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A Message from CISE Leadership
Dear CISE community.
This month I would like to focus our newsletter on how NSF-funded research has the power to transform the world around us, and how programs in our portfolio can help catalyze those broader impacts. At the U.S. National Science Foundation, our mission goes beyond advancing the frontiers of knowledge—we strive to ensure that the breakthroughs we support have a strong and lasting impact on society.
The NSF Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) portfolio includes many such programs, like the Civic Innovation Challenge (CIVIC), that embody this mission. CIVIC empowers communities and researchers to collaborate on solutions to some of the most pressing local challenges, from climate resilience to mobility and infrastructure. It brings together diverse teams of academics, civic leaders and industry partners to generate innovations that respond directly to community needs.
The projects supported through CIVIC are remarkable not just for their ingenuity but for their immediate societal impact. These initiatives create real-world solutions—whether it’s developing smarter transit systems, fostering community resilience against natural disasters, or exploring ways to make cities more livable. Take a moment to learn more about the exciting projects funded by CIVIC: https://nsfcivicinnovation.org/awardees/.
Alongside these impactful programs, emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) are reshaping how we approach societal and community-driven research. AI holds extraordinary promise, from improving healthcare and transportation to optimizing environmental sustainability. But to fully realize AI’s potential, we must ensure its development is safe, secure, and responsible in real-world settings.
That’s why CISE recently announced the launch of a new initiative to invest in AI-ready test beds, critical infrastructure designed to propel responsible AI research forward. These test beds will allow researchers to explore new AI methods and systems in secure, representative real-world settings.
While AI has been around for many years, it is rapidly moving into use in many new applications. One challenge is that it is hard for researchers to measure, understand, and improve on these “real world” use cases. With these AI-ready test beds, researchers will have the tools to assess the societal and economic impacts of AI-powered solutions in real time. For example, test beds may be used to evaluate AI solutions in transportation decision-making or to enhance weather models that help predict climate events. These platforms enable researchers to collect vital real-world data, refine AI systems, and innovate in a way that benefits society and ensures public trust in AI technologies.
We are excited about the future of the projects supported by these and other programs within CISE and across NSF and we look forward to receiving proposals from the community that will make a positive, lasting difference in the world.
We hope you enjoy this month’s newsletter.
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Greg Hager
Assistant Director for CISE
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Funding Opportunities and Deadlines
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 Campus Cyberinfrastructure.
Supports coordinated campus-level networking and cyberinfrastructure improvements for science applications and distributed research projects.
Full proposal deadline:
October 15, 2024.
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 NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program.
Supports outstanding graduate students who are pursuing full-time research-based master's and doctoral degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) or in STEM education.
Full proposal deadline:
October 18, 2024, for computer and information science and engineering communities. Multiple deadlines for other fields.
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 Mid-scale Research Infrastructure-1.
Supports infrastructure projects across a wide range of costs, spanning both smaller and larger-scale efforts, and extends Foundation-wide across all science and engineering research disciplines.
Preliminary proposal deadline:
November 18, 2024.
Full proposal deadline:
March 19, 2025.
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 Cyberinfrastructure for Sustained Scientific Innovation.
Seeks to enable funding opportunities that are flexible and responsive to the evolving and emerging needs in cyberinfrastructure. The program continues to emphasize integrated cyberinfrastructure services, quantitative metrics with targets for delivery and usage of these services and community creation.
Full proposal deadline:
December 2, 2024.
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 Quantum Leap Challenge Institutes.
Supports large-scale interdisciplinary research projects focused on advancing quantum information science, engineering and technology through collaboration, education and innovation, as part of the National Quantum Initiative.
Letter of intent deadline:
February 7, 2025.
Preliminary proposal deadline:
March 7, 2025.
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News & Announcements
NSF announced awards of $48 million to the NSF Broadening Participation in Computing Alliances program, which seek to increase the participation of underrepresented groups in computer and information science and engineering.
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Researchers will build a new breed of AI-powered tools to find the needles of discovery lurking in vast haystacks of astronomical data.
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NSF, in partnership with Ericsson, Intel Corporation, Micron Technology and Samsung, announced $42.4 million in grants for its Future of Semiconductors competition.
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Launched just one year ago at the first AraFest event, ARA has now quadrupled its geographic reach and created new opportunities for at-scale wireless research.
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Researchers at the University of Iowa, backed by NSF funding, are exploring ways to ensure safe road crossings—particularly for children—as self-driving cars become increasingly prevalent.
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The awards totaling $75 million will support the creation of five biofoundries that will spur innovation, provide tools and technologies to researchers nationwide, and help advance biology, biotechnology, and the broader science, technology, engineering and mathematics enterprise.
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The program provides recognition and funding for leaders and advocates of high-quality scientific software who foster practices, processes, and tools to improve scientific software productivity and sustainability. Accepting applications through September 30, 2024.
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A new, open-source software tool called OpenFold has been developed by scientists that uses AI and harnesses the power of supercomputers to predict protein structures. GPUs on NSF-funded Frontera, Lonestar6 supercomputers help train OpenFold for the protein modeling community.
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Get more CISE News
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Events
"AI-Ready Testbed Planning Grant Webinar."
The webinar will focus of the goals of the program and proposal requirements and allow time for proposer questions.
September 30, 2024, 1-2 p.m., ET.
"NSF at 'Neuroscience 2024.'"
Join NSF staff at the 2024 Society for Neuroscience (SfN) annual meeting to learn more about current funding opportunities. Visit us at NSF Booth #1779.
October 5 – 9, 2024, 9:30 a.m. – 5 p.m., CDT.
"Training-based Workforce Development for Advanced Cyberinfrastructure (CyberTraining) Program Webinar."
This webinar will review the NSF Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure’s CyberTraining program, including all project classes, and the priorities of the participating divisions.
October 7, 2024, 3-4:30 p.m., ET.
"28th NSF EPSCoR National Conference."
Join researchers, students, and staff from EPSCoR jurisdictions in Omaha, Nebraska to connect, collaborate and keep science flowing.
October 13-16, 2024. Omaha, NE.
"Exploring the Ethics and Societal Interactions of Climate Intervention."
The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) will be hosting a series of workshops in October and November 2024 on the ethical and social dynamics of climate intervention technologies.
October 15, 2024. 11 a.m. - 12:30 p.m., ET.
"Cyberinfrastructure for Sustained Scientific Innovation (CSSI) Program Webinar."
Join NSF program officers to learn about how the CSSI program, which seeks to enable funding opportunities that are flexible and responsive to the evolving and emerging needs in cyberinfrastructure.
October 17, 2024, 1-2:30 p.m, ET.
"Exploring the Ethics and Societal Interactions of Climate Intervention."
NSF is looking for social scientists, ethicists, natural and life scientists, and engineers to join the conversation on shaping the governance framework around climate change, focusing on solar radiation management and carbon dioxide removal technologies.
October 18, 2024, 11 a.m. - 4:30 p.m, ET.
"ExpandAI Virtual Office Hours."
NSF program directors representing minority serving institutions will be available to answer questions about the ExpandAI program.
October 21, 2024, 3-4 p.m,, ET.
"Exploring the Ethics and Societal Interactions of Climate Intervention."
NSF is looking for social scientists, ethicists, natural and life scientists and engineers to join the conversation on shaping the governance framework around climate change, focusing on solar radiation management and carbon dioxide removal technologies.
November 18, 2024, 11 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., ET.
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Alexandra Kondyli, Ph.D., is an associate professor of transportation engineering in civil, environmental and architectural engineering at the University of Kansas. Her research focuses on transportation systems, particularly in the areas of traffic operations, intelligent transportation systems and transportation safety. Her work aims to improve traffic flow, optimize transportation systems and enhance safety on roads through advanced data analytics and simulation modeling.
Kondyli is particularly focused on the integration of emerging technologies into transportation systems, including connected and autonomous vehicles, to improve mobility, safety and sustainability. Her work often employs microsimulation, data-driven modeling and machine learning techniques to analyze traffic patterns, optimize signal timings and enhance overall roadway efficiency.
Kondyli received an NSF Civic Innovation Challenge award to address youth employment disparities by improving access to out-of-school-time (OST) activities in the Kansas City metro area through the ConnectKC mobile app. The app provided information on various OST opportunities and integrated options for transportation, including a partnership with zTrip for ride-booking.
During the summer 2023 pilot, 102 youths participated, using the app to sign up for events and book rides. The pilot saw over 2,200 zTrip bookings, with participants enjoying the convenience of free rides. Feedback was overwhelmingly positive, with users appreciating the app’s convenience, cost savings and ease of use. The app significantly improved their access to internships and summer programs and increased their familiarity with different transportation options. Findings from her research highlight the essential role of transportation support in improving out-of-school experiences and fostering community engagement among marginalized youth.
Prior to her appointment at the University of Kansas, Kondyli was a postdoctoral associate at the University of Florida Transportation Research Center. She has worked on research projects funded by the Kansas Department of Transportation, Florida Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation and National Cooperative Highway Research Program.
She has authored and co-authored more than 50 publications, presentations and reports related to traffic operations, simulation, highway capacity, safety, and driver behavior. Kondyli is currently the secretary of the Highway Capacity and Quality of Service Committee of the Transportation Research Board, and a member of the Road User Measurement and Evaluation Committee of the Transportation Research Board. She also has consulting experience in the fields of traffic operations, geometric design and roadway safety. Kondyli received her graduate diploma in rural and surveying engineering from National Technical University of Athens, Greece. She received her master’s degree in 2005 and her doctorate in 2009 in Civil Engineering from the University of Florida.
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Division of Information and Intelligent Systems (IIS)
Supports research and education on the interrelated roles of people, computers, and information to advance knowledge of artificial intelligence, data management, assistive technologies, and human-centered computing.
Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure (OAC)
Supports the conceptualization, design, implementation, and operation of research cyberinfrastructure to advance and transform research and education in science and engineering.
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