DE-FOA-0003458.pdf

Department of Energy (DOE)

Office of Science (SC) Nuclear Physics (NP)

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Applied to Nuclear Science and Technology

Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) Number:

DE-FOA-0003458

NOFO Type: INITIAL CFDA Number: 81.049

NOFO Issue Date: Date: October 15, 2024 Submission Deadline for Letters of Intent:

Date:November 14, 2024 at 5:00 PM ET A Letter of Intent is required.

Letters of Intent must be submitted by an authorized institutional representative.

Letter of Intent Response Date Date: December 5, 2024 at 11:59 PM ET Submission Deadline for Applications: Date: January 14, 2025 at 11:59 PM ET

Table of Contents

I. BASIC INFORMATION

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

FUNDING DETAILS

KEY FACTS

KEY DATES

RECOMMENDATION

II. ELIGIBILITY

A. ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS

2. NON-DOE/NNSA FFRDCS

B. COST SHARING

C. ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUALS

D. LIMITATIONS ON SUBMISSIONS

E. OTHER ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

III. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

A. PURPOSE

B. PROGRAM GOALS, OBJECTIVES, AND PRIORITIES

C. AWARD CONTRIBUTION TO GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

D. PERFORMANCE GOALS

E. SUBSTANTIAL INVOLVEMENT

F. PROGRAM UNALLOWABLE COSTS

G. CITATIONS TO STATUTE AND REGULATIONS

H. PROGRAM HISTORY

I. OTHER INFORMATION

IV. APPLICATION CONTENTS AND FORMAT

A. PRELIMINARY SUBMISSIONS

B. APPLICATION

C. COMPONENT PIECES OF THE APPLICATION

D. INFORMATION THAT MUST BE SUBMITTED AFTER APPLICATION BUT

BEFORE AWARD

V. SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS AND DEADLINES

A. ADDRESS TO REQUEST APPLICATION PACKAGE

B. UNIQUE ENTITY IDENTIFIER (UEI) AND SYSTEM FOR AWARD MANAGEMENT

(SAM.GOV)

C. SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS

D. SUBMISSION DATES AND TIMES

VI. APPLICATION REVIEW INFORMATION

A. RESPONSIVENESS REVIEW

B. REVIEW CRITERIA

C. REVIEW AND SELECTION PROCESS

D. RISK REVIEW

VII. AWARD NOTICES

A. TYPE OF AWARD INSTRUMENT

B. ANTICIPATED TIMELINE FOR NOTICE OF SELECTION FOR AWARD

NEGOTIATION

VIII. POST-AWARD REQUIREMENTS AND ADMINISTRATION

A. ADMINISTRATIVE AND NATIONAL POLICY REQUIREMENTS

B. REPORTING

C. REPORTING OF MATTERS RELATED TO RECIPIENT INTEGRITY AND

PERFORMANCE (DECEMBER 2015)

D. INTERIM CONFLICT OF INTEREST POLICY FOR FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE

IX. OTHER INFORMATION

A. CHECKLIST FOR AVOIDING COMMON ERRORS

B. HOW-TO GUIDES

C. ADMINISTRATIVE AND NATIONAL POLICY REQUIREMENTS

D. REFERENCE MATERIAL

I. Basic Information

U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science (SC)

Executive Summary

The DOE SC program in Nuclear Physics (NP) hereby announces its interest in receiving applications for research and development (R&D) efforts directed at artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) for autonomous optimization and control of accelerators and detectors of relevance to current or next generation NP accelerator facilities and scientific instrumentation, as well as applications applying AI/ML to advance nuclear physics computations.

Current and planned NP facilities and scientific instrumentation face a variety of technical challenges in theory, simulations, control, data acquisition, and data analysis. AI methods and techniques promise to address these challenges and shorten the timeline for experimental and computational discovery.

The approach for this NOFO is to support the development and application of AI/ML in all research areas of NP to expand and accelerate scientific reach and discovery. Opportunities include AI to address challenges in autonomous control, efficiency of operation of accelerators and scientific instruments, digital twinning for future colliders, efficient extraction of critical information from large complex data sets and enabling data-driven discovery of new physics.

Major areas of research may include, for example:

• Efficient extraction of critical and strategic information from large complex data sets:

• Development and implementation of digital twins for future colliders;

• Efforts to address the challenges of autonomous control and experimentation,

• Efficient operation of accelerators and scientific instruments,

• Deployment of AI for reduction of large and/or complex experimental data,

• Development of software to enable data-driven discovery of new physics

A description of each research area listed above is found in Section III (Supplementary Information).

Letters of Intent (LOI) are required for this NOFO (Section IX).

Both new and renewal applications are accepted for this NOFO (Section IX).

All types of domestic applicants are eligible to apply, with exceptions outlined in Section II.A.

DOE/NNSA National Laboratories are eligible to submit applications under this NOFO and may be proposed as subrecipients under another organization’s application (Section II).

Multi-institutional teams must submit one application from a designated lead institution with other team members proposed as subrecipients. Collaborative proposals will not be accepted under this NOFO (Section III)

Funding Details Expected total available funding Up to $22 million in current and outyears Expected number of awards 10-15 Expected dollar amount of individual awards $200,000 -$3,500,000 Expected award project period Two years

Key Facts NOFO Title Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Applied to Nuclear

Science and Technology NOFO Number DE-FOA-0003458 Announcement Type Initial Assistance Listing 81.049 Statutory Authority The programmatic authorizing statute is:

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

Governing 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

Key Dates

Key dates are printed on the cover of this NOFO.

Agency Contacts Grants.gov Customer Support

800-518-4726 (toll-free) support@Grants.gov

PAMS

Customer Support

855-818-1846 (toll-free) 301-903-9610 sc.pams-helpdesk@science.doe.gov

Technical/Scientific Program Contact

Nuclear Physics Dr. Manouchehr Farkhondeh 301-903-4398 Manouchehr.farkhondeh@science.doe.gov

Recommendation mailto:support@grants.gov mailto:sc.pams-helpdesk@science.doe.gov mailto:Manouchehr.farkhondeh@science.doe.gov

SC encourages you to register in all systems as soon as possible. You are also encouraged to submit letters of intent (LOIs) and applications well before the deadline.

II. Eligibility A. Eligible Applicants

All types of domestic applicants are eligible to apply, except nonprofit organizations described in section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 that engaged in lobbying activities after December 31, 1995.

Federally affiliated1 entities must adhere to the eligibility standards below:

1. DOE/NNSA National Laboratories

DOE/NNSA National Laboratories are eligible to submit applications under this NOFO and may be proposed as subrecipients under another organization’s application. If recommended for funding as a lead applicant, funding will be provided through the DOE Field-Work Proposal System and work will be conducted under the laboratory’s contract with DOE. No administrative provisions of this NOFO will apply to the laboratory or any laboratory subcontractor. If recommended for funding as a proposed subrecipient, the value of the proposed subaward will be removed from the prime applicant’s award and will be provided to the laboratory through the DOE Field-Work Proposal System and work will be conducted under the laboratory’s contract with DOE. Additional instructions for securing authorization from the cognizant Contracting Officer are found in Section IX of this NOFO.

2. Non-DOE/NNSA FFRDCs

Non-DOE/NNSA FFRDCs are neither eligible to submit applications under this NOFO nor to be proposed as subrecipients under another organization’s application.

3. Other Federal Agencies

Other Federal Agencies are neither eligible to submit applications under this NOFO nor to be proposed as subrecipients under another organization’s application.

Notes for applicants of all types:

This NOFO seeks to support basic research to advance understanding rather than to address commercial opportunities. Applications that propose research related to current commercial activity or current customer needs may be declined without merit review.

Applications that are submitted by applicants that have not submitted a required LOI will be declined without further review.

1 Institutions that are not DOE/NNSA National Laboratories, a non-DOE/NNSA FFRDC, or another Federal agency are not Federally affiliated, even if they receive Federal funds or perform work under a Federal award or contract.

B. Cost Sharing

Cost sharing for basic and fundamental research is not required pursuant to an exclusion from the requirements of Section 988 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005.

C. Eligible Individuals

Individuals with the skills, knowledge, and resources necessary to carry out the proposed research as a Principal Investigator (PI) are invited to work with their organizations to develop an application. Individuals from underrepresented groups as well as individuals with disabilities are always encouraged to apply.

D. Limitations on Submissions

Applicant institutions are limited to no more than three letters of intent per institution as the lead applicant of a multi-institutional team or as the sole applicant.

Applicant institutions are limited to no more than three applications per institution as the lead applicant of a multi-institutional team or as the sole applicant. Lead PIs are expected to budget at least 20% of their time to the applications on which they are named.

There is no limitation to the number of applications on which an institution appears as a subrecipient for which the institution is not the lead.

DOE will consider the latest received submissions to be the institution’s intended submissions.

• Letters of intent in excess of the limited number of submissions may be discouraged.

• Applications in excess of the limited number of submissions may be declined without review.

LIMITATIONS ON PI

The PI on a letter of intent, or application may also be listed as a senior or key personnel, including in any role on a proposed subaward, on an unlimited number of separate submissions.

E. OTHER ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

Additional Eligibility Requirements may be identified in the listing of topics in Section III of this

NOFO.

III. Program Description

A. Purpose

The DOE SC program in Nuclear Physics (NP) hereby announces its interest in receiving applications for research and development (R&D) efforts directed at artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) for autonomous optimization and control of accelerators and detectors of relevance to current or next generation NP accelerator facilities and scientific instrumentation, as well as applications applying AI/ML to advance nuclear physics computations.

Current and planned NP facilities and scientific instrumentation face a variety of technical challenges in theory, simulations, control, data acquisition, and data analysis. AI methods and techniques promise to address these challenges and shorten the timeline for experimental and computational discovery.

The approach for this NOFO is to support the development and application of AI/ML in all research areas of NP to expand and accelerate scientific reach and discovery. Opportunities include AI to address challenges in autonomous control, efficiency of operation of accelerators and scientific instruments, digital twinning for future colliders, efficient extraction of critical information from large complex data sets and enabling data-driven discovery of new physics.

Major areas of research may include, for example:

• Efficient extraction of critical and strategic information from large complex data sets:

• Development and implementation of digital twins for future colliders;

• Efforts to address the challenges of autonomous control and experimentation,

• Efficient operation of accelerators and scientific instruments,

• Deployment of AI for reduction of large and/or complex experimental data,

• Development of software to enable data-driven discovery of new physics

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

Program Objective

NP supports a broad range of activities aimed at R&D related to the science, engineering, and technology of heavy ion, electron, and proton accelerators and associated systems, as well as a suite of NP scientific instrumentation distributed among accelerator facilities around the world and in standalone mode. NP provides oversight of four accelerator-based national user facilities in accomplishing its mission: the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), the Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility (CEBAF) at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (TJNAF), the Argonne Tandem Linac Accelerator System (ATLAS) at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), and the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams Facility (FRIB) at Michigan State University (MSU). NP is also establishing a high energy, polarized electron-ion collider (EIC) that will be located at BNL.

• RHIC is a storage ring-based collider with heavy ion beam energies up to 100 GeV/amu and polarized proton beam energies up to 250 GeV to understand quantum chromodynamics (QCD) through the study of hot, dense nuclear matter.

• CEBAF is a 12 GeV multi-pass superconducting continuous wave electron accelerator with simultaneous beam deliveries to four experimental halls used for the investigation of nuclear and nucleon structure based on the underlying quark substructure.

• ATLAS is a low energy, high intensity stable isotope accelerator with the capability of delivering selected rare isotopes for studying the origin and structure of nuclear matter. The facility is a superconducting linear accelerator delivering heavy ions at energies in the vicinity of the Coulomb barrier.

• FRIB is a 200 MeV/amu superconducting radio frequency (SRF)-based linac capable of producing a variety of rare isotope beams for the study of nuclear structure and nuclear astrophysics.

• EIC will be a variable center of mass energy, highly polarized electron ion collider. The EIC will provide unprecedented ability to study the proton and discover how the mass of everyday objects is dynamically generated by the interaction of quark and gluon fields inside protons and neutrons.

In addition to these accelerators, NP also supports the 88-Inch Cyclotron at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab (LBNL), the Texas A&M University Cyclotron, and the High Intensity Gamma Source (HIγS) facility at the Triangle Universities Nuclear Laboratory (TUNL) on the campus of Duke University.

NP supports state-of-the-art scientific instrumentation to enable nuclear physics research at NP user facilities. The development and operation of scientific instrumentation is also supported at other facilities world-wide, such as the CERN facility in Switzerland and TRIUMF in Canada.

NP instrumentation is also stationed at facilities without accelerators, such as the fundamental symmetry experiments on the neutrino mass using KATRIN at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany and the neutrinoless double beta decay experiments CUORE and LEGEND-200 at the underground laboratory in Gran Sasso, Italy.

NP has been supporting applications of artificial neural networks in the analysis of nuclear physics data for decades. That foundation in the use of ML techniques is revolutionizing how extremely large and information-rich data sets are interpreted, greatly increasing the discovery potential of present and future experiments at NP facilities and future machines, such as the EIC.

Additionally, NP is supporting technical developments at the intersections between real-time ML and control, and the optimization of accelerator systems and detector design using AI models.

Future “intelligent” experiments will seek to incorporate next generation AI hardware and electronics into detector systems.

NP held a one-day roundtable on “Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence for NP Accelerator Facilities” on January 30, 2020, with focus on discussing opportunities in AI/ML for improving efficiencies of accelerator operations of NP facilities. Additional information on the workshop and copies of presentations can be found at: https://science.osti.gov/np/Research/ai.

An NP community workshop at TJNAF in March 2020 considered priority research opportunities in AI/ML. Also, an NP community computational science workshop in September https://science.osti.gov/np/Research/ai

2022 identified future directions in computational nuclear physics by a combination of high-performance computing combined with AI/ML and experimental data. And in October 2022 and October 2023, AI for EIC workshops were held to address how AI might contribute to advance research, design and operation of the future EIC. More information on these workshops and meetings can be found in the Reference section below.

The AI/ML opportunities described in this NOFO are intended to optimize and control nuclear physics accelerators and detectors, and to optimize and enhance nuclear physics theory and numerical modeling. The NOFO supports efforts essential to developing leading core competencies and transformative technologies that significantly advance the state-of-the art AI and data analytics capabilities in accelerator science and nuclear physics research. Realization of the next generation of AI/ML for NP will require innovations in both hardware and algorithms.

AI-assisted scientific workflows are expected to use ML to enhance numerical modeling and data analysis. Scientific ML is a key component of artificial intelligence and a computational technology that can be trained with data to augment or automate human skills. The principal focus of this research area is on the use of scientific AI/ML for intelligent automation and decision support for complex systems relevant to nuclear physics.

The general approach for this NOFO is the use of AI/ML tools and methods for nuclear physics experiments, simulation, theory, and accelerator operation to expand scientific reach and accelerate scientific discovery. Major areas of research may include:

• Efficient extraction of critical and strategic information from large complex data sets:

Address how advanced AI models and data analytics can extract robust and meaningful information from the increasingly vast and complex data now being produced at the NP user facilities and by major experimental groups. AI techniques and foundational models have the potential to significantly reduce the effort to process and analyze the data to obtain the desired physical information. In addition, AI and data analytics can help unmask the complexity hidden in problems in high-dimensional spaces (multi-modal measurements, many experimental variables, etc.) by finding connections elusive to human observations. NP also seeks proposals that can lead to AI/ML applications that can be used by scientists in other areas of physics.

• Development and implementation of digital twins for future colliders under design or considerations: Digital twins and surrogate models have the potential to transform scientific research and all aspects of technical development of complex systems. A digital twin connects computational models with a physical counterpart to create a system dynamically updated through bidirectional data flows as conditions change in the physical system. Particle colliders such as RHIC, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) and the EIC are complex accelerator systems that require fully optimized design and operation. Future colliders such as EIC must implement AI and ML in their design and operation. It would be very cost effective to develop a digital twin of a collider complex that includes the interaction region(s), and the beam complex with crab cavities for colliding beams suitable for conducting realistic virtual accelerator experiments aimed at optimizing design parameters. Capabilities of reading bidirectional data flows between collider instrumentation and it’s digital twin is essential However, as stated by a 2023 National Academy of Sciences and Engineering study (https://www.nationalacademies.org/our-work/foundational-research-gaps-and-future-directions-for-digital-twins) many challenges remain before these applications can be fully realized. Digital twinning for colliders involves (a) modeling and simulation to create a virtual representation of a collider, and (b) Observations from the collider to inform and improve the virtual representation. Proposed work should clearly address challenges in creating a digital twin of a collider such as EIC and the method to tackle anticipated challenges.

• Efforts to address the challenges of autonomous control and experimentation:

Incorporate use of AI to address the challenges in the real-time operation of large, complex NP user facilities and scientific instrumentation. AI based methods are needed to efficiently search large, complex parameter spaces in real time, and to predict the health and failure of instruments that operate at high power sources and experiments that run on these instruments.

Such capabilities could dramatically reduce time for instrument calibration and facility downtime, improve facility performance, and maximize the productivity of the NP facilities and scientific instrumentation.

• Efficient operation of accelerators and scientific instruments: Increasing particle beam availability to users through the optimization of beam tuning, as well as the risk reduction in machine protection, will provide users with more opportunities to perform discovery science.

• Deployment of AI for reduction of large and/or complex experimental data: NP physics experiments generate huge volumes of data that would take a long time to go through for data analysis for one pass. AI methods are needed to increase the speed of data reduction beyond conventional methods used in data analysis for nuclear physics experiments.

• Development of software to enable data-driven discovery of new physics: In addition to the above topics, software development is needed for enabling data-driven discovery of new physics and exploration of new avenues in optimization, efficient surrogate models, data analytics, and inverse problems for accelerator and major detector operations and controls.

The development of advanced design approaches using AI and machine learning to inform instrumentation development is also of interest. Finally, the integration of data-analytics-driven automated decision tree navigation capability into control systems is needed for existing NP-supported national user facilities, as well as into the design of the EIC.

A note on applications and NP construction projects: Any proposed work that is not part of a current NP project scope can be submitted to this NOFO. Current NP project scope includes the approved Electron-Ion Collider (EIC). AI/ML methods related to the EIC need to be drafted to ensure they would not overlap with the approved EIC project scope. However, the methods can be related to enhancing scientific output of the EIC as a scientific user facility. The above is also true about other major NP projects in Fundamental Symmetries or other NP subprograms (Medium Energy, Heavy Ion, Nuclear Structure and Nuclear Astrophysics, etc.).

https://www.nationalacademies.org/our-work/foundational-research-gaps-and-future-directions-for-digital-twins https://www.nationalacademies.org/our-work/foundational-research-gaps-and-future-directions-for-digital-twins

The selected awardees will be expected to attend and present their progress towards meeting the objectives of the approved application in a yearly NP PI Exchange meeting. See, for example, https://science.osti.gov/np/Research/DOE-NP-Accelerator-R-D-PI-Meeting. Applicants should anticipate a need for travel to effectively communicate with other researchers and request appropriate funding in their budgets.

Teaming Arrangements

Multi-Institutional Teams

SC uses two different mechanisms to support teams of multiple institutions.

COLLABORATIVE APPLICATIONS

Collaborative proposals will not be accepted under this NOFO.

SUBAWARDS2

Multi-institutional teams must submit one application from a designated lead institution with all other team members proposed as subrecipients.

DOE/National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) National Laboratories3, if participating in a team led by another institution, must be proposed as subrecipients.

Note that the value of any such proposed subaward may be removed from any such prime award:

DOE may make separate awards to Federally affiliated institutions.

Open Science

SC is dedicated to promoting the values of openness in Federally supported scientific research, including, but not limited to, ensuring that research may be reproduced and that the results of Federally supported research are made available to other researchers. These objectives may be met through any number of mechanisms including, but not limited to, data access plans, data sharing agreements, the use of archives and repositories, and the use of various licensing schemes.

The use of the phrase “open-source” does not refer to any particular licensing arrangement, but is to be understood as encompassing any arrangement that furthers the objective of openness.

2 Subawards are made to subrecipients. Both terms are defined in 2 CFR 200.1 (https://www.ecfr.gov) 3 The phrase “National Laboratories” is used broadly to encompass DOE/NNSA laboratories and sites capable of performing the work described in this FOA and capable of receiving funds through the DOE Field Work System.

https://science.osti.gov/np/Research/DOE-NP-Accelerator-R-D-PI-Meeting https://www.ecfr.gov/

Applications from for-profit organizations that propose research related to current commercial activity may be declined without merit review.

All entities submitting applications to this NOFO must recognize the moral and legal obligations to comply with export controls and policies that limit the transfer of technologies with potential dual use. Applicants are reminded that international activities must comply with nonproliferation, sanction, and other protocols described at https://www.trade.gov/export-solutions.

International activities related to special nuclear materials (SNM) are subject to additional requirements. Please see 10 CFR 810 for further information.

All work proposed under this NOFO must be for basic and fundamental research whose results may be published in scholarly literature. Do not submit applications containing restricted data or unclassified controlled nuclear information as defined in the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, 42 USC 2011, et seq., 10

CFR 1017, 10 CFR 1045.

B. Program Goals, Objectives, and Priorities

The Office of Science’s (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 (U.S.). 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―paving 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 is an established leader of the U.S. scientific discovery and innovation enterprise. Over the decades, SC investments and accomplishments in basic research and enabling research capabilities have provided the foundations for new technologies, businesses, and industries, https://www.trade.gov/export-solutions making significant contributions to our nation’s economy, national security, and quality of life

C. Award Contribution to Goals and Objectives

Awards resulting from this NOFO are intended to increase our understanding of scientific phenomena.

D. Performance Goals

You will be expected to demonstrate progress toward increasing knowledge in periodic progress reports. PIs also will be expected to attend and present progress towards meeting the objectives of the approved application in a yearly NP PI Exchange meeting.

(https://science.osti.gov/np/Research/DOE-NP-Accelerator-R-D-PI-Meeting).

E. Substantial Involvement

Not applicable.

F. Program Unallowable Costs

You must apply the cost principles of 2 CFR 200, as supplemented by 2 CFR 910 and 10 CFR 605, to your application and any resulting award.

G. Citations to Statute and Regulations

The programmatic authorizing statute is:

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 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

H. Program History

You can learn about SC’s history at https://science.osti.gov/About/History. You can read about our achievements at https://science.osti.gov/Science-Features/Science-Highlights. You can find information about all of our awards at https://pamspublic.science.energy.gov/WebPAMSExternal/interface/awards/AwardSearchExtern al.aspx.

I. Other Information

ANTICIPATED AWARD SIZE

https://science.osti.gov/np/Research/DOE-NP-Accelerator-R-D-PI-Meeting https://science.osti.gov/About/History https://science.osti.gov/Science-Features/Science-Highlights https://pamspublic.science.energy.gov/WebPAMSExternal/interface/awards/AwardSearchExternal.aspx https://pamspublic.science.energy.gov/WebPAMSExternal/interface/awards/AwardSearchExternal.aspx

The award size will depend on the number of meritorious applications and the availability of appropriated funds.

A multi-institutional team applied for as a prime applicant with subawards is limited to a request of no more than

• $1,750,000 per year for National Laboratory as lead.

• $1,000,000 per year for university as lead

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

DOE anticipates making awards with a project period of two (2) years.

Continuation funding (funding for the second and subsequent budget periods) is contingent on:

(1) availability of funds appropriated by Congress and future year budget authority; (2) progress towards meeting the objectives of the approved application; (3) submission of required reports;

and (4) compliance with the terms and conditions of the award.

AWARD BUDGET PERIODS

SC is committed to distributing workloads (internally and externally) across as much of the calendar as is practical. Accordingly, awards made under this NOFO will generally be made with budget periods that end between December 1 and June 30. New awards may be made with a first budget period of more than 12 months. Renewal awards may be made with first budget periods that may be longer or shorter than 12 months.

Applicants should prepare budgets with 12-month budget periods. Actual start dates and cycle dates will be negotiated if an application is recommended for award. Budget periods will generally not be made for less than 9 months or more than 18 months.

IV. Application Contents and Format

A. Preliminary Submissions

1. Letter of Intent (LOI)

LETTER OF INTENT DUE DATE

The LOI due date is printed on the cover of this NOFO.

The response date is printed on the cover of this NOFO. Applicants who have not received a response regarding the status of their LOI by this date are responsible for contacting the program manager to confirm this status.

A LOI is required and must be submitted by the date indicated on the cover of this NOFO.

The LOI is to help in planning the review and the selection of potential reviewers for the application. The LOI must begin with a title page that will not count toward the LOI page limitation. Include, at the top of the first page, the following information:

Title of LOI Principal Investigator Name, Job Title

Institution PI Phone Number, PI Email Address

NOFO Number: Include the NOFO Number indicated on the cover of this NOFO

The material listed here defines the required content of a title page. Additional material is not allowed.

• Include a list of all senior/key personnel at the applicant and team member institutions.

• This information must be followed by a clear and concise description of the objectives and technical approach of the proposed research.

• The description of the proposed research may not exceed two pages, when printed using standard letter-size (8.5-inch x 11-inch) paper with 1-inch margins (top, bottom, left, and right). The body text font must not be smaller than 11 point. Figures and references, if included, must fit within the two-page limit.

If a multi-institutional team is being proposed, provide the following information on a separate page. This information will not count toward the page limitation.

• List all institutions by name with each institution’s PI on the same line.

• Indicate the lead PI who will be the point of contact and coordinator for the combined research activity.

• Include a table modeled on the following chart providing summary budget information from all institutions. Provide the total costs of the budget request in each year for each institution and totals for all rows and columns.

Multi-Institutional Team Information

Names Institution Year 1 Budget

Year 2 Budget

Total Budget

Lead PI Co-PI Co-PI Co-PI

Example budget table ($ in thousands)

The LOI must be machine-readable. Do not submit a scanned image of a printed document.

LOI REVIEW

Those LOIs that are encouraged will be used to help SC begin planning for the application peer review process. SC’s intent in discouraging submission of certain applications is to save the time and effort of applicants in preparing and submitting applications not responsive to this FOA.

Relevance to NP scientific priorities is an important aspect of the LOI evaluation. SC is committed to ensuring that a sufficient number of applicants will be encouraged to submit applications to foster a competitive merit review of the applications.

The PI will be automatically notified when the LOI is encouraged or discouraged. The DOE SC Portfolio Analysis and Management System (PAMS) will send an email to the PI from PAMS.Autoreply@science.doe.gov, and the status of the LOI will be updated at the PAMS website https://pamspublic.science.energy.gov/. Notifications are sent as soon as the decisions to encourage or discourage are finalized.

Written feedback about LOIs will be provided upon request after award selections have been announced..

The PI will be automatically notified when the LOI is encouraged or discouraged. The DOE SC Portfolio Analysis and Management System (PAMS) will send an email to the PI from PAMS.Autoreply@science.doe.gov, and the status of the pre-application will be updated at the PAMS website https://pamspublic.science.energy.gov/. Notifications are sent as soon as the decisions to encourage or discourage are finalized.

LOI SUBMISSION

LOIs are created in the software system of your choice and must be submitted electronically through the DOE SC Portfolio Analysis and Management System (PAMS) website https://pamspublic.science.energy.gov/. You cannot draft or edit an LOI in PAMS. Do not submit an LOI through Grants.gov.

LOIs may be submitted by a PI or by other users at the PI’s institution with the “Submit to DOE” privilege in PAMS.

Applicants are strongly encouraged to inform their DOE Program Manager if teaming arrangements, proposed personnel, topics, or the anticipated title change between submitting the mailto:PAMS.Autoreply@science.doe.gov https://pamspublic.science.energy.gov/ mailto:PAMS.Autoreply@science.doe.gov https://pamspublic.science.energy.gov/ https://pamspublic.science.energy.gov/ https://www.grants.gov/

LOI and when an application is submitted, to ensure that their application is properly linked to their LOI and that reviewers are properly assigned to the application.

Detailed instructions about how to submit an LOI are in Section IX of this NOFO.

2. Pre-application

Not applicable.

B. Application

Applications in response to this NOFO must be submitted through Grants.gov. Detailed instructions for registering in and using Grants.gov are in Section IX of this NOFO.

C. Component Pieces of the Application

LETTERS OF COLLABORATION OR ACCESS

Letters from collaborators or from institutions providing access to data, models, software, equipment and/or facilities may be appended to your project narrative and are not considered part of the project narrative’s page limit. Please ensure that letters from collaborators or from institutions providing access to data, models, software, equipment and/or facilities only describe the nature of the collaboration or the access to data, models, software, equipment and/or facilities. Letters of recommendation are not allowed in applications under this NOFO.

SCIENTIFIC USER FACILITIES

Documentation from any SC scientific user facility (https://science.osti.gov/User-Facilities) may be provided with other letters of collaboration or access in Appendix 7.

If the proposed research includes activities at the DIII-D National Fusion Facility, a U.S. DOE Office of Science user facility, then a Record of Discussion from the facility must be included in the submission. The Record of Discussion documents potential resources required by the facility to support the proposed research scope. Information on the Record of Discussion process at DIII- D is available at https://d3dfusion.org/become-a-user/ under the “Records of Discussion” header.

An ROD form is available for download from that site.

1. SF-424 (R&R)

Complete this form first to populate data in other forms. Complete all the required fields in accordance with the pop-up instructions on the form. The list of certifications and assurances referenced in Field 17 is available on the DOE Financial Assistance Forms Page at https://energy.gov/management/office-management/operational-management/financial-https://science.osti.gov/User-Facilities https://d3dfusion.org/become-a-user/ https://energy.gov/management/office-management/operational-management/financial-assistance/financial-assistance-forms assistance/financial-assistance-forms under Certifications and Assurances4. Applicants are bound by their representations and certifications in SAM.gov.

TYPE OF SUBMISSION (FIELD 1)

Select the checkbox for “Application” for an initial submission. Select the checkbox for “Changed/Corrected Application” if submitting an updated version of an application. Do not submit pre-applications via Grants.gov: Do not select the checkbox for “Pre-application.”

IDENTIFYING NUMBERS (FIELD 4)

For renewals enter the DOE award number in Field 4a. Do not enter any other number in Field 4a. Do not enter anything in Field 4b. If submitting an updated version of an application, you may enter the previous Grants.gov Tracking ID in Field 4c, though this is not required.

UEI AND EIN NUMBERS (FIELDS 5 AND 6)

The Uniform Entity Identifier (UEI) and Employer Identification Number (EIN) fields on the SF-424 (R&R) form are used in PAMS to confirm the identity of the individual or organization submitting an application.

• Enter the UEI as a 12-digit alpha-numerical sequence.

• Enter the EIN as a nine-digit number.

• Do not use hyphens or dashes.

• SC does not use the 12-digit EIN format required by some other agencies.

• Applications will not be rejected if an applicant’s system-to-system service uses a 12-digit

EIN format or inserts hyphens or dashes in an EIN.

TYPE OF APPLICATION (FIELD 8)

A new application is one in which DOE support for the proposed research is being requested for the first time. A renewal application requests additional funding for a period of time following a current award. If the application requests a significant change in the scope of work, please consult with the Program contact identified in this NOFO to determine if the application should be considered new or a renewal.

SC does not make use of the Resubmission or Continuation options.

Please answer “yes” to the question “Is this application being submitted to other agencies?” if substantially similar, identical, or closely related research objectives are being submitted to another Federal agency. Indicate the agency or agencies to which the similar objectives have been submitted.

DOE will accept new and renewal applications under this NOFO. Information about how to

4 No separate form or submission is required for the Certifications and Assurances.

https://energy.gov/management/office-management/operational-management/financial-assistance/financial-assistance-forms distinguish between new and renewal applications is located in Section IX.

2. Research and Related Other Project Information

Complete questions in fields 1 through 6 of the SF-424 Research and Related Other Project Information form.

Note regarding question 4.a. and 4.b.:

If any environmental impact, positive or negative, is anticipated, indicate “yes” in response to question 4.a., “potential impact – positive or negative - on the environment.” Disclosure of the impact should be provided in response to question 4.b. First indicate whether the impact is positive or negative and then identify the area of concern (e.g., air, water, exposure to radiation, impacts to endangered species or historic properties, etc.). Should the applicant have any uncertainty, they should check “yes.”

DOE understands the phrase in field 4.a., “potential impact … negative” to apply if the work described in the application could potentially have any of the impacts listed in (1) through (5) of 10 CFR 1021, Appendix B, Conditions that Are Integral Elements of the Classes of Action in Appendix B. (https://www.ecfr.gov)

Additionally, for actions which could have any other adverse impacts to the environment or have any possibility for adverse impacts to human health (e.g., use of human subjects, Biosafety Level 3-4 laboratory construction/operation, manufacture or use of certain nanoscale materials which are known to impact human health, or any activities involving transuranic or high level radioactive waste, or use of or exposure to any radioactive materials beyond de minimis levels), applicants should indicate a “negative” impact on the environment.

Lastly, 1) if there would be extraordinary circumstances (i.e., factor or circumstance that could increase the level of significance of environmental effects normally associated with the proposed action) (10 CFR 1021.410 (b)(2)), 2) if the work is connected to other actions with potentially significant impacts (10 CFR

1021.410 (b)(3), or 3) if the work is related to other nearby actions with the potential for cumulatively significant impacts (10 CFR 1021.410 (b)(3)), applicants should indicate a “negative” impact on the environment.

The bulk of your application will consist of files attached to the Research and Related Other Project Information form. The files must comply with the following instructions:

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT (FIELD 7 ON THE FORM)

The project summary/abstract is a summary of the proposed activity suitable for distribution to the public and sufficient to permit potential reviewers to identify conflicts of interest. It must be a self-contained document. The project summary/abstract must be comprised of:

https://www.ecfr.gov/

• The project title, the PI name and the PI’s institutional affiliation, and any coinvestigators and their institutional affiliations.

• This information must be followed by a statement of the project’s objectives, a description of the project, including methods to be employed, and the potential impact of the project (i.e., benefits, outcomes).

• The description of the proposed research may not exceed one page (excluding Project Title and list of investigators) when printed using standard letter-size (8.5-inch x 11-inch) paper with 1-inch margins (top, bottom, left, and right). The body text font must not be smaller than 11 point. Figures and references, if included, must fit within the one-page limit.

A sample is provided below:

Project Title

A. Smith, Lead Institution (Principal Investigator) A. Brown, Institution 2 (Co-Investigator) A. Jones, Institution 3 (Co-Investigator)

Text of abstract (no more than one page, excluding Project Title and list of investigators)

If an application is recommended for award, the project summary will be used in preparing a public abstract about the award. Award abstracts and titles form a Government document that describes the project and justifies the expenditure of Federal funds in light of the DOE and SC mission statements at https://energy.gov/mission and https://science.osti.gov/about/.

• Do not include any proprietary or sensitive business information.

• DOE may use the abstract to prepare public reports about supported research.

DOE TITLE PAGE

(PART OF PROJECT NARRATIVE ATTACHED TO FIELD 8 ON THE FORM)

The application narrative must begin with a title page that will not count toward the project narrative page limitation. The title page must include the following items:

• The project title:

• Applicant/Institution:

• Street Address/City/State/ZIP:

• Postal Address:

• Lead PI name, telephone number, email:

• Administrative Point of Contact name, telephone number, email:

• NOFO Number: Include the NOFO number printed on the cover of this NOFO.

• DOE/SC Program Office:

• DOE/SC Program Office Technical Contact:

• DOE Award Number (if Renewal Application):

• PAMS LOI tracking number:

https://energy.gov/mission https://science.osti.gov/about/

Senior/Key Personnel

• Senior/Key Personnel Name, Institution

• Senior/Key Personnel Name, Institution

• Senior/Key Personnel Name, Institution

Institution Year 1 Budget

Year 2 Budget

Total Budget

The material listed here defines the required content of a title page. Additional material is not allowed.

Important Instructions to the Sponsored Research Office of Submitting Institutions: SC requires that you create 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. Do not use PDF portfolios or binders. 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 project 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. Do not attach any of the appendices listed in this paragraph separately in any other field in Grants.gov. If you do, these additional attachments will not become part of the application in PAMS.

PROJECT NARRATIVE (FIELD 8 ON THE FORM)

The project narrative must not exceed a page limit of Twenty (20) pages of technical information, including charts, graphs, maps, photographs, and other pictorial presentations, when printed using standard letter-size (8.5-inch x 11-inch) paper with 1-inch margins (top, bottom, left, and right). The body text font of all main text must not be smaller than 11 point. Merit reviewers will only consider the number of pages specified in the first sentence of this paragraph.

This page limit does not apply to the Title Page, Budget Page(s), Budget Justification, biographical material, publications and references, appendices, and an optional table of content, each of which may have its own page limit defined later in this NOFO.

Do not include any websites (URLs) that provide supplementary or additional information that constitutes a part of the application. Merit reviewers are not required to access websites;

however, Internet publications in a list of references will be treated identically to print publications. See Section IX of this NOFO for instructions on how to mark proprietary application information. To attach a Project Narrative, click “Add Attachment.”

The Project Narrative comprises the research plan for the project. It should contain enough background material in the Introduction, including a brief review of the relevant literature and any prior research in this area, to demonstrate sufficient knowledge of the state of the science.

The major part of the narrative should be devoted to a description and justification of the proposed project, including details of the methods to be used.