2016-nist-mse-01 ffo.pdf

February 19, 2016

ANNOUNCEMENT OF FEDERAL FUNDING OPPORTUNITY (FFO)

Measurement Science and Engineering (MSE) Research Grant Programs

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

• Federal Agency Name: National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), United States Department of Commerce (DoC)

• Funding Opportunity Title: Measurement Science and Engineering (MSE)

Research Grant Programs for:

(1) the Material Measurement Laboratory (MML);

(2) the Physical Measurement Laboratory (PML);

(3) the Engineering Laboratory (EL);

(4) Fire Research (FR);

(5) the Information Technology Laboratory (ITL);

(6) the Communications Technology Laboratory (CTL);

(7) the NIST Center for Neutron Research (NCNR);

(8) the Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology (CNST);

(9) the Special Programs Office (SPO);

(10) the Standards Coordination Office (SCO);

(11) the International and Academic Affairs Office (IAAO); and

(12) the Associate Director for Laboratory Programs (ADLP).

• Announcement Type: Initial

• Funding Opportunity Number: 2016-NIST-MSE-01

• Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Numbers: 11.609, Measurement and Engineering Research and Standards, 11.619: Arrangements for Interdisciplinary Research Infrastructure, and 11.620: Science, Technology, Business and/or Education Outreach

• Dates: Applications will be accepted and considered on a rolling basis as they are received. See Section IV.4. in the Full Announcement Text of this FFO.

When developing your submission timeline, please keep in mind that (1) all applicants are required to have a current registration in the System for Award Management (SAM.gov); (2) the free annual registration process in the electronic System for Award Management (SAM.gov) (see Section IV.3. and Section IV.7.a.(2).b. of this FFO) may take between three and five business days, or as long as more than two weeks; (3) electronic applicants are required to have a current registration in Grants.gov; and (4) applicants will receive a series of e-mail messages from Grants.gov over a period of up to two business days before learning whether a Federal agency’s electronic system has received its application. Please note that a federal assistance award cannot be issued if the designated recipient’s registration in the System for Award Management (SAM.gov) is not current at the time of the award.

• Application Submission Address: See Section IV. in the Full Announcement Text of this FFO.

• Funding Opportunity Description: NIST is soliciting applications for financial assistance for Fiscal Year 2016 (FY16) within the following NIST Laboratory grant programs:

(1) the Material Measurement Laboratory (MML) Grant Program;

(2) the Physical Measurement Laboratory (PML) Grant Program;

(3) the Engineering Laboratory (EL) Grant Program;

(4) the Fire Research (FR) Grant Program;

(5) the Information Technology Laboratory (ITL) Grant Program;

(6) the Communications Technology Laboratory (CTL) Grant Program;

(7) the NIST Center for Neutron Research (NCNR) Grant Program;

(8) the Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology (CNST) Grant

Program;

(9) the Special Programs Office (SPO) Grant Program;

(10) the Standards Coordination Office (SCO) Grant Program;

(11) the International and Academic Affairs Office (IAAO) Grant Program; and

(12) the Associate Director for Laboratory Programs (ADLP) Grant Program.

This funding opportunity will result in the award of grants or cooperative agreements.

A grant or cooperative agreement is not the correct funding vehicle if the principal purpose is to provide products or services for the direct benefit or use of the federal government.

• Anticipated Funding Amounts: See Section II. in the Full Announcement Text of this FFO.

• Funding Instrument: Grant or cooperative agreement, as appropriate.

• Who is Eligible: Eligibility for all programs listed in this FFO is open to all non- Federal entities. Eligible applicants include institutions of higher education, non-profit organizations, for-profit organizations, state and local governments, Indian tribes, hospitals, foreign public entities, and foreign governments. Applicants selected for awards under 15 U.S.C. § 278g-1 are encouraged, but not required, to select underrepresented minorities for participation. In addition, NIST is not able to accept an application from an individual unaffiliated with a sponsoring applicant organization.

• Cost Sharing Requirements: The MSE Research Grant Programs do not require cost sharing.

Table of Contents I. Program Description

II. Federal Award Information

III. Eligibility Information

IV. Application and Submission Information

V. Application Review Information

VI. Federal Award Administration Information

VII. Federal Awarding Agency Contact(s)

FULL ANNOUNCEMENT TEXT

I. Program Description

This funding opportunity will result in the award of grants or cooperative agreements.

1. Material Measurement Laboratory (MML) Grant Program

The statutory authority for the MML Grant Program is 15 U.S.C. § 272(b) and (c) and 15 U.S.C. § 278g-1.

Program Description: The MML Grant Program provides financial assistance to support the conduct of research or a recipient’s portion of collaborative research in the following fields: materials science and engineering, materials measurement science, biosystems and biomaterials, biomolecular measurements, chemical sciences, and applied chemicals and materials.

MML supports the NIST mission by serving as the national reference laboratory for measurements in the chemical, biological, and material sciences. MML is entrusted with developing, maintaining, advancing, and enabling measurement systems in these areas for the nation. MML activities range from fundamental and applied research on the composition, structure, and properties of industrial, biological, and environmental materials and processes to the development and dissemination of certified reference materials, critically evaluated data and other programs that help assure measurement quality. MML research and measurement services support areas of national importance, such as:

• Advanced materials, from nanomaterials to structural steels to complex fluids;

• Electronics, from semiconductors to organic electronics;

• Energy, from characterization and performance of fossil and alternative fuels to next-generation renewables;

• Environment, from the measurement of automotive exhaust emissions to contaminant monitoring to assessment of climate change and the health and safety aspects of engineered nanomaterials;

• Food safety and nutrition, from contaminant monitoring to ensuring the accuracy of nutritional labels;

• Health care, from clinical diagnostics to tissue engineering and more efficient manufacturing of biologic drugs;

• Infrastructure, from the aging of the country’s bridges and pipelines to the quality of our drinking water;

• Manufacturing, from lightweight alloys for fuel-efficient automobiles to biomanufacturing and data for chemical manufacturing; and

• Safety, security and forensics, from gunshot and explosive residue detection to ensuring the performance of body armor materials and DNA-based human identity testing.

MML also coordinates the NIST-wide Standard Reference Materials® and Standard Reference Data programs, which include production, documentation, inventory, marketing, distribution, and customer service.

The research and measurement services provided by MML underpin measurements in the chemical, biological, and material sciences and support innovation in both mature and emerging industrial sectors. As examples, work to enable reliable and trustworthy measurements and data help:

• Physicians make more accurate diagnoses and better monitor the effectiveness of new drug therapies;

• Policy makers and regulatory bodies make science-based decisions about environmental quality;

• Investigators build cases based on sound DNA and other forensic evidence.

• Trading partners confidently exchange commodities such as foods, fuels, materials and structural steel;

• Manufacturers reliably develop and use advanced materials and processes.

• Industry to link the performance of materials with their structure, processing; and concepts necessary for the design of products ranging from coatings and composites to magnetic devices and sensors.

MML shapes its programs based on national needs. MML’s research base provides MML with the flexibility to respond to the country’s priorities and rapid advances in science and technology. MML’s success depends upon timely dissemination of its:

• Critically evaluated measurement methods;

• Standard Reference Materials®;

• Standard Reference Data;

• Publications describing MML’s measurement science and technologies; and

• Training, education, and best practices, of which Recommended Practice Guides are one example.

Additional information about the MML and MML Programs may be obtained at www.nist.gov/mml. All applications submitted to the MML Grant Program must complement or align or accord with the program objectives set forth below. The appropriate MML Program Manager for each MML field of research described in this Section may be contacted for clarification of the program objectives. The contact person for the MML Grant Program is Bill Clark and he may be reached at (303) 497- 3268 or by e-mail at william.clark@nist.gov.

a. MML Office. Financial support may be provided for conferences, workshops, or other technical research meetings that are relevant to the mission of the Material Measurement Laboratory. Support is generally provided in increments of $5000.

The contact person for this office is Bill Clark and he may be reached at (303) 497- 3268 or by e-mail at william.clark@nist.gov.

b. Materials Science and Engineering Division. The primary objective is to collaborate or conduct research consistent with division programs that provide the measurement science, standards, technology, instrumentation, and data required to support the Nation’s need to design, develop, manufacture, and use materials.

Division programs include measurement methods, data, standards, and science that support the development of polymeric materials which minimize environmental impacts and reduce stress on natural resources; polymeric materials in energy and electronics applications; the development of complex fluids and nanoparticle dispersions; thin films and nanostructures processing of metals and electronic materials; advanced magnetic materials and devices; the mechanical and corrosion properties of advanced materials, such as high strength steel and aluminum alloys, under extreme environmental and operating conditions; and the development of thermodynamic and kinetic models, measurements and data to predict phase transformations, microstructure evolution, and properties of advanced materials.

The contact person for this division is Eric Lin and he may be reached at (301) 975- 6743 or by email at eric.lin@nist.gov.

c. Materials Measurement Science Division. The primary objective is to collaborate or conduct research consistent with division programs in support of measurement science, measurement standards, and measurement technology required to enable world-leading characterization of materials in support of the nation’s needs for the determination of the composition, structure, and properties of materials. The division develops state-of-the-art instrumentation, methods, models and software to accurately and precisely measure materials over a range of length and time scales.

The division provides benchmarking and validation of emerging materials analysis methods, and disseminates reference materials, standards and scientific data to foster innovation and advance a wide range of technologies, such as those for public safety, forensics, homeland security and nanomanufacturing. The contact person http://www.nist.gov/mml mailto:william.clark@nist.gov mailto:william.clark@nist.gov mailto:eric.lin@nist.gov for this division is John Small and he may be reached at (301) 975-3900 or by email at john.small@nist.gov.

d. Biosystems and Biomaterials Division. The primary objective is to collaborate with or conduct research consistent with division projects in standards, measurement methods, and theoretical models that improve understanding and prediction of complex biological processes associated with environmental health, human health, and cell-based manufacturing. This includes analytical and bioanalytical measurements pertinent to method validation for bioassays, genome sequencing, cell identification, and quantitation of biological activity; facilitating research to support development of biomaterials with improved performance and appropriate interaction with cells and tissue; instrumentation, software, models and standards that support the understanding of complex biological phenomena at the cellular and subcellular level; and measurement science in bioimaging, proteomics, genomics, microfluidics, flow cytometry and informatics that facilitates characterization of biological state through the contemporaneous measurement of many biomolecules. The contact person for this division is Anne Plant and she may be reached at (301) 975-3124 or by e-mail at anne.plant@nist.gov.

e. Biomolecular Measurement Division. The primary objective is to collaborate with or conduct research consistent with the division activities in measurement science, standards, technology, and data required to support the nation’s needs in determining the composition, structure, quantity, and function of biomolecules. In partnership with U.S. industry, government agencies, and scientific institutions, the division performs fundamental and applied research on the measurement of macromolecules such as proteins and nucleic acids, as well as peptides, glycans, metabolites, lipids, and natural products. Specific areas of interest include development of measurement methods, standards, reference data, and technologies for applications involving clinical diagnostics for healthcare; characterization, development, and manufacturing of biotherapeutics; proteomics, metabolomics, and drug discovery; and genetic testing in agriculture, law enforcement, and clinical diagnostics. The contact person for this division is Michael Tarlov and he may be reached at (301) 975-2058 or by email at michael.tarlov@nist.gov.

f. Chemical Sciences Division. The primary objective is to collaborate with or conduct research consistent with the division activities in support of the measurement science, standards, technology, data and chemical informatics required to support the nation’s needs in the determination of chemical composition and chemical structure of gases, organic, and inorganic species and in the measurement of a wide variety of chemical properties and processes, including chemical reactivity and mechanisms, and thermochemical properties. In partnership with U.S. industry, government agencies, and academic scientific institutions, the division performs fundamental and applied research to advance and create state-of-the-art chemical measurement capabilities, theory and computational methods for quantitative measurements, and sensing of solids, liquids, gases, plasmas, transient species, and multicomponent matrices. The division also formulates and mailto:john.small@nist.gov mailto:anne.plant@nist.gov mailto:michael.tarlov@nist.gov disseminates reference materials and measurement standards, and critically evaluates reference data. These activities support the chemical science, technology, and engineering enterprise with the intent of fostering innovation and confidence in measurements and technologies used in a wide range of applications, including chemical analysis, environmental and climate assessment, clinical health assessment, food and nutritional assessment, sensing, manufacturing, and energy transformation. The contact person for this division is Carlos Gonzalez and he may be reached at (301) 975-2483 or by e-mail at carlos.gonzalez@nist.gov.

g. Applied Chemicals and Materials Division. The primary objective is to collaborate with or conduct research consistent with division programs in the measurement science, standards, technology, instrumentation, models and data required to support the nation’s needs for design, production, and assessment of chemical and material products. In partnership with U.S. industry, other government agencies and other scientific institutions, the division provides thermophysical and mechanical properties; analysis of reliability and performance of materials and structures; and information systems for chemical and materials engineering, with the intent of fostering innovation and confidence in the nation’s physical and energy infrastructures, enabling advances in chemical manufacturing and in electronics, and promoting sustainability. The contact person for this division is Jim Fekete and he may be reached at (303) 497-5204 or by e-mail at james.fekete@nist.gov.

2. Physical Measurement Laboratory (PML) Grant Program

The statutory authority for the PML Grant Program is 15 U.S.C. § 272(b) and (c) and 15 U.S.C. § 278g-1.

Program Description: The PML Grant Program provides financial assistance to support the conduct of research or a recipient’s portion of collaborative research consistent with the PML mission to support research in the broad areas of mechanical metrology, semiconductors, ionizing radiation physics, medical physics, biophysics, neutron physics, atomic physics, optical technology, optoelectronics, electromagnetics, time and frequency, quantum physics, weights and measures, quantum electrical metrology, temperature, pressure, flow, far UV physics, and metrology with synchrotron radiation. Additional information about the PML and PML Programs may be obtained at www.nist.gov/pml.

All applications submitted to the PML Grant Program must be in accordance with the program objectives listed below. The appropriate PML Program Manager for each PML field of research that follows may be contacted for clarification of the program objectives. The contact person for the PML Grant Program is Patrick Hovis and he may be reached at (301)-975-4290 or by e-mail at patrick.hovis@nist.gov.

a. PML Office. Financial support may be provided for conferences, workshops, or other technical research meetings that are relevant to the mission of PML. Support is generally provided in increments of $5,000 per award. The contact person for this mailto:carlos.gonzalez@nist.gov mailto:james.fekete@nist.gov http://www.nist.gov/pml mailto:Patrick.hovis@nist.gov office is Patrick Hovis and he may be reached at (301) 975-4290 or by e-mail at patrick.hovis@nist.gov.

b. Office of Weights and Measures. The primary objective is to provide funding for the broad areas of documentary standards and legal metrology. Specific objectives of interest in this area include: evaluation of the impact of legal metrology on commerce, support for specific standards related activities, and the development of a national weights and measures training program. Support for legal metrology may include awards to the states for: purchase of specialized equipment required to conduct inspections and tests; purchase of specialized metrology laboratory equipment; purchase of software/hardware needed to collect data of inspection records/results; and conducting training schools for weights and measures field inspectors. Financial support may be provided for conferences, workshops, or other technical research meetings that are relevant to the mission and programs of the office. The contact person for this office is Carol Hockert and she may be reached at (301) 975-5507 or by e-mail at carol.hockert@nist.gov.

c. Radiation Physics Division. The primary objective is to collaborate with or conduct research consistent with the division’s programs in the areas of terahertz measurements, ionizing radiation (x- and gamma-ray) dosimetry, neutron physics, and radioactivity measurements supporting the protection of workers and the general public, therapy and diagnosis, nuclear medicine and medical imaging, radiography, industrial processing, nuclear and alternative energies, national defense and security, space science, and environmental protection. The contact person for this division is Lisa Karam and she may be reached at 301-975-5561 or by e-mail at lisa.karam@nist.gov.

d. Engineering Physics Division. The primary objective is to collaborate with or conduct research consistent with the division’s programs in the areas of dimensional, nanometer-scale, surface, and acoustic pressure metrology;

accelerometry; silicon Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) technology; beyond CMOS future electronics; more than Moore technologies;

MicroElectroMechanical Systems (MEMS); power electronics; nanoelectronics; and flexible/printed electronics. The contact person for this division is David Seiler and he may be reached at (301) 975–2054 or by e-mail at david.seiler@nist.gov.

e. Quantum Measurement Division. The primary objective is to collaborate with or conduct research consistent with division basic and applied research programs, including precision measurements; mass, force, and electrical metrology; electronic instrumentation; measurements of basic atomic properties including new metrology techniques in atomic spectroscopy; measuring fundamental quantum processes in ultra cold atomic systems including Bose-Einstein condensates and Fermi degenerate gases, nanophotonic systems, quantum dots, single electron devices, single photon devices, and quantum materials relevant to these system; and advancing quantum information science and laser cooling and their broad applications to measurement science and measurement beyond the standard mailto:patrick.hovis@nist.gov mailto:carol.hockert@nist.gov mailto:lisa.karam@nist.gov mailto:david.seiler@nist.gov quantum limit. The contact person for this division is Carl Williams and he may be reached at (301) 975-3200 or by e-mail at carl.williams@nist.gov.

f. Sensor Science Division. The primary objective is to collaborate with or conduct research consistent with the division’s programs in temperature, humidity, pressure, vacuum, flow, optical properties, and optical radiation measurement and standards and their application to addressing national needs. The contact person for this division is Gerald Fraser and he may be reached at (301) 975-3797 or by e-mail at gerald.fraser@nist.gov.

g. Applied Physics Division. The primary objective is to collaborate with or conduct research consistent with the division’s programs in areas including laser metrology, superconducting sensor array fabrication and application, quantum information and computing, single photonics, medical imaging, fiber and free-space communication, radio-frequency and microwave technology, greenhouse gas monitoring, terahertz imaging and metrology, laser applications, and compound semiconductor nanophotonics. The contact person for this division is Marla Dowell and she may be reached at (303) 497–7455 or by e-mail at marla.dowell@nist.gov.

h. Quantum Electromagnetics Division. The primary objective is to collaborate with or conduct research consistent with the division’s programs in areas including quantum sensors, superconductive electronics, molecular and bio-photonics, quantum information processing, spin electronics, nanoscale magnetodynamics, and related microfabrication. The contact person for this division is Robert Hickernell and he may be reached at (303) 497-3455 or by e-mail at robert.hickernell@nist.gov.

i. Time and Frequency Division. The primary objective is to collaborate with or conduct research consistent with the division’s basic and applied research programs in the areas of time and frequency standards, phase noise measurements, network synchronization, ion storage, quantum information, atomic standards and optical frequency measurements in support of future standards, chip-scale atomic clocks, magnetometers, and related devices, time and frequency dissemination services, and time and frequency applications such as navigational systems and telecommunications. The contact person for this division is Thomas R. O’Brian and he may be reached at (303) 497-4570 or by e-mail at thomas.obrian@nist.gov.

j. Quantum Physics Division. The primary objective is to collaborate with or conduct research consistent with the division’s basic and applied research programs in the areas of quantum degenerate gases, ultrafast phenomena, femtosecond laser frequency comb development and applications, precision quantum measurements, chemical physics, nanotechnology, and biophysics. The contact person for this division is Thomas R. O’Brian and he may be reached at (303) 497-4570 or by e-mail at thomas.obrian@nist.gov.

3. Engineering Laboratory (EL) Grant Program mailto:carl.williams@nist.gov mailto:gerald.fraser@nist.gov mailto:marla.dowell@nist.gov mailto:robert.hickernell@nist.gov mailto:thomas.obrian@nist.gov mailto:thomas.obrian@nist.gov

The statutory authorities for the EL Grant Program are 15 U.S.C. § 272(b) and (c), 15 U.S.C. § 278g-1, 15 U.S.C. § 278n-1, 15 U.S.C. § 278n-2, 42 U.S.C. § 7701 et seq., 42 U.S.C. § 15701 et seq., and section 1305 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (Pub. L. 110-140).

Program Description: The EL Grant Program provides financial assistance to support the conduct of research or a recipient’s portion of collaborative research consistent with the EL’s mission to support research in the following fields: advanced manufacturing;

additive manufacturing; robotics; intelligent systems and information systems integration for applications in manufacturing; structures; inorganic materials; polymeric materials;

heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration (HVAC & R) equipment performance; mechanical systems and controls; heat transfer and alternative energy systems; computer integrated building processes; indoor air quality and ventilation;

cyber-physical systems; smart grid; windstorm impact reduction; applied economics;

and fire research. Financial support may be provided for conferences, workshops, or other technical research meetings that are relevant to the mission of EL. Additional information about the EL and EL Programs may be obtained at www.nist.gov/el.

The EL Grant Program promotes the development and dissemination of advanced manufacturing and construction technologies, guidelines, and services to the U.S.

manufacturing and construction industries through activities including measurement science research, performance metrics, tools and methodologies for engineering applications, and critical technical contributions to standards and codes development.

All applications submitted must be in accordance with the program objectives listed below. The appropriate EL Program Manager for each EL field of research described in this Section may be contacted for clarification of the program objectives. The contact person for the EL Grant Program is Millie Glick and she may be reached at 301-975- 5962 or by e-mail at millie.glick@nist.gov.

a. Applied Economics Office. The primary objective is to provide standardized methods, economic models, training programs and materials and expert technical consulting in support of resource allocation decisions and uses techniques such as benefit-cost analysis, life-cycle costing, multi-criteria decision analysis and econometrics to evaluate new technologies. The contact person for this division is Robert Chapman and he may be reached at (301) 975-2723 or by email at robert.chapman@nist.gov.

b. Smart Grid and Cyber-Physical Systems Program Office. The primary objective is to promote U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness in areas of critical national priority by anticipating and meeting the measurement science and standards needs for cyber-physical systems, such as smart grid, in ways that enhance economic prosperity and improve the quality of life. The contact person is David Wollman and he may be reached at (301) 975-2433 or by email at david.wollman@nist.gov.

http://www.nist.gov/el mailto:millie.glick@nist.gov mailto:robert.chapman@nist.gov mailto:david.wollman@nist.gov

c. Materials and Structural Systems Division. The primary objective is to collaborate with or conduct research consistent with the division’s programs in the area of construction materials and infrastructural systems (including safety, security, and sustainability of building and physical infrastructure, service-life performance of engineered materials and nanomaterials, and construction cycle time reductions). In particular, applications for financial assistance are sought that would address the following specific subject area:

• Polymeric Materials: Provide the measurement science needed to support standards used to classify and specify materials used in infrastructure, construction, and manufacturing to ensure sustainable performance. This materials program approaches the solution of this problem from the perspective of service life prediction, a crucial sustainability metric, and applies this concept to multifunctional polymers and nano-composites. These two material thrusts will support the development of measurement science composed of a combination of characterization, performance measurement, accelerated durability tests, and modeling to develop standards that will be used by industry and specified by end-users in these broad application areas to enable service life prediction and thus help to ensure sustainable materials performance.

The contact person for this division is Jason Averill and he may be reached at (301) 975-2585 or by email at jason.averill@nist.gov.

d. Energy and Environment Division. The primary objective is to collaborate with or conduct research consistent with the laboratory programs in areas related to measurement science needed to enable Net Zero Energy High Performance Green Buildings. The breadth of this area includes measurement science associated with the building envelope, HVAC equipment, renewable energy systems, building controls/building automation systems, and strategies to achieve acceptable indoor air quality. In particular, applications for financial assistance are sought that would:

(1) Provide measurement science for net-zero energy, high-performance buildings. Measurement systems, approaches, and predictive models are required that can help to enable net-zero energy, high-performance buildings. A primary objective is to develop measurement methods and approaches, data, and predictive models to assess the effectiveness of building enclosures from a thermal and airtightness perspective, the performance of indoor space conditioning systems, the performance of photovoltaics and other renewable energy systems, and indoor air quality. Additionally, an objective is to develop techniques to assess buildings on a whole-building scale. These techniques could involve standards, system interactions, and factors beyond energy use.

The contact person is William Healy and he may be reached at (301) 975-4922 or by email at william.healy@nist.gov.

(2) Enable energy-use reduction through embedded intelligence in building controls. Next-generation metrics and tools are needed that enable the mailto:jason.averill@nist.gov mailto:william.healy@nist.gov development and deployment of building automation and control systems with embedded intelligence that reduce energy consumption through improvements to building system operation. A primary objective is to develop measurement methods, models, and algorithms/tools suitable for embedding in building control system products that enable better or more automated system commissioning, automated fault detection and diagnostics, improved system-level optimization, and integration of building systems with a smart electrical grid. Additionally, an objective is to conduct research that provides a basis for new industry standards for embedded intelligence systems. The contact person is Steven Bushby and he may be reached at (301) 975-5873 or by email at steven.bushby@nist.gov.

(3) Develop metrics/tools for building sustainability evaluation. Next-generation metrics and tools enabling rigorous sustainability assessment over the building service life are needed to link sustainable building technology innovation to environmental/economic benefits. A primary objective is the development of databases and/or models for estimating component and system costs for existing and emerging energy-related technologies in new buildings.

Additionally, an objective is to develop techniques for performing life-cycle impact assessments of emerging technologies for achieving low energy and/or net zero energy performance in new buildings. The contact person is Robert Chapman and he may be reached at (301) 975-2723 or by email at robert.chapman@nist.gov.

e. Systems Integration Division. Measurement science and standards are important to facilitate smart manufacturing solutions to systems integration problems. A primary objective is the development of mathematically sound, model-based, integration standards and new science-based methods and tools for validating compliance to those standards. Topical areas supporting this objective include system architectures; systems engineering; production network integration; service-based manufacturing; distributed manufacturing simulation; methods and tools for assessing material and energy efficiency; data analytics; uncertainty quantification;

systems assurance methods and tools; model-based engineering, including multi-physics modeling, process modeling, requirements modeling, information modeling, material modeling, assembly modeling, sustainability modeling, and model composability and compositionality. The contact person is Vijay Srinivasan and he may be reached at (301) 975-3508 or by e-mail at vijay.srinivasan@nist.gov.

f. Intelligent Systems Division. The primary objective is to collaborate with or conduct research consistent with Division programs and research in measurement science for intelligent systems. Areas of particular interest include:

(1) Robotic systems for smart manufacturing (including measurement science for perception, dexterous manipulation, mobility, human-robot and robot-robot collaboration, agility, and robot system integration);

(2) Additive manufacturing (including characterization of additive manufacturing;

materials, modeling and real-time control of additive manufacturing processes, mailto:steven.bushby@nist.gov mailto:robert.chapman@nist.gov mailto:vijay.srinivasan@nist.gov and measurement science supporting the qualification of additive manufacturing materials, processes, and parts);

(3) Sensing, prognostics, health management, and control for smart manufacturing;

(4) Industrial wireless networking;

(5) Industrial control system cybersecurity; and

(6) Emergency response robot performance metrics and standards.

Additional information regarding Intelligent Systems Division research programs and projects can be found at www.nist.gov/el/isd. The contact person for this division is Albert Wavering and he may be reached at (301) 975-3418 or by e-mail at albert.wavering@nist.gov.

g. National Windstorm Impact Reduction Program. The primary objective is to collaborate with or conduct research consistent with the laboratory programs in the areas of windstorm and coastal inundation impact reduction (including engineering for extreme winds, storm surge, and tsunami). The contact person is Marc Levitan who can be reached at 301-975-5340 or marc.levitan@nist.gov.

h. Disaster and Failure Studies Program. The primary objective is to collaborate with or conduct research consistent with the laboratory programs in the areas of disaster and failure studies. The contact person is Long Phan who can be reached at 301-975-6077 or long.phan@nist.gov. More information about the Disaster and Failure Studies Program can be found at http://www.nist.gov/el/disasterstudies/index.cfm.

4. Fire Research (FR) Grant Program

The statutory authority for the FR Grant Program is 15 U.S.C. § 272(b)(4), 15 U.S.C. § 278f, 15 U.S.C. §278g-1 and 15 U.S.C. § 278n-1.

Program Description: The FR Grant Program provides financial assistance to support the conduct of research or a recipient’s portion of collaborative research in areas of current interest to the Fire Research Division. The Fire Research Division develops, verifies, and utilizes measurements and predictive methods to quantify the behavior of fire and means to reduce the impact of fire on people, property, and the environment.

This work involves integration of laboratory measurements, verified methods of prediction, and large-scale fire experiments to demonstrate the use and value of the research products. Details on current Division research activities are available at http://www.nist.gov/el/fire_research/index.cfm. Also, NIST SP 1130 “Reducing the Risk of Fire in Buildings and Communities: A Strategic Roadmap to Guide and Prioritize Research” provides an overview of current research interests http://www.nist.gov/manuscript-publication-search.cfm?pub_id=909653. The contact person for the FR Grant Program is Millie Glick and she may be reached at 301-975- 5962 or by e-mail at millie.glick@nist.gov.

All applications submitted must be in accordance with the program objectives listed http://www.nist.gov/el/isd mailto:albert.wavering@nist.gov mailto:marc.levitan@nist.gov mailto:long.phan@nist.gov http://www.nist.gov/el/disasterstudies/index.cfm http://www.nist.gov/el/fire_research/index.cfm http://www.nist.gov/manuscript-publication-search.cfm?pub_id=909653 below. The appropriate FR Program Manager for each FR field of research described in this Section may be contacted for clarification of the program objectives.

a. Fire Fighting Technology Group. Develops, advances, and deploys measurement science to improve fire fighting safety and effectiveness, and provide a science-based understanding of fire phenomena. Carries out mission-related measurement science research and services to advance fire fighting tactics, technology integration into fire-fighting equipment, physics-based training tools that predict fire phenomena and their effects on structures and occupants, fire forensics, and conducts disaster and failure studies to reduce the risk of fire hazard to buildings and fire fighters. The contact person for this group is Jiann Yang and he may be reached at (301) 975- 6662 or by e-mail at jiann.yang@nist.gov..

b. Engineered Fire Safety Group. Develops, advances, and deploys measurement science for cost-effective fire protection of structures. Carries out mission-related measurement science research and services to predict the fire performance of structures with respect to ignition fire growth and spread, detection, suppression, toxicity, and egress; develop cost-effective performance-based codes, standards, and practices used for fire prevention and control; and conduct disaster and failure studies to reduce the risk of fire hazard to buildings and occupants. The contact person for this group is Tom Cleary and he may be reached at (301) 975-6858 or by e-mail at thomas.cleary@nist.gov.

c. Flammability Reduction Group. Develops, advances, and deploys measurement science to reduce the fire hazard of building contents and construction materials.

Carries out mission-related measurement science research and services to reduce material ignition probability, fire growth and spread, and environmental impacts; and support development of codes and standards for cost-effective, fire-safe building contents and construction materials. The contact person for this group is Rick Davis and he may be reached at (301) 975-5901 or by email at rick.davis@nist.gov.

d. Wildland Urban Interface Fire Group. Develops, advances, and deploys measurement science to reduce the risk of fire spread in wildland-urban interface (WUI) communities. Carries out mission-related measurement science research and services to develop risk exposure metrics, predict the spread of fires in WUI communities, assess fire performance of structures and communities, mitigate the impact of WUI fires on structures and communities, and conduct disaster and failure studies to reduce the risk of fire hazard in WUI communities. The contact person for this group is Erica Kuligowski and she may be reached at (301) 975-2309 or by email at erica.kuligowski@nist.gov.

e. The National Fire Research Laboratory. Develops, advances, and deploys measurement science to characterize the real-scale fire behavior of combustibles, and the fire performance of structures under realistic fire and structural loading.

Carries out mission-related measurement science research and services to improve the fire performance of communities, structures and building contents; develop mailto:jiann.yang@nist.gov mailto:thomas.cleary@nist.gov mailto:rick.davis@nist.gov mailto:erica.kuligowski@nist.gov mailto:erica.kuligowski@nist.gov physics-based models that predict fire behavior and structural performance; and conduct disaster and failure studies to reduce the risk of fire hazards to structures and fire fighters. The contact person for this group is Matthew Bundy and he may be reached at (301) 975-6880 or by email at matthew.bundy@nist.gov.

5. Information Technology Laboratory (ITL) Grant Program

The statutory authority for the ITL Grant Program is 15 U.S.C. § 272(b) and (c), 15 U.S.C. § 278g-1, and 15 U.S.C. § 278n-1.

Program Description: The ITL Grant Program provides financial assistance to support the conduct of research or a recipient’s portion of collaborative research in the broad areas of Advanced Network Technologies, Big Data, Biometrics, Cloud Computing, Cyber-Physical Systems, Forensic Science, Information Access, Information Processing and Understanding, Cybersecurity, Health Information Technology, Human Factors and Usability, Applied and Computational Mathematics, Mathematical Foundations of Measurement Science for Information Systems, Metrology Infrastructure for Modeling and Simulation, Privacy Engineering, Software Testing, Statistics for Metrology and Statistical Methods in Forensic Science.

Specific objectives of interest in these areas of research include: Internet Inter-Domain Routing Robustness; Secure Domain Name System Technologies; Network Anomaly Detection / Evaluation; Network Function Virtualization / Software Defined Networking;

Measurement Science for Complex Networked Information Systems; Advanced Distributed Denial of Service Detection and Mitigation Techniques; Next Generation Internet Architectures; Systems Interoperability; Uncertainty Quantification for Scientific Computing; Quantum Information Theory; Quantum Communications; Scientific Visualization; Computational Materials Science; Computational Biology; Systems Biology; Image Analysis; Semantics; Medical Device Interoperability; Software Assurance for Small Applications and Devices; Data Analytics; Search and Retrieval Algorithms; Biometrics for Search, Verification and Clustering of Identity; Human Language Technology; Voting Systems Standards; Grid Computing; Service Oriented Architecture; Post Quantum Cryptography; Light Weight Cryptography; Mobility and Mobile App Security; Secure Distributed Computation; Cryptography and Cryptographic Test Methods; Mobile Platform and Application Security; Trusted Ad Hoc Networks;

Device Identity and Authentication; Cybersecurity Awareness, Training, and Education;

Security Testing Tools and Metrics; Data Storage, Preservation, Query, Indexing, and Access Technology; Secure Communications for Cloud; Identity Management Support for Clouds; and Device Mobility among Heterogeneous Networks. Additional information about the ITL and ITL Programs may be obtained at www.nist.gov/itl.

Financial support may be provided for conferences, workshops, or other technical research meetings that are relevant to the mission of ITL. All applications submitted to the ITL Grant Program must be in accordance with the program objectives listed above.

The contact person for the ITL Grant Program, who may be contacted for clarification of program objectives, is Yolanda Bursie and she may be reached at (301) 975-6738 or by e-mail at yolanda.bursie@nist.gov.

mailto:matthew.bundy@nist.gov http://www.nist.gov/itl mailto:yolanda.bursie@nist.gov

6. Communications Technology Laboratory (CTL) Grant Program

The statutory authority for the CTL Grant Program is 15 U.S.C. § 272(b) and (c), 15 U.S.C. § 278g-1 and 15 U.S.C. § 278n-1.

Program Description: The CTL Grant Program provides financial assistance to support the conduct of research or a recipient’s portion of collaborative research consistent with the CTL mission in broad areas that support the accelerated development, testing, and deployment of advanced communications technologies in support of both commercial and government applications including: high-speed electronics, wireless systems metrology, antenna and RF capabilities, high-speed and high frequency measurement capabilities, advanced optics, quantum communications, network design and optimization, network modeling, and public safety network communications.

Additional information about the CTL and CTL Programs may be obtained at www.nist.gov/ctl. All applications submitted must be in accordance with the program objectives listed below for the CTL Office and the three CTL divisions. The contact person for the CTL Grant Program, who may be contacted for clarification of program objectives, is Jim Harriman and he may be reached at (303) 497-5312 or by e-mail at james.harriman@nist.gov.

a. CTL Office. Financial support may be provided for conferences, workshops, or other technical research meetings that are relevant to the mission of CTL, as well as the development and deployment of spectrum-efficient and spectrum-sharing technologies including support of the National Advanced Spectrum and Communications Test Network (NASCTN).

b. Public Safety Communications Research (PSCR) Division. The PSCR concentrates on promoting advanced communications capabilities for a nationwide public safety communications broadband network through research, development, testing, and evaluation of public safety communications technologies. The primary focus areas of the PSCR Division currently include but are not limited to the following:

• Researching the capability for mission critical voice functions, currently found on Land Mobile Radio (LMR) networks, on LTE broadband networks and devices;

• Researching the capability to connect existing LMR networks to LTE broadband networks;

• Advanced Location Based Services (LBS) for public safety use;

• Public safety use of data analytics on a broadband LTE network; and

• Enhanced public safety user interfaces for an LTE broadband network.

c. RF Technologies Division. Specific objectives of interest include but are not http://www.nist.gov/ctl mailto:james.harriman@nist.gov limited to researching, developing, promoting, measuring, and deploying emerging technologies and standards in fundamental microwave quantities, high-speed microelectronics, electromagnetic compatibility, electromagnetic field characterization, antenna metrology, electromagnetic properties of materials, and radio-frequency communications systems.

d. Wireless Networks Division. Specific objectives of interest include but are not limited to researching, developing, promoting, measuring, and deploying emerging technologies and standards that revolutionize how wireless networks are operated and used; conducting theoretical and experimental research in communication networks, protocols, digital communication systems, and components; utilizing analytical and empirical approaches, developing simulation models, experimental test beds, and building proof of concept prototypes to evaluate new technologies and refine standard specifications for wireless networks and systems; and developing metrics and measurement methods to assess the performance of wireless systems.

7. NIST Center for Neutron Research (NCNR) Grant Program

The statutory authority for the NCNR Grant Program is 15 U.S.C. § 272(b) and (c) and 15 U.S.C. § 278g-1.

Program Description: The NCNR Grant Program provides financial assistance to support the conduct of research or a recipient’s portion of collaborative research involving neutron scattering and the development of innovative technologies that advance the state-of-the-art in neutron research. Financial assistance may be provided for conferences, workshops, or other technical research meetings that are relevant to the mission of NCNR. Additional information about the NCNR and NCNR Programs may be obtained at www.nist.gov/ncnr.

All applications submitted to the NCNR Grant Program must be in accordance with the program objectives: to create novel approaches to advance high resolution cold and thermal neutron scattering research; to develop new applications of neutron scattering to physics, chemistry, and macromolecular and materials research; and to support the development of innovative technologies relevant to neutron research, including, for example, high resolution two-dimensional neutron detectors, neutron monochromators, and neutron focusing and polarizing devices. The contact person for the NCNR Grant Program, who may be contacted for clarification of the program objectives, is Dan Neumann and he may be reached at (301) 975-5252 or by e-mail at dan.neumann@nist.gov.

8. Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology (CNST) Grant Program

The statutory authorities for the CNST Grant Program are 15 U.S.C. § 272(b) and (c), 15 U.S.C. § 278g-1 and 15 U.S.C. § 7501 et seq.

http://www.nist.gov/ncnr mailto:dan.neumann@nist.gov

The NIST Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology is a national user facility, located in Gaithersburg Maryland that provides easy access to advanced nanotechnology fabrication and measurement methods to industry, academia, and government agencies.

Program Description: The CNST Grant Program provides financial assistance to support the conduct of research or a recipient’s portion of collaborative research in the field of…