Mathematical and Physical Sciences
Inactive
- Assistance listing
- 47.049
- Agency
-
National Science Foundation
- Grant awards
- 80,043 $35,196,658,865 in federal obligations
Program facts
- Assistance types
-
- Project Grant
- Cooperative Agreement
Program details come from SAM.gov Assistance Listings. Updated . Grant award figures come from USAspending.gov.
About this program
The National Science Foundation funds mathematical and physical sciences research across mathematics, materials science, physics, chemistry, and astronomy via CFDA 47.049, with the most recent award (Project Grant 2625857 on digital twins for dental implant evaluation) obligating $513,000 on June 1, 2027. The program is actively disbursing grants: 2,142 awards were made in 2025 and 1,520 in 2026, though activity has slowed sharply in 2027 (21 awards recorded). Over its 36-year history, the program has obligated $35.2 billion in combined federal and non-federal dollars across 80,043 total awards.
NSF dominates funding through its parent organization and four principal sub-divisions. The National Science Foundation as a whole awarded 56,699 grants ($21.79 billion federal obligated), with the Division of Materials Research leading by federal dollars ($3.03 billion across 4,198 awards), followed by the Division of Physics ($2.75 billion, 3,441 awards), the Division of Mathematical Sciences ($2.36 billion, 8,431 awards), and the Division of Astronomical Sciences ($2.33 billion, 1,715 awards). These four divisions account for 96 percent of award count. The portfolio is predominantly Project Grants (98 percent of 78,749 awards), with Cooperative Agreements comprising 2 percent (1,294 awards).
Recent awards illustrate the program's concrete scope. Funded projects include development of patient-specific digital twins for dental implant design and cardiopulmonary bypass management; entropy-stable computational methods for high-speed fluid dynamics; nanoscale heterostructures for electronic and sensor applications; postdoctoral fellowships in algebraic geometry, stable homotopy theory, and exoplanet demographics; mathematical foundations for chain-of-thought reasoning in transformer-based AI systems; and conference support for representation theory, probabilistic combinatorics, and applied algebraic geometry. Award magnitudes range from $12,718 (regional mathematics conferences) to $2 million (accelerated design of organic molecular crystals).
Grant opportunities currently posted include MPS Mathematical Sciences Research Programs (26-520, due October 8, 2076), MPS Chemistry Research Programs (26-519, due October 7, 2076), MPS Materials Research Programs (26-521, due October 7, 2076), MPS Physics Research Programs (26-523, due October 6, 2076), MPS Astronomical Sciences Research Programs (26-522, due October 7, 2076), Artificial Intelligence, Formal Methods, and Mathematical Reasoning (24-554, posted October 13, 2026), Materials Innovation Platforms (25-521, cooperative agreement, posted October 9, 2026), Quantum Leap Challenge Institutes (24-599, cooperative agreement, posted October 9, 2026), and Emerging Mathematics in Biology (25-509, posted August 17, 2026). PI eligibility typically requires tenured or tenure-track status or full-time research appointment at U.S. institutions of higher education.
Objective and description
- Objective
To promote the progress of the mathematical and physical sciences and thereby strengthen the Nation's scientific enterprise; to increase the store of scientific knowledge and enhance understanding of major problems confronting the Nation. Most of the
Grant opportunities
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Latest 50 listed here. See the rest on GovTribe.
Grant awards
Latest 10 of 80,043 listed here. See the rest on GovTribe.
Top recipients by federal obligations
| Rank | Recipient | Federal obligations | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Association Of Universities For Research In Astronomy, Inc. | $2,676,358,266 | 8% |
| 2 | Associated Universities Inc. | $2,193,162,080 | 6% |
| 3 | California Institute Of Technology | $1,403,658,538 | 4% |
| 4 | Cornell University | $913,968,269 | 3% |
| 5 | Florida State University | $868,884,257 | 2% |
| 6 | Michigan State University | $549,816,794 | 2% |
| 7 | University Of Wisconsin System | $547,570,626 | 2% |
| 8 | The Regents Of The University Of California | $532,298,259 | 2% |
| 9 | The Trustees Of Princeton University | $528,478,291 | 2% |
| 10 | The University Of Chicago | $498,678,389 | 1% |
10 of 965 recipients listed here. See the rest on GovTribe.
Federal obligations by fiscal year
| Fiscal year | Federal obligations |
|---|---|
| FY2026 | $1,007,534,479 |
| FY2025 | $1,603,422,848 |
| FY2024 | $1,537,741,895 |
| FY2023 | $1,651,051,450 |
| FY2022 | $1,670,748,194 |
| FY2021 | $1,749,388,498 |
| FY2020 | $1,642,757,062 |
| FY2019 | $1,599,773,710 |
| FY2018 | $1,608,603,139 |
| FY2017 | $1,448,307,789 |
| FY2016 | $1,471,908,391 |
| FY2015 | $1,484,263,195 |
| FY2014 | $1,372,153,393 |
| FY2013 | $1,329,602,972 |
| FY2012 | $1,391,293,564 |
| FY2011 | $1,378,032,133 |
| FY2010 | $1,501,201,655 |
| FY2009 | $1,430,203,556 |
| FY2008 | $1,363,498,930 |
| FY2007 | $1,264,167,633 |
| FY2006 | $1,076,554,305 |
| FY2005 | $1,091,247,108 |
| FY2004 | $623,321,504 |
| FY2003 | $936,282,429 |
| FY2002 | $642,698,642 |
| FY2001 | $630,014,528 |
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Quick answers
What is Assistance Listing 47.049?
Assistance Listing 47.049 is Mathematical and Physical Sciences, a federal grant program run by National Science Foundation. It is inactive.
What is the CFDA number for Mathematical and Physical Sciences?
Its CFDA number is 47.049: Assistance Listing numbers were called CFDA numbers before 2018.
How much funding has Assistance Listing 47.049 awarded?
80,043 grant awards under 47.049 have obligated $35,196,658,865 in federal funds to 965 recipients.
Who receives the most funding from 47.049?
The recipients obligated the most under Mathematical and Physical Sciences are Association Of Universities For Research In Astronomy, Inc. ($2,676,358,266), Associated Universities Inc. ($2,193,162,080) and California Institute Of Technology ($1,403,658,538).
How much did 47.049 obligate in fiscal year 2025?
Grants under 47.049 obligated $1,603,422,848 in federal funds in fiscal year 2025.
Are there open grant opportunities under 47.049?
4 of the latest 50 opportunities under 47.049 are open or forecasted. The latest, Artificial Intelligence, Formal Methods, and Mathematical Reasoning (AIMing), was posted on October 13, 2026.
On GovTribe
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