Category Archives: Announcements

Ohio Occupational Safety and Health Research Program

Posted on by

Proposal Deadline: February 28, 2020

Overview of Program

The Ohio Occupational Safety and Health Research Program, hereafter the “Program,” is administered by the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC). It is a competitive research program with an emphasis on maximizing the impact of research efforts in the areas of occupational safety and health on the overall safety, health, productivity, and competitiveness of Ohio’s workforce. BWC has modeled the program, with minor modifications, after the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health’s (NIOSH) National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA). The program provides funding for research projects up to $250,000 per project. The duration of each research project is limited to 12 to 24 months. The program is an open competition for researchers in Ohio’s not-for-profit higher education institutions and research organizations.

Priority research focus areas include:

  • Prevention of musculoskeletal disorders
  • Prevention of injuries/illnesses/fatalities
  • Use of technological interventions to improve occupational safety and health
  • Reduction of injury rates and duration of disability using health and wellness program interventions
  • Integration of workers’ health and wellness into occupational safety and health programs
  • Prevention of suicide and assisting the mental health of workers
  • Prevention of long-term disability among injured workers after their injury
  • Prevention of injuries related to lack of awareness or impairment due to prescription medication, drugs of abuse, or other causes
  • Prevention of opioid abuse among injured workers and/or at-risk populations in the workforce

While the above list represents the program priorities, other types of proposals addressing occupational safety and health, reducing accidents and injuries, and disability prevention among injured workers will be accepted for review and evaluation.

Additional information can be found the OH Bureau of Worker’s Compensation.

National Defense Education Program (NDEP) for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education, Outreach, and Workforce Initiative Programs, Fiscal Year 2020

Posted on by

Proposal Deadline: February 24, 2020

Funding Opportunity Description:

The Department of Defense (DoD) seeks innovative applications for the National Defense Education Program (NDEP) Science Technology Engineering Mathematics (STEM) education, outreach, and workforce initiative programs. DoD intends to award multiple grants, subject to the availability of funds. Each individual award will be up to a maximum of $3,000,000, for a period of up to three (3) years. Applications for larger amounts may be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Proposers are encouraged to consider the following scope areas:

  • Develop and implement programs meaningful integration of math across science and technology subject areas
  • Develop and implement exploratory pilot programs that seek to create new educational experiences for students in STEM
  • Develop and implement programs that support DoD science and technology priority areas (https://www.cto.mil/modernization-priorities/)
  • Develop larger cohesive STEM education and outreach activities that strengthen the capacity of regional/local communities and stakeholders to leverage partnerships
  • Implement a manufacturing education program at pre-college that prepares participants for realistic job previews
  • Develop activities that exposes participants to the necessary technical and problem solving skills for competency in cyber
  • Encourage partnerships or consortia approach to implement STEM education and outreach programs with a holistic approach to understanding real-world applications
  • Develop interdisciplinary activities which creates understanding of innovation entrepreneurship in the development of new technologies and technology transfer

Additional information including the Funding Opportunity Announcement can be found at grants.gov.

National Endowment for the Arts FY 2021 Funding Guidelines Posted

Posted on by

Guidelines and application materials for four National Endowment for the Arts funding categories–Grants for Arts Projects, Challenge America, Creative Writing Fellowships, and Literature Fellowships for Translation Projects–are available on the Arts Endowment’s website. Grant applications previously submitted to the Art Works category will now be submitted to the Grants for Arts Projects category. The National Endowment for the Arts supports projects in any part of the nation’s 50 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories. Click here for an online presentation that gives an overview of the National Endowment for the Arts’ funding opportunities.

The FY 2021 Grants for Arts Projects and Challenge America programs support projects taking place beginning in 2021. Click the links in each section below for guidelines and application materials.

Grants for Arts Projects-Application Deadlines: February 13 & July 9, 2020

These grants support artistically excellent projects that celebrate our creativity and cultural heritage, invite mutual respect for differing beliefs and values, and enrich humanity. Cost share/matching grants generally range from $10,000 to $100,000. A minimum cost share/match equal to the grant amount is required.

A Grants for Arts Projects Guidelines Online Presentation for potential applicants will be available in January 2020.

Challenge America-Application Deadline: April 9, 2020

These grants support projects that extend the reach of the arts to underserved populations-those whose opportunities to experience the arts are limited by geography, ethnicity, economics, or disability. Grants are available for professional arts programming and for projects that emphasize the potential of the arts in community development. Grants are for a fixed amount of $10,000 and require a minimum $10,000 cost share/match.

A Challenge America Guidelines Online Presentation for potential applicants will be available in January 2020. In addition, there will be a separate presentation available for previous Challenge America applicants interested in applying for Grants for Arts Projects. NOTE: An organization may not apply to both the Grants for Arts Projects AND the Challenge America categories.

Creative Writing Fellowships: Poetry-Application Deadline: March 11, 2020

These $25,000 grants to published creative writers enable the recipients to set aside time for writing, research, travel, and general career advancement. Fellowships alternate each year between poetry and prose and FY 2021 fellowships are to support poetry.

Literature Fellowships for Translation Projects-Application Deadline: January 15, 2020

Translation Projects enable recipients to translate works from other languages into English. Non-matching grants are for $12,500 or $25,000.

Questions about any of these guidelines or your application? Please use the list on the NEA’s website to determine your appropriate staff contact. Please note that guidelines for the Research award opportunities will be available in January and the Our Town guidelines will be available in May 2020.

Dreyfus Program for Machine Learning in the Chemical Sciences and Engineering

Posted on by

Proposal Deadline: April 2, 2020

The goal of this program is to further the understanding and applications of machine learning throughout the chemical sciences, thereby providing new opportunities.

“In view of the increasing attention to and expectations for the profound impacts that artificial intelligence and data science will have on physical science and engineering, the Dreyfus Foundation plans to make strategic investments in machine learning for the chemical sciences and engineering, both to advance the field in these areas, and to help position the chemical sciences field to best avail itself of the broad agency opportunities for research support that are emerging. We are enthusiastic about the potential for machine learning to produce useful fundamental and practical insights in chemical research.” -Richard N. Zare and Matthew V. Tirrell, Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation, Scientific Affairs Committee of the Board of Directors.

Below are some examples of areas this program may support:

  • molecular synthesis, including mechanisms, techniques, and applications
  • theory, computation, physical properties of molecules or materials
  • rates and mechanisms of new chemical processes
  • new or improved materials and materials applications
  • postdoctoral support for collaborations that combine chemical science research with machine learning expertise
  • collaborative sabbaticals, extended visits and meetings
  • education, e.g., new courses, seminar series, MOOCs,…
  • public libraries of chemistry and chemical engineering data for use in machine learning

Note that proposals are not restricted to the areas described above.

Additional details are available at the Foundation website.

NSF Understanding the Rules of Life: Epigenetics

Posted on by

Program Solicitation: NSF 20-512

Letter of Intent Due Dates (required): December 20, 2019

Full Proposal Deadline: February 6, 2020

Understanding the Rules of Life (URoL): Predicting Phenotype is one of NSF’s 10 Big Ideas and is focused on predicting the set of observable characteristics (phenotype) from the genetic makeup of the individual and the nature of its environment. The development of new research tools has revolutionized our ability to manipulate and investigate the genome and to measure multiple aspects of biological, physical, and social environments. The opportunity now is to assimilate this new information into causal, mechanistic, and/or predictive relationships among the genomic and epigenetic makeup, the environmental experience, and the phenotypic characteristics of biological systems. These relationships are the basis for the Rules of Life – the theoretical constructs that explain and predict the characteristics of living systems, from molecular and sub-cellular components, to cells, whole organisms, communities and biomes.

Successful projects of the URoL:Epigenetics Program are expected to use complementary, interdisciplinary approaches to investigate how epigenetic phenomena lead to emergent properties that explain the fundamental behavior of living systems. Ultimately, successful projects should identify general principles (“rules”) that underlie biological phenomena within or across scales of size, complexity (e.g., molecular, cellular, organismal, population) and time (from sub-second to geologic) in taxa from anywhere within the tree of life, including humans. URoL:Epigenetics projects must integrate perspectives and research approaches from more than one research discipline (e.g., biology, chemistry, computer science, engineering, geology, mathematics, physics, social and behavioral sciences). The interdisciplinary scope of URoL:Epigenetics projects also provides unique training and outreach possibilities to train the next generation of scientists in a diversity of approaches and to engage society more generally.

The URoL:Epigenetics Program offers two submission tracks: Track 1 – for projects with a total budget of up to $500,000 and an award duration of up to 3 years, and Track 2 – for projects with a total budget of up to $3,000,000 and award duration of up to 5 years.

The URoL:Epigenetics Program includes participation from the Directorates for Biological Sciences (BIO), Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE), Education and Human Resources (EHR), Engineering (ENG), Geosciences (GEO), Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS), Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences (SBE), and the Office of Integrative Activities (OIA) at the National Science Foundation. The goals of the program are to foster crosscutting, interdisciplinary research on the epigenetic regulation of organismal phenotypes that integrates perspectives and research approaches from more than one of these directorates. This program aims to support projects that would not traditionally be supported through regular core programs of the participating directorates and offices. To that end, all proposals submitted to this program should identify two or more diverse and complementary disciplines involved, and how the project integrates them via interdisciplinary approaches.

Appropriate approaches for URoL:Epigenetics projects include, but are not limited to:

  • The use of cellular engineering and physical-chemical approaches to manipulate molecular and cellular components to understand cellular and organismal responses to environmental change;
  • Investigation of physical, and chemical interactions that underlie epigenetic changes in the structure, packing, function, and dynamics of DNA, RNA and proteins;
  • Development/ application of artificial intelligence to identify patterns that reveal the underlying principles to explain how environmental influences on the epigenome lead to phenotypic outcomes;
  • Leveraging of existing experimental, observational or survey datasets to model or analyze relationships among environment, epigenetic processes, and phenotype, including across populations, species, or ecosystems;
  • The use of interdisciplinary biological, mathematical, computational, social and behavioral science methods to predict relationships among epigenetic mechanisms; physical, physiological and behavioral phenotypes; physical, social and built environments; and emergent properties at organismal and supra-organismal levels.