Combustion, Fire, and Plasma Systems

CONTACTS

PROGRAM GUIDELINES

Apply to PD 13-1407 as follows:

For full proposals submitted via FastLane: standard Grant Proposal Guidelines apply.
For full proposals submitted via Grants.gov: NSF Grants.gov Application Guide; A Guide for the Preparation and Submission of NSF Applications via Grants.gov Guidelines apply (Note: The NSF Grants.gov Application Guide is available on the Grants.gov website and on the NSF website at: http://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=grantsgovguide)

Important Notice to Proposers

A revised version of the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG), NSF 13-1, was issued on October 4, 2012 and is effective for proposals submitted, or due, on or after January 14, 2013. Please be advised that, depending on the specified due date, the guidelines contained in NSF 13-1 may apply to proposals submitted in response to this funding opportunity.

Please be aware that significant changes have been made to the PAPPG to implement revised merit review criteria based on the National Science Board (NSB) report, National Science Foundation's Merit Review Criteria: Review and Revisions. While the two merit review criteria remain unchanged (Intellectual Merit and Broader Impacts), guidance has been provided to clarify and improve the function of the criteria. Changes will affect the project summary and project description sections of proposals. Annual and final reports also will be affected.

A by-chapter summary of this and other significant changes is provided at the beginning of both the Grant Proposal Guide and the Award & Administration Guide.

SYNOPSIS

The Combustion, Fire, and Plasma Systems program supports fundamental research and education relevant to these subjects.  Among the broader societal impacts of the program are cleaner global and local environments, enhanced public safety, improved energy and homeland security, useful new materials, and more efficient manufacturing.

This program is not an applied program, but rather it endeavors to provide basic knowledge that is needed to develop useful combustion and plasma applications and for mitigating the effects of fire.  Broad-based tools - experimental, diagnostic, and computational - that can be applied to a variety of problems in combustion, fires, and plasma systems are the major products of this program.  Note that the plasma science is generally in support of plasma applications to combustion and materials processing; atmospheric-science or fusion-energy plasmas are funded elsewhere.

Areas of interest include:

• Basic Combustion Science:  Laminar and turbulent combustion of gas, liquid, and solid fuels in premixed, non-premixed, partially premixed, and homogeneous modes over a broad range of temperatures, pressures and length scales. Development of models and diagnostic tools
• Combustion Science related to Climate-change:  Such as: (i) increasing efficiency and reducing pollutants, (ii) production and use of renewable fuels, (iii) oxy-fuel combustion for carbon sequestration, (iv) chemical looping combustion, etc.
• Fire Prevention:  Improved scientific understanding of building and forest fires to prevent their spread, inhibit their growth, and cause their suppression
• Plasma systems:  Plasma science relevant to combustion, plasma science needed for industrial applications, plasma-processing science relevant to material synthesis and nanomaterials

Some desired outcomes:

• Science & technology for clean and efficient generation of power both stationary and mobile
  
  
• Combustion science and technology for energy efficient manufacturing
  
  
• Research that enables efficient production and utilization of renewable "green" fuels
  
  
• Research that enables clean global and local environments (reduction in combustion generated pollutants - GHGs, NOx, Soot, etc.)
  
  
• Enhanced public safety and homeland security through research on fire growth, inhibition and suppression
  
  
• Educate and train an innovative workforce for power, transportation, and manufacturing industries

The duration of unsolicited awards is generally one to three years.  The average annual award size for the program is $90,000.  Proposals requesting a substantially higher amount than this, without prior consultation with the Program Director, may be returned without review.  Small equipment proposals of less than $100,000 will also be considered and may be submitted during these windows.  Any proposal received outside the announced dates will be returned without review.

Innovative proposals outside of these specific interest areas can be considered.  However, prior to submission, it is recommended that the PI contact the Program Director to avoid the possibility of the proposal being returned without review.

Additional Program Information - 1407:  (e.g., Areas of Research, Research Highlights, Conferences and Workshops, Program Director Information, etc.)

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INFORMATION COMMON TO MOST CBET PROGRAMS

Proposals should address the novelty and/or potentially transformative nature http://www.nsf.gov/about/transformative_research/faq.jsp  of the concept being proposed, compared to previous work in the field.  Also, it is important to address why the proposed work is important in terms of engineering science, as well as to also project the potential impact on society and /or industry of success in the research.  The novelty or potentially transformative nature of the research should be included, as a minimum, in the Project Summary of each proposal.

Proposals submitted to this program are subject to the scope of the program's description and the availability of funds.  Decisions about particular proposals are often very difficult to make and factors other than reviewer comments and ratings enter into the decision.  Comments by a reviewer must sometimes be considered in the context of other reviews by the same person. The Program Director often has additional information not available to reviewers (such as project reports). Maintaining appropriate balance among subfields, the availability of other funding, the total amount of funds available to the program, and general Foundation policies and priorities are also important decision factors. 

Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) program proposals are strongly encouraged.  Award duration is five years.  The submission deadline for Engineering CAREER proposals is in July every year. Please see the following URL for more information:  http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=503214

Proposals for Conferences, Workshops, and Supplements:  Proposals involving these activities should ideally be submitted during the regular annual proposal window.  PIs are strongly encouraged to discuss their requests with the Program Director before submission of the proposal.

Grants for Rapid Response Research (RAPID) and EArly-concept Grants for Exploratory Research (EAGER) are also considered when appropriate.  Please note that proposals of these types must be discussed with the Program Director before submission.  Further details are available in the Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG) download.

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THIS PROGRAM IS PART OF

Transport and Thermal Fluids Phenomena

What Has Been Funded (Recent Awards Made Through This Program, with Abstracts)

Map of Recent Awards Made Through This Program

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