DMREF seeks to foster the design, discovery, and
development of materials to accelerate their path to deployment by harnessing
the power of data and computational tools in concert with experiment and
theory. DMREF emphasizes a deep integration of experiments, computation,
and theory; the use of accessible digital data across the materials development
continuum; and strengthening connections among theorists, computational
scientists, data scientists, mathematicians, statisticians, and experimentalists
as well as those from academia, industry, and government. DMREF is
committed to the education and training of a next-generation materials research
and development (R&D) workforce; well-equipped for successful careers as
educators and innovators; and able to take full advantage of the materials
development continuum and innovation infrastructures that NSF is creating
through partnership with other federal and international agencies.

 DMREF is supportive of the 2021
https://www.mgi.gov/sites/default/files/documents/MGI-2021-Strategic-Plan.pdf
and its three primary goals, i.e., unifying the materials innovation
infrastructure; harnessing the power of materials data; and educating,
training, and connecting a world-class materials R&D workforce.  DMREF
will accordingly support activities that significantly accelerate the materials
discovery-to-use timeline by building the fundamental knowledge base needed to
advance the design, development, or manufacturability of materials with
desirable properties or functionality. This solicitation is open to all
materials research topics and is responsive to the recent National Academies
2023 https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/26723/nsf-efforts-to-achieve-the-nations-vision-for-the-materials-genome-initiative
‘NSF Efforts to Achieve the Nation’s Vision for the Materials Genome
Initiative’.

Awards are expected to range from $1,500,000 – $2,000,000
over a duration of four years.

Cost sharing: Inclusion of voluntary committed cost
sharing is prohibited.

Eligibility requirements:

Proposals submitted to this solicitation must be directed
by a team of at least two Senior/Key Personnel with complementary expertise.
The proposed research must involve a collaborative and iterative “closed-loop”
process wherein theory guides computational simulation, computational
simulation guides experiments, and experimental observation further guides
theory.

Who May Serve as PI:

By the submission deadline, any PI, co-PI, or other
Senior/Key project personnel must hold either:

• A tenured or tenure-track position, or
• 
  
  A primary, full-time, paid appointment in a research or
  teaching position with exceptions granted for family or medical leave, as
  determined by the submitting institution.

An investigator who is a PI or co-PI of a DMREF award
based on a proposal submitted in response to the previous DMREF Solicitation (
https://new.nsf.gov/funding/opportunities/designing-materials-revolutionize-engineer-our/nsf23-530/solicitation)
cannot be a PI or co-PI for this DMREF solicitation, but may serve as
Senior/Key Personnel.