Funder: National Science Foundation
Due Dates: July 15, 2025 (CAREER) | Proposals accepted anytime (unsolicited, RAPID, EAGER, GOALI)
Funding Amounts: Typical single-investigator awards support one graduate student and up to one month PI time/year for up to 3 years; CAREER awards: 5 years; larger budgets possible for multi-investigator projects.
Summary: Supports fundamental research to advance catalyst development and catalytic engineering for societal benefit, with emphasis on energy, environment, and sustainable chemical processes.
Key Information: Proposals outside core topics or with large budgets should contact the program director before submission; strict compliance with NSF PAPPG is required.
Description
The National Science Foundation's Catalysis program, part of the Chemical Process Systems cluster, funds fundamental research to increase understanding and development of catalysts and catalytic reactions that benefit society. The program targets critical challenges and opportunities in both emerging and established catalysis technologies, with a primary focus on heterogeneous catalysis (gas-solid and liquid-solid systems), but also welcomes proposals incorporating concepts from homogeneous catalysis.
Research areas of interest include:
- Novel catalyst compositions, structures, and architectures (especially those using earth-abundant materials)
- Energy-related catalysis, including electrocatalysis, photocatalysis, and catalytic conversion of biomass-derived chemicals
- Catalysis for closing the carbon cycle (e.g., CO₂, methane, and natural gas conversion)
- Environmental catalysis for air and water pollutant mitigation and upcycling of waste materials
- Commercially scalable, durable, and regenerable catalyst synthesis methods
- Advanced catalyst characterization (in situ, in operando) and computational/theoretical tools
- Fundamental studies of catalytic materials, reaction pathways, kinetics, and mechanisms
Proposals should address the novelty and/or potentially transformative nature of the work, its importance to engineering science, and its potential societal or industrial impact.
Note: Proposals focused on molecular/homogeneous catalysis, surface science, photo redox catalysis, organic synthesis, or pharmaceutical applications may be more appropriate for other NSF programs (e.g., Chemical Catalysis, Cellular and Biochemical Engineering, or Process Systems, Reaction Engineering, and Molecular Thermodynamics). Interdisciplinary projects may be jointly funded.
Due Dates
- Engineering CAREER proposals: July 15, 2025 (annual July deadline)
- Unsolicited proposals: Accepted anytime
- RAPID, EAGER, and GOALI proposals: Accepted anytime (must discuss with program director before submission)
- Conference, workshop, and supplement proposals: Strongly encouraged to discuss with program director before submission
Funding Amount
- Single-investigator awards: Typically support one graduate student (or equivalent) and up to one month of PI time per year, for up to 3 years
- Multi-investigator projects: Larger budgets possible
- CAREER awards: 5-year duration
- Total program funding: Estimated at $4.9 million (subject to availability)
- Larger budgets: Must be discussed with the program director prior to submission
Eligibility
- Open to U.S.-based researchers and institutions (colleges, universities, non-profits, etc.)
- No cost-sharing or matching required
- Proposals must comply with the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG)
Application Process
- Submission: Proposals must be submitted via NSF FastLane, Research.gov, or Grants.gov
- Compliance: Strict adherence to the NSF PAPPG is required; non-compliant proposals will be returned without review
- Pre-submission contact: Strongly recommended for proposals outside core topics, with large budgets, or for RAPID/EAGER/GOALI/conference/workshop/supplement requests
- Review: Proposals are reviewed for intellectual merit and broader impacts
Additional Information
- Proposals should include plans to assess data reproducibility, catalyst stability under realistic conditions, performance relative to reference materials, and quantitative measures of catalytic efficiency.
- Interdisciplinary and innovative proposals are welcome, but prior discussion with a program director is advised to ensure fit.
- Recent award abstracts and funding levels can be viewed on the NSF program page.
External Links
Contact Information
For general NSF inquiries:
- NSF Contact Page
- Phone: 1-703-292-5111
- Email: info@nsf.gov