Background: From 1665 to 1666, the Great Plague of London swept across England, likely taking the lives of over 100,000 people (United Kingdom Public Archives, 2020). Though the germ theory of disease would not be formulated until the 1860s, the English public engaged in “social distancing” behaviors to avoid illness (Washington Post, 2020), leading to the closure of universities. Among the displaced was a young Isaac Newton, still a student at Trinity College in Cambridge. During the ensuing year of isolated study and reflection, Newton developed the basis for calculus, as well as foundational theories in gravitation, motion, and optics.

Separated from the Great Plague by 350 years, the COVID-19 pandemic has led to similar health responses among the general public and scientific community, forcing the closure of laboratories and universities throughout the world and slowing scientific progress across theoretical and empirical domains. To help stimulate scientific thought and encourage efforts and advancements in the spirit of Sir Isaac, the Basic Research Office in the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) announces the Newton Award for Transformative Ideas during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Program Objective: This award will be presented to a single investigator or team of up to two investigators that develops a “transformative idea” to resolve challenges, advance frontiers, and set new paradigms in areas of immense potential benefit to DoD and the nation at large. Proposals should aim to produce novel conceptual frameworks or theory-based approaches that present disruptive ways of thinking about fundamental scientific problems that have evaded resolution, propose new, paradigm-shifting scientific directions, and/or address fundamental and important questions that are argued to be undervalued by the scientific community. Approaches can include analytical reasoning, calculations, simulations, and thought experiments. While the use and production of datasets is allowed, any new supporting data should be generated without the use of any experimentation or instrumentation, as the nation-wide closure of laboratories limits the ability of investigators to follow normal safety procedures set by their institutions, in accordance with federal and state regulations.

Given the novelty of and circumstances surrounding this one-time Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), the objective of this program is to generate proposals that are equally novel and pioneering. Therefore, this FOA should be viewed as an opportunity to propose basic research that falls outside the bounds of traditional proposals.

Expectations of Award Recipients: Newton Award recipients will produce novel conceptual frameworks or theoretical approaches to addressing outstanding or emerging challenges facing the scientific community. The resulting frameworks and approaches should include clear predictions that can be tested by the scientific community in the years following the return to the laboratory environment. Findings must be submitted as pre-publication material in open archives and disseminated through open publication in a journal. Award winners will brief the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (OUSD(R&E)) leadership at the end of the award period of performance, and may be asked to design and chair a Future Directions Workshop on the topic of their findings. In addition, OUSD(R&E) will support funded projects in finding pathways to continue the funding, validation, and development of their transformative ideas.

Only one proposal total may be submitted by each investigator.

The Humanities Collections and Reference Resources program supports projects that provide an essential underpinning for scholarship, education, and public programming in the humanities. Thousands of libraries, archives, museums, and historical organizations across the country maintain important collections of books and manuscripts, photographs, sound recordings and moving images, archaeological and ethnographic artifacts, art and material culture, and digital objects. This program strengthens efforts to extend the life of such materials and make their intellectual content widely accessible, often through the use of digital technology. Awards are also made to create various reference resources that facilitate use of cultural materials, from works that provide basic information quickly to tools that synthesize and codify knowledge of a subject for in-depth investigation.

Proposed projects may address the holdings or activities of a single institution or may involve collaboration between institutions. However, even in the case of single-institution projects, working with specialists in other offices or departments or colleagues in other institutions often helps ensure that proposed activities are achievable and will have maximum impact for the humanities. Collaboration can be crucial in providing the appropriate mix of humanities content and methodological expertise and can help broaden the scope of, and audiences for, proposed collections or reference resources.

The ARPA-E REPAIR FOA is soliciting applications for technologies required to rehabilitate legacy natural gas distribution pipes. The desired rehabilitation technologies will enable the automated construction of a new pipe inside the old pipe. The primary success criteria are the new pipe (1) must meet utilities’ and regulatory agencies’ requirements, (2) have a minimum life of 50 years, (3) have sufficient material properties to operate throughout its service life without reliance on the exterior pipe, and (4) have an installation cost of less than $1 million per mile.

For the ARPA-E REPAIR FOA, NETL seeks to engage partners for one or more the following research topics to help accomplish the ARPA-E program’s objectives:

• Joining technologies: Various joining technologies (ultrasonic welding, laser welding, etc.) for thin metal foils will need to be developed and scaled up for continuous operation.
• Coating technologies: Polymer coatings will be applied inside and outside of the liner for mechanical strength and corrosion protection.
• Sensor technologies: The proposed composite liner will be embedded with the state-of-the-art sensor technologies to remotely monitor the health of liners over time. Corrosion, gas composition, and strain monitoring are of interest.
• Testing and characterization of composite materials.
• Manufacturing: Joining and coating capabilities to fabricate pipes/liners 10-20 in diameter and 3-20 ft long.
• Expertise in natural gas pipeline regulations in state and federal level.
• Experience relevant to the development of embedded sensors.
• Development of a novel coating with smart features.

The project duration will be proposed at up to 24 months. The anticipated funding for the partner selected under this opportunity to participate is up to $1,000,000 total, which includes mandatory cost share of up to 20%* of total project costs. NETL anticipates total project costs to be proposed at up to $2,000,000.

*Project Teams composed exclusively of domestic educational institutions, domestic nonprofits, and/or FFRDCs/DOE Labs/Federal agencies and instrumentalities (other than DOE) are not required to providecost share.

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) provides cooperative agreement support for statewide and/or interstate regional networks to achieve the following objectives: (1) to support the development and/or enhancement of infrastructure and human resources required to address clinical and translational research needs in IDeA-eligible states/jurisdictions, (2) to strengthen clinical and translational research that addresses the broad spectrum of health challenges faced by populations in IDeA-eligible states/jurisdictions, and (3) to foster and coordinate collaboration in clinical and translational research within an IDeA-CTR network and with other institutions. It is expected that IDeA-CTR networks will expand the capacity for clinical and translational research in IDeA-eligible states/jurisdictions and enhance the competitiveness of the investigators to obtain extramural funding for clinical and translational research.

NIH established the Institutional Development Award (IDeA) Program in 1993 to enhance biomedical research activities in states that have had historically low NIH grant funding success rates. The program currently supports competitive research in 23 states and Puerto Rico. Strengthening clinical and translational research in IDeA-eligible states and jurisdictions is a pressing need, since health conditions such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, infectious diseases, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, maternal health, and substance overuse disorders are disproportionally prevalent in these mostly rural and often economically disadvantaged states/jurisdictions. NIH is committed to supporting health and health research professionals with first-hand knowledge about these challenges to lead the charge in improving the health of residents in IDeA states/jurisdictions. This funding opportunity announcement (FOA) supports the development and/or enhancement of statewide and/or interstate regional networks for clinical and translational research in IDeA-eligible states/jurisdictions.

The objectives of the IDeA-CTR initiative are the following:

• To support the development and/or enhancement of infrastructure and human resources required to address clinical and translational research needs in IDeA-eligible states.
• To strengthen clinical and translational research that addresses the broad spectrum of health challenges faced by populations in IDeA-eligible states/jurisdictions.
• To foster and coordinate collaboration in clinical and translational research within an IDeA-CTR network and with other institutions.

For the purposes of this initiative, the following definitions apply:

• “Clinical research” comprises studies and trials in human subjects as defined by NIH Regulations and Policies.
• “Translational research” includes research that aims to convert basic research advances to practical applications in humans, and research aimed at the adoption of best practices in community healthcare.

This FOA provides funding through the U54 cooperative agreement mechanism. As a cooperative agreement, implementation involves the participation of NIGMS IDeA Program staff in the planning and execution of the proposed activities.  

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention hereby notify Program Director(s)/Principal Investigator(s) (PD(s)/PI(s)) holding specific types of research grants (activity codes listed above) that funds are available for administrative supplements to enhance the diversity of the research workforce by recruiting and supporting students, postdoctorates, and eligible investigators from underrepresented backgrounds, including those from groups that have been shown to be nationally underrepresented in health-related research. This supplement opportunity is also available to PD(s)/PI(s) of research grants who are or become disabled and need additional support to accommodate their disability in order to continue to work on the research project. Administrative supplements must support work within the scope of the original project.

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is designed specifically for applicants proposing research that does not involve leading an independent clinical trial, a clinical trial feasibility study, or an ancillary clinical trial. Applicants to this FOA are permitted to propose research experience in a clinical trial led by a mentor or co-mentor.

Fostering diversity in the scientific research workforce is a key component of the NIH strategy to identify, develop, support and maintain the quality of our scientific human capital NOT-OD-20-031. Every facet of the United States scientific research enterprise—from basic laboratory research to clinical and translational research to policy formation–requires superior intellect, creativity and a wide range of skill sets and viewpoints. NIH’s ability to help ensure that the nation remains a global leader in scientific discovery and innovation is dependent upon a pool of highly talented scientists including those from underrepresented groups and others who will help to diversify the workforce to help further NIH’s mission.

Research shows that diverse teams working together and capitalizing on innovative ideas and distinct perspectives outperform homogenous teams. Scientists and trainees from diverse backgrounds and life experiences bring different perspectives, creativity, and individual enterprise to address complex scientific problems. There are many benefits that flow from a diverse NIH-supported scientific workforce, including: fostering scientific innovation, enhancing global competitiveness, contributing to robust learning environments, improving the quality of the research, advancing the likelihood that underserved or health disparity populations participate in, and benefit from health research, and enhancing public trust.

In spite of tremendous advancements in scientific research, information, educational and research opportunities are not equally available to all. NIH encourages institutions to diversify their student, postdoctorate and faculty populations to enhance the participation of individuals from groups that are underrepresented in the biomedical, clinical, behavioral and social sciences.