DE-FOA-0003280.pdf

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY (DOE)

OFFICE OF SCIENCE (SC)

FY 2024 REACHING A NEW ENERGY SCIENCES WORKFORCE

(RENEW)

FUNDING OPPORTUNITY ANNOUNCEMENT (FOA) NUMBER:

DE-FOA-0003280

FOA TYPE: INITIAL

CFDA NUMBER: 81.049

FOA Issue Date: March 12, 2024 Submission Deadline for Pre-Applications: April 30, 2024 at 5:00 PM Eastern Time

A Pre-Application is required.

Pre-Applications must be submitted by an authorized institutional representative.

Pre-Application Response Date: June 4, 2024 at 11:59 PM Eastern Time Submission Deadline for Applications: July 23, 2024 at 11:59 PM Eastern Time

Table of Contents

SECTION I – FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION

PROGRAM OBJECTIVE

APPLICATION TRACKS

OFFICE OF SCIENCE RESEARCH

PROGRAM DESCRIPTIONS

1. ADVANCED SCIENTIFIC COMPUTING RESEARCH (ASCR)

2. BASIC ENERGY SCIENCES (BES)

3. BIOLOGICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH (BER)

4. FUSION ENERGY SCIENCES (FES)

5. HIGH ENERGY PHYSICS (HEP)

6. NUCLEAR PHYSICS (NP)

7. ISOTOPE R&D AND PRODUCTION (DOE IP)

8. ACCELERATOR R&D AND PRODUCTION (ARDAP)

SECTION II – AWARD INFORMATION

II.A. TYPE OF AWARD INSTRUMENT

II.B. ESTIMATED FUNDING

II.C. MAXIMUM AND MINIMUM AWARD SIZE

II.D. EXPECTED NUMBER OF AWARDS

II.E. ANTICIPATED AWARD SIZE

II.F. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

II.G. TYPE OF APPLICATION

SECTION III – ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

III.A. ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS

III.B. COST SHARING

III.C. ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUALS

III.D. LIMITATIONS ON SUBMISSIONS

SECTION IV – APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION

IV.A. ADDRESS TO REQUEST APPLICATION PACKAGE

IV.B. LETTER OF INTENT (LOI) AND PRE-APPLICATION

IV.C. GRANTS.GOV APPLICATION SUBMISSION AND RECEIPT PROCEDURES

IV.D. CONTENT AND APPLICATION FORMS

IV.E. SUBMISSIONS FROM SUCCESSFUL APPLICANTS

IV.F. SUBMISSION DATES AND TIMES

SECTION V - APPLICATION REVIEW INFORMATION

V.A. CRITERIA

V.B. REVIEW AND SELECTION PROCESS

V.C. ANTICIPATED NOTICE OF SELECTION AND AWARD DATES

SECTION VI – AWARD ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION

VI.A. AWARD NOTICES

VI.B. ADMINISTRATIVE AND NATIONAL POLICY REQUIREMENTS

VI.C. REPORTING

VI.D. REPORTING OF MATTERS RELATED TO RECIPIENT INTEGRITY AND

PERFORMANCE (DECEMBER 2015)

VI.E. INTERIM CONFLICT OF INTEREST POLICY FOR FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE...69

SECTION VII - QUESTIONS/AGENCY CONTACTS

VII.A. QUESTIONS

VII.B. AGENCY CONTACTS

SECTION VIII – SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL

VIII.A. HOW-TO GUIDES

VIII.B. ADMINISTRATIVE AND NATIONAL POLICY REQUIREMENTS

VIII.C. REFERENCE MATERIAL

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UPDATES AND REMINDERS

RECOMMENDATION

The Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science (SC) encourages you to register in all systems as soon as possible. You are also encouraged to submit letters of intent (LOIs), pre-applications, and applications well before the deadline.

INFORMATIONAL WEBINAR

SC plans to hold an informational webinar about this FOA on Thursday, March 21, 2024 at 12:00 pm (noon) ET. SC also plans to hold office hours on April 17, April 25, July 10, and July 18 for administrative questions related to the FOA. Registration instructions and other details will be posted at https://science.osti.gov/Initiatives/RENEW/Funding-Opportunities. Frequently asked questions (FAQ) will also be posted at https://science.osti.gov/Initiatives/RENEW/Frequently-Asked-Questions.

PROMOTING INCLUSIVE AND EQUITABLE RESEARCH (PIER) PLAN

All new and renewal applications must provide a Promoting Inclusive and Equitable Research (PIER) Plan as an appendix to the project narrative. Please read the instructions in Section IV and the associated review criteria in Section V.

INTERAGENCY FORMATS FOR CURRENT AND PENDING SUPPORT AND BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES

Interagency common instructions for preparing current and pending support and biographical sketches are being developed. The Science Experts Network Curriculum Vitae (SciENcv) system at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sciencv/ will be updated to support the forthcoming common instructions and formats. The fillable PDFs provided by the National Science Foundation are no longer available. When interagency common formats and instructions are promulgated, their use will be required. See https://new.nsf.gov/funding/senior-personnel-documents for more information. SC strongly encourages all researchers to use the online SciENcv system to ensure that their documents are prepared in the appropriate format with the least inconvenience.

INDIVIDUALS WHO SHOULD NOT SERVE AS MERIT REVIEWERS

Follow the updated instructions in Section VIII and consider the use of the Collaborator Template available at https://science.osti.gov/grants/Policy-and-Guidance/Agreement-Forms. Do not include this list as part of the biographical sketch.

LIVING WAGES

SC is committed to ensuring that students, trainees, and postdoctoral fellows are paid a fair and equitable wage sufficient to allow a reasonable standard of living. Applicant institutions are strongly encouraged to examine their institutional pay scales to ensure that all personnel earn a https://science.osti.gov/Initiatives/RENEW/Funding-Opportunities https://science.osti.gov/Initiatives/RENEW/Frequently-Asked-Questions https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sciencv/ https://new.nsf.gov/funding/senior-personnel-documents https://science.osti.gov/grants/Policy-and-Guidance/Agreement-Forms ii living wage. The provision of fellowships, traineeships, stipends, honoraria, subsistence allowances, and other similar payments may be allowable expenses on SC financial assistance awards, per 2 CFR 200.430, § 200.431, and § 200.466. For graduate students, SC considers a reasonable living wage to be an annual income of $45,000, excluding benefits.

SC STATEMENT OF COMMITMENT

The DOE SC is fully and unconditionally committed to fostering safe, diverse, equitable, and inclusive work, research, and funding environments that value mutual respect and personal integrity. SC is committed to advancing belonging, accessibility, justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion across the portfolio of activities we sponsor. SC’s effective stewardship and promotion of safe, accessible, diverse, and inclusive workplaces that value and celebrate the diversity of people, ideas, cultures, and educational backgrounds across the country and that foster a sense of belonging in our scientific community is foundational to delivering on our mission. We are committed to promoting people from all backgrounds, including individuals and communities that were historically underrepresented and minoritized in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields and the activities we sponsor in recognition of our responsibility to serve the public. We also recognize that harnessing a broad range of views, expertise, and experiences drives scientific and technological innovation and enables the SC community to push the frontiers of scientific knowledge for U.S. prosperity and security. Discrimination and harassment undermine SC’s ability to achieve its mission by reducing productivity, discouraging, or inhibiting talent retention and career advancement, and weakening the integrity of the SC enterprise overall. SC does not tolerate discrimination or harassment of any kind, including sexual or non-sexual harassment, bullying, intimidation, violence, threats of violence, retaliation, or other disruptive behavior at institutions receiving SC funding or other locations where activities funded by SC are carried out. All applicants and collaborators should familiarize themselves with the SC Statement of Commitment available at https://science.osti.gov/SW- DEI/SC-Statement-of-Commitment.

UPDATING YOUR PORTFOLIO ANALYSIS AND MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (PAMS) PROFILE

All applicants are encouraged to update their profiles in the PAMS website at https://pamspublic.science.energy.gov regularly, at least annually, to ensure SC has your most up to date information. The PAMS profile now requires that individuals provide responses to the demographic related fields. SC strongly encourages personnel at applicant and recipient institutions, including Principal Investigators (PIs), Co-PIs, and other Key Personnel, to provide their demographic information. By providing your demographic information, you are assisting with SC’s continued commitment to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion in its business practices. Alternatively, for information you wish not to disclose, please select, “Do not wish to provide.” Your individual demographic information will not be shared with peer reviewers and the information in your PAMS profile is protected by the requirements established in the Federal Privacy Act of 1974. Aggregate, anonymized demographic information may be shared with confidential review committees who are charged to evaluate the quality and efficacy of SC’s business practices. For example, summary statistics of all applicants to or award selections from a particular SC FOA may be reviewed by a Committee of Visitors.

https://science.osti.gov/SW-DEI/SC-Statement-of-Commitment https://science.osti.gov/SW-DEI/SC-Statement-of-Commitment https://pamspublic.science.energy.gov/ iii

PORTABLE DOCUMENT FORMAT (PDF) GENERATION

The project narrative in an application must be one single machine-readable PDF file that contains the DOE Title Page, project narrative, all required appendices, and other attachments.

This single PDF file may not be scanned from a printed document and must be attached in Field 8 on the Grants.gov form. This must be a plain PDF file consisting of text, numbers, and images without editable fields, signatures, passwords, redactions, or other advanced features available in some PDF-compatible software. The project narrative will be read by SC staff using the full version of Adobe Acrobat: Please ensure that the narrative is readable in Acrobat. If combining multiple files into one research narrative, ensure that a PDF portfolio or binder is not created. If creating PDF files using any software other than Adobe Acrobat, please use a “Print to PDF” or equivalent process to ensure that all content is visible in the project narrative. Once a project narrative has been assembled, please submit the combined project narrative file through a “Print to PDF” or equivalent process to ensure that all content is visible in one PDF file that can be viewed in Adobe Acrobat. Review your submission to ensure that blank pages are not present.

iv

Checklist for Avoiding Common Errors:

Item Issue Pre-Applications - Submit your pre-application in PAMS by an authorized institutional representative.

- Do not submit your pre-application in

Grants.gov.

- Do not attach your pre-application to the

SF-424 Research and Related (R&R) form.

- Follow the instructions in Section IV for the preparation of a pre-application.

Include:

- Title page

- Objective and Technical Approach

- Letter(s) of Collaboration

- List of Individuals who Should not Serve as Merit Reviews (upload a separate .xls file as an “Additional Attachment” in

PAMS)

Applications Submitted in Grants.gov. Do not submit applications in PAMS or FedConnect.

Grants.gov Submission Ensure that applications are submitted under the correct Opportunity Number.

Standard Form (SF)-424 Research and Related (R&R):

- Attach nothing to field 20

- Attach nothing to field 21

SF-424 Research and Related Other Project Information form:

- Attach the abstract to field 7

- Attach the project narrative, with all appendices, to field 8

- Attach nothing to field 9

- Attach nothing to field 10

- Attach nothing to field 11

- Attach the list of individuals who should not serve as merit reviewers (Collaborator Template) to field 12

- Do not attach other files to field 12

- NOTE: Files attached to field 12 will not be shared with merit reviewers.

Page Limits Strictly followed throughout application, including particular attention to:

- Project narrative and appendices v

Item Issue

- Biographical sketches

- Data Management Plans (DMPs)

- Promoting Inclusive and Equitable

Research (PIER) Plan

- Letter(s) of Collaboration or Access

Personally Identifiable Information None present in the application Project Narrative Composed of one PDF file including all appendices (bibliography, facilities, equipment, DMP, PIER)

Project Summary / Abstract Name of PI, PI’s institutional affiliation(s), Co-Investigator(s), Co-Investigator’s institutional affiliation(s)

DOE Title Page Follow instructions closely Budget Use current negotiated indirect cost and fringe benefit rates Budget Justification (attached to budget) Justify all requested costs Biographical Sketches Follow page limits strictly and do not include list of collaborators. Attach the biographical sketch to the Senior/Key Person Profile (Expanded) Form.

Current and Pending Support Ensure complete listing of all activities, regardless of source of funding. Attach the current and pending support to the Senior/Key Person Profile (Expanded) Form.

List of Individuals who Should not Serve as Merit Reviews

Attach to field 12 of the SF-424 Research and Related Other Project Information form.

Data Management Plans (DMP) - If referring to an experiment’s DMP, describe the relationship to the proposed research.

- Include a DMP even if no experimental data is expected.

Promoting Inclusive and Equitable Research (PIER) Plan

PIER Plans are required for new and renewal applications.

Section I – FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION

GENERAL INQUIRIES ABOUT THIS FOA SHOULD BE DIRECTED TO:

Technical/Scientific Program Contact:

Questions regarding the specific program areas/technical requirements can be directed to the technical contacts listed within the FOA.

Administrative Contact:

Questions about budgets, eligibility, and similar topics should be directed to sc.renew@science.doe.gov.

STATUTORY AUTHORITY

Section 646 of Public Law 95-91, U.S. Department of Energy Organization Act Section 901, et seq. of Public Law 109-58, Energy Policy Act of 2005

APPLICABLE REGULATIONS

Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal

Awards, codified at 2 CFR 200 U.S. Department of Energy Financial Assistance Rules, codified at 2 CFR 910 U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science Financial Assistance Program Rule, codified at 10

CFR 605

SUMMARY

Reaching a New Energy Sciences Workforce (RENEW) aims to build foundations for Office of Science (SC) research through traineeships at academic institutions that have been historically underrepresented in the SC portfolio. RENEW leverages SC’s unique national laboratories, user facilities, and other research infrastructure to provide training opportunities for students and postdoctoral researchers from these institutions. The hands-on experiences gained through RENEW will open new career avenues for trainees, forming a nucleus for a future pool of talented young scientists, engineers, and technicians with the critical skills and expertise needed for the full breadth of SC research activities.

mailto:sc.renew@science.doe.gov

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

Program Objective

RENEW supports traineeships for students and postdoctoral researchers from non-R1 Emerging Research Institutions (ERIs)1 and non-R1 Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs)2,3 in areas relevant to SC programs. SC seeks applications to develop traineeships for participants from these institutions that involve conducting research in partnership with a DOE-affiliated institution, including DOE National Laboratories, SC user facilities, Bioenergy Research Centers, or DOE Isotope Program Production Sites. Traineeships may include partnerships with multiple DOE-affiliated partner institutions to learn about the diversity and breadth of science conducted by the Office of Science.

Undergraduate traineeships should include hands-on research experience to foster greater understanding of the research process, such as how to identify knowledge gaps and develop effective hypotheses, how to test hypotheses, and how to work within a team structure to accomplish an objective. The proposal should describe how the traineeship will accommodate differences in preparation among trainees. Traineeships for graduate students or postdoctoral researchers should be appropriately scaled for the development of future leaders in their research field. Trainees should have the opportunity to actively engage in meaningful and diverse research tasks, maximizing their involvement and learning experience. Trainee involvement should not be limited to routine, simple tasks in the laboratory or literature research. Traineeships should engage the trainee on a regular basis (e.g., weekly).

Traineeships should also include complementary activities for trainees’ professional development and career advancement, including efforts to build or reinforce STEM identity and sense of belonging. This could include research presentations, participation in scientific research meetings, lectures, mentoring (discussed further below), or developing new content to connect research to academic curriculum.

Trainees are participants in and beneficiaries of a structured, substantive STEM training program with measurable expectations and a duration and intensity substantial enough to achieve both short-term and long-term training outcomes. Research has shown that long-term, year-round

1 Emerging research institution was defined in the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022. Federal research expenditures are based on the National Science Foundation’s Higher Education Research and Development Survey: Fiscal Year 2021 (https://ncses.nsf.gov/surveys/higher-education-research-development/2021).

2 The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education can be found at https://carnegieclassifications.acenet.edu. A list of institutions with very high research activity (R1 institutions) is available at https://carnegieclassifications.acenet.edu/institutions/?basic2021__du%5B%5D=15.

3 MSI designations are based on the Department of Education eligibility matrix (https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/idues/eligibility.html). Eligible MSIs are listed as Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions (AANHs), Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs), Native American Serving Non-Tribal Institutions (NASNTI), Predominantly Black Institutions (PBIs), Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), and Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs). For the purposes of this FOA, institutions marked in the eligibility matrix as either being eligible to receive funding or as receiving funding will be considered an MSI.

https://ncses.nsf.gov/surveys/higher-education-research-development/2021 https://carnegieclassifications.acenet.edu/ https://carnegieclassifications.acenet.edu/institutions/?basic2021__du%5B%5D=15 https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/idues/eligibility.html experiences build students’ commitment to their fields and increase their confidence that they can succeed.4,5 Preference will be given to applications that provide compensation comparable to the cost of living or provide support for students such as guaranteed housing. To achieve this objective, a significant portion of the proposed budget must be allocated for trainee support.

Applications must have a defined mentorship component and should present a clear mentoring plan. The mentoring plan should incorporate evidence-based mentorship practices.6 Mentoring may occur in different forms. A trainee should be able to clearly identify that they are receiving meaningful guidance and support from one or more mentors through the traineeship.

To recognize and formalize the role of those involved in mentoring, the proposed inclusion of support for mentors (faculty, staff, postdocs, or graduate students) will be considered.

Applications must include a recruitment plan as part of the PIER Plan. The recruitment plan should describe how you will recruit a diverse pool of trainees, identify which institutions will provide the trainees, and the anticipated number of trainees per year.

Simultaneous support of multiple trainees (a cohort) is strongly encouraged. Trainees can form a cohort at one institution or across a multi-institution collaboration. Applications should clearly articulate benefits to the trainees, such as skills acquired, networking opportunities, and practical assistance in career planning. Trainees are encouraged to attend at least one conference or workshop as part of their training. Where possible, applicants should leverage existing DOE-supported research infrastructure to further the goals of the program. Applications should describe expected deliverables and their value to the research community as well as a plan to measure and assess success.

In addition to RENEW, SC also administers the Funding for Accelerated, Inclusive Research (FAIR) initiative. The primary differences between the two initiatives are the goals of each.

Training is the primary goal for RENEW, and applications to RENEW must include training activities beyond conduct of research. Whereas training is not the primary goal of FAIR which supports fundamental research to build research capacity, including infrastructure and expertise, at institutions historically underrepresented in the SC portfolio. However, research supported by FAIR may include support for students or postdoctoral researchers. Applicants may apply to one or both funding opportunities. However, the same application is unlikely to be relevant to both solicitations.

Application Tracks

Applications will be accepted under two tracks that are differentiated by the award size and award duration.

4 https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.11-11-0098 5 https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.21341 6 https://www.nationalacademies.org/our-work/the-science-of-effective-mentoring-in-stemm https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.11-11-0098 https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.21341 https://www.nationalacademies.org/our-work/the-science-of-effective-mentoring-in-stemm

Award Floor Award Ceiling Award Duration Exploratory Application $100,000 $400,000 2 years Full Application $750,000 $2,250,000 3 years

An Exploratory Application is of smaller scope and duration but is still required to include a traineeship component. An Exploratory Application is not required before submitting a Full Application. All applications will be considered equally. The distribution between the number of and funding for Exploratory and Full awards depends on the number and quality of the applications; there is no quota for each category.

Applications do not need to be at or near the award ceiling. Equal budgets for each year of the award are not required; for example, the first year of the award could include one-time costs for equipment purchases.

Office of Science Research

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

SC accomplishes its mission and advances national goals by supporting:

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

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

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

SC manages its research portfolio through eight scientific programs. The following program descriptions, websites, and technical points of contact are offered to provide more in-depth information on scientific and technical areas of interest to SC:

1. Advanced Scientific Computing Research (ASCR)

(a) Applied Mathematics

(b) Computer Science

(c) Advanced Computing Technologies

2. Basic Energy Sciences (BES)

(a) Scattering and Instrumentation Sciences Research

(b) Condensed Matter and Materials Physics Research

(c) Materials Discovery, Design, and Synthesis Research

(d) Fundamental Interactions Research

(e) Chemical Transformations Research

(f) Photochemistry and Biochemistry Research

3. Biological and Environmental Research (BER)

(a) Biological Systems Science

(b) Earth and Environmental Systems Sciences

4. Fusion Energy Sciences (FES)

(a) Burning Plasma Science: Foundations—Advanced Tokamak

(b) Enabling Research and Development

(c) Burning Plasma Science: Foundations—Spherical Tokamak

(d) Burning Plasma Science: Foundations—Theory & Simulation

(e) Burning Plasma Science: Long Pulse—Tokamak

(f) Burning Plasma Science: Long Pulse—Stellarator

(g) Burning Plasma Science: Long Pulse—Materials

(h) Burning Plasma Science: Long Pulse—Fusion Nuclear Science

(i) Discovery Plasma Science: Plasma Science and Technology

(j) Discovery Plasma Science: Measurement Innovation

5. High Energy Physics (HEP)

(a) Experimental Research at the Energy Frontier in High Energy Physics

(b) Experimental Research at the Intensity Frontier in High Energy Physics

(c) Experimental Research at the Cosmic Frontier in High Energy Physics

(d) Theoretical Research in High Energy Physics

(e) Computational Research in High Energy Physics

(f) Accelerator Science and Technology Research and Development in High Energy Physics

(g) Detector Research and Development in High Energy Physics

(h) Quantum Information Science for High Energy Physics Research

6. Nuclear Physics (NP)

(a) Medium Energy Nuclear Physics

(b) Heavy Ion Nuclear Physics

(c) Nuclear Structure and Nuclear Astrophysics

(d) Fundamental Symmetries

(e) Nuclear Theory

(f) Nuclear Data

(g) Nuclear Physics Computing

(h) Accelerator Research and Development for Current and Future Nuclear Physics Facilities

(i) R&D in Quantum Information Science (QIS)

7. Isotope R&D and Production (DOE IP)

(a) Isotope Production Research

(b) Isotope Processing, Purification, Separation, and Radiochemical Synthesis

(c) Biological Tracers and Imaging

(d) Isotopic Enrichment Technology

8. Accelerator R&D and Production (ARDAP)

Program Descriptions

1. Advanced Scientific Computing Research (ASCR) Program Website: https://science.osti.gov/ascr

ASCR’s mission is to advance applied mathematics and computer science; deliver the most advanced computational scientific applications in partnership with disciplinary science; advance computing and networking capabilities; and develop future generations of computing hardware and software tools for science and engineering, in partnership with the research community, including U.S. industry. The ASCR program gives the science and technology community, including U.S. industry, access to world-class supercomputers and the tools to use them for science and engineering. ASCR accomplishes this by developing and maintaining world-class computing and network facilities for science; and advancing research in applied mathematics, computer science, and advanced networking.

The computing resources and high-speed networks required to meet the scientific needs of the future exceed the state-of- the-art by a significant margin. Furthermore, the algorithms, software tools, the software libraries and the distributed software environments needed to accelerate scientific discovery through modeling and simulation are beyond the realm of commercial interest. To establish and maintain DOE’s modeling and simulation leadership in scientific areas that are important to its mission, ASCR operates Leadership Computing facilities, a high-performance production computing center, and a high-speed network, and implements a broad base research portfolio to solve complex problems on computational resources that are on a trajectory to reach well beyond hundreds and thousands of petaflops within a few years.

Applications submitted to ASCR under this FOA must be responsive to one of the specific subprograms below. The relevant subprogram (Applied Mathematics, Computer Science, Advanced Computing Technologies) should be stated clearly in the pre-application and introductory section of the application. More information about ASCR’s programmatic interests and priorities can be found here: https://science.osti.gov/ascr/Community-Resources/Program- Documents.

https://science.osti.gov/ascr https://science.osti.gov/ascr/Community-Resources/Program-Documents https://science.osti.gov/ascr/Community-Resources/Program-Documents

(a) Applied Mathematics Technical Contact: Bill Spotz, William.Spotz@science.doe.gov

The Applied Mathematics program supports innovative mathematical techniques and algorithms in traditional high-performance computing; scalable data analysis and reduction; and scientific machine learning. Traditional high-performance computing includes all mathematical aspects of using leading edge computing platforms to solve multiscale multi-physics problems, or higher-level problems such as optimization, with a physics solve at its core. Data analysis is the use of mathematics to extract knowledge and information from scientific data sets obtained from simulation, experimentation, or observation. Data reduction is the compression of such data sets while preserving the fundamental scientific information they represent. For scientific machine learning, six priority research directions are described in the Report on Basic Research Needs for Scientific Machine Learning: Core Technologies for Artificial Intelligence [1].

As applied mathematics is ubiquitous in science, the Applied Mathematics program defines and restricts its scope by focusing on innovative and novel mathematics that are not tightly associated with a single domain science or application. Appropriate mathematical topics are thus characterized by some degree of generalizability. The degree of generalizability of a mathematical approach is typically indicated by the number and diversity of applications to which it can be applied.

Topics and research areas that are out of scope for Applied Mathematics include:

• Approaches for specific scientific or engineering problems that are not applicable to a broader class of problems,

• Approaches with a primary emphasis on tailoring, or the implementation of, existing numerical methods for specific scientific problems,

• Computational implementation or frameworks for scientific or engineering problems that are primarily based on specific programming models or architecture,

• Research that results in incremental improvements to the existing state of practice.

[1] Report on Basic Research Needs for Scientific Machine Learning: Core Technologies for Artificial Intelligence, https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1478744.

(b) Computer Science Technical Contact: Kalyan Perumalla, Kalyan.Perumalla@science.doe.gov

This subprogram supports research that enables computing and networking at extreme scales and the understanding of extreme-scale and complex data from both simulations and experiments. It aims to make high performance scientific computers and networks highly productive and efficient to solve scientific challenges while attempting to reduce domain science application complexity as much as possible. The research is positioned in the context of multiple challenges across several areas such as sharp increases in the heterogeneity and complexity of computing systems and the need to integrate simulation, data analysis, and other tasks seamlessly and intelligently into coherent and usable workflows. Research in computer science is also motivated by major disruptive developments in artificial intelligence, machine learning, natural language processing, large language modeling, all of which offer the potential to significantly https://gbc-word-edit.officeapps.live.com/we/William.Spotz@science.doe.gov https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1478744 https://gbc-word-edit.officeapps.live.com/we/Kalyan.Perumalla@science.doe.gov advance scientific discovery through novel hardware, software, theory, and algorithms for scalable computing.

Areas of interest in this subprogram include the following, as relevant to SC and DOE priority applications:

• Data: Data Management; Data analysis; Storage Systems; I/O, Visualization

• Computing Paradigms: Continuum Computing; Energy-efficient Computing;

Heterogeneous Computing and Acceleration

• Systems Research: Programming Models, Environments, and Portability; Scalable

Parallel Operating and Runtime Systems; Scalable Middleware

• Software: Performance Portability and Co-Design; Scientific Developer Tools and

Automation for High Productivity and Assurance

• Distributed Systems: Complex Workflows, Distributed Scheduling and Resource

Management; Advanced High-Speed Networking; Edge Computing; Experiment- Computation Integration

• Standardization: International Standards and Interoperability

Topics that are out of scope for the Computer Science subprogram include:

• Pre-applications and applications that do not explain/describe their relevance to current and future high performance computing platforms and/or data-centric science as well as their relevance to the mission of SC and ASCR.

• Pre-applications and applications that focus primarily on the development or application of data-reduction techniques (see Applied Mathematics).

• Pre-applications and applications that are primarily focused on the mathematics of AI (see Applied Mathematics).

• Pre-applications and applications with primary emphasis on computer hardware design, fabrication, or integration; materials science; and computing devices and/or device/circuit design and/or manufacturing.

• Research primarily focused on advancing discipline-specific research or capabilities without also proposing a generalization of this research to other SC priority mission areas.

• Research primarily focused on advancing Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality technologies.

• Research focused on the World Wide Web and/or Internet.

• Research that is only applicable to hand-held, tablets, laptops, portable, desktop, embedded or cloud computing.

• Research focused on quantum computing.

(c) Advanced Computing Technologies (ACT) Technical Contact: Marco Fornari, Marco.Fornari@science.doe.gov

This subprogram supports quantum computing and networking efforts and Research and Evaluation Prototypes (REP). The REP activity addresses the challenges of next generation computing systems. By actively partnering with the research community, including industry and Federal agencies, on the development of technologies that enable next-generation machines, mailto:Marco

ASCR ensures that commercially available architectures serve the needs of the scientific community. The REP activity also prepares researchers to effectively use future generation of scientific computers, including novel technologies, and seeks to reduce risk for future major procurements.

Research topics currently of interest for ACT include:

• Research in quantum computing, including hardware architecture, performance assessment, control, development of quantum algorithms, programming languages, compilation, and error mitigation.

• Research in quantum networking, including novel quantum network protocols and architectures, and proof-of-concept demonstrations of technology required for distributing entanglement in a multi-node network and exploration of possible applications of a quantum network for advancing scientific research.

Topics that are out of scope for the Advanced Computing Technologies subprogram include:

• Research that does not address the specific ACT topics described above;

• Development of application-specific techniques to use quantum computers or application-specific quantum algorithms that do not generalize to multiple scientific domains;

• Development of new candidate qubit systems or improvements to physical qubits;

• Development of integrated circuits for quantum computing;

• Cryptography and cryptanalysis;

• Quantum Key Distribution and other security-focused approaches to quantum communication;

• Error correction codes and implementation of error correction codes for quantum computers; and

• Projects that are duplicative of or competitive with industry.

2. Basic Energy Sciences (BES) Program Website: https://science.osti.gov/bes/

The mission of the Basic Energy Sciences (BES) program is to support fundamental research to understand, predict, and ultimately control matter and energy at the electronic, atomic, and molecular levels. BES research provides the foundations to develop new energy technologies, to mitigate the climate and environmental impacts of energy generation/use, and to support DOE missions in energy, environment, and national security. The portfolio supports fundamental research in Materials Sciences and Engineering (MSE) and Chemical Sciences, Geosciences, and Biosciences (CSGB). BES accomplishes its mission through excellence in scientific discovery in the energy sciences, and through stewardship of world-class scientific user facilities that enable cutting-edge research and development.

The research disciplines that BES supports—condensed matter and materials physics, chemistry, geosciences, and aspects of biosciences—touch virtually every important aspect of energy resources, production, conversion, transmission, storage, efficiency, and waste mitigation https://science.osti.gov/bes/ https://science.osti.gov/bes/ https://science.osti.gov/bes/mse https://science.osti.gov/bes/csgb https://science.osti.gov/bes/csgb providing a knowledge base for achieving a secure and sustainable clean energy future. The Basic Energy Sciences Advisory Committee (BESAC) report, “A Remarkable Return on Investment in Fundamental Research” provides key examples of major technological, commercial, and national security impacts, including clean energy technologies, directly traceable to BES-supported basic research.

Subprograms Technical Contact: BES-RENEW.FOA@science.doe.gov Program Managers to select when submitting a pre-application: Wade Sisk

The BES program funds research in the following subprograms. Proposed research must be responsive to one of the core research areas in one of the following six subprograms:

(a) Scattering and Instrumentation Sciences Research

Advancing science using new tools and techniques to characterize materials structure and dynamics across multiple length and time scales, including ultrafast science, and to correlate this data with materials performance under real world and extreme conditions. Core research areas include x-ray scattering, neutron scattering, electron and scanning probe microscopies, and accelerator and detector research.

(b) Condensed Matter and Materials Physics Research

Understanding the foundations of material functionality and behavior including electronic, thermal, optical, and mechanical properties; the impact of extreme environments; and materials whose properties arise from the effects of quantum mechanics. Core research areas include experimental condensed matter physics, theoretical condensed matter physics, physical behavior of materials, mechanical behavior and radiation effects, and quantum information science.

(c) Materials Discovery, Design, and Synthesis Research

Developing the knowledge base and synthesis strategies to design and precisely assemble structures to control properties and enable discovery of new materials with unprecedented functionalities, including approaches learned from biological systems. Core research areas include materials chemistry, biomolecular materials, and synthesis and processing science.

(d) Fundamental Interactions Research

Discovering the foundational factors controlling chemical reactivity and dynamics in gas and condensed phases, and at interfaces, based on understanding quantum interactions among photons, electrons, atoms, and molecules. Core research areas include atomic, molecular, and optical sciences, gas phase chemical physics, condensed phase and interfacial molecular science, computational and theoretical chemistry, and quantum information science.

(e) Chemical Transformations Research https://science.osti.gov/%7E/media/bes/pdf/BESat40/BES_at_40.pdf https://science.osti.gov/%7E/media/bes/pdf/BESat40/BES_at_40.pdf mailto:BES-RENEW.FOA@science.doe.gov https://science.osti.gov/bes/mse/Research-Areas/Scattering-and-Instrumentation-Sciences https://science.osti.gov/bes/mse/Research-Areas/X-Ray-Scattering https://science.osti.gov/bes/mse/Research-Areas/Neutron-Scattering https://science.osti.gov/bes/mse/Research-Areas/Electron-and-Scanning-Probe-Microscopies https://science.osti.gov/bes/suf/Accelerator-and-Detector-Research https://science.osti.gov/bes/mse/Research-Areas/Condensed-Matter-and-Materials-Physics https://science.osti.gov/bes/mse/Research-Areas/Experimental-Condensed-Matter-Physics https://science.osti.gov/bes/mse/Research-Areas/Theoretical-Condensed-Matter-Physics https://science.osti.gov/bes/mse/Research-Areas/Physical-Behavior-of-Materials https://science.osti.gov/bes/mse/Research-Areas/Physical-Behavior-of-Materials https://science.osti.gov/bes/mse/Research-Areas/Mechanical-Behavior-and-Radiation-Effects https://science.osti.gov/bes/mse/Research-Areas/Quantum-Information-Sciences https://science.osti.gov/bes/mse/Research-Areas/Materials-Discovery-Design-and-Synthesis https://science.osti.gov/bes/mse/Research-Areas/Materials-Chemistry https://science.osti.gov/bes/mse/Research-Areas/Biomolecular-Materials https://science.osti.gov/bes/mse/Research-Areas/Synthesis-and-Processing-Science https://science.osti.gov/bes/csgb/Research-Areas/Fundamental-Interactions https://science.osti.gov/bes/csgb/Research-Areas/Atomic-Molecular-and-Optical-Science https://science.osti.gov/bes/csgb/Research-Areas/Atomic-Molecular-and-Optical-Science https://science.osti.gov/bes/csgb/Research-Areas/Gas-Phase-Chemical-Physics https://science.osti.gov/bes/csgb/Research-Areas/Condensed-Phase-and-Interfacial-Molecular-Sciences https://science.osti.gov/bes/csgb/Research-Areas/Computational-and-Theoretical-Chemistry https://science.osti.gov/bes/csgb/Research-Areas/Quantum-Information-Sciences https://science.osti.gov/bes/csgb/Research-Areas/Chemical-Transformations

Understanding and controlling the mechanisms of chemical catalysis, synthesis, separation, stabilization, and transport in complex chemical and subsurface systems, from atomic to geologic scales. Core research areas include catalysis science, separation science, heavy element chemistry, and geosciences.

(f) Photochemistry and Biochemistry Research

Elucidating the molecular mechanisms of the capture of light energy and its conversion into electrical and chemical energy through biological and chemical pathways. Core research areas include solar photochemistry, photosynthetic systems, and physical biosciences.

Additional information about BES sponsored research can be found at the BES website. There you will find BES-sponsored workshop reports that address future directions of some important research areas, as well as providing information on the current status of related technologies. In addition, MSE and CSGB Principal Investigators’ Meetings Reports contain abstracts of BES supported research and the facilities web pages contain links to BES user facilities.

3. Biological and Environmental Research (BER) Program Website: https://science.osti.gov/ber

The Biological and Environmental Research (BER) program supports transformative science and scientific user facilities to achieve a predictive understanding of complex biological, Earth, and environmental systems to inform clean energy innovations and climate solutions.

The BER subprograms and their objectives follow:

(a) Biological Systems Science Subprogram Website: https://science.osti.gov/ber/Research/bssd Technical Contact: Dawn Adin, Dawn.Adin@science.doe.gov and Kari Perez, Kari.Perez@science.doe.gov

Research supported by the Biological Systems Science Division (BSSD) and its facilities aims to provide the necessary fundamental science to understand, predict, manipulate, and design biological systems that underpin innovations for bioenergy and bioproduct production and enhance our understanding of natural, DOE-relevant environmental processes. By integrating genome science with advanced computational and experimental approaches, the Division seeks to gain a predictive understanding of living systems, from microbes and microbial communities to plants and ecosystems. This foundational knowledge enables design and reengineering of microbes and plants underpinning a broad clean energy and bioeconomy portfolio, including improved biofuels, bioproducts and biomaterials, improved carbon storage capabilities, and improved understanding of the biological cycling and transformation of nutrients, materials, and contaminants in the environment. The major research portfolio elements include:

(i) Genomic Science (https://genomicscience.energy.gov/)

The Genomic Science Program (GSP) seeks to understand genomic information and how it https://science.osti.gov/bes/csgb/Research-Areas/Catalysis-Science https://science.osti.gov/bes/csgb/Research-Areas/separation-science https://science.osti.gov/bes/csgb/Research-Areas/Heavy-Element-Chemistry https://science.osti.gov/bes/csgb/Research-Areas/Heavy-Element-Chemistry https://science.osti.gov/bes/csgb/Research-Areas/Geosciences https://science.osti.gov/bes/csgb/Research-Areas/Photochemistry-and-Biochemistry https://science.osti.gov/bes/csgb/Research-Areas/Solar-Photochemistry https://science.osti.gov/bes/csgb/Research-Areas/Photosynthetic-Systems https://science.osti.gov/bes/csgb/Research-Areas/Physical-Biosciences https://science.osti.gov/bes/ https://science.osti.gov/bes/Community-Resources/Reports https://science.osti.gov/bes/mse/principal-investigators-meetings/ http://science.osti.gov/bes/csgb/principal-investigators-meetings/ https://science.osti.gov/bes/suf/User-Facilities https://science.osti.gov/ber https://science.osti.gov/ber/Research/bssd mailto:Dawn.Adin@science.doe.gov mailto:Kari.Perez@science.doe.gov https://genomicscience.energy.gov/ directs the functional characteristics of cells, organisms, and whole biological systems. The core research areas supported by the GSP are Bioeconomy and Bioenergy Research, Biosystems Design, Environmental Microbiome Research, and Computational Biology. Within these areas, of interest to the GSP are questions related to the molecular and regulatory mechanisms governing genotype to phenotype translation needed to predictively understand genome-scale functional properties of microbes, plants, and microbiomes relevant to BER’s research efforts;

develop experimental “-omics” capabilities and enabling technologies needed to achieve a dynamic, system-level understanding of cellular and microbiome functions; and develop the knowledgebase, computational infrastructure, and modeling capabilities to advance predictive understanding and design of biological systems for a variety of bioenergy, environmental and synthetic biology applications underpinning a broader bioeconomy.

In the area of Bioeconomy and Bioenergy Research, efforts seek to provide the fundamental science needed to underpin the sustainability, production, breakdown, conversion, and use of plant biomass as a renewable alternative to petroleum. The scope of this research includes gaining a basic understanding of plant and microbial genomics for dedicated crop development and conversion of plant biomass into products and pursuing fundamental insights into the sustainability of bioenergy crop production and developing capabilities in plant transformation research. In addition, through multi-scale modeling efforts, BSSD seeks to advance our understanding of how large-scale planting of biomass feedstocks will affect ecosystem services and the economics of the bioeconomy supply chain. Research within BSSD seeks to expand this body of knowledge to extend the range of biofuels and bioproducts that can be produced from biomass feedstocks. This includes topics that expand a genome-level understanding of plant metabolism, physiology, and growth to develop new bioenergy feedstocks with traits tailored for bioenergy and bioproduct production. BSSD’s bioenergy research also seeks a better understanding of microbial metabolism and the design new strains, communities, or enzymes capable of converting plant biomass components into fuels, chemicals, and bioproducts, as well as the genomic properties of plants and microbes, that enable the development of new, sustainable approaches for bioenergy crop production on marginal lands with few or no agricultural inputs, while minimizing ecological impacts under changing environmental conditions.

BSSD’s Biosystem Design research aims to advance our fundamental understanding of genome biology and develop the genome-scale engineering technologies needed to design, manipulate, and control plants and microbes for desired beneficial purposes. This includes novel broadly applicable approaches for DNA delivery and expression in plants and microbes, high-throughput characterization, testing, and phenotyping; the elucidation of mechanisms or the acquisition, storage, transport, and chemical transformation of substrates in engineered organisms; research to build new genetic, regulatory, and biosynthetic networks to biologically produce useful molecules.