Be a Reviewer for NSF’s Convergence Accelerator

Assist NSF in funding the brightest science and technology ideas and solutions to tackle complex societal and economic challenges. 

The NSF Convergence Accelerator, a Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships program, is seeking proposal reviewers to assist the program in funding cutting-edge science and technology ideas and solutions aligned to the most recent funding opportunity (Grant Solicitation NSF-23-590 and Broad Agency Announcement NSFBAA-CA23-01).

Convergent Research Track Topics

The funding opportunity features three research track topics:  

Track K: Equitable Water Solutions

Fresh water is critical for future ecosystems, human health, and national security. This track will converge foundational knowledge and advancements in environmental sciences, geosciences, engineering, computing, social and behavioral sciences as well as other disciplines to develop solutions for water quality, quantity, and equity issues.

Track L: Real-World Chemical Sensing Applications

Society is faced with challenges related to environmental quality and monitoring, food safety, agriculture, disease diagnostics, security, and terrorism. This track builds on foundational knowledge and recent advances to transform scientific discoveries into practice for societal and economic benefits. Science advances include olfaction and chemical sensing, sensor technologies, digital olfaction, artificial intelligence, neuromorphic systems, computational modeling, biomanufacturing, and robotics.

Track M: Bio-Inspired Design Innovations

Bio-inspired solutions are needed to mitigate complex societal challenges, including climate change, infrastructure monitoring and resilience, food production and human health. This track capitalizes on foundational knowledge of nature to inspire the creation of innovative concepts, approaches, and technologies that build and control similar to nature to address pressing societal and economic challenges.

• Assist NSF in funding the best innovative, convergent science and technology proposals, ideas and solutions for the NSF Convergence Accelerator program. The program depends on a wide range of expertise and input to fund the best research.
• A typical panel will be conducted over two days. All panels will be conducted virtually.
• Prior to the panel, it’s expected the reviewer will receive 4 – 8 proposals consisting of 15 pages of technical description. 

Interested? Tell Us About Yourself Through a Quick Survey

Track K: Equitable Water Solutions Survey

Track L: Real-World Chemical Sensing Applications Survey

Track M: Bio-Inspired Design Innovations Survey

About NSF's Convergence Accelerator

Research is often driven by a compelling societal or scientific challenge; however, it may take the research community years to develop a solution. To deliver tangible solutions that have a nation-wide societal impact and at a more accelerated pace, NSF's Convergence Accelerator brings together multiple disciplines, expertise and cross-cutting partnerships to develop solutions through a convergence research approach and innovation processes. The Convergence Accelerator is a Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships program. For more information about the program, visit new.nsf.gov/funding/initiatives/convergence-accelerator.

About the TIP Directorate

NSF's Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships, or TIP, harnesses the nation's vast and diverse talent pool to accelerate critical and emerging technologies and address pressing societal and economic challenges. TIP comprises three primary focus areas: fostering innovation and technology ecosystems; establishing translation pathways; and partnering across sectors to improve U.S. competitiveness, grow the U.S. economy and engage and train a diverse workforce for future, high-wage jobs. For more information about TIP, visit new.nsf.gov/tip/latest.