Addressing Systems Challenges through Engineering Teams | 25 503

Opportunity Information: Apply for 25 503

The National Science Foundation (NSF), through its Electrical, Communications and Cyber Systems (ECCS) Division, is seeking ambitious, team-based research proposals under the ASCENT program (Addressing Systems Challenges through Engineering Teams). The central idea is to push forward fundamental engineering research that can unlock major advances in complex, real-world systems at the nano, micro, and macro scales. ECCS is interested in the underlying engineering that makes advanced devices and components possible, and in the methods needed to integrate those advances into larger system contexts like communications, sensing, power, control, networking, and cybersecurity. Projects are expected to be enabled by modern computational and analytical approaches (for example, advanced modeling, synthesis methods, evaluation platforms, and data-driven analysis) and to produce outcomes that could matter across high-impact application areas such as healthcare, homeland security, disaster resilience and mitigation, telecommunications infrastructure, energy and the environment, transportation, manufacturing, and other system-oriented domains.

A defining feature of ASCENT is that it targets engineering problems in systems and networks that are too complex to be handled by a single investigator or by short, isolated projects. ECCS is explicitly looking for integrated, interdisciplinary teams that can take on research challenges requiring sustained collaboration and the blending of complementary expertise. The program is structured around creating a connected portfolio of projects that build synergy across ECCS technical communities, encouraging investigators to form links that lead to new ways of approaching systems-level challenges rather than staying inside one traditional discipline. ECCS organizes its scope across three clusters: Communications, Circuits, and Sensing-Systems (CCSS); Electronics, Photonics and Magnetic Devices (EPMD); and Energy, Power, Control, and Networks (EPCN). Proposals must substantively involve at least two of these three clusters, and proposals spanning all three clusters are strongly encouraged, reflecting ECCS interest in cross-cutting efforts that connect devices and components to networks and system behavior.

In terms of research themes, the solicitation is broad but clearly aligned with emerging and fast-moving areas where systems challenges are intensifying. ECCS highlights interests that include 6G and beyond spectrum and wireless technologies, quantum information science, artificial intelligence and machine learning, high-performance computing, and big data, among others. However, the program is not a call for incremental development or narrow applications; it emphasizes bold, ground-breaking work that can disrupt existing technological approaches or significantly improve quality of life. Proposals are expected to articulate a fundamental research problem with a strong intellectual core (not just an engineering build) and to make a convincing case for significant societal impact.

ASCENT awards support fundamental research projects that run up to four years, with a total project budget between $1,000,000 and $1,500,000. Team structure is mandatory: each proposal must include at least three collaborating PIs and/or co-PIs, and each investigator is expected to bring complementary expertise that is clearly relevant to the integrated research plan. The solicitation also leaves room for including senior personnel with specialized capabilities (for example, fabrication or testing expertise) when that is appropriate to the technical goals. Beyond the research content, proposals must show that the collaboration model is real and necessary. Teams are expected to provide a timeline for activities and explain how they will communicate frequently, coordinate work across sub-areas, and assess progress effectively so that the overall project can achieve integrated outcomes rather than disconnected results.

Eligibility is limited to US-based Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs), including accredited two-year and four-year colleges and universities (community colleges included) with a campus located in the United States, submitting on behalf of their faculty. PIs and co-PIs must hold primary, full-time, paid research or teaching appointments at US-based campuses or offices of eligible institutions, with limited exceptions (such as family or medical leave) handled by the submitting institution. If a proposal includes funding for an international branch campus of a US IHE, the submission must explain why work at that branch campus benefits the project and why those activities cannot be performed at the US campus. For teams with strong industry ties, the solicitation notes that NSF's GOALI mechanism (Grant Opportunities for Academic Liaison with Industry) can be used alongside this opportunity to structure university-industry collaboration appropriately.

Key administrative details indicate this is a discretionary NSF grant opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number 25-503) in the science and technology R&D category (CFDA 47.041). The agency anticipates making about 9 awards, with an award ceiling of $1.5 million. The original closing date listed is January 22, 2025. The solicitation also signals that, assuming NSF budget availability, ASCENT is expected to continue in future years, though specific themes and priorities may evolve over time.

• The National Science Foundation in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Addressing Systems Challenges through Engineering Teams" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 47.041.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-10-10.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2025-01-22. (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 $1,500,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 9 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

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