Designing Materials to Revolutionize and Engineer our Future | 25 508

Opportunity Information: Apply for 25 508

Designing Materials to Revolutionize and Engineer our Future (DMREF, NSF Funding Opportunity 25-508) is a National Science Foundation grant program focused on speeding up how quickly new materials move from early discovery to real-world use. The core idea is to modernize materials research by tightly linking experiments, computation, and theory, while also making strong use of shared digital data resources across the entire materials development process. DMREF is deliberately broad on topic area (it is open to all materials research topics), but it is very specific about approach: projects are expected to accelerate the discovery-to-deployment timeline by building the fundamental knowledge needed to design, develop, improve manufacturability, and ultimately enable the use of materials with targeted properties or functions.

A defining feature of DMREF is its expectation of an iterative, collaborative "closed-loop" workflow. In practical terms, proposals must show that theory informs computational modeling, computational results guide experimental work, and experimental observations feed back to refine theory, models, and next-step predictions. This is not meant to be a linear handoff between sub-teams; instead, the program pushes for continuous integration and iteration across the full materials development continuum. DMREF also strongly emphasizes leveraging data-centric methods, including data science and machine learning, and ensuring that materials data are accessible and usable to support faster, more reproducible progress.

DMREF sits within the national Materials Genome Initiative (MGI) framework and is NSF's main program responding to the federal MGI effort led through the National Science and Technology Council and OSTP. The program aligns with the 2021 MGI Strategic Plan, especially its three big goals: unifying the materials innovation infrastructure, harnessing the power of materials data, and educating/training/connecting a world-class materials research and development workforce. The solicitation also notes responsiveness to the National Academies 2023 report on NSF efforts toward the MGI vision, and it frames DMREF as part of broader national priorities to strengthen US leadership in critical future technologies tied to health, economic prosperity, national security, and the scientific enterprise.

Team structure and interdisciplinarity are central to eligibility and competitiveness. Each proposal must be led by a team with at least two Senior/Key Personnel who bring complementary expertise, reflecting the program's intent to connect theorists, computational researchers, data scientists, mathematicians/statisticians, and experimentalists. DMREF also encourages engagement across sectors, including academia, industry, and government, and it explicitly encourages participation from the full spectrum of diverse talent, including underrepresented and underserved communities. Workforce development is not an optional add-on; DMREF highlights education and training aimed at producing the next generation of materials R and D professionals who can communicate and collaborate across the full continuum from fundamental science through manufacturing and deployment.

Administratively, this is a discretionary grant opportunity from the National Science Foundation, categorized under science and technology and other research and development, with CFDA numbers including 12.800, 47.041, 47.049, 47.070, and 47.084. The program is crosscutting across multiple NSF directorates, specifically Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS), Engineering (ENG), Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE), and Technology, Innovation and Partnerships (TIP). The solicitation also anticipates coordination with other federal agencies, and proposals may be shared with one or more listed federal partners, including AFRL, DOE EERE, ONR, NIST, and multiple DEVCOM centers (GVSC and ARL). In addition, the opportunity highlights potential international collaboration pathways involving the US-Israel Binational Science Foundation, India's DST, Canada's NSERC, and Germany's DFG.

Funding levels are substantial and geared toward ambitious, integrated research efforts. Awards are expected to run four years, typically totaling about $1.5 million to $2.0 million, with an award ceiling of $2,000,000. NSF anticipates making around 25 awards, subject to available funds. The solicitation also signals an ongoing cadence: DMREF competitions are expected to continue biennially in odd-numbered years, again depending on funding.

Eligibility is limited to US-based Institutions of Higher Education, including accredited two-year and four-year institutions (community colleges included) with a campus located in the United States, submitting on behalf of faculty. If a proposal includes funding for an international branch campus of a US IHE (including via subawards or consultants), the proposal must clearly justify why activities must occur at that branch campus and what benefits that location provides that cannot be achieved at the US campus. For PI/co-PI and other Senior/Key Personnel roles, individuals must hold a tenured or tenure-track position, or a primary full-time paid research or teaching appointment (with limited exceptions such as approved family or medical leave, as determined by the institution). A key restriction applies to prior DMREF award leaders: anyone who is a PI or co-PI on a DMREF award from the immediately previous DMREF solicitation (NSF 23-530) cannot serve as PI or co-PI on this competition, though they may participate as Senior/Key Personnel; proposals that violate this rule will be returned without review. The listed original closing date for submission is 2025-02-04.

• The National Science Foundation in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Designing Materials to Revolutionize and Engineer our Future" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 12.800, 47.041, 47.049, 47.070, 47.084.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-11-05.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2025-02-04. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $2,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 25 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

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