NSF Convergence Accelerator Town Hall

Dear Colleagues,

The Office of the Vice President for Research is hosting a one-hour town hall to provide information on the newly added tracks of the NSF Convergence Accelerator grant opportunity. Information about this opportunity is provided below. The goal of the town hall is to provide overview information on the event, answer questions from the UofU Research community, and provide space for interested parties to network and discussion potential submission(s) from the UofU. The Town Hall will be held on Thursday, May 12^th from 2:00pm – 3:00pm on Zoom. Registration is not required. Zoom details are provided below.

Please share with Department Chairs, Faculty, Staff, and other interested parties within your colleges/units.

Thank you.

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Town Hall Zoom Details
NSF Convergence Accelerator – 2022 Tracks Town Hall
Thursday, May 12^th
2:00pm – 3:00pm
Join Zoom Meeting: https://utah.zoom.us/j/92436508522
Meeting ID: 924 3650 8522
Passcode: 834076

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Convergence Accelerator program addresses national-scale societal challenges through use-inspired convergence research. Using a convergence approach and innovation processes like human-centered design, user discovery, and team science and integration of multidisciplinary research, the Convergence Accelerator program seeks to transition basic research and discovery into practice — to solve high-impact societal challenges aligned with specific research tracks.

For 2022, the tracks are:

Track H: Enhancing Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities
The NSF Convergence Accelerator's Track H: Enhancing Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) will serve as a platform to bring together researchers, practitioners, and stakeholders from a wide range of disciplines and sectors to work on use-inspired solutions to enhance quality of life and employment access and opportunities for PWDs.

Track I: Sustainable Materials for Global Challenges
The objective of the NSF Convergence Accelerator's Track I: Sustainable Materials for Global Challenges will be to converge advances in fundamental materials science with materials design and manufacturing methods to couple their end-use and full life-cycle considerations for environmentally- and economically sustainable materials and products.

Track J: Food & Nutrition Security
The overarching goal of the NSF Convergence Accelerator's Track J: Food & Nutrition Security will be to accelerate convergence across food and nutrition sectors to address intertwined challenges in supporting population health, combating climate change, and addressing the nutritional needs of the most vulnerable by empowering youth, women, and disadvantaged communities.

This is a 2-phase competition. Only phase 1 recipients are eligible for phase 2. Teams selected in phase 1 will receive up to $750,000 and those that advance to phase 2 will be eligible to receive up to $5 million. Full program details are available HERE.

Estimated Number of Awards: 36 to 48
NSF expects to make up to 48 Phase 1 awards across all topics because of this solicitation and the corresponding BAA. NSF expects to make 4-5 Phase 2 awards for each topic because of this solicitation and the corresponding BAA.

Anticipated Funding Amount: $36,000,000
Anticipated funding for $36,000,000, pending availability of funds, to support Phase 1 awards. Proposers may request up to $750,000 for Phase 1. The estimated funding level for Phase 2 awards depends on the availability of funds and the number of Phase 1 awards. Phase 2 proposals may request up to $3,000,000 for year 1 and up to $5,000,000 in total for the 24-month Phase 2 project.

Letter of Intent Due Date (required): May 31, 2022, Letter of Intent
Full Proposal Deadline: July 20, 2022

Here are the projects that have won this grant before:
NSF Award Search: Simple Search Results.

 

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