Engineering (ENG): Electrical, Communications, and Computing Systems (ECCS)
NSF’s Engineering Directorate funds foundational research in electrical, communications, and computing systems, including devices, circuits, systems, AI, and energy, through several focused grant programs.
Funder: U.S. National Science Foundation
Due Dates: Rolling (Full proposals) | October 5, 2076 (Listed closing date; proposals accepted anytime)
Funding Amounts: $110 million total program funding; budgets and durations commensurate with project scope
Summary: Supports foundational engineering research in devices, communications and sensing, computing, control, learning, and power and energy systems.
Key Information: Unaffiliated individuals are not eligible to submit proposals.
Description
The NSF Directorate for Engineering’s Electrical, Communications, and Computing Systems (ECCS) solicitation supports foundational research advancing devices, circuits, networks, and system architectures. Its three programs cover electronic, photonic, magnetic, and quantum devices; circuits and systems for communications and sensing; and energy, power, control, and learning. Research within a single program and multidisciplinary work spanning multiple programs are welcome.
NSF seeks intellectually ambitious and potentially transformative research, including incremental advances and bold, high-risk inquiries. Priorities include new theories, methods, tools, and datasets, interdisciplinary connections, and opportunities for early-career investigators. Scientifically justified uses of AI, advanced computation, and automation are encouraged. Proposals need not promise a near-term product, deployment, commercial outcome, or later-stage development to be competitive.
