Environmental Engineering

National Science Foundation (NSF)

Deadline: Rolling

Grant amount: Up to US $10,000,000

Funding uses: Research

Location of project: United States

Location of residency: United States

Overview:

The Environmental Engineering program is part of the Environmental Engineering and Sustainability cluster, which also includes

1. The Nanoscale Interactions program; and
2. The Environmental Sustainability program.

Environmental engineering is an interdisciplinary field that applies chemical, biological, and physical scientific principles to protect human and ecological health. The goal of the Environmental Engineering program is to support potentially transformative fundamental research that applies scientific and engineering principles to

1. Prevent, minimize, or re-use solid, liquid, and gaseous discharges of pollution to soil, water, and air by closing resource loops or through other measures;
2. Mitigate the ecological and human-health impacts of such releases by smart/adaptive/reactive amendments or manipulation of the environment, and
3. Remediate polluted environments through engineered chemical, biological, and/or geo-physical processes.

Integral to achieving these goals is a fundamental understanding of the transport and biogeochemical reactivity of pollutants in the environment. Therefore, research on environmental micro/biology, environmental chemistry, and environmental geophysics may be relevant providing the research has a clear objective of protecting human and ecological health.

Major areas of interest include (but are not limited to):

• Building a future without pollution or waste: Investigation of innovative biogeochemical processes that prevent or minimize the production of waste; waste valorization and other research that will lead to new technologies to extract resources from waste streams to close the resource loop.
• Sustainable supply and protection of water: Investigation of innovative biogeochemical processes that remove, biologically or chemically transform, and/or prevent the release of contaminants in surface and groundwater; innovative processes for recovery of water, nutrients, and other resources from wastewater, saline water, or brines; innovative approaches to smart and adaptive management of surface water, groundwater, and urban watersheds and storm water to maintain/improve quality and prevent downstream impacts from nutrients and other water constituents.
• Environmental chemistry, fate, and transport of nutrients and contaminants of emerging concern in air, water, soils, and sediments:Investigation of transport and biogeochemical reactivity in the environment; environmental forensics to identify sources and reaction pathways; field- and laboratory scale experimental research that bridges gaps between data and predictions from molecular, continuum, and field-scale modeling.
• Environmental engineering of the built environment: Research to understand the biogeochemical reactivity of the built environment with the goal of enhancing and improving human and ecological health; research that will lead to new technologies to improve outdoor and indoor air quality; research to understand how drinking water and wastewater chemical characteristics and microbial community structure impact or are affected by water quality and human health.

Where to submit proposals with different areas of focus:

• Proposals with a scientific focus on chemical or physical separation processes (for example, materials or processes for reverse osmosis, membrane distillation, and hypo-filtration) should be submitted to the Interfacial Engineering program (CBET 1417).
• Proposals that seek to advance fundamental and quantitative understanding of the behaviors of nanomaterials and nanosystems should be submitted to the Nanoscale Interactions program (CBET 1179).
• Proposals focused on in vitro molecular-level environmental chemistry research should be submitted to Environmental Chemical Sciences program (CHE-ECS 6882).
• Proposals focusing on industrial ecology, green engineering, and ecological/earth systems engineering should be submitted to the Environmental Sustainability program (CBET 7643).
• Proposals whose main research focus is on materials development, sensors, or environmental monitoring that do not seek to understand biogeochemical reactivity mechanisms or treatment efficiency are not encouraged and may be returned without review.

Innovative proposals outside of these specific interest areas may be considered. However, prior to submission, it is recommended that the PI contact the program director to avoid the possibility of the proposal being returned without review.

INFORMATION COMMON TO MOST CBET PROGRAMS

Proposals should address the novelty and/orpotentially transformative natureof the proposed work compared to previous work in the field. Also, it is important to address why the proposed work is important in terms of engineering science, as well as to also project the potential impact on society and/or industry of success in the research. The novelty or potentially transformative nature of the research should be included, as a minimum, in the Project Summary of each proposal.

The duration of unsolicited proposal awards in CBET is generally up to three years. Single-investigator award budgets typically include support for one graduate student (or equivalent) and up to one month of PI time per year(awards for multiple investigator projects are typically larger). Proposal budgets that are much larger than typical should be discussed with the program director prior to submission. Proposers can view budget amounts and other information from recent awards made by this program via the “What Has Been Funded (Recent Awards Made Through This Program, with Abstracts)” link towards the bottom of this page.

Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER )program proposals are strongly encouraged. Award duration is five years. The submission deadline for Engineering CAREER proposals is in July every year. Learn more in the CAREER program description.

Proposals for Conferences, Workshops, and Supplements: PIs are strongly encouraged to discuss their requests with the program director before submission of the proposal.

Grants for Rapid Response Research (RAPID)and EArly-concept Grants for Exploratory Research (EAGER) are also considered when appropriate. Please note that proposals of these types must be discussed with the program director before submission.

Grant Opportunities for Academic Liaison with Industry (GOALI) proposals that integrate fundamental research with translational results and are consistent with the application areas of interest to each program are also encouraged.

Please note that RAPID, EAGER, and GOALI proposals can be submitted anytime during the year. 

You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website.

Eligibility:

• Except where a program solicitation establishes more restrictive eligibility criteria, individuals and organizations in the following categories may submit proposals:
• Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs) - Two- and four-year IHEs (including community colleges) accredited in, and having a campus located in the US, acting on behalf of their faculty members.
• IHEs located outside the US fall under paragraph 6. below.
• Special Instructions for International Branch Campuses of US IHEs
• If the proposal includes funding to be provided to an international branch campus of a US institution of higher education (including through use of subawards and consultant arrangements), the proposer must explain the benefit(s) to the project of performance at the international branch campus, and justify why the project activities cannot be performed at the US campus.
• Non-profit, Non-academic Organizations -Independent museums, observatories, research laboratories, professional societies and similar organizations located in the US that are directly associated with educational or research activities.
• For-profit Organizations - US commercial organizations, especially small businesses with strong capabilities in scientific or engineering research or education.
• An unsolicited proposal from a commercial organization may be funded when the project is of special concern from a national point of view, special resources are available for the work, or the proposed project is especially meritorious.
• NSF is interested in supporting projects that couple industrial research resources and perspectives with those of universities; therefore, it especially welcomes proposals for cooperative projects involving both universities and the private commercial sector.
• State and Local Governments - State educational offices or organizations and local school districts may submit proposals intended to broaden the impact, accelerate the pace, and increase the effectiveness of improvements in science, mathematics and engineering education in both K-12 and post-secondary levels.
• Unaffiliated Individuals - Unaffiliated individuals in the US and US citizens rarely receive direct funding support from NSF.
• Recipients of Federal funds must be able to demonstrate their ability to fully comply with the requirements specified in 2 CFR § 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards.
• As such, unaffiliated individuals are strongly encouraged to affiliate with an organization that is able to meet the requirements specified in 2 CFR § 200.
• Unaffiliated individuals must contact the cognizant Program Officer prior to preparing and submitting a proposal to NSF.
• Foreign organizations - NSF rarely provides funding support to foreign organizations.
• NSF will consider proposals for cooperative projects involving US and foreign organizations, provided support is requested only for the US portion of the collaborative effort.
• In cases however, where the proposer considers the foreign organization’s involvement to be essential to the project (e.g., through subawards or consultant arrangements), the proposer must explain why local support is not feasible and why the foreign organization can carry out the activity more effectively.
• In addition, the proposed activity must demonstrate how one or more of the following conditions have been met:
• The foreign organization contributes a unique organization, facilities, geographic location and/or access to unique data resources not generally available to US investigators (or which would require significant effort or time to duplicate) or other resources that are essential to the success of the proposed project; and/or
• The foreign organization to be supported offers significant science and engineering education, training or research opportunities to the US.
• Other Federal Agencies - NSF does not normally support research or education activities by scientists, engineers or educators employed by Federal agencies or FFRDCs. Under unusual circumstances, other Federal agencies and FFRDCs may submit proposals directly to NSF.
• A proposed project is only eligible for support if it meets one or more of the following exceptions, as determined by a cognizant NSF Program Officer:
• Special Projects. Under exceptional circumstances, research or education projects at other Federal agencies or FFRDCs that can make unique contributions to the needs of researchers elsewhere or to other specific NSF objectives may receive NSF support.
• National and International Programs. The Foundation may fund research and logistical support activities of other Government agencies or FFRDCs directed at meeting the goals of special national and international research programs for which the Foundation bears special responsibility, such as the US Antarctic Research Program.
• International Travel Awards. In order to ensure appropriate representation or availability of a particular expertise at an international conference, staff researchers of other Federal agencies may receive NSF international travel awards.
• Proposers who think their project may meet one of the exceptions listed above must contact a cognizant NSF Program Officer before preparing a proposal for submission.
• In addition, a scientist, engineer or educator who has a joint appointment with a university and a Federal agency (such as a Veterans Administration Hospital, or with a university and a FFRDC) may submit proposals through the university and may receive support if he/she is a faculty member (or equivalent) of the university, although part of his/her salary may be provided by the Federal agency.
• Preliminary inquiry must be made to the appropriate program before preparing a proposal for submission.

Ineligibility:

• Compliance: Proposals that are not compliant with the Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) will be returned without review.