Future Manufacturing (FM)
Future Manufacturing (FM)
PROGRAM SOLICITATION
NSF 20-552
National Science Foundation
Directorate for Engineering
Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering
Directorate for Biological Sciences
Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences
Directorate for Education and Human Resources
Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences
Office of International Science and Engineering
Office of Integrative Activities
Letter of Intent Due Date(s) (required) (due by 5 p.m. submitter's local time):
April 10, 2020
Full Proposal Deadline(s) (due by 5 p.m. submitter's local time):
June 05, 2020
IMPORTANT INFORMATION AND REVISION NOTES
A revised version of the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) (NSF 20-1), is effective for proposals submitted, or due, on or after June 1, 2020. Please be advised that, depending on the specified due date, the guidelines contained in NSF 20-1 may apply to proposals submitted in response to this solicitation.
SUMMARY OF PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS
General Information
Program Title:
Future Manufacturing (FM)
Synopsis of Program:
As stated in the Strategy for American Leadership in Advanced Manufacturing, worldwide competition in manufacturing has been dominated in recent decades by the maturation, commoditization, and widespread application of computation in production equipment and logistics, effectively leveling the global technological playing field and putting a premium on low wages and incremental technical improvements.[1] The next generation of technological competition in manufacturing will be dictated by inventions of new materials, chemicals, devices, systems, processes, machines, design and work methods, social structures and business practices. Fundamental research will be required in robotics, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, materials science, sustainability, education and public policy, and workforce development to take the lead in this global competition. The research supported under this solicitation will enhance U.S. leadership in manufacturing far into the future by providing new capabilities for established companies and entrepreneurs, improving our health and quality of life, and reducing the impact of manufacturing industries on the environment.
The goal of this solicitation is to support fundamental research and education of a future workforce that will enable Future Manufacturing: manufacturing that either does not exist today or exists only at such small scales that it is not viable. Future Manufacturing will require the design and deployment of diverse new technologies for synthesis and sensing, and new algorithms for manufacturing new materials, chemicals, devices, components and systems. It will require new advances in artificial intelligence and machine learning, new cyber infrastructure, new approaches for mathematical and computational modeling, new dynamics and control methodologies, new ways to integrate systems biology, synthetic biology and bioprocessing, and new ways to influence the economy, workforce, human behavior, and society.
Among this array of technologies and potential research subjects, three thrust areas have been identified for support in FY 2020 under this solicitation: