. XC does not handle traditional research proposals suitable for submission to topical or other programs in DMR. For this reason, the XC Team welcomes inquiries that include a draft of one-page NSF summary, or a shorter write-up. It is highly recommended that you contact one of the Program Directors for XC prior to submission of a full proposal exceeding $50,000. Crosscutting Activities in Materials Research (XC) replaced the Office of Special Programs in Materials Research (OSP) in 2016. Diversity: Activitiesthat....

Anthropological research may be conducted under unusual circumstances, often in distant locations. As a result the ability to conduct potentially important research may hinge on factors that are impossible to assess from a distance and some projects with potentially great payoffs may face difficulties in securing funding. This program gives small awards that provide investigators with the opportunity to assess the feasibility of an anthropological research project. It is required that the proposed activity be clearly high risk in nature. The information gathered may then be used as the basis for preparing a more fully developed research program. Investigators must contact the cognizant NSF Program Director before submitting an HRRBAA proposal. This will facilitate determining whether the proposed work is appropriate for HRRBAA support.

The Security and Preparedness (SAP) Programsupports basic scientific research that advances knowledge and understanding of issues broadly related to global and national security. Research proposals are evaluated on the criteria of intellectual merit and broader impacts; the proposed projects are expected to be theoretically motivated, conceptually precise, methodologically rigorous, and empirically oriented. Moreover, the Program supports research experiences for undergraduate students and infrastructural activities, including methodological innovations. The Program does not fund applied research. In addition, we encourage you to examine the websites for the National Science Foundation'sAccountable Institutions and Behavior(AIB), Law and Science (LS) programs, and Research Infrastructure in the Social and Behavioral Sciences (RISBS) programs.

The Accountable Institutions and Behavior (AIB) Program supports basicscientific research that advances knowledge and understanding of issues broadly related to attitudes, behavior, and institutions connected to public policy and the provision of public services.Research proposals are expected to be theoretically motivated, conceptually precise, methodologically rigorous, and empirically oriented. Substantive areas include (but are not limited to) the study of individual and group decision-making, political institutions (appointed or elected), attitude and preference formation and expression, electoral processes and voting, public administration, and public policy. This work can focus on a single case or can be done in a comparative context, either over time or cross-sectionally.The Program does not fund applied research.The Program also supports research experiences for undergraduate students and infrastructural activities, including methodological innovations. In addition, we encourage you to examine the websites for the National Science Foundation’s Law and Science(LS), Security and Preparedness (SAP) and Research Infrastructure in the Social and Behavioral Sciences (RISBS) programs.

The Environmental Engineering program is part of the Environmental Engineering and Sustainability cluster, which also includes 1) the Nanoscale Interactions program; and 2) the Environmental Sustainability program. Environmental engineering is an interdisciplinary field that applies chemical, biological, and physical scientific principles to protect human and ecological health. The goal of the Environmental Engineering program is tosupport potentially transformative fundamental research that applies scientific and engineering principles to 1) prevent, minimize, or re-use solid, liquid, and gaseous discharges of pollution to soil, water, and air by closing resource loops or through other measures; 2) mitigate the ecological and human-health impacts of such releases by smart/adaptive/reactive amendments or manipulation of the environment, and 3) remediate polluted environments through engineered chemical, biological, and/or geo-physical processes. Integral to achieving these goals is a fundamental understanding of the transport and biogeochemical reactivity of pollutants in the environment. Therefore, research on environmental micro/biology, environmental chemistry, and environmental geophysics may be relevant providing the research has a clear objective of protecting human and ecological health. Major areas of interest include (but are not limited to): Building afuture without pollution or waste: Investigation of innovative biogeochemical processes that prevent or minimize the production of waste; waste valorization and other research that will lead to new technologies toext...

The Biosensing program is part of the Engineering Biology and Health cluster, which also includes 1) the Biophotonics program; 2) the Cellular and Biochemical Engineering program; 3) the Disability and Rehabilitation Engineering program; and 4) the Engineering of Biomedical Systems program. The Biosensing program supports fundamental engineering research in the monitoring, identification and/or quantification of biological analytes and phenomena using innovations that exist at the intersection of engineering, life sciences, and information technology. Projects submitted to the program must advance both engineering and life sciences. The Biosensing program encourages proposals that, in addition to advancing biosensing technology, address critical sensor needs in biomedical research, public health, food safety, agriculture, forensics, environmental protection, and homeland security. Proposals are especially encouraged in areas of critical need: sensing technologies that can enable monitoring and surveillance of the environment and/or individuals for novel infectious agents; platform technologies that can readily be modified as soon as new agents are detected, sequenced, and/or otherwise characterized to enable rapid deployment of sensors in clinics and the environment; and adaptive and/or multiplex sensing technologies that can help the nation prevent the spread of the next global pandemic. Major areas of interest for the program include: Novel signal transduction principles and mechanisms that enable sensitive and specific biosensors, suitable for measurements in multiple ar...

The Foundational Research in Robotics (FRR) program, jointly led by the CISE and ENG Directorates, supports research on robotic systems that exhibit significant levels of both computational capability and physical complexity. For the purposes of this program, a robot is defined as intelligence embodied in an engineered construct, with the ability to process information, sense, plan, and move within or substantially alter its working environment. Here intelligence includes a broad class of methods that enable a robot to solve problems or to make contextually appropriate decisions and act upon them. The program welcomes research that considers inextricably interwoven questions of intelligence, computation, and embodiment. Projects may also focus on a distinct aspect of intelligence, computation, or embodiment, as long as the proposed research is clearly justified in the context of a class of robots. The focus of the FRR program is on foundational advances in robotics. Robotics is a deeply interdisciplinary field, and proposals are encouraged across the full range of fundamental engineering and computer science research challenges arising in robotics. To be responsive to the FRR program, each proposal should clearly articulate the following three points: The focus of the research project should be a robot or a class of robots, as defined above. [Is there a robot?] The goal of the project should be to endow a robot or a class of robots with new and useful capabilities or to significantly enhance existing capabilities. [Will a robot gain a new or significantly improved capabilit...

Proposals should be submitted via email to the Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Embassy: PASGrantsAustralia@state.gov. Post's grant proposal forms can be found at the link below. Please include as many specific details as possible, including a project timeline and a description of how the U.S. Embassy would be involved and acknowledged in conjunction with the project. Please include a detailed budget, as well as information about cost sharing by other entities.

The Marine Geology and Geophysics Core Program supports research on all aspects of the geology and geophysics of the present ocean basins and margins, as well as those of the Great Lakes. The Program supports science that includes: Structure, composition, tectonics, and evolution of the oceanic lithosphere Paleoceanography, paleoclimate, and sea level change Submarine volcanology, petrology and geochemistry of the oceanic crust and upper mantle lithosphere Marine hydrogeology, water-rock interaction, seeps and gas hydrates Hydrothermal venting and in situ fluid processes, and associated geochemistry Geochemical indicators of life operating below the seafloor Marine sedimentology, stratigraphy, sediment transport, and diagenesis Mid-ocean ridge spreading, back-arc rifting, transform processes, and ocean island/seamount formation and evolution Submarine components of subduction zone systems and passive margins Marine geohazards (e.g., earthquakes, faulting, mass wasting, geological aspects of tsunamis) Coastal processes (e.g., geological aspects of hurricanes, sea-level change, erosion, offshore deposition) The Marine Geology and Geophysics Program supports acquisition of new field data and the leveraging of and/or synthesis of existing data. The program supports analytical and laboratory experimental projects, methods development, and modeling. All activities should have relevance to and advance the understanding of marine geoscience processes. The Program interfaces with NSF programs across the Geosciences and across the Agency. For proposals that cross between Programs, pr...

The Mechanics of Materials and Structures program supports fundamental research in mechanics as related to the behavior of deformable solid materials and structures under internal and external actions. The program supports a diverse spectrum of research with emphasis on transformative advances in experimental, theoretical, and computational methods. Submitted proposals should clearly emphasize the contributions to the field of mechanics. Proposals related to material response are welcome, including, but not limited to, advances in fundamental understanding of deformation, fracture, and fatigue as well as contact and friction. Proposals that relate to structural response are also welcome, including, but not limited to, advances in the understanding of nonlinear deformation, instability and collapse, and wave propagation. Proposals addressing mechanics at the intersection of materials and structures, such as, but not limited to, meta-materials, hierarchical, micro-architectured and low-dimensional materials are also encouraged. Proposals that explore and build upon advanced computing techniques and tools to enable major advances in mechanics are particularly welcome. For example, proposals incorporating reduced-order modeling, data-driven techniques, and/or stochastic methods with a strong emphasis on validation are encouraged. Also welcome are proposals addressing data analytics for deformation or damage response deduction from large experimental and computational data sets. Similarly, proposals that explore new experimental techniques to capture deformation and failure info...

U.S. Embassy Praia welcomes the submission of project applications for funding through the Ambassador’s Special Self-Help Program (SSH). If interested, please carefully review the instructions below. The SSH is a grass-roots grant assistance program that allows U.S. Ambassadors to support local requests for small community-based development projects. The purpose of the Special Self-Help Program is to support communities through modest grants that will positively impact local communities. The SSH philosophy is to help communities help themselves. Projects submitted for SSH must align with one or more U.S. Embassy priorities:  Economic diversification, including small business creation and income generation  Projects must aim to 1) generate sustainable income and employment opportunities in local communities, 2) advance economic diversification and encourage use of local natural resources or income generation, 3) promote a culture of entrepreneurship, and/or 4) improve economic or living conditions of a community. Women start-ups and women entrepreneurs Eligible projects assist women who are launching a business or who are overseeing the early stages of business development (between one to two years). Such projects must promote a culture of women-led entrepreneurship and innovation that can be replicated in the community. Projects must also promote profitable businesses that generate revenue and benefit the community. Social and economic inclusion and creation of opportunities Projects in this category must assist youth, children, women (particularly female heads of household...

The United States Mission to the United Nations and Other International Organizations in Geneva advances U.S. policy at more than 100 international organizations in Geneva. The U.S. Mission engages daily on issues as diverse as humanitarian assistance, global health, international trade, peace and security, arms control, and human rights.The Program:The United States Mission in Geneva is accepting project proposals for its fiscal year 2020 Small Grants Program. The Small Grants Program permits individuals, non-government organizations, think tanks, and government and academic institutions to seek funding for projects that promote U.S. policy priorities in the multilateral sphere. All programs must include a U.S. element or connection. Awards will be made to successful applicants subject to the availability of appropriated funds.Programs can include, but are not limited to, academic and professional lectures or panel discussion; exhibitions and cultural programs; professional and academic exchanges; professional development workshops and training; or public awareness campaigns.Priority Program Areas:Though all submitted projects will be considered for funding, we are currently giving priority to projects that highlight:Human rights, including protection of human rights defendersFreedom of religion or beliefPromoting peace and securityPublic-private partnershipsPreserving core UN valuesPromoting transparency, accountability, and efficiency in the UN systemFurther details about the program and how to apply at the following link: https://geneva.usmission.gov/annual-program-stat...

The Plant Biotic Interactions (PBI) program supports research on the processes that mediate beneficial and antagonistic interactions between plants and their viral, bacterial, oomycete, fungal, plant, and invertebrate symbionts, pathogens and pests. This joint NSF/NIFA program supports projects focused on current and emerging model and non-model systems, and agriculturally relevant plants. The program’s scope extends from fundamental mechanisms to translational efforts, with the latter seeking to put into agricultural practice insights gained from basic research on the mechanisms that govern plant biotic interactions. Projects must be strongly justified in terms of fundamental biological processes and/or relevance to agriculture and may be purely fundamental or applied or include aspects of both perspectives. All types of symbiosis are appropriate, including commensalism, mutualism, parasitism, and host-pathogen interactions. Research may focus on the biology of the plant host, its pathogens, pests or symbionts, interactions among these, or on the function of plant-associated microbiomes. The program welcomes proposals on the dynamics of initiation, transmission, maintenance and outcome of these complex associations, includingstudies of metabolic interactions, immune recognition and signaling, host-symbiont regulation, reciprocal responses among interacting species and mechanisms associated with self/non-self recognition such as those in pollen-pistil interactions. Explanatory frameworks shouldinclude molecular, genomic, metabolic, cellular, network and organismal processes...

The U.S. Mission to the Republic of Italy’s Public Affairs Section (PAS) is pleased to announce that funding is available through its Public Diplomacy Grants Program. This is an Annual Program Statement outlining funding priorities, strategic themes, and the procedures for submitting requests for funding. PA Italy invites proposals for programs that strengthen cultural ties between the United States and Italy through cultural and exchange programming that highlight shared values and promote bilateral cooperation. All programs must include a significant American cultural element, connection with American expert(s), organization(s), OR institution(s) in a specific field that will promote increased understanding of U.S. policy and perspectives. Priority Program Areas: American and Italian voices countering malign influencers and misinformation campaigns Promoting strong transatlantic relations; Creativity and innovation in education and the arts, and problem solving of issues of mutual interest to both countries; American Studies, particularly American History and Literature, to include university linkages; Promoting diversity and inclusion; Empowerment and prosperity through STEM education and entrepreneurship; American English Language Study; Media Literacy.

The Law & Science Program considers proposals that address social scientific studies of law and law-like systems of rules, as wellas studies of how science and technology are applied in legal contexts.The Program is inherently interdisciplinary and multi-methodological.Successful proposals describe research that advances scientific theory and understanding of the connections between human behavior and law, legal institutions, or legal processes; or the interactions of law and basic sciences, including biology, computer and information sciences, STEM education, engineering, geosciences, and math and physical sciences.Scientific studies of law often approach law as dynamic, interacting with multiple arenas, and with the participation of multiple actors.Fields of study include many disciplines, and often address problems including, though not limited, to: Crime, Violence, and Policing Cyberspace Economic Issues Environmental Science Evidentiary Issues Forensic Science Governance and Courts Human Rights and Comparative Law Information Technology Legal and Ethical Issues related to Science Legal Decision Making Legal Mobilization and Conceptions of Justice Litigation and the Legal Profession Punishment and Corrections Regulation and Facilitation of Biotechnology (e.g., Gene Editing, Gene Testing, Synthetic Biology) and Other Emerging Sciences and Technologies Use of Science in the Legal Processes LS supports the following types of proposals: Standard Research Grants and Grants for Collaborative Research Conference Awards LS also participates in a number of specialized funding op...

The Long Term Research in Environmental Biology (LTREB) Program supports the generation of extended time series of data to address important questions in evolutionary biology, ecology, and ecosystem science. Research areas include, but are not limited to, the effects of natural selection or other evolutionary processes on populations, communities, or ecosystems; the effects of interspecific interactions that vary over time and space; population or community dynamics for organisms that have extended life spans and long turnover times; feedbacks between ecological and evolutionary processes; pools of materials such as nutrients in soils that turn over at intermediate to longer time scales; and external forcing functions such as climatic cycles that operate over long return intervals. All proposals submitted through the LTREB solicitation are processed by 1 of the 3 clusters in the Division of Environmental Biology: Ecosystem Science, Population and Community Ecology, and Evolutionary Processes. Proposals must address topics supported by these clusters. Researchers who are uncertain about the suitability of their project for the LTREB Program are encouraged to contact the cognizant Program Officer. Ecological research on marine populations, communities and ecosystems is not supported by LTREB and should be directed to the Biological Oceanography Program: (https://www.nsf.gov/funding/opportunities/biooce-biological-oceanography). However, research that examines the evolutionary dynamics of marine populations or communities will be accepted. Investigators who are uncertain about...

AGSEducation supports efforts to integrateatmospheric and geospaceresearch and education via two main program areas, which are: 1) Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Site Program. This program provides funding to Universities andResearch Laboratories that allows them to offer summer internships to undergraduate students who would like to participate inatmospheric and/or geospaceresearch efforts. Proposals may be submitted annually (August deadline). 2)AGS Postdoctoral Fellowships:AGS awards 2-year Postdoctoral Fellowships to highly qualified investigators within 3 years of obtaining their PhD to carry out an integrated program of independent research and education. While the postdoc program is funded by core programs, the AGS Education program supports the cost of professional development for the fellows. Additionally, this program will support efforts related to education and professional development for undergraduate and graduate students and postdocs within the NSF Atmospheric and Geospace communities.Proposals to the AGS Education program are acceptedby invitation only. Please contact theeducation program director if you intend to submit a proposal to this program.

With this solicitation, the Division of Chemistry is piloting the removal of deadlines for the submission of proposals to the CLP, CSD and CTMC Programs. The no-deadline pilot seeks to assess the benefits and challenges of removing deadlines in proposal submission for the chemistry research community: the removal of deadlines on proposal submission is intended to allow principal investigators (PIs) more flexibility and better facilitate interdisciplinary research. It may, however, have unanticipated consequences for PIs, reviewers, and institutions. This solicitation applies only to the Chemistry of Life Processes (CLP), Chemical Structure and Dynamics (CSD), and Chemical Theory, Models and Computational Methods (CTMC) programs. Other than the following exceptions, all proposals submitted to the CLP, CSD, and CTMC programs must be submitted through this solicitation, otherwise they will be returned without review. Exceptions: Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) proposals should be submitted through the CAREER solicitation (https://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=503214) by the CAREER deadline date specified. Facilitating Research at Primarily Undergraduate Institutions: Research in Undergraduate Institutions (RUI) and Research Opportunity Awards (ROA) proposals should be submitted through the RUI/ROA solicitation (https://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=5518). In addition to the requirements of the RUI program, proposals should follow the guidance in this solicitation. Proposals submitted through the RUI/ROA solicitation to the CLP, CSD, and....

AEIF provides alumni of U.S. sponsored and facilitated exchange programs with funding to expand upon skills gained during their exchange experience to design and implement innovative solutions to global challenges facing their community. Since its inception in 2011, AEIF has funded nearly 500 alumni-led projects around the world through a competitive global competition. This year, AEIF 2022 will support United States’ commitment to:   ·        Support North Macedonia in embracing inclusive democracy, citizen-responsive government, and rule of law; ·        Continue to aid North Macedonia’s efforts to fully integrate into Euro-Atlantic institutions; and ·        Enable North Macedonia to build a stronger, more diversified economy. Themes: The U.S. Embassy North Macedonia will accept public service projects proposed and managed by teams of at least two (2) alumni that support themes such as: Educational programs and initiatives that contribute to business transparency and improving North Macedonia’s investment climate;  Innovative programs that raise climate awareness by focusing on the green economy and eco-friendly entrepreneurial initiatives;  Educational and training programs on media and digital education and literacy;  Educational and training programs on artificial intelligence and cybersecurity in the era of 5G technology and digitalization;  Programs advancing energy cooperation and energy security;  Programs that support women’s, minorities’, and other underrepresented groups’ political, security, economic, and civic participation, and inclusion;  Programs elevating...

The Dynamics, Control and Systems Diagnostics (DCSD) program supports fundamental theoretical, computational, and experimental research that is knowledge-driven or inspired by applications, focusing on the modeling, analysis, diagnostics and control of the dynamic behavior of systems. Proposals submitted to the DCSD program should articulate how the proposed work advances knowledge in at least one of the following foundational areas: Modeling: mathematical frameworks to understand and predict the behavior of dynamic systems. Analysis: theoretical and computational tools for discovery and exploration of salient properties of dynamic systems. Diagnostics: methods to relate underlying causes to observed behaviors of dynamic systems. Control: methods to produce desired behavior, or mitigate undesired behavior, in dynamic systems. The DCSD program encourages principal investigators (PIs) to request the amount of financial support necessary and sufficient to achieve the scope of the proposed research and to justify this accordingly. PIs are encouraged to send a one-page Project Summary to dcsd@nsf.gov to receive feedback from the Program Directors on whether the project aligns with DCSD program objectives.

To facilitate fundamental research in the atmospheric sciences, the Division of Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences (AGS) supports state-of-the-art instruments and facilities through the Facilities for Atmospheric Research and Education (FARE) Program. The FARE Program includes the Lower Atmosphere Observing Facilities (LAOF) and the Community Instruments and Facilities (CIF). Lower Atmospheric Observing Facilities The National Science Foundation (NSF) Division of Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences (AGS)Lower Atmospheric Observing Facilities (LAOF) Program oversees a portfolio of multi-user national facilities that are sponsored by NSF for use by the geosciences research community. Program management resides within AGS in the NCAR and Facilities Section (NFS) which provides a single point for coordination of planning and resources.The LAOF program enables geoscience research through the provision of specialized facilities, instrumentation, and field support services necessary to carry out the scientific field work associated with investigations of a wide range of geophysical phenomena. The program is actively involved in oversight of LAOF facilities and decisions about the acquisition, operation, maintenance, upgrading and replacement of these facilities based on input from the scientific community. LAOF funding supports both the planning for scientific field programs (e.g., experimental design, operational plans, logistical support) and the deployment of NSF-sponsored facilities. Proposals to the LAOF program are acceptedby invitation only. Please contact the FARE program dir...