Funder: U.S. National Science Foundation
Due Dates: Rolling (Full proposals accepted anytime)
Funding Amounts: $100 million anticipated across the CBET solicitation, supporting 225–275 awards
Summary: Supports fundamental engineering research to manage energy, water, minerals, and material resources while safeguarding health.
Key Information: Unaffiliated individuals are not eligible to submit proposals.
Description
The Energy, Water, and Resource Engineering (EWRE) program supports fundamental engineering research through NSF’s Directorate for Engineering. It aims to make U.S. manufacturing, energy, and water systems more efficient and secure through better use of domestic resources. Research interests include domestic energy sources, water management, resource recovery using chemical, biological, and geophysical processes, and advanced manufacturing that closes energy, water, and resource loops.
EWRE also supports materials and critical-mineral recycling, life cycle assessment, materials flow analysis, and AI modeling with novel metrics for the circular economy and bioeconomy. Its scope includes chemical transport and biochemical reactivity in water, air, soil, and sediments; interactions between nanomaterials and biological media; and engineered systems for detecting and responding to pathogens and toxins. Intellectually ambitious, potentially transformative research is encouraged without requiring near-term products or commercial outcomes.
