National Science Foundation
Advanced Technological Education (ATE)
With a focus on two-year Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs), the Advanced Technological Education (ATE) program supports the education of technicians for the high-technology fields that drive our nation’s economy. The program involves partnerships between academic institutions (grades 7-12, IHEs), industry, and economic development agencies to promote improvement in the education of science and engineering technicians. It is strongly recommended that projects be faculty-led and required that courses and programs are credit-bearing, although materials developed may also be used for incumbent worker education. Materials may also be adapted and implemented as credit-bearing courses. The ATE program supports curriculum development; professional development of college faculty and secondary school teachers; career pathway development for both students and incumbent workers; and other activities including applied research projects that advance the knowledge base related to technician education.
The ATE program encourages partnerships with other entities that may impact technician education. For example, with
- the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Manufacturing Extension Partnerships (MEPs) (https://www.nist.gov/mep) as applicable to support technician education programs and the industries they serve; and
- Manufacturing USA Institutes (https://manufacturing.gov/) addressing workforce development issues.
The ATE program encourages proposals from Minority Serving Institutions as well as other institutions that support the recruitment, retention, and completion (certificate, degree, program) of the full spectrum of diverse talent that society has to offer, which includes underrepresented and underserved communities, in STEM technician education programs that award associate degrees.
For more information, please visit:
NSF 24-584: Advanced Technological Education (ATE) | NSF – National Science Foundation
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National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Science Funding Open
NASA’s Science Mission Directorate (NASA Science) released its annual omnibus solicitation for basic and applied research, Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Science (ROSES-2025). ROSES is a solicitation with many individual program elements that each have their own due dates and topics covering a wide range of basic and applied research and supporting technology topics in areas supported by NASA Science. ROSES is written to allow program elements to issue awards to non-governmental organizations as grants, cooperative agreements, or contracts depending on the nature of the work proposed. However, at the time of release, all active program elements of ROSES specifically exclude contracts, because contracts would not be appropriate for the nature of the work solicited. Thus, unless otherwise specified by the program element, awards to non-governmental organizations deriving from ROSES will be federal assistance (grants or cooperative agreements). Awards to government labs, including funded Co-Investigators on proposals for non-governmental organizations, will be inter- or intra-agency transfers, as appropriate. For more information, review Table 2 and Table 3 of the research announcement or visit the ROSES Blog.
Earth Venture: TROPICS and PREFIRE Science and Applications Teams
NASA’s Earth Science program is accepting proposals for the Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation structure and storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats (TROPICS) and NASA Polar Radiant Energy in the Far InfraRed Experiment (PREFIRE) missions. PREFIRE aims to reduce uncertainties in polar energy fluxes and the processes driving them, providing essential data to improve projections of polar climate change and its impacts on polar communities and beyond. The TROPICS mission is a constellation of state-of-the-science observing platforms that measures temperature and humidity soundings and precipitation with spatial resolution comparable to current operational passive microwave sounders but with unprecedented temporal resolution. For more information, visit the NSPIRES website.
Award: About five to seven, up to $1M/year | Deadline: Sept. 18 (notice of intent), Nov. 13 (proposal)
Citizen Science Seed Funding Opportunity
The Citizen Science Seed Funding Program (CSSFP) of NASA Science aims to support scientists and other experts to develop citizen science projects and expand the pool of professional scientists who use citizen science techniques in their science investigations. Four Divisions of NASA Science are participating in the CSSFP: the Astrophysics Division, the Biological and Physical Sciences Division, the Heliophysics Division, and the Planetary Science Division. The appropriated budget is up to $480,000 for astrophysics and planetary science, up to $200,000 in heliophysics, and up to $50,000 in biological and physical sciences. For more information, visit the NSPIRES website.
Deadline: Oct. 1 (notice of intent), Nov. 19 (proposal)
Planetary Science Early Career Award Opportunity
The Planetary Science Early Career Award (ECA) program is intended to help promising early career scientists play an increased and meaningful role in the planetary science community and pursue professional development in areas relevant to the Planetary Science Division (PSD). Proposed projects may entirely focus on addressing specific scientific questions and/or address pressing needs in the planetary science community. For more information, visit the NSPIRES website.
Award: About five, $200K | Deadline: Dec. 4
National GEM Consortium is Accepting Fellowship Applications
Each year, NASA Fellowships partners with The National GEM Consortium to award research grants using Minority University Research Education Project (MUREP) funds. These fellowships are designed to foster faculty, and undergraduate and graduate students in disciplines needed to help advance NASA’s missions and directly contribute to advancements in space exploration. GEM offers MS and Ph.D. level students an outstanding opportunity and access to dozens of the top engineering and science firms and universities in the nation. GEM Fellowship was designed to focus on promoting opportunities for individuals to enter the STEM industry at the graduate level in areas such as research and development, product development, and other high-level technical careers. | Deadline: Nov. 14.
NASA Offers Resources for New Principal Investigators
Scientists and engineers who plan to propose to a NASA Research Opportunity or an announcement of opportunity for a flight mission or mission of opportunity from SMD should check out NASA’s New Principal Investigator Resources. The site provides prospective mission principal investigators with resources that may be useful as they develop their mission concepts, as well as information on developmental opportunities to prepare future mission leaders.
NASA Mentor-Protégé Program Helps Enhance MSI’s Capabilities
The NASA Mentor-Protégé Program (MPP) serves as a cornerstone for fostering the growth of small businesses by encouraging NASA prime contractors to mentor and assist eligible protégés. The goal is to enhance the protégés’ capabilities, enabling them to perform effectively on NASA contracts and subcontracts. With this structured mentorship, the MPP seeks to establish and nurture long-term business relationships between protégés and NASA prime contractors, ultimately increasing the number of small businesses that secure NASA contracts and subcontracts. Email: [email protected]
NASA Technology Funding Opportunities
Learn about NASA’s portfolio of more than 18,000 active and completed technology projects at TechPort, which is an Agency web-based tool that showcases investments from across NASA to facilitate opportunities for collaboration and partnerships. The average annual NASA investment in these technologies is over $1.3 billion. For more information, view funding opportunities and the space technology Strategy and Prioritized Shortfalls.
NASA Postdoctoral Program Extends Deadline
The NASA Postdoctoral Program (NPP) offers a unique and inspiring environment for fellows to conduct world-class research with leading scientists across the U.S. The diverse scientific and technological fellowships offered at NASA are one-of-a-kind educational experiences that prepare future leaders for positions at NASA or within the academic community. The NPP consists of two components: the NASA Postdoctoral Research Program and the NASA Postdoctoral Management Program. Flyer: NPP PDF | Email: [email protected] | Deadline: 6 p.m. EST Nov. 1
Bring NASA Technology to the Classroom
At Technology Transfer University (T2U), we are bringing real-world, NASA-proven technologies into the classroom. NASA’s T2U program connects universities with NASA-developed technology to give students the opportunity to work with federal government research and technology. Student entrepreneurs build case studies with NASA’s patent portfolio while learning about commercialization and licensing opportunities. NASA T2U has generated a number of successful licenses and new startup companies. To learn more about T2U, or to initiate a program at your institution, contact us at [email protected].
Registration Open for NIAC Symposium
Register for the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) Program’s 2025 Symposium taking place Sept. 9-11 in Philadelphia, PA. NIAC seeks innovative, technically-credible, advanced concepts that could one day change aeronautics and space. Email: [email protected]
Register for Open Science 101
NASA Open Science offers courses designed to teach researchers, students, and the public about the principles and practices of open science. The Open Science 101 course provides a foundational knowledge for conducting open science. Open science is a commitment to the open sharing of software, data, and knowledge (algorithms, papers, documents, ancillary information) as early as possible in the scientific process. Register for Open Science 101 in the NASA STEM Gateway. Deadline: Sept. 30
GrabCAD Speed Test Architecture Challenge
NASA is reaching out to members of the GrabCAD community who may be familiar with, or are interested in, the testing of atmospheric entry vehicles. Currently, NASA has a capability gap in the area of free-flight dynamic stability testing for reentry vehicles. The Stratospheric Projectile Entry Experiment on Dynamics (SPEED), a two-stage stratospheric drop test architecture, is currently under development to bridge the state-of-the-art gap that many NASA flagship missions require to reduce system risk and enable more optimized designs via margin reduction. Award: $7,000 | Deadline: Sept. 8
Engaging MSIs with NASA
Help Hurricane Response as NASA Mapper
This summer and fall, NASA invites the public to participate in a new citizen science effort called NASA Response Mappers. The project is a collaboration between the NASA Disasters Program’s Disaster Response Coordination System (DRCS) and the GLOBE Program, short for Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment. If you live in the Southeastern region of United States, you can help fill vital information gaps by submitting land cover photos before and after hurricanes using your smartphone. Your contributions could ultimately help emergency managers make faster and better-informed decisions when it matters most and strengthen your community’s ability to respond and recover from disasters. For more information, visit the NASA Applied Sciences website.