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This document has been archived. For current NSF funding opportunities, see
https://www.nsf.gov/funding/browse_all_funding.jsp
Directorate
for Mathematical and Physical Sciences
Division of Materials Research
The Division of Materials Research (DMR)
supports a wide range of programs that address fundamental phenomena in
condensed matter and functional materials, including synthesis and processing,
structure and composition, properties and performance, and materials education.
DMR provides support for research and education carried out by individual
investigators, groups, and centers; for instrumentation; and for national
user facilities. Grants for proposed projects may be for individual investigators
or groups in a single discipline, target a specific program or project,
be interdisciplinary, or require partnerships that cross the boundaries
of traditional programs. DMR has interest in projects that advance the field
of materials research and materials education through its core programs
and through the NSF-wide priority areas and other activities of importance
to the broader goals of NSF. DMR staff facilitate the co-review and co-funding
of highly meritorious proposals within a program and across programs, divisions,
or directorate boundaries as appropriate.
• DMR
Programs
Programs in the category DMR Programs support materials
research and education ranging from investigations in condensed matter
physics and solid state chemistry to basic research on functional materials,
including metals, ceramics, polymers, biomaterials, and electronic, photonic,
and magnetic materials. DMR supports projects that lead to the discovery
and understanding of materials and condensed matter phenomena and the
basis for their translation into technological applications. The division
especially encourages projects that lead to the discovery of new phenomena,
the creation of novel materials, and advances in understanding and control
of materials behavior and processing. Discoveries often emerge from a
creative interplay among theory, experiment, computer-based modeling
and simulation, and the development of new instruments.
1. Metals
Supports research to increase understanding and predictive capabilities
for relating synthesis, processing, alloy chemistry, and microstructure of
metals to their physical and structural properties and performance in various
applications and environments. Metals research encompasses the broad areas
of physical and mechanical metallurgy. Topics supported include phase transformations
and equilibria; morphology; solidification; surface modification, structure,
and properties; interfaces and grain boundary structure; nanostructures;
corrosion and oxidation; defects; deformation and fracture; and welding and
joining.
2. Ceramics
Supports research investigating the characteristics of ceramic materials
as they relate to the complex interplay among processing, development, and
manipulation of microstructure, and properties and their ultimate performance
in various applications and environments. The materials studied include oxides,
carbides, nitrides, and other ceramics, including diamond and carbon-based
materials. The microstructures investigated range from crystalline, polycrystalline,
and amorphous to composite and nanostructured. Potential uses include, but
are not limited to, electronic and electrical, electrochemical, structural,
optical/photonic, and biological/medical applications.
3. Electronic Materials
Supports research that investigates the fundamental phenomena associated
with the synthesis and processing of electronic and photonic materials. The
objective is to increase fundamental understanding and develop predictive
capabilities for relating synthesis, processing, and microstructure of these
materials to their properties and performance in various applications and
environments. Topics supported include basic processes and mechanisms associated
with nucleation and growth of thin films; nanostructure definition and etching
processes; bulk crystal growth; and the interrelationship among experimental
conditions, phenomena, and properties.
4. Materials Theory
Supports theoretical and complementary computational research in the topical
areas represented in DMR programs, including condensed matter physics, polymers,
solid-state chemistry, metals, electronic materials, and ceramics. Materials
Theory is the primary source of funding at NSF for condensed matter theory.
The program supports fundamental research that advances conceptual, analytical,
and computational techniques for materials research. A broad spectrum of
research is supported using electronic structure methods, many-body theory,
statistical mechanics, and Monte Carlo and molecular dynamics simulations,
along with other techniques, many of which involve advanced scientific computing.
Emphasis is on approaches that begin at the smallest appropriate length scale—electronic,
atomic, molecular, nano-, micro-, and mesoscale—required to yield fundamental
insight into material properties, processes, and behavior and to reveal new
materials phenomena. Areas of recent interest include strongly correlated
electron systems; low-dimensional systems; quantum magnetism; nonequilibrium
phenomena, including pattern formation, microstructural evolution, and fracture;
high-temperature superconductivity; nanostructured materials and mesoscale
phenomena; quantum coherence and its control; and soft condensed matter,
including systems of biological interest.
5. Condensed Matter Physics
Supports fundamental, experimental, and combined experiment and theory
projects on the physics of solid, liquid, and amorphous systems. Phenomena
of interest
include phase transitions; localization; electronic, magnetic, and lattice
structure; superconductivity; elementary excitations, including electronic,
magnetic, plasma, and lattice; transport, magnetic, and optical properties;
and nonlinear dynamics. Low-temperature physics is represented by research
on quantum fluids and solids as well as two-dimensional electron systems.
Soft condensed matter research includes partially ordered fluids, colloid
physics, and hybrid media involving biological molecules. Characterization
and analysis of new materials by novel methods and research on condensed
matter under extreme conditions—such as low temperatures, high pressures, and
high magnetic fields—are of interest. Development of new experimental
techniques to carry out proposed projects is encouraged.
6. Solid-State Chemistry
Supports basic research that includes understanding the atomic and molecular
basis for synthesis, structure-composition-property relationships, and the
processing of materials. The program is largely multidisciplinary with strong
components of chemistry, physics, biology, and materials science. Special
attention is given to the creation of new classes of materials exhibiting
new phenomena and discovering specific materials with superior properties.
Current research areas include innovative synthetic routes to new materials;
characterization of materials displaying new phenomena or superior behavior;
the relationships among structure, composition, and properties such as chemisorption,
cooperative-assembly, transport, and reactivity; and materials preparation,
processing, and optimization by chemical means. The current materials emphasis
is on hybrid materials, complex materials, bio-inspired and environmental
materials, and advanced materials optimization and processing.
7. Polymers
Supports basic research and education on the materials aspects of polymer
science that are largely experimental and multidisciplinary, with strong
components of chemistry, physics, and materials science. The program addresses
synthesis, structure, morphology, processing, characterization, and structure-property
relationships of polymers at the molecular level, with particular focus on
new materials or materials with superior properties. The polymers studied
are principally synthetic, but there is also an interest in biopolymers.
8. Materials Research Science and Engineering Centers (MRSECs)
Support
interdisciplinary materials research and education while addressing fundamental
problems in science and engineering that are important to society. MRSECs
require outstanding research quality and intellectual breadth, provide support
for research infrastructure and flexibility in responding to new opportunities,
and strongly emphasize the integration of research and education. These
centers foster active collaboration between universities and other sectors,
including
industry, and they constitute a national network of university-based centers
in materials research. MRSECs address problems of a scope or complexity
requiring the advantages of scale and interdisciplinary interaction provided
by a campus-based
research center. DMR expects that there will be an open competition for
new MRSECs in fiscal year 2005. For more information about the MRSECs, including
links to the research and education activities of each center, visit the
MRSEC home page, http://www.mrsec.org.
9. Instrumentation for Materials Research
Supports the development and acquisition of state-of-the-art tools to carry
out advanced materials research. The program supports major shared instruments
essential to investigators conducting research that spans two or more disciplinary
areas within DMR or more than one NSF division; and instrumentation required
by one or more investigators conducting research in a single disciplinary
area within DMR that has a total cost of approximately $100,000 or more.
The program strongly encourages submission of proposals for the development
of new instruments that have the potential to solve important materials problems,
proposals that will significantly advance measurement capabilities, and proposals
that could lead to new discoveries. The program typically has only one deadline
per year. For more information about current program guidelines and deadlines,
visit the DMR home page, https://www.nsf.gov/div/index.jsp?div=DMR. The program
also coordinates the review for the NSF-wide Major Research Instrumentation
(MRI) Program for DMR.
10. Office of Special Programs
Coordinates DMR-related international
activities and DMR participation in many of the NSF-wide programs involving
education, human resource, and career development. Programs include Research
Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) and Research Experiences for Teachers
(RET), Opportunities for International Cooperation in Materials Research,
International Materials Institutes (IMI), Partnerships for Research and
Education in Materials (PREM), Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists
and
Engineers (PECASE), Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER), Research
at Undergraduate Institutions (RUI), and Research Opportunity Awards (ROA).
11. National Facilities
Supports the operation of national user facilities—research facilities
with specialized instrumentation available to the scientific research community
in general and the materials research community in particular. These facilities
provide unique research capabilities that can be located at only a few highly
specialized laboratories in the Nation. They include facilities and resources
for research using high magnetic fields, ultraviolet and x-ray synchrotron
radiation, neutron scattering, and nanofabrication. For more information,
please contact the facilities directly at the addresses listed below.
Center for High-Resolution Neutron Scattering
National Institute of Standards and Technology
NIST Center for Neutron Research
100 Bureau Drive, MS 8562
Gaithersburg, MD 20899-8562
Telephone: 301-975-6242
Web address: http://www.ncnr.nist.gov/programs/CHRNS
ChemMatCARS
Building 434D
Advanced Photon Source
Argonne National Laboratory
9700 South Cass Avenue
Argonne, IL 60439
Telephone: 630-252-0464
Web address: http://www.aps.anl.gov/aps/frame_beamtime.html
(Click “Beamline Directory,” go to15-ID and click “CARS.”)
Cornell High-Energy Synchrotron Source
200 L. Wilson Laboratory
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY 14853
Telephone: 607-255-7163
Web Address: http://www.chess.cornell.edu
National High Magnetic Field Laboratory (operated by Florida State University,
the University of Florida, and Los Alamos National Laboratory)
Florida State University
1800 E. Paul Dirac Drive
Tallahassee, FL 32310-3706
Telephone: 850-644-0311
Web address: http://www.magnet.fsu.edu
Synchrotron Radiation Center
University of Wisconsin at Madison
3731 Schneider Drive
Stoughton, WI 53589-3097
Telephone: 608-877-2000
Web address: http://www.src.wisc.edu
National Nanofabrication Users Network
Web address: http://www.nnun.org
(Participating institutions: Cornell University, Howard University, the Pennsylvania
State University, Stanford University, and University of California at Santa
Barbara)
The NNUN will be replaced in January 2004 with a broader National Nanotechnology
Infrastructure Network with enhanced capabilities.
• Other
DMR Activities Of Interest
1. Focused Research Groups (FRGs)
These are materials research projects that generally are smaller than centers
(e.g., Materials Research Science and Engineering Centers) and address problems
that require an interactive approach involving three or more investigators.
This is not a new program and there is no specific announcement or call for
FRG proposals. FRG proposals are handled by individual investigator program
directors in the Division of Materials Research, and are reviewed and co-reviewed
by DMR and other NSF program staff as appropriate, recognizing the collaborative
interdisciplinary aspects of such proposals. A list of FRGs currently supported
by DMR is available on the DMR home page, https://www.nsf.gov/div/index.jsp?div=DMR.
2. Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU)
and Research Experiences for Teachers (RET)
DMR supports more than 70 REU Sites, as well as REU supplements for undergraduate
participation in research. REU awards are made in conjunction with the NSF-wide
REU Program, and REU Sites are coordinated through the Office of Special
Programs. To foster participation by precollege science teachers in materials
research, DMR also supports awards for RET in conjunction with the MPS Office
of Multidisciplinary Activities. For more information on REU, visit the NSF
Crosscutting Programs home page, https://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_list.jsp?type=xcut. A list
of DMR-supported REU Sites is available on the DMR home page, https://www.nsf.gov/div/index.jsp?div=DMR.
3. Materials Research and Education Awards
DMR supports innovative approaches to materials education at the undergraduate
and graduate levels. Awards are made annually through open competition. For
more information on this DMR activity see https://www.nsf.gov/div/index.jsp?div=DMR;
or contact the Office of Special Programs.
4. Opportunities for International Cooperation
in Materials Research
DMR supports a growing number of activities that enhance international
cooperation in materials research. Examples include supplementary support
for existing grants, international workshops, and awards for cooperative
research projects and related activities. In many cases, these activities
are coordinated and co-funded with the Office of International Science and
Engineering and other NSF offices, including the Directorate for Engineering
and the MPS Office for Multidisciplinary Activities. Proposals can usually
be submitted to the appropriate disciplinary program. In some cases, they
are evaluated through a special competition coordinated through the Office
of Special Programs. For example, cooperative activities with Europe—in
partnership with the European Community or with funding agencies in European
countries—respectively are described in more detail in program announcements
NSF 03-565 and NSF
02-135; and cooperative activities with the Americas—in
partnership with funding agencies in countries in the Americas—are
described in Dear Colleague Letter NSF
02-141. For more information, see
https://www.nsf.gov/div/index.jsp?div=DMR.
5. International Materials Institutes (IMI)
DMR aims to establish International Materials Institutes that will enhance
international collaboration between U.S. researchers and educators and their
counterparts in specific regions of the world such as Africa, the Americas,
Asia, Europe, or the Pacific region. These institutes will advance fundamental
materials research by coordinating international projects that involve condensed
matter and materials physics; solid state and materials chemistry; and the
design, synthesis, characterization, and processing of materials to meet
global and regional needs. The institutes must be university-based and provide
a research environment that will attract leading scientists and engineers.
This may be accomplished for example, by supporting research in selected
thematic areas by networking with other universities, centers, and national
facilities. An important aspect of the IMI's activities will be to integrate
materials research with education. For more information, see program solicitation
NSF 03-593, or contact the Office of Special Programs. A new competition
is expected in fiscal year 2004.
6. Grant Opportunities for Academic Liaison with
Industry (GOALI)
DMR supports a wide range of GOALI awards in the area of materials. GOALI
aims to catalyze university-industry partnerships by making funds available
to support an eclectic mix of industry-university linkages. Special interest
is focused on affording the opportunity for (1) faculty, postdoctoral fellows,
and students to conduct research and gain experience with production processes
in an industrial setting; (2) industrial scientists and engineers to bring
industry's perspective and integrative skills to academe; and (3) interdisciplinary
university-industry teams to conduct long-term projects. The initiative targets
high-risk/high-gain research with a focus on fundamental topics that would
not be undertaken by industry, new approaches to solving generic problems,
development of innovative collaborative industry-university educational programs,
and direct transfer of new knowledge between academe and industry. For more
information, visit the DMR Web site, https://www.nsf.gov/div/index.jsp?div=DMR.
7. Partnerships for Research and Education in Materials (PREM)
Enhances
diversity in materials research and education by stimulating the development
of formal, long-term, collaborative research and education partnerships
between minority-serving institutions and DMR-supported groups, centers,
and facilities.
For more information on PREM, see program solicitation NSF
03-564 or contact
the Office of Special Programs.
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