Materials Innovation Platforms | 19 526

Opportunity Information: Apply for 19 526

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Materials Innovation Platforms (MIP) opportunity is a mid-scale infrastructure grant program run through the Division of Materials Research (DMR) to speed up progress in materials science. The core idea is to build and operate shared, cutting-edge research platforms that function like user facilities: they support a broad external user community while also enabling substantial in-house research by the platform team. NSF is positioning MIPs as a way to tackle modern materials problems that have become too complex for isolated labs, requiring tightly coordinated interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary collaboration along with access to advanced instrumentation, specialized fabrication and processing capabilities, and sophisticated computational resources.

A central expectation of the program is alignment with the Materials Genome Initiative (MGI), which promotes faster, cheaper development of advanced materials by integrating experimentation and computation in an iterative workflow. In practical terms, MIPs are meant to operate using "closed-loop" research cycles that connect materials synthesis and processing, materials characterization, and theory/modeling/simulation. Rather than treating these areas as separate steps, the platform is designed to make them feed into one another continuously: experimental results inform models, models guide new experiments, and both are accelerated through shared infrastructure and coordinated workflows. The solicitation also emphasizes the growing role of data science in materials research, implying that platforms should incorporate robust approaches to data generation, management, sharing, and potentially machine-learning-driven discovery as part of their operating model.

Each MIP is described as a full scientific ecosystem, not just a collection of equipment. That ecosystem includes dedicated in-house researchers, a structured external user program, and additional contributors who collectively form a community of practice. A key deliverable is knowledge sharing at scale: users and platform staff are expected to share tools, codes, samples, datasets, and practical know-how so that researchers can reproduce results, build on each other's work, and collaborate more effectively. NSF frames this as a way to create new modalities of research and education/training, meaning the platform should also serve as a hub for workforce development, cross-disciplinary training, and community-building that helps researchers learn new methods and work across traditional boundaries. The larger goal is to accelerate the discovery and development of new materials and novel materials phenomena or properties, with an eye toward eventual deployment that addresses national needs.

The scientific theme of MIPs can change from one competition to the next, so proposals are expected to align with the specific focus stated in the relevant solicitation cycle. Historically, the first competition (2015) focused on new bulk and thin-film crystalline hard materials, while the second competition (2019) shifted toward the convergence of materials research with the biological sciences to develop new materials. This flexibility signals that NSF uses the MIP mechanism as a strategic tool: it funds platforms that can anchor a community around emerging or high-impact directions where shared infrastructure and coordinated workflows can create outsized advances.

For the specific opportunity data provided (Funding Opportunity Number 19-526), the instrument is a discretionary grant in the Science and Technology/Research and Development category (CFDA 47.049) from NSF. The original posting date was November 8, 2018, with an original closing date of February 4, 2019. NSF anticipated making about three awards, with an award ceiling of up to $25,000,000, reflecting the program's intent to support substantial shared infrastructure, facility-like operations, and community user support rather than typical single-investigator projects. Eligibility is listed broadly as "Others" with details referenced in the solicitation's additional eligibility text, which typically indicates that applicant types may extend beyond a narrow category and may include institutions capable of operating a national or community-serving research platform.

• The National Science Foundation in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Materials Innovation Platforms" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 47.049.
• This funding opportunity was created on Nov 08, 2018.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Feb 04, 2019. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $25,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 3 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

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