Scalable Nanomanufacturing

The National Science Foundation (NSF) announces a fourth year of a program on collaborative research and education in the area of scalable nanomanufacturing, including the long-term societal implications of the large-scale implementation of nanomanufacturing innovations. This program is in response to and is a component of the National Nanotechnology Initiative Signature Initiative: Sustainable Nanomanufacturing - Creating the Industries of the Future (http://www.nano.gov/node/611.) Although many nanofabrication techniques have demonstrated the ability to fabricate small quantities of nanomaterials, nanostructures and nanodevices for characterization and evaluation purposes, the emphasis of the scalable nanomanufacturing program is on research to overcome the key scientific and technological barriers that prevent the production of useful nanomaterials, nanostructures, devices and systems at an industrially relevant scale, reliably, and at low cost and within environmental, health and safety guidelines. Competitive proposals will incorporate three elements in their research plans:·A persuasive case that the nanomaterials, nanostructures, devices or systems to be produced have or are likely to have sufficient demand to justify eventual scale-up;· A clearly identified set of research issues for science and engineering solutions that must be addressed to enable the production of high quality nano-enabled products at low cost; and· A compelling research plan with clear research objectives and approaches to overcome the identified research issues.The mode of support is Nanoscale Interdisciplinary Research Teams (NIRT). Proposals submitted to this program should consider addressing aspects of the nanomanufacturing value chain:· Novel scalable processes and techniques for large-area or continuous manufacturing of nano-scale structures and their assembly/integration into higher order systems; · Fundamental scientific research in well-defined technical areas that are compellingly justified as approaches to overcome critical barriers to scale-up and integration; and· Design principles for production systems leading to nanomanufacturing platforms; identification of metrology, instrumentation, standards and control methodologies needed for process control and to assess quality and yield.Competitive proposals are expected to address the training and education of students in nanomanufacturing. While not required, the involvement of an industrial partner or partners is strongly encouraged and has the potential to significantly strengthen a proposal.Other research and education projects in nanoscale science and engineering will continue to be supported in the relevant programs and divisions.Please see requirements for submitting proposals for collaborations; a single proposal with sub-contracts must be submitted for collaborations and the submission of separate proposals from multiple investigators for collaborative projects ('collaborative proposals') is not allowed.