Early Career Faculty

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Headquarters has released a solicitation, titled Early Career Faculty (ECF), as an appendix to the Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) umbrella NASA Research Announcement (NRA) titled "Space Technology Research, Development, Demonstration, and Infusion 2019 (SpaceTech-REDDI-2019), on March 13, 2019. The solicitation is available by opening the NSPIRES homepage at http://nspires.nasaprs.com/ , selecting "Solicitations," then selecting "Open Solicitations," and, finally, selecting "Early Career Faculty (ECF).

STMD, and the Space Technology Research Grants (STRG) Program in particular, seek proposals from accredited U.S. universities on behalf of their outstanding new faculty members who intend to develop academic careers related to space technology. NASA is seeking proposals that plan to pursue innovative, early-stage space technology research in the topic areas specifically enumerated in the solicitation.

Our Nation's universities couple fundamental research with education, encouraging a culture of innovation based on the discovery of knowledge. Universities are, therefore, ideally positioned to both conduct fundamental space technology research and diffuse newly-found knowledge into society at large through graduate students and industrial, government, and other partnerships. STMD investments in space technology research at U.S. universities promote the continued leadership of our universities as an international symbol of the country's scientific innovation, engineering creativity, and technological skill. These investments also create, fortify, and nurture the talent base of highly skilled engineers, scientists, and technologists to improve America's technological and economic competitiveness.

The following topics are anticipated for the final appendix: Advancing Human-Robot Teams for Space Exploration; Terrain Mapping and Processing Algorithms; Intelligent Calibration of Constellations of Sensors; Advanced Thermal control Materials for Exploration Spacecraft.

Only accredited U.S. universities are eligible to submit proposals on behalf of their outstanding new faculty members who intend to develop academic careers related to space technology. The proposed research must be led by a single, eligible Principal Investigator (PI). The PI must be an untenured Assistant Professor on the tenure track at the sponsoring U.S. university at the time of award. The PI must be a U.S. citizen or have lawful status of permanent residency. The PI must be the primary researcher on the effort; Co-Investigators are not permitted. Collaborators (other than NASA civil servants/JPL) are permitted. See the solicitation (Section 3.0) for complete requirements regarding eligibility and for definitions and restrictions regarding collaborators.

A PI may submit only one proposal in response to this appendix.

NASA encourages submission of ECF proposals on behalf of early career faculty members at all U.S. universities and especially encourages women, members of underrepresented minority groups, and persons with disabilities.

The financial and programmatic support for ECF comes from the Space Technology Research Grants Program within the Space Technology Mission Directorate. Awards are planned to start in November 2019. NASA plans to make approximately 6-8 awards as a result of this ECF solicitation, subject to the receipt of meritorious proposals and the availability of funds. The actual number of awards will depend on the quality of the proposals received; NASA reserves the right to make no awards under this solicitation.

All proposals must be submitted electronically through NSPIRES or through Grants.gov (www.grants.gov) by an authorized organizational representative. Notices of Intent are strongly encouraged by April 3, 2019. Proposals are due on or before May 1, 2019. Detailed submission instructions are provided in the solicitation. Potential proposers and their proposing organizations are urged to familiarize themselves with the submission system(s), ensure they are registered in NSPIRES, and submit the required proposal materials well in advance of the deadline.

Technical and programmatic comments and questions may be addressed by e-mail to the Space Technology Research Grants Program Executive, Claudia Meyer, at hq-ecf-call@mail.nasa.gov. Procurement questions may be addressed by e-mail to the acquisition point of contact on this solicitation, Kimberly Cone, at hq-ecf-call@mail.nasa.gov. Responses to inquiries will be answered by e-mail and may also be included in the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) documents located on the NSPIRES page associated with the solicitation; anonymity of persons/institutions who submit questions will be preserved.