Funder: National Science Foundation
Due Dates: July 15, 2025 (CAREER) | Rolling (Other proposals)
Funding Amounts: Typical awards up to 3 years for unsolicited proposals; CAREER awards up to 5 years; budgets usually support one graduate student and up to one month PI time per year; larger budgets require prior discussion.
Summary: Supports engineering research on sustainable systems that balance human well-being and ecological protection, with emphasis on long-term impact and interdisciplinary approaches.
Key Information: Proposals outside core areas or with large budgets should contact the program director before submission; strict compliance with NSF PAPPG is required.
Description
The Environmental Sustainability program, part of the NSF's Environmental Engineering and Sustainability cluster, funds research that advances sustainable engineered systems supporting both human well-being and the long-term health of natural environments. The program encourages projects that integrate engineering with social, behavioral, and economic sciences, and that consider long time horizons and transformative impacts.
Supported research areas include:
- Circular Bioeconomy Engineering: Sustainable use of food, energy, water, nitrogen, phosphorus, and materials, with a focus on reducing fossil fuel use and waste through closed-loop, circular processes.
- Industrial Ecology: Innovations in modeling (e.g., life cycle assessment, materials flow analysis, net energy analysis), and development of new metrics for sustainable systems.
- Green Engineering: Systems or holistic approaches to sustainable manufacturing, green buildings, infrastructure, and smart growth strategies, including stormwater management and water reuse.
- Ecological Engineering: Engineering approaches to restoring ecological function and enhancing natural capital for sustainable development.
- Earth Systems Engineering: Large-scale engineering research addressing greenhouse gas mitigation, climate adaptation, and other global environmental challenges.
All proposals must be explicitly grounded in engineering principles and demonstrate relevance to environmental sustainability.
Due Dates
- Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Proposals: July 15, 2025 (estimated, mid-July annually)
- Unsolicited Proposals, RAPID, EAGER, GOALI: Accepted anytime (rolling submission)
- Conference, Workshop, and Supplement Proposals: Strongly encouraged to discuss with the program director before submission
Funding Amount
- Unsolicited Proposals: Typically up to 3 years; single-investigator budgets usually support one graduate student (or equivalent) and up to one month of PI time per year.
- CAREER Awards: Up to 5 years.
- Larger Budgets: Multi-investigator projects may be larger; proposals with budgets significantly above typical levels must be discussed with the program director in advance.
- Estimated Total Program Funding: Approximately $7,066,000 (recent annual figure; subject to change).
Eligibility
- Eligible Applicants: Unrestricted; open to all types of entities (universities, colleges, nonprofits, for-profits, etc.), subject to NSF policies.
- Special Notes:
- Proposals on water treatment, air pollution, soil remediation, and solid waste treatment should be submitted to the Environmental Engineering program (CBET 1440).
- For research outside the United States, proposals must explain the benefit to the U.S.
- 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.
- Required Content: Proposals should clearly address the novelty and/or potentially transformative nature of the work, its importance to engineering science, and its potential societal or industrial impact.
- Graduate/Undergraduate Involvement: Proposals should include participation of at least one graduate student and, where possible, undergraduates.
- Pre-Submission Contact: Strongly recommended for proposals outside core areas, with large budgets, or for RAPID/EAGER/GOALI/conference/workshop/supplement requests.
- Compliance: Proposals not compliant with the PAPPG will be returned without review.
Additional Information
- Types of Proposals Considered: Unsolicited, CAREER, RAPID, EAGER, GOALI, conference, workshop, and supplement proposals.
- Award Duration: Up to 3 years for most awards; up to 5 years for CAREER.
- Recent Awards: Browse funded projects.
- Program Areas Not Supported: Water/air/soil/solid waste treatment (see Environmental Engineering program).
External Links
Contact Information