Funder: U.S. National Science Foundation
Due Dates: November 15, 2024 (Letter of Intent) | January 14, 2025 (Preliminary Proposal) | June 2, 2025 (Full Proposal)
Funding Amounts: Up to $3,000,000 per award over 3 years; at least 5 awards anticipated; total program budget $15M (FY25).
Summary: Supports individual investigators in engineering proposing bold, novel research directions distinct from their prior work, with potential for transformative national impact.
Key Information: Letter of Intent and Preliminary Proposal are required; only invited PIs may submit full proposals; single-PI only—no co-PIs or collaborative proposals allowed.
Description
The NSF Trailblazer Engineering Impact Award (TRAILBLAZER) is designed to support individual investigators in engineering who propose innovative, high-impact research projects that represent a significant departure from their previous or current research areas. The program seeks to catalyze new directions in engineering and science, address national needs or grand challenges, and advance U.S. leadership in engineering research. Projects should be bold, creative, and potentially transformative, with a strong emphasis on convergence across engineering and science domains.
All funded PIs will join a TRAILBLAZER cohort and are expected to participate in annual meetings and potentially other program activities. The program places a strong emphasis on broadening participation in STEM and requires a Broadening Participation Plan as part of each proposal.
Due Dates
- Letter of Intent (required): November 15, 2024 (by 5 p.m. local time)
- Preliminary Proposal (required): January 14, 2025 (by 5 p.m. local time)
- Full Proposal (by invitation only): June 2, 2025 (by 5 p.m. local time)
Only PIs who submit a Letter of Intent and are subsequently invited after review of their preliminary proposal may submit a full proposal.
Funding Amount
- Award Size: Up to $3,000,000 per project over three years.
- Number of Awards: At least 5 awards anticipated.
- Total Program Budget: $15,000,000 (FY 2025), pending availability of funds.
- Budget Notes: Significant PI time commitment is expected; up to six months of salary support per year may be requested. No cost sharing is allowed.
Eligibility
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Eligible Organizations:
- U.S.-based non-profit, non-academic organizations (e.g., independent museums, observatories, research labs, professional societies) directly associated with educational or research activities.
- U.S.-accredited two- and four-year Institutions of Higher Education (including community colleges), acting on behalf of their faculty.
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Eligible Principal Investigators:
- Must hold a tenured or tenure-eligible faculty appointment at the Associate or Full Professor rank (or equivalent) at an eligible organization.
- Must have an appointment in an Engineering School/College and/or have earned an Engineering Doctorate.
- For non-academic organizations: PI must have a continuing appointment expected to last the 3-year award period and substantial research responsibilities.
- Only single-PI proposals are allowed. No co-PIs, sub-awards, or collaborative proposals.
- Limit: One proposal per PI; if listed as PI on more than one, all but the first will be returned without review.
- Ineligible: PIs with prior or concurrent funding for projects that overlap with the proposed TRAILBLAZER project.
Application Process
- Letter of Intent (LOI): Required. Submit via Research.gov by November 15, 2024. No feedback is provided, but LOI is mandatory for preliminary proposal submission.
- Preliminary Proposal: Required. Submit via Research.gov by January 14, 2025. Must include project summary, description, biographical sketch, current/pending support, and a summary slide.
- Full Proposal: By invitation only, following review of the preliminary proposal. Due June 2, 2025. Must be submitted via Research.gov or Grants.gov and follow both the solicitation and the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG).
- Required Supplementary Documents:
- Unattributed project summary (no PI/institution identifiers)
- Broadening Participation Plan (in both summary and description)
- Department Head Letter certifying PI eligibility
- PowerPoint slide summarizing vision and impacts
- Mechanisms for sharing research outcomes
- Letters of collaboration (if applicable)
- Review Process: Proposals are reviewed for intellectual merit, broader impacts, PI’s research expertise and leadership, trailblazing potential, national need/grand challenge relevance, broadening participation, and management plan. Panel interviews may be required for finalists.
Additional Information
- Annual Meeting: Awardees must budget for and attend an annual TRAILBLAZER grantees’ meeting (PI plus one graduate student or researcher).
- No cost sharing is permitted.
- No collaborative or multi-PI proposals—single PI only.
- Broadening Participation: All proposals must include a plan to broaden participation in engineering.
- Informational Webinar: An informational webinar will be held on October 15, 2024. Details will be posted on the NSF Directorate for Engineering and EFMA websites.
External Links
Contact Information