[Federal Register: December 17, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 242)]
[Notices]
[Page 77246-77248]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr17de02-39]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Office of Science Financial Assistance Program Notice 03-16:
Catalysis Science
AGENCY: U.S. Department of Energy.
ACTION: Notice inviting grant applications.
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SUMMARY: The Office of Basic Energy Sciences (BES) of the Office of
Science (SC), U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), hereby announces its
interest in receiving grant applications for high-risk, long-term,
multi-investigator, multidisciplinary research on the science of
catalysis. See Supplementary Information below for specific guidelines.
The goal of the Catalysis Science research effort is to develop
combined experimental and theoretical approaches to enable molecular-
level understanding of catalytic reaction mechanisms, ultimately
enabling the prediction of catalytic reactivity at multiple time and
length scales. Strongly encouraged are: (a) Applications containing
synergistic integration of physical, chemical, and/or biochemical
experimentation with solid state and molecular reactivity theories; (b)
applications that integrate atomistic design of catalytically active
sites; molecular, supramolecular or solid-state synthesis; and in-situ,
time- and space-resolved, spectroscopy and microscopy; (c) applications
to identify mechanisms and principles common to homogeneous,
heterogeneous, and bio catalysis for the purpose of advancing the
understanding of catalysis and developing novel chemical or physical
functionalities; and (d) applications to understand and manage catalyst
complexity arising from the combination of diverse functionalities,
namely chemical, biological, electronic, optical, magnetic, mechanical,
thermal, etc. DOE National Laboratory investigators should refer to the
complementary request for proposals announced under: http://www.sc.doe.gov/production/grants/grants.html
.
DATES: Letters of intent are required and must include the information
specified under Application Guidelines, and must be submitted by 4:30
p.m., E.S.T., February 5, 2003. Full applications must be preceded by
the letters of intent and must be submitted by 4:30 p.m., E.S.T., March
26, 2003, in order to be accepted for merit review and consideration
for award during Fiscal Year 2003.
ADDRESSES: Letters of intent must be sent as email attachment in PDF
format to Drs. Raul Miranda (raul.miranda@science.doe.gov) and William
Millman (william.millman@science.doe.gov). Formal applications
referencing Program Notice 03-16 must be sent electronically by an
authorized institutional business official through DOE's Industry
Interactive Procurement System (IIPS) at: http://e-center.doe.gov (see
also http://www.sc.doe.gov/production/grants/grants.html.) IIPS
provides for the posting of solicitations and receipt of applications
in a paperless environment via the Internet. In order to submit
applications through IIPS your business official will need to register
at the IIPS Web site. The Office of Science will include attachments as
part of this notice that provide the appropriate forms in PDF fillable
format that are to be submitted through IIPS. Color images should be
submitted in IIPS as a separate file in PDF format and identified as
such. These images should be kept to a minimum due to the limitations
of reproducing them. They should be numbered and referred to in the
body of the technical scientific application as Color image 1, Color
image 2, etc. Questions regarding the operation of IIPS may be E-mailed
to the IIPS Help Desk at: HelpDesk@e-center.doe.gov or you may call the
help desk at: (800) 683-0751. Further information on the use of IIPS by
the Office of Science is available at: http://www.sc.doe.gov/production/grants/grants.html
.
If you are unable to submit the application through IIPS, please
contact the Grants and Contracts Division, Office of Science at: (301)
903-5212, in order to gain assistance for submission through IIPS or to
receive special approval and instruction on how to submit printed
applications.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Raul Miranda by telephone at:
(301) 903-8014, or Dr. William Millman at: (301) 903-5805, or at the E-
mail addresses mentioned above, or by mail at U.S. Department of
Energy, Office of Science, SC-14/Germantown Building, 1000 Independence
Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585-1290.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
General and Particular Goals of This Notice
The general goals of the Catalysis Science research effort at the
Office of Basic Energy Sciences are the following: (1) Attain a
fundamental scientific understanding of catalytic reactivity of
molecular, supramolecular or nanoscale, and condensed matter; (2)
acquire basic knowledge of the structural, dynamic, and electronic
aspects of multi-atom assemblies that are associated with materials
undergoing chemical transformations and converting or transferring
energy or mass; and (3) develop the methodology and tools to design and
synthesize hard, soft (macromolecular and biological), and hybrid
materials at the atomic level to achieve controlled reactivity, multi-
functionality, and time-dependent behavior.
The particular goal of the Catalysis Science effort is to
dramatically accelerate the development of a predictive science of
chemical catalysis by means of appropriate theoretical and experimental
collaborations. To that end, focused and joint activities among
complementary scientists and engineers will be supported to discover
structure-property relationships and set the foundations for
comprehensive theories of catalyst reactivity and time-dependent
behavior. Consequently, support will be given for the use of advanced
experimental and theoretical tools, as well as the development of new
synthetic, spectroscopic, structural, theoretical and information
management tools, for achieving systematic probing and exacting control
of structure-reactivity relationships.
Expected Long-Term Impact of the Research Funded Under This Notice
The fundamental understanding sought with this research should, in
the long term, lead to novel molecular or nanoscale constructs endowed
with designed chemical reactivity. As
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catalysts, such materials should possess, by definition, the ability to
direct chemical transformations quickly, selectively, and repeatedly,
toward desired sets of products, without themselves suffering
degradation. To convert selected species that may be components of
complex mixtures, future catalysts will also possess enzyme-like
reactant specificity and chemo-, regio- and stereo-selectivity. Acting
in environments with various types of heterogeneity, future synthetic
catalysts will be self-adaptive or externally controllable, by
incorporating both sensing and acting functionalities in the same
structure. Future catalysts will have self-healing capabilities in
order to reverse degradation and prevent deactivation. They might be
tunable to absorb energy in specific spectral ranges and deliver such
energy to selected chemical bonds. These complex structures will
efficiently convert currently intractable fossil and renewable
feedstocks into clean fuels, chemical commodities, fine chemicals and
special materials. They will also dramatically purify our environment,
protect our security, balance our body chemistry, and impact a number
of industries: power, food, transportation, electronics, housing, etc.
The objective of this research effort is to develop fundamental
scientific understanding of the physicochemical mechanisms and
discovery of the principles that will allow the design and controlled
synthesis of the catalysts that will achieve this vision.
Emphasis on Research Teams
Note: Single investigators wishing to submit an application in
response to the goals stated in this notice should contact an
appropriate program manager in the Office of Basic Energy Sciences.
See above for contact information.
Applications are sought from multi-investigator teams that focus on
the creation of new approaches to research in catalysis. Thus,
applications that present novel approaches to integrating or
coordinating the various aspects of catalysis (heterogeneous,
homogeneous and biological) are particularly encouraged, as are
applications that integrate advanced experimental techniques, synthetic
methodology, and theory and modeling. Participation by investigators
who are new to catalysis science research is strongly encouraged.
In particular, this notice targets imaginative multidisciplinary
research efforts coordinating some or all of the following disciplines:
chemistry, biology, physics, materials science, engineering; molecular
and solid state synthesis, structural and spectroscopic
instrumentation, reaction mechanisms and dynamics; chemical and
materials theory, applied mathematics, information science and
computation. The application should describe how that coordination may
lead to a predictive science of catalysis.
Applicants are invited, but not required, to partner with multiple
institutions: universities, DOE National Laboratories (FFRDCs) and
Nanoscale Science Research Centers, when appropriate and necessary for
the intellectual and operational benefit of the collaboration.
Applications must include a management plan describing the intellectual
responsibility of each investigator and how each of them is essential
to achieving the overall project milestones (see Application Guidelines
for detailed instructions.)
In multi-institutional applications, only the leading institution
must submit the original application, including separate and detailed
budgets from each institution. Research collaboration with DOE FFRDCs
is welcome, but funds will be provided to these organizations under a
separate notice (http://www.sc.doe.gov/production/grants/grants.html.)
A guide for submitting a collaborative application with a national
laboratory can be accessed via the web at: http://www.sc.doe.gov/production/grants/Colab.html.
International collaborations are also
welcome, but the international partner will not receive funding under
this notice. Use of national and international user facilities is
encouraged but not required. All projects will be evaluated using the
same criteria, regardless of the submitting institution.
Program Funding
It is anticipated that up to $4 million will be available for up to
6 new grant awards during Fiscal Year 2003, contingent upon the
availability of appropriated funds. For this initial funding period,
three-year grants are expected, also contingent upon the availability
of appropriated funds, progress of the research, and continuing program
need.
Merit Review
Applications will be subjected to scientific merit review (peer
review) and will be evaluated against the following criteria listed in
descending order of importance as codified at 10 CFR part 605.10(d)
(http://www.sc.doe.gov/production/grants/605index.html):
1. Scientific and/or technical merit of the project;
2. Appropriateness of the proposed method or approach;
3. Competency of applicant's personnel and adequacy of proposed
resources;
4. Reasonableness and appropriateness of the proposed budget.
In addition, applications will be evaluated in terms of the
organizational plan and the research coordination. The evaluation will
also include program policy factors such as the relevance of the
proposed research to the terms of the announcement and programmatic
needs.
External peer reviewers will be selected with regard to both their
scientific expertise and the absence of conflict of interest. Non-
federal reviewers may be used and submission of an application
constitutes agreement that this is acceptable to the investigator(s)
and the submitting institution.
Application Guidelines
Note: Each university investigator is limited to only one
application as either principal investigator/project director or co-
principal investigator.
Information about the development and submission of applications,
eligibility, limitations, evaluation, selection process, and other
policies and procedures may be found in 10 CFR part 605 and in the
Application Guide for the Office of Science Financial Assistance
Program. Electronic access to the Guide and required forms is available
via the World Wide Web at: http://www.sc.doe.gov/production/grants/grants.html.
The application Face Page, form DOE F 4650.2, must contain
the principal investigator/project director's name, institution, phone
number, fax number, and E-mail address. Requests for three-year grants
are expected. For multi-institutional applications, see further
instructions below.
The letter of intent should be brief and contain a project title,
principal investigator/project director, co-principal investigators,
external collaborators not included in the budget, institutions
involved, estimated total budget, purpose and innovative aspects of the
research, and primary role of each principal investigator. The letters
of intent are not binding and will be used by program managers
exclusively for preliminary identification of potential peer reviewers,
conflicts of interest, and duplications of effort.
The full application shall contain a research description limited
to a maximum of 40 pages per application, including figures, tables,
and previous results. It must also contain a research
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management and coordination plan, limited to 10 pages. The application
must have a short abstract focusing on the goals of the research and an
executive summary that includes research methodology and coordination
plan for the research team. Attachments must include a brief biography
for each investigator and external collaborator; a listing of all
current and pending federal, state, and private support for each
investigator listed in the budget; and letters of commitment from
external collaborators not included in the budget. The required page
and font format are: 8.5 inch x 11 inch page size; 1 inch top, bottom
and right margins; 1.25 inch left margin; single, 1.5 or double line
spacing; 12 pt font size for text and appropriate fonts for equations
and symbolic notation. DOE is under no obligation to pay for any costs
associated with the preparation or submission of applications.
The application must have the following ordered format:
1--Face page (DOE F 4650.2).
2--Table of contents.
3--Project abstract (400 word maximum).
4--Executive summary (3 page maximum).
5--Budget for each year and cumulative budget (DOE F 4620.1).
6--Budget explanation.
7--Cover page(s) with project title, names of project director and
co-principal investigators and their affiliations. For multi-
institutional applications, list the investigator names, their
institutions, the yearly amount request from each institution and the
yearly total request.
8--Research description (40 page maximum, including goals,
background, research plan, previous results (if any), and research
methodology).
9--Research management and coordination plan (10 page maximum).
10--References (including full titles).
11--Biographical sketches (3 page maximum per principal
investigator and external collaborator).
12--Description of main facilities to be used in the research.
13--Current and pending support for each investigator listed in the
budget(s).
14--Letters of commitment from external collaborators.
15--Federal certification pages for the submitting institution.
16--Appendix 1 (For multi-institutional applications only):
original signed pages.
17--Appendix 2 (For multi-institutional applications only):
combined budget sheets.
Specific Instructions for Multi-Institutional Applications
The leading institution project director/principal investigator is
responsible for the management and coordination of the overall effort
and for submitting the application. If the application were funded,
each institution would receive a separate grant or contract and there
would be no subcontracts. Therefore, each institution must prepare and
sign its own face page (item 1 listed above), budget sheets and
explanation (items 5-6 above) and federal certification pages (item 15
above). On the face page, each institution should identify its
principal investigator and specify its amount request. The project
director/principal investigator of the leading institution must
electronically or otherwise submit the application using the following
format: (item 1) leading institution face page citing the amount
requested by the leading institution; (items 2-15) body of the
application including the leading institution's budget and explanation
(items 5-6); (item 16) Appendix 1, containing all original budgets,
explanations and federal certification pages from the other
institutions; and (item 17) Appendix 2, containing a spreadsheet that
combines the budgets from the multiple institutions in an easily
readable format.
The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number for this
program is 81.049, and the solicitation control number is ERFAP 10
CFR Part 605.
Issued in Washington, DC, on December 10, 2002.
John Rodney Clark,
Associate Director of Science for Resource Management.
[FR Doc. 02-31649 Filed 12-16-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P