DOE Announces $31 Million to Build Research Capacity at Academic Institutions Across the United States
November 2024
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced $31 million in funding for 42 projects to 36 institutions in 24 states to build research capacity, infrastructure, and expertise at academic institutions across the country. Through the Funding for Accelerated, Inclusive Research (FAIR) initiative, the Office of Science builds strong, long-lasting relationships between lead institutions and DOE national laboratories, Office of Science scientific user facilities, or research-intensive academic institutions to perform basic research in a broad array of areas, including physics, chemistry, and materials science, that are supported by the Office of Science.
Among the awards are two projects in Biological and Environmental Research (BER):
- High-Dimensional Characterization of Forest Mesophication Effects on Reactive Nitrogen Emissions by Soil Microorganisms
- Led by Jennifer Goff at State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry
- Improving the Physical Realism of Snow Processes in E3SM
- Led by Enrico Zorzetto at New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology
“Providing America’s best and brightest students with pathways to STEM fields is the key to advancing American leadership in innovation,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “FAIR helps academic institutions expand their research portfolios and spur future scientific discovery, helping to broaden the impact of DOE and the Office of Science in tackling critical and pressing scientific questions and challenges.”
Projects focus on a diverse range of topics in fundamental research from developing scientific machine learning algorithms for modeling materials to improving global snow predictions to developing additive manufacturing for tungsten-based components used in fusion reactors. Fundamental research is essential for technology development, including applications that will power a clean energy future. The projects were selected by competitive peer review under the DOE FAIR solicitation.
Of the 36 awardee institutions, 33 are Emerging Research Institutions, 6 are Historically Black Colleges and Universities, 6 are Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs), 3 are Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), and 8 are both HSIs and AANAPISIs.
Total funding is $31 million for projects lasting up to three years in duration. The list of projects and more information can be found on the FAIR website.