DOE Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRCs)

Funding Opportunity Number: DE-FOA-0000987

FOA Attached

To ensure coordination of effort, the Research Office is asking for a short statement of intent from PIs that are interested in submitting a proposal to the DOE EFRCs program. The statement should not exceed three pages and include a brief description of the proposed scope of work to allow the Research Office to evaluate competing proposals and identification of all investigators and partners.

Submit statement of intent to Debbie Delmore, Research Office at debbie.delmore@oregonstate.edu by Wednesday, October 9, 2013.

In 2009, the Office of Basic Energy Sciences (BES) in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science established the Energy Frontier Research Center (EFRC) program. These integrated, multi-investigator centers involve various combinations of researchers at universities, national laboratories, nonprofit organizations, and for-profit firms. The EFRCs have conducted fundamental research focused on one or more “grand challenges” and use-inspired “basic research needs” identified in major strategic planning efforts by BES and the scientific community. These centers bring together the skills and talents of teams of investigators to perform energy-relevant basic research with a scope and complexity beyond that possible in standard single-investigator or small-group projects. The multi-investigator, multi-disciplinary nature of these centers fosters an environment in which innovations are encouraged and scientific breakthroughs accelerated to provide the basis for transformative energy technologies. The EFRCs pursue the fundamental understanding necessary to enhance U.S. energy security and to meet the global need for abundant, clean, and economical energy.

The Office of Basic Energy Sciences announces the re-competition of the EFRCs and encourages both new and renewal applications. Applications will be required to address both use-inspired priority research directions identified by the series of “Basic Research Needs” reports and scientific grand challenges identified in the report Directing Matter and Energy: Five Challenges for Science and the Imagination, both of which are described below. In addition, as appropriate, applicants are encouraged to consider the incorporation of research approaches outlined in the following two reports: 1)Computational Materials Science and Chemistry: Accelerating Discovery and Innovation through Simulation-Based Engineering and Science; and 2) From Quanta to the Continuum: Opportunities for Mesoscale Science. All of these reports can be found here: http://science.energy.gov/bes/news-and-resources/reports/.

DOE Letter of Intent Deadline: November 13, 2013

DOE Application Due Date: January 9, 2014

Thank you,

Debbie