MPS Materials Research Programs (MPS Materials)
NSF MPS funds basic research on materials and their properties across areas like biomaterials, ceramics, polymers, and more, seeking ambitious, foundational science without requiring immediate applications.
Funder: U.S. National Science Foundation
Due Dates: Rolling (Full proposals) | October 7, 2076 (Application deadline)
Funding Amounts: $100 million estimated program funding; 300 expected awards
Summary: Supports foundational experimental, theoretical, and computational research advancing understanding of materials, their properties, and potential applications.
Key Information: One proposal per PI or co-PI per fiscal year across all eight materials programs, with specified exceptions.
Description
The NSF Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences supports foundational materials research spanning physics, chemistry, materials science, engineering, and related fields. Projects may be experimental, theoretical, computational, data-centric, or combine these approaches. Supported work includes materials discovery, characterization and modeling, understanding structures and processes, controlling properties, investigating emerging phenomena, and developing novel synthesis and processing strategies.
The program prioritizes intellectually ambitious and potentially transformative research, including interdisciplinary connections, opportunities for early-career investigators, and scientifically justified use of AI, advanced computation, or automation. Both systematic advances and high-risk inquiries are welcome. Proposals need not promise near-term products, deployment, commercial outcomes, or later-stage development.
