Centers of Research Excellence in Science and Technology - Research Infrastructure for Science and Engineering
Agency: National Science Foundation
Posted: 2024-03-26 | Closing date: 2024-08-02
Estimated total program funding: 6000000
Award ceiling: 2000000
Award floor: 100000
Expected number of awards: 9
Cost sharing or matching requirement: No

The Centers of Research Excellence in Science and Technology (CREST) program provides support to enhance the research capabilities of minority-serving institutions (MSIs) as defined in this solicitation’s Eligibility section, through effective integration of education and research. The CREST program, composed of the CREST Centers, the CREST Postdoctoral Research Program, and the projects supported by this CREST-RISE solicitation, promotes the development of new knowledge, enhancements of the research productivity of individual faculty and postdoctoral scholars, and an expanded presence of research doctoral students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines, especially those from underrepresented groups. CREST-RISE is the component of the CREST program that supports the expansion of institutional research capacity by increasing the strength of institutional graduate programs and the successful production of research doctoral students, especially those from groups underrepresented in STEM. The CREST-RISE component supports STEM research doctoral programs in all NSF supported areas and encourages proposals in areas of national interest, such as artificial intelligence, data science and analytics; advanced materials, manufacturing, robotics; cybersecurity; plant genetics/agricultural technologies; quantum information sciences; nanotechnology, semiconductors/microelectronics technologies; climate change and clean energy. CREST-RISE projects must have a direct connection to the long-term plans of the host department(s) and the institution’s strategic plan and mission. Project plans should emphasize activities designed to increase the production of research doctoral students, especially those underrepresented in STEM as well as expand institutional research capacity. The goals of CREST-RISE are to increase: 1) the number of STEM research doctoral programs at MSIs (as defined in the Eligibility section), 2) the number of STEM research doctoral students graduating from MSIs, especially those from groups underrepresented in STEM, and 3) institutional research capacity to increase doctoral students’ graduation rates.To achieve these goals, the CREST-RISE program includes three tracks as follows: CREST-RISE STEM Doctoral Programs Support Initiative (CREST-RISE DPSI) CREST-RISE Research Advancement and Development (CREST-RISE RAD) CREST-RISE Equipment & Instrumentation (CREST-RISE E&I) 

Eligibility: *Who May Submit Proposals: Proposals may only be submitted by the following:   - Minority Serving Institutions (see definition below) that are Emerging Research Institutions (ERIs) and offer master&rsquo;s or research doctoral degrees in NSF-supported STEM fields are eligible to submit. Emerging Research Institutionsare those that have less than $50,000,000 inresearchexpenditures per year as reported at <a href="https://ncsesdata.nsf.gov/profiles/site?method=rankingBySource&amp;ds=herd">https://ncsesdata.nsf.gov/profiles/site?method=rankingBySource&amp;ds=herd</a> in three of the last five years.    For this solicitation, MSIs are defined as institutions, at the time of proposal submission, that have enrollments of 50% or moreU.S. resident students (non-international) (based on total student enrollment) who are members of minority groups underrepresented among those holding advanced degrees in science and engineering fields. Proposals are also invited from institutions of higher education that meet the 50% enrollment criterion and primarily serve populations of students with disabilities. Eligibility may be determined by reference to the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) of the US Department of Education National Center for Education Statistics (<a href="http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/">http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/</a>).   *Who May Serve as PI:  CREST-RISE DPSI    The Principal Investigator (PI) must hold a full-time faculty appointment in an NSF-supported STEM discipline at the institution submitting the proposal.    CREST-RISE RAD    The PI must meet all the following eligibility requirements at the time of submission:   <ul>  <li>Be a full-time faculty member with the DPSI institution,</li>  <li>Have earned a doctoral degree no more than 10 years prior to the proposal submission date,</li>  <li>Be engaged in research in a STEM area supported by NSF and in alignment with the institution&rsquo;s active DPSI project,</li>  <li>Mentor or commit to mentor research doctoral students in the DPSI subject area,</li>  <li>Hold a position as an assistant professor (or equivalent),</li>  <li>Be untenured and on a tenure-track or tenure-track equivalent position, and</li>  <li>Have not previously received a RAD award. </li>  </ul>   Tenure-Track Equivalency &ndash; For a position to be considered a tenure-track-equivalent position, it must meet the following requirement:   <ul>  <li>the employee has a continuing appointment that is expected to last the five years of a RAD award</li>  </ul>   For tenure-track equivalent faculty, a Departmental Letter must affirm that the investigator&rsquo;s appointment is at an early-career level equivalent to pre-tenure status. Further, the Departmental Letter must clearly and convincingly demonstrate how the faculty member&rsquo;s appointment satisfies all the above requirements of tenure-track equivalency.    Faculty members who are associate professors, full professors, or have equivalent appointments with or without tenure/tenure-equivalency, are not eligibleto serve as PI for a RAD award.    Faculty members who hold Adjunct Faculty or equivalent appointments are not eligible to serve as PI for the RAD award.    Co-PIs are not permitted for a RAD proposal.    CREST-RISE E&amp;I    The PI must be a full-time faculty member at the requesting institution and must be mentoring DPSI supported research doctoral students from the institution&rsquo;s active DPSI award.