The Illinois Sustainable Agriculture Scholars maintain an email listserv for sharing opportunities for research funding, industry partnerships, student funding, and education and outreach activities. If you are a faculty-level researcher who would like to be counted among the Illinois Sustainable Agriculture Scholars and receive those updates, please email us at sustainability@illinois.edu with the subject line, “Add a Sustainable Agriculture Scholar.”
Job, Grant, and Other Opportunities for Illinois Scholars ...
Current and recent calls for proposals from major funding agencies, as well as speaking opportunities and other announcements for Illinois faculty-level scholars.
SEPTEMBER 2023: NSF ORCC
Please see an opportunity below for the Organismal Response to Climate Change (ORCC) from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to support mechanistic studies of organismal response to climate change. There are three tracks: Research Proposals, Research Coordination Networks, and Workshop and Conference proposals. This solicitation encourages submission of projects across the full range of conceptual scales, and duration (1-5 years) with associated budget requests commensurate with the scope, scale, and duration of the work. There are no budget minimums, and support will continue for both small-scale projects and larger requests as appropriate for the work proposed.
If you plan to pursue a funding opportunity, please confirm deadlines for yourself and remember that SPA requires proposals to be submitted at least four full business days prior to the deadline
If researchers are interested and pursuing this opportunity, have an interdisciplinary team (at least two campus units), and iSEE can support this endeavor (including helping bring an interdisciplinary team together, business office support, etc.), please each out to Heidi Leerkamp to discuss the ways iSEE can support your team and proposal development.
Agency/Foundation: National Science Foundation
RFP/FOA topic: Organismal Response to Climate Change (ORCC)
Proposal Deadline: Dec. 13, 2023
Funding/Duration: Commensurate with scope, scale, and duration of work
More Information: https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2023/nsf23622/nsf23622.htm
SEPTEMBER 2022: Agroecosystem Sustainability Center Hiring for 2 Positions
The Agroecosystem Sustainability Center (ASC) is a new research center aiming to be a world-leading innovation powerhouse in advanced monitoring and modeling of agroecosystems for improving sustainability under climate change. ASC is jointly funded by the Institute for Sustainability, Energy and Environment (iSEE), the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES), and the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation (OVCRI). ASC gathers leading researchers from across the UIUC campus in the subject areas of biophysical and biochemical research in agroecosystems, primarily focusing on whole-plant and landscape-level studies to regional and global applications. The research is driven by co-founding and affiliated faculty members, professional staff scientists, postdocs and graduate students to advance science goals and technological innovations, with clear motivation to generate real-world solutions and impacts. ASC also has plans to work closely with industry partners and bring truly interdisciplinary educational opportunities for aspiring students at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
ASC has two job openings:
- Research Engineer/Senior Research Engineer (applications due Sept. 30, 2023)
- Research Specialist (applications due Sept. 21, 2023)
SEPTEMBER 2023: Joint Funding Programs with Taiwan University
AUGUST 2023: DOE Carbon Negative Shot
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has outlined its intent to publish a series of Carbon Negative Shot (CNS)-aligned funding opportunities focused on supporting the advancement and maturation of a suite of carbon dioxide removal (CDR) technologies. This CNS Notice of Intent outlines multiple program interests that aim to support the development and commercialization of CDR technologies and collectively enable the Department’s CNS target of gigaton-scale deployment for less than $100 per net metric ton of CO2-equivalent within the decade.
If you are interested in pursuing either of these opportunities, please each out to Heidi Leerkamp to discuss the ways iSEE can support your team and proposal development.
Agency: DOE
Program: DE-FOA-0003082 – Carbon Negative Shot Pilots (expected release date of early FY24)
- Includes four (4) anticipated Areas of Interest (AOIs) related to: o Small Biomass Pilots, Small Mineralization Pilots, Small Marine CDR Pilots, and Multi-Pathway CDR Testbeds.
Other intended funding opportunities and prize tracks include:
- Direct Air Capture (DAC) Pilot Prize § (expected release date late FY23)
- CDR Purchase Prize § (expected release date late FY23)
- Regional Direct Air Capture Hubs § (expected release of additional FOA(s) in FY24/25 and beyond)
- Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) for CDR § (expected release date FY24)
- DE-FOA-0002614 – Carbon Management: CDR Technology Research and Development § (expected release date FY24)
JULY 2023: DOE NETL
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has released two funding opportunities, one on innovative long duration energy story system demonstration projects advancing a technology toward commercialization and validating cost and performance in the field. The second is on Storage Innovations, fostering partnerships of companies to pursue pre-competitive R&D ideas.
If you are interested in pursuing either of these opportunities, please each out to Heidi Leerkamp to discuss the ways iSEE can support your team and proposal development.
Agency: DOE
Program: DE-FOA-0003036 – Energy Storage Demonstration and Validation
Deadlines: Required Concept Paper due Sept. 15; Full Application due Dec. 4
Funding: Up to $5M over 4 years, *requires 50% cost share*
Topics: 1. Lithium Batteries 2. Flow Batteries 3. Other Innovative Technologies
Agency: DOE
Program: DE-FOA-0003020 – Storage Innovations 2030: Technology Liftoff
Deadlines: Required Concept Paper due Sept. 15; Full Application due Dec. 4
Funding: Up to $5M over 2-4 years, *requires 20% cost share*
Details: Projects must enable a long-duration capable (10+ hours) energy storage technology with a pathway to $0.05/ kWh Levelized Cost of Storage (LCOS) by 2030.
JULY 2023: NOAA Climate Program Office 2024 Competitions
Please see an opportunity below for the NOAA Climate Program Office 2024 Competitions, which support six themes in the Earth System Science and Modeling program.
Agency: NOAA
Deadlines: Letters of Intent Aug. 18 or Sept. 11, 2023, depending on topic; all full proposals due Nov. 17, 2023.
Funding: Individual proposals up to $190k/year for three years; team proposals up to $750k/year, varying by competition topic.
Topics:
- Atmospheric Chemistry, Carbon Cycle and Climate (AC4): Understanding Urban Air in a Changing Climate
- Climate Variability and Predictability (CVP): Advancing Understanding of Ocean Variability and Change in Support of NOAA’s Climate Ecosystems Fisheries Initiative
- Climate Variability and Predictability (CVP): Advancing Understanding of Multi-year to Decadal Climate Variability and Predictability for U.S. Climate Prediction
- Modeling, Analysis, Predictions, and Projections (MAPP): Advancing an Integrated NOAA
- Capability for Climate Predictions and Projections in Support of NOAA's Climate Ecosystems Fisheries Initiative
- Modeling, Analysis, Predictions, and Projections (MAPP): Process-Oriented Diagnostics for NOAA Climate Model Improvement and Applications
- Modeling, Analysis, Predictions, and Projections (MAPP): Early Career Award for Exceptional Research in Earth System Model Development and Application
The full solicitation at grants.gov >>>
If you are interested in pursuing a proposal through iSEE, please reach out to Heidi Leerkamp, and we can discuss how our Institute can support your proposal efforts.
MAY 2023: DOE Materials and Chemistry Research
- $100M for Energy Frontier Research Centers (November/December 2023);
- $24M for Computational Materials Sciences Centers (November/December 2023);
- $25M for EPSCoR (November/December 2023);
- $47M for Reaching a New Energy Sciences Workforce (RENEW) (January/February 2024);
- $40M for Funding to Accelerate Inclusive Research (FAIR) (January/February 2024);
- $200M for Energy Earthshot Research Centers Lab Call (Spring 2024);
- $75M for Energy Earthshot Research Foundations (Spring 2024);
- $60M for Microelectronics Science Research Centers (Spring 2024).