National Science Foundation - Where Discoveries Begin

Special Notices

In partnership with Intel, the National Science Foundation’s Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering and Directorate for Engineering announce their continued investment in the development of future wireless systems through the Machine Learning for Wireless Networking Systems (MLWiNS) solicitation. This is the latest in a series of joint efforts between the two partners to support research that accelerates innovation and grows the number of workforce-ready graduates. Over the past five years, NSF and Intel have collectively contributed over $30 million to support pre-competitive science and engineering research.

Future wireless networks will extend beyond current cellular and Wi-Fi systems to support a range of services such as real-time autonomous machines, safety-critical health applications, and augmented and virtual reality, to name a few. It is vital that future systems meet the density, throughput, and latency requirements of such complex applications in an efficient, secure manner. Moreover, wireless deployments that reduce strain on an already over-congested wireless spectrum will become more critical as the demand for capacity and coverage increases.

Machine learning has emerged as a disruptive technique and architectural framework to potentially manage this growing complexity and scale while maintaining quality of service. Through MLWiNS, NSF and Intel aim to accelerate fundamental, broad-based research on wireless-specific machine learning techniques that will enable new wireless architectures and systems for future applications.

With $9 million in funding over the course of three years, the program is anticipated to result in 10-15 awards ranging from $300,000 to $1,500,000 per project for periods of up to three years, pending the availability of funds and quality of proposals received. Proposals must address one or more of the following research vectors:

• Machine Learning for Wireless Networks: solutions that enable management of large-scale, multi-radio, ultra-dense wireless networks to address the growing complexity and scale of future edge infrastructure and application systems.

• Machine Learning for Spectrum Management: creation and curation of spectrum data, analysis techniques to enable secure and robust dynamic spectrum access, monitoring and detection of spectrum abuse, and adaptive protocol selection to improve coexistence among both active and passive users of spectrum.

• Distributed Machine Learning over Wireless Edge Networks: development of distributed machine learning approaches that are adapted for use close to data sources—i.e., approaches that are cognizant of the communication, computation, and architectural constraints of the wireless edge.

NSF and Intel discussed submission requirements, program updates, and specific questions from researchers in a webinar last week. To watch the webinar and learn more, register here.  

Enhancing access to cloud computing resources for research and education

New NSF-funded entity to pilot serving as the principal interface between the computer and information science and engineering research and education community and public cloud computing providers

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded a team at the University of California, San Diego, University of California, Berkeley, and University of Washington to establish an entity that will serve as the principal interface between the NSF-funded Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) research and education community and public cloud computing providers. This entity, called CloudBank and funded following competitive review (see NSF 19-510 Cloud Access for details), will deliver a set of managed services designed to enhance, democratize, and better leverage the use of cloud computing resources for CISE research and education.

Data- and compute-intensive research and education are at the forefront of addressing many national and societal challenges – and they increasingly benefit from access to cloud computing platforms, which provide robust, agile, reliable, and scalable computing infrastructure.

“We are delighted to be funding the CloudBank pilot, which will significantly advance the use of cloud computing resources in CISE research and education,” said Jim Kurose, NSF Assistant Director for CISE. “The close collaboration between the CloudBank project, public cloud computing providers, researchers, and students will simultaneously enable new research and education while also providing a unique opportunity to develop and study the operational, technological, and business dimensions of a fundamentally new model of public/private partnership in the service of the research and education enterprise.”

CloudBank will support the full spectrum of cloud users, from early-stage to advanced, providing on-ramp support that reduces researcher cloud adoption pain points, including managing costs, translating and upgrading research computing environments to appropriate cloud platforms, and learning cloud-based technologies that accelerate and expand research and education. These functions will be accessed via an intuitive, easy-to-use user portal that gives users a single point of entry.

CloudBank will enable access to multiple public cloud computing providers, and also provide innovative financial options that will give researchers more flexible cloud terms tailored for their research and education needs.

A primary objective of CloudBank is to broaden the access and impact of cloud computing across the many fields of CISE research and education. The project will reach thousands of researchers and students through allocated research projects and classes. A far larger group of stakeholders will benefit from CloudBank outreach efforts, such as workshops, publications, the CloudBank Center of Excellence on Cloud-Enabled Research and Education, and the CloudBank Advisory Board.

NSF support for this innovative pilot within the CISE research and education community follows recommendations from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) and multiple community visioning workshops, which have called for enhancing access to cloud resources by providing researchers and educators with strategic technical guidance and training in using the cloud, partnering with public cloud computing providers, reducing or eliminating indirect cost recovery for acquiring or using cloud computing resources, and bulk purchasing of cloud computing resources.

CloudBank offers a long-term vision for service and sustainability that will broaden the impact of public cloud computing across CISE research, and help ensure that students entering the workforce and research enterprise will be able to contribute and compete in the global economy.

For up-to-date information about CloudBank, visit https://www.cloudbank.org/.

Princeton University professor of computer science to lead investments in all areas of computer and information science and engineering.  More.....

FY2020 Dear Colleague Letters:

• Frontera Leadership-Class Computing Allocations (NSF 20-018) More...

• Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) and Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) Supplemental Funding in Computer and Information Science and Engineering (NSF 20-016) More...

• Request for Information on Data-Focused Cyberinfrastructure Needed to Support Future Data-Intensive Science and Engineering Research (NSF 20-015) More...

FY2019 Dear Colleague Letters:

• National Science Foundation and Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) Collaborative Research Opportunity in Smart and Connected Communities (NSF 19-077) More......
• Revised Deadline for the Advanced Computing Systems & Services (ACSS):  Adapting to the Rapid Evolution of Science and Engineering Research Program (NSF 19-075) More....
• Effective Practices for Data (NSF 19-069) More...
• NSF Convergence Accelerator Pilot (NSF C-Accel) (NSF 19-050) More...
• Revisions to the Cyber-Physical Systems and Smart and Connected Communities Program Deadlines (NSF 19-040) More...
• Transitioning the NSF Critical Techniques, Technologies and Methodologies for Advancing Foundations and Applications of Big Data Sciences and Engineering (BIGDATA) Program (NSF 19-039) More...
  
• Leadership-Class Computing Allocations (NSF 19-030) More...

• Supporting Transition to Practice Supplemental Funding Requests in the NSF Cyber-Physical Systems and Smart and Connected Communities Programs (NSF 19-026) More...

• EArly-concept Grants for Exploratory Research on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Society - Supported Jointly with the Partnership on AI (NSF 19-018)  More....

• Fairness, Ethics, Accountability, and Transparency: Enabling Breakthrough Research to Expand Inclusivity in Computer and Information Science and Engineering Research (NSF 19-016)  More...

• Research Experiences for Undergraduate (REU) Supplemental Funding (NSF 19-014) More...

FY2018 Dear Colleague Letters:

• Enabling Early-Stage Secure and Trustworthy Cyberspace (SaTC) Socio-Technical Interdisciplinary Collaborations (NSF 18-109) More....
• Announcing a Core Program within the Division of Computing and Communication Foundations (NSF 18-099) More...
• Revision of CISE Research Infrastructure (CRI) program (NSF 18-098) More...
• Removal of Deadlines for the Secure and Trustworthy Cyberspace (SaTC) Program (NSF 18-093) More...
• Scalable Cyberinfrastructure to Accelerate Data-Driven Science & Engineering (NSF 18-076) More...
• Addition of IBM as a Cloud Resource Provider to the FY 2018 BIGDATA Solicitation (NSF 18-066) More...
  See: Transitioning the NSF Critical Techniques, Technologies and Methodologies for Advancing Foundations and Applications of Big Data Sciences and Engineering (BIGDATA) Program (NSF 19-039) More...
• Catalyzing Rapid Creation of New Industry-University Cooperative Research Centers (IUCRC) with a Direct Submission Option for Phase 1 Centers (NSF 18-064) More...
• Advancing Long-term Use Reuse of Scientific Data (NSF 18-060) More....
• Disrupting Operations of Illicit Supply Networks (NSF 18-059) More....
• Growing Convergence Research (NSF 18-058) More....
• Research Opportunities in Europe for NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellows (NSF 18-055) More...
• Research Opportunities in Europe for NSF CAREER Awardees (NSF 18-054) More.....
• Signals in the Soil (SitS) (NSF 18-047) More...
• Stimulating Research Related to Navigating the New Arctic (NAA), One of NSF's 10 Big Ideas (NSF 18-048) More....
• Stimulating Educational Neuroscientific Research through the Integrative Strategies for Understanding Neural and Cognitive Systems (NCS) program (NSF 18-043) More...
• RAISE on Enabling Quantum Leap: Transformational Advances in Quantum Systems (NSF 18-035) More...
• Rules of Life (RoL):  Forecasting and Emergence in Living Systems (FELS) (NSF 18-031) More...
• Principles for the Design of Digital Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Learning Environments (NSF 18-017) More...
• Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Supplemental Funding (NSF 18-015) More...
• Encouraging Participation of Cloud Computing Providers in Computer and Information Science and Engineering Research (NSF 18-014) More....
• Request for Information on Mid-scale Research Infrastructure (NSF 18-013) More....

FY2017 Dear Colleague Letters:

• NSF Accepting Proposals Related to Hurricane Irma (NSF 17-135)  More.....
• NSF Accepting Proposals Related to Hurricane Harvey (NSF 17-128)  More....
• Software Infrastructure for Sustained Innovation (SI2) Program in Fall 2017 (NSF 17-126) More...
• Special Guidelines for Submitting Collaborative Proposals under National Science Foundation (NSF) and US-Israel Binational Science Foundation (BSF) Collaborative Research Opportunities (NSF 17-120)  More....
• Pursuing Meaningful Actions in Support of Broadening Participation in Computing (BPC) (NSF 17-110) More...
• Non-Academic Research Internships for Graduate Students (INTERN) Supplemental Funding (NSF 17-091) More...
• National Science Foundation (NSF) - Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) Collaborative Research (NSF 17-077) More....
• Simulated and Synthetic Data for Infrastructure Modeling (SSDIM) (NSF 17-074) More...
• Encouraging Submission of Industry/University Cooperative Research Centers (IUCRC) Proposals in Areas Related to the Internet of Things (NSF 17-072) More.
• Growing Convergence Research at NSF (NSF 17-065)
• Encouraging Submission of Industry/University Cooperative Research Centers (IUCRC) Proposals in the Area of Cybersecurity (NSF 17-061) More...
• Request for Input on Federal Datasets with Potential to Advance Data Science (NSF 17-049) More...
• Public Participation in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Research: Capacity-building, community-building, and direction setting (NSF 17-047) More...
• Request for Information on Future Needs for Advanced Cyberinfrastructure to Support Science and Engineering Resarch (NSF CI 2030) (NSF 17-031) More...
• Further Strengthening Research Capacity at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (NSF 17-027) More...
• Enabling US-Brazil Collaboration on Cybersecurity Research (NSF 17-024) More....
• Encouraging Reproducibility in Computing and Communications Research (NSF 17-022) More....
• Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Supplemental Funding (NSF 17-021) More...
• Special Guidelines for Submitting Collaborative Proposals under the US NSF/CISE - US-Israel Binational Science Foundation International Opportunity (NSF 17-020) More....
• Enabling Collaborations Between Computer and Information Science & Engineering (CISE) and Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences (SBE) Research Communities (NSF 17-019) More...
• Updates to 2017 Smart and Connected Health Solicitation (NSF 17-015) More....

FY2016 Dear Colleague Letters:

• Opportunities for Research in Smart & Connected Communities (NSF 16-140) More....
• Data Infrastructure Building Blocks (DIBBs) program PI/coPI Meeting (NSF 16-126)  More....
• Supporting Fundamental Research in Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) (NSF 16-123)  More.....
• Stimulating Integrative Research in Computational Cognition (CompCog) (NSF 16-122) More....
• NSF Support for DARPA Spectrum Collaboration Challenge (SC2) Participants (NSF 16-114) More....
• Exploring Mechanisms to Enhance the Economic and Societal Impacts of Fundamental Advances in Information and Communications Technologies (NSF 16-106) More....
• Grant Opportunities for Academic Liaison with Industry (GOALI) (NSF 16-099)  More...
• Advanced Wireless Research Platforms: Sustaining U.S. Leadership in Future Wireless Technologies (NSF 16-096) More....
• Seeking Community Input on Advanced Cyberinfrastructure (NSF 16-090) More....
• Call for Submission of Conference Proposals to Inform the Design and Success of the Alliances and National Network for NSF Includes (NSF 16-081) More...
• Strengthening Research Capacity at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (NSF 16-080) More...
• Innovative Computational Infrastructure for Understanding the Brain (NSF 16-076) More...
• Improving graduate student preparedness for entering the workforce, opportunities for supplemental support.  (NSF 16-067) More...
• Computer Science For All (NSF 16-057)  More.....
• National Brain Observatory:  A Phased Approach for Developing a National Research Infrastructure for Neuroscience (NSF 16-047) More....
• CPS EAGERS Supporting Participation in the Global City Teams Challenge (NSF 16-036) More...
• Enabling US-Netherlands Collaboration for Privacy Research (NSF 16-027)  More...
• Integrated NSF Support Promoting Interdisciplinary Research and Education (INSPIRE) (NSF 16-023)  More...
• Supplements to Connect CISE, EHR, and ENG Projects to Neural and Cognitive Systems (NSF 16-020) More...
• Special Guidelines for Submitting Collaborative Proposals under the US NSF/CISE/SaTC - US-Israel BSF International Opportunity (NSF 16-019)  More...
• Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Supplemental Funding (NSF 16-018)  More....
• Request for Information (RFI) on Science Drivers Requiring Capable Exascale High Performance Computing (NSF 16-008) More....
• Optics and Photonics (NSF 16-004) More....

Event Calendar

• Dec
  December 12, 2019  - December 12, 2019 CISE Advisory Committee (CISE AC) Meeting - Fall 2019Advisory Committee Meeting
• Dec
  December 13, 2019  - December 13, 2019 CISE Advisory Committee (CISE AC) Meeting - Fall 2019Advisory Committee Meeting
• Dec
  December 13, 2019  - December 13, 2019 Advisory Committee for International Science and Engineering (AC-ISE) December 2019 Virtual MeetingAdvisory Committee Meeting