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Grants / Department of Energy / NNSA

DE-FOA-0002789: STEWARDSHIP SCIENCE ACADEMIC ALLIANCES PROGRAM CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE

Closed Closed October 24, 2022 Opportunity DE-FOA-0002789

This grant is closed. Who won this program's grants before is below, and similar open grants are at the end of the page. It is in our archive of NNSA notices from 2022.

NNSA offered grants of up to $3.0 million (at least $1.0 million) to colleges and universities. It expected to make about 10 awards worth $19.0 million in total. Applications closed on October 24, 2022.

From the official notice on Grants.gov, last changed October 18, 2022. Checked November 7, 2026.

Key dates

PostedJuly 11, 2022
DeadlineOctober 24, 2022
Archived by Grants.govNovember 18, 2022

Who can apply

This opportunity was open to colleges and universities.

Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDC) (includes DOE/NNSA National Laboratories and other Federal Agency-Sponsored FFRDCs) are not eligible for an award under this announcement. However, FFRDCs may participate as collaborators in order to:(1)promote and sustain scientific interactions between the academic community and scientists at the FFRDC Laboratories through exchange of information and/or personnel,(2)increase the availability of unique experimental facilities sited at the FFRDC Laboratories to the academic community, particularly for collaborations in areas of relevance to stockpile stewardship, and(3)develop and maintain a long-term recruiting pipeline to the DOE/NNSA FFRDC’s by increasing the visibility of the DOE/NNSA scientific activities to the U.S. faculty and student communities.FFRDCs are not eligible to receive any direct funding associated with this NOFO, except for reimbursement for use of facilities that require “user fees” in accordance with the institution’s written policies or procedures. To affect this collaboration, a letter from an FFRDC employee who will be collaborating with the applicant must be submitted with the application. This letter must outline their understanding and role in the collaboration effort and indicate that no funds will be provided to the FFRDC from the awarded cooperative agreement except for reimbursement for use of facilities that require “user fees” as stated above. In addition to the collaboration letters, FFRDC contractors may be proposed as a team member on another entity's application subject to the following guidelines:Authorization for non-DOE/NNSA FFRDCs. If selected for award, the Federal agency sponsoring the FFRDC contractor must authorize in writing the use of the FFRDC contractor on the proposed project. The use of a FFRDC contractor must be consistent with the contractor's authority under its award and must not place the FFRDC contractor in direct competition with the private sector. Authorization for DOE/NNSA FFRDCs. If selected for award, the cognizant contracting officer for the FFRDC must authorize in writing the use of a DOE/NNSA FFRDC contractor on the proposed project. The following wording is acceptable for this authorization."Authorization is granted for the [Name] Laboratory to participate in the proposed project. The work proposed for the laboratory is consistent with or complimentary to themissions of the laboratory, will not adversely impact execution of the DOE/NNSA assigned programs at the laboratory, and will not place the laboratory in direct competition with the domestic private sector. If selected for award, the recipient is responsible for making contact with the appropriate DOE/NNSA FFRDC collaborating partner(s) who should in turn obtain prior written authorization from the DOE/NNSA FFRDC Contracting Officer.

More grants for colleges and universities.

Is this a realistic fit?

What the grant funds

Defense Programs, within the Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), directs research and development activities to maintain the safety, security, and effectiveness of the nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile. This nuclear deterrent remains a vital part of our national security infrastructure. It maintains strategic stability, deters potential adversaries, and reassures our allies and partners of our security commitments. Since 1992, the United States has observed the moratorium on underground nuclear testing while significantly decreasing the size of its nuclear arsenal. National Policy required NNSA and its weapons laboratories to institute the science-based Stockpile Stewardship Program (SSP) to ensure the safety, security, and effectiveness of the stockpile, while allowing the country to pursue a variety of nonproliferation and disarmament goals. The SSP combines sophisticated experiments, highly accurate physics modeling, and improved computational power to simulate and predict nuclear weapon performance over a wide range of conditions and scenarios. The Stewardship Science Academic Alliances (SSAA) Program was established in 2002 to support state-of-the-art research at U.S. academic institutions in areas of fundamental physical science and technology of relevance to the SSP mission. The SSAA Program provides the research experience necessary to maintain a cadre of trained scientists at U.S. universities to meet the nation’s current and future SSP needs, with a focus on those areas not supported by other federal agencies. It supports the DOE/NNSA’s priorities both to address the workforce specific needs in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics and to support the next generation of professionals who will meet those needs. Defense Programs Office of Strategic Partnership Programs announces their interest in receiving applications for new or renewal cooperative agreement financial assistance awards for Centers of Excellence for research in the Stewardship Science Academic Alliances (SSAA) Program. Only applications for cooperative agreements awards will be accepted for this solicitation, no grant applications will be considered. The specific areas of interest are: 1. Advanced Characterization of Materials Properties under Extreme Conditions 2. Low Energy Nuclear Science 3. Radiochemistry 4. High Energy Density Physics Cooperative Agreement Applicant Responsibility.

Category: Science and Technology and other Research and Development.

Who has won Stewardship Science Grant Program grants before

From fiscal 2021 to 2025, Stewardship Science Grant Program (81.112) awarded $634 million across 128 grant awards, an average of $4.9 million per award.

Largest recipients, fiscal 2021 to 2025
RecipientStateAwardsAmount
University of RochesterNew York6$442 million
Washington State UniversityWashington7$31.4 million
Regents of the University of MichiganMichigan4$21.2 million
The Krell Institute IncIowa2$17.7 million
Texas a & M UniversityTexas3$16.9 million

Top states: New York ($449 million), Washington ($31.4 million), Texas ($26.0 million), Michigan ($24.8 million), California ($18.8 million).

Applying now

This notice no longer takes applications. Agencies often post the same opportunity again under a new number, so check the program's notices on Grants.gov and the similar open grants below.

The notice on Grants.gov keeps its full text and attachments, which is useful for planning a resubmission.

Questions people ask

Is DE-FOA-0002789 still open?

No. It closed on October 24, 2022.

Who can apply for STEWARDSHIP SCIENCE ACADEMIC ALLIANCES PROGRAM CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE?

NNSA accepted applications from colleges and universities. The notice adds further conditions, so read its eligibility section.

What is the deadline for STEWARDSHIP SCIENCE ACADEMIC ALLIANCES PROGRAM CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE?

Closed October 24, 2022. Applications are no longer accepted; the program's newer notices are on this page when there are any.

How much funding is available?

Awards of up to $3.0 million each. About $19.0 million in total across about 10 awards.

Who has won Stewardship Science Grant Program grants before?

The largest recipients over five fiscal years were University of Rochester, Washington State University, Regents of the University of Michigan. The program made 128 awards worth $634 million in that time.

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