Science and Technology Fellowship Program

This program is intended to fund fellowships for highly qualified scientists and engineers from a broad range of disciplines, including but not limited to advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence, physics, bioscience, chemistry, materials, eng

The overarching objective of this award is to support NIST in cutting-edge fields, including microelectronics, artificial intelligence, physics, bioscience, chemistry, materials science, engineering, information technology, advanced manufacturing, innovation commercialization, standards development, and technology transfer. To achieve this goal, the award recipient shall establish and manage a NIST Science and Technology Fellowship Program that cultivates the next generation of scientific and technical leaders who will contribute to U.S. competitiveness and economic resilience. Eligible projects will support the NIST Science and Technology Fellowship Program. The project areas that are covered in this program will drive discovery and innovation in all areas of math, science, technology, and engineering.

Eligibility for the program listed is open to all non-Federal entities. Eligible applicants include accredited institutions of higher education; non-profit organizations; for-profit organizations incorporated in the United States; and state, local, territorial, and Indian tribal governments. Please note that individuals and unincorporated sole proprietors are not considered "non-Federal entities" and are not eligible to apply. Although Federal entities are not eligible to receive funding under this program, they may participate as unfunded collaborators.

The evaluation criteria that will be used in evaluating applications and their assigned weights are as follows: a. Rationality of Execution. The rationality, innovation, and creativity of the project approach including planning and executing the proposed project objectives, requirements, and priorities of this program. b. Qualifications of Personnel. The experience of the staff, skills, and training of the proposed personnel to perform the work proposed in the application and to achieve the objective of the proposed activity. c. Resources Availability. The extent to which the applicant has access to the necessary resources and overall support to accomplish project objectives, and assessment of the budget against the proposed work to ascertain the reasonableness of the request. d. Match of Budget to Proposed Work. Assessment of the suitability and focus of the applicant's budget against the proposed activities to ascertain whether the budget projections are reasonable and appropriate for the scale of effort to be undertaken by the applicant.

The Selecting Official, the Director of the Program Coordination Office or designee, will make final award recommendations to the NIST Grants Officer. The Selecting Official shall generally select and recommend the most meritorious application for an award based upon the rank order of the applications. The Selecting Official retains the discretion to select and recommend an application out of rank order based on one or more of the Selection Factors. NIST reserves the right to negotiate the budget costs with any applicant selected to receive an award, which may include requesting that the applicant removes certain costs. Additionally, NIST may request that successful applicants modify objectives or work plans and provide supplemental information required by the agency prior to award. NIST also reserves the right to reject an application where information is uncovered that raises a reasonable doubt as to the responsibility of the applicant. NIST may select some, all, or none of the applications, or part(s) of any application. The final approval of selected applications and issuance of awards will be by the NIST Grants Officer. The award decisions of the NIST Grants Officer are final.

May be eligible for renewal in accordance with DOC Financial Assistance General Terms and Conditions.