The NSF Directorate for Engineering (ENG) seeks to build engineering research capacity across the nation by investing in new academic investigators who have yet to receive sufficient research funding from Federal Agencies. The Engineering Research Initiation (ERI) program will support new investigators as they initiate their research programs and advance in their careers as researchers, educators, and innovators. This funding opportunity aims to broaden the base of investigators involved in engineering research and therefore is limited to investigators that are not affiliated with “very high research activity” R1 institutions.

Through the Geothermal Collegiate Competition, the U.S. Department of Energy Geothermal Technologies Office (GTO) encourages students to develop innovative solutions for geothermal energy application challenges and build career skills for the clean energy workforce. Teams must have at least three undergraduate and/or graduate members (can be from multiple schools) and students of any discipline can participate. Final competition deliverables will be due in December 2024.

NSF-supported science and engineering research increasingly relies on cutting-edge infrastructure. With its Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) program and Major Multi-user Facilities (“Major Facilities”) projects, NSF supports infrastructure projects at the lower and higher range of infrastructure project costs, Foundation-wide, across science and engineering research disciplines. The Foundation-wide Mid-scale Research Infrastructure opportunity is intended to provide NSF with an agile, Foundation-wide process to fund experimental research capabilities in the mid-scale range between MRI and Major Multi-user Facilities.

The Ocean Exchange Collegiate Award, and the Guy Harvey Foundation Collegiate Award 2024, of $10,000 USD each, are given to the solutions that advance our understanding of the ocean and help minimize our impact on these resources, even while using them for human benefit, resulting in more resilient bodies of water including healthy marine life and coastlines.

This NOFO is issued by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Office of Small Business and Civil Rights (SBCR) to fund scholarships and fellowships to Minority Serving Institutions’ (MSIs) for the exchange and transfer of knowledge and skills relevant to nuclear safety, security, environmental protection, or any other field the Commission deems critical to its mission.

The Design Challenge is an annual collegiate competition where interdisciplinary teams create sustainable, high-performance building designs that address real-world issues such as existing building retrofits, community impacts, affordability, and resilience. Teams collaborate on a residential or commercial design project for one or two academic semesters, with the competition culminating each April at the Solar Decathlon Competition Event.

With a focus on two-year Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs), the Advanced Technological Education (ATE) program supports the education of technicians for the high-technology fields that drive our nation’s economy. The program involves partnerships between academic institutions (grades 7-12, IHEs), industry, and economic development agencies to promote improvement in the education of science and engineering technicians. It is strongly recommended that projects be faculty-led and required that courses and programs are credit-bearing, although materials developed may also be used for incumbent worker education. Materials may also be adapted and implemented as credit-bearing courses. The ATE program supports curriculum development; professional development of college faculty and secondary school teachers; career pathway development for both students and incumbent workers; and other activities including applied research projects that advance the knowledge base related to technician education.

The MSI Contract Readiness Prize is a one-phase capacity building prize that aims to boost equity across the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) contracting for small, medium, and large Historically Black Colleges (HBCUs), Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs), and other Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs), including Asian American, Native American, Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs), and Predominantly Black Institutions (PBIs). This prize builds on the successes of the Biden Administration’s Justice40 Initiative that is working toward environmental justice for all Americans by involving MSIs as key strategic partners.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Wind Energy Technologies Office launched the Collegiate Wind Competition (CWC) in 2014. The CWC helps multidisciplinary teams of undergraduate students prepare for jobs in wind and renewable energy through the following activities:

• The Turbine Prototype Contest & Turbine Testing Contest, in which teams design, build, and present a unique, wind-driven power system based on market research and test the wind turbine in an on-site wind tunnel.
• The Project Development Contest, in which teams research wind resource data, transmission infrastructure, and environmental factors to create a site plan and financial analysis for a hypothetical wind farm.
• The Connection Creation Contest, in which teams conduct outreach with the wind energy industry, their local communities, and local media outlets to raise wind energy awareness and promote their accomplishments.

As new renewable energy technologies are developed and integrated into the electric grid, there continues to be new areas of opportunity and challenges that must be addressed. The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Electricity (OE) invites graduate students, researchers, industry partners, and key stakeholders to apply for the American-Made Science Synthesis Prize: Identifying Key Barriers to Renewable Integration. Through this $125,000 prize, applicants are tasked with thoroughly analyzing the landscape of the renewable energy integration theory and practice and challenged to highlight pivotal opportunities, solutions, and areas of investment for addressing integration complications.

Buildings play a significant role in reaching the White House’s goal of a net-zero emissions economy by 2050, so it is critical that building professionals are prepared to design and construct high-efficiency, low-carbon buildings powered by renewables. The U.S. Department of Energy’s Zero Energy Design Designation recognizes post-secondary academic programs that prepare students for 21^st century building careers. Schools interested in being recognized by DOE must demonstrate a commitment to preparing students for a zero-carbon future by offering a building science education curriculum within their programs of study that showcases best practices in zero energy design, and requiring a zero energy design practicum.

The NSF Research Traineeship (NRT) Program seeks proposals that explore ways for graduate students in research-based master’s and doctoral degree programs to develop the skills, knowledge, and competencies needed to pursue a range of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers. This solicitation describes a pilot for a potential new track for the existing NRT Program that will support research and education projects that will result in a new master’s degree, certificate, or a track within an existing master’s or Ph.D. program with high industry relevance in at least one focus area identified in this pilot. This will be accomplished through an effective partnership among: (a) a non-R1 Institution of Higher Education (IHE) (lead institution), (b) an non-lead IHE (an R1 or non-R1) that has either an ongoing or completed NRT program in at least one of the focus areas defined for this pilot (see below), and (c) two to three industry partners in the same focus area(s). The overall purpose is to train the STEM workforce in focus areas specified in this solicitation by stimulating collaborations among non-R1 institutions, institutions with existing or completed NRT projects, and industry partners,