Department of Energy (DOE) has mission-specific workforce needs in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) fields and a responsibility to support the training of the next generation of STEM professionals who will serve that mission. The complex nature of the scientific and technical work supported by DOE and carried out by the DOE laboratories, institutes of higher education (IHE), and the private sector generally requires advanced graduate level training. Historically, the Department’s primary mechanism for supporting the training of graduate students has been through the inclusion in standard research awards to IHE and DOE laboratories. This FOA will establish DOE-sponsored IHE-led traineeships as a mechanism for graduate-level training critical to DOE mission-driven workforce needs. This will be accomplished through a focused academic graduate program that delivers unique, innovative curriculum, coupled with a rigorous thesis or dissertation research requirement, in the desired DOE-relevant scientific or technical discipline(s). The DOE-sponsored IHE-led traineeships will strategically address identified STEM workforce training needs in the area of radiochemistry. The total Government funding available for any single award under this FOA shall not exceed $3M over five (5) years, subject to availability of funds. This FOA is available at FedConnect (https://www.fedconnect.net) under reference number DE-FOA-0001369. Any Government obligation under this program is contingent upon the availability of appropriated funds from which payment for award purposes can be made. No legal liability on the part of the Government for any payment may arise until funds are made available to the Contracting Officer, notice of award is made to the recipient by the Contracting Officer, and the recipient receives notice of such availability of funds, to be confirmed in writing by the Contracting Officer. Applications in response to this FOA must be submitted through Grants.gov. DOE intends to allow for approximately 60 days for applicant response to this FOA. The application due date is March 28, 2016. Interested parties are encouraged to review the FOA and submit any questions, comments, suggestions, or concerns to DOE on or before February 29, 2016 (see FOA Part VII, Section A). Questions may be submitted either through the FedConnect portal (identified in the FOA Section VII.A.) or directly to DOE at the following email address:
[email protected]. DOE will make every effort to address questions submitted.