OpportunityTitle: Chemistry and Materials Research in Cultural Heritage Science
AdditionalInformationOnEligibility: *Organization Limit: Proposals may only be submitted by the following:   -Non-profit, non-academic organizations: Independent museums, observatories, research labs, professional societies and similar organizations in the U.S. associated with educational or research activities.   -Universities and Colleges - Universities and two- and four-year colleges (including community colleges) accredited in, and having a campus located in the US, acting on behalf of their faculty members. Such organizations also are referred to as academic institutions.  *PI Limit: Since the solicitation calls for collaborative projects between cultural heritage scientists mainly located in US museumsand chemistry and materials scientists in academic institutions, a principal investigator (PI) must demonstrate expertise in at least one of these areas and be a member of a multi-disciplinary collaborative team to be eligible to submit a proposal in response to this solicitation.  Whenever possible, in addition to the PI, the co-PI or co-PIs should be listed on the cover sheet.
Description: The National Science Foundation (NSF) seeks to enhance opportunities for collaborative activities between conservation scientists, chemists and materials scientists to address grand challenges in the field of science of cultural heritage. A 2009 workshop, which was co-sponsored by NSF and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, concluded that the field of cultural heritage science could greatly benefit from collaboration between conservation scientists, primarily located in US museums, and chemists and materials scientists in academic institutions. Largely in line with the workshop report, which can be found at http://mac.mellon.org/NSF-MellonWorkshop the program solicits collaborative proposals between researchers in US museums and academic institutions that aim to: a) develop new and improved analytical techniques and instruments with high sensitivity and spatial resolution (large and small scale) for restricted volume and/or standoff detection of component materials, degradation products and deterioration markers that are suitable for non-destructive analysis of cultural heritage objects; b) study dynamic changes leading to degradation of cultural heritage objects; c) design new multi-functional treatment materials for cultural heritage objects; d) develop new theoretical models to predict dynamic processes in cultural heritage objects that lead to their degradation while taking into account their molecular and materials properties and their surface and bulk interactions with environmental perimeters. While the current solicitation is limited to chemistry and materials research topics, it is envisioned that the program will be expanded in future years to include additional areas of interest to the field of cultural heritage science. The program seeks highly innovative 3-year collaborative projects that break new ground and demonstrate a high level of synergy between the collaborating investigators. Formation of new collaborations is strongly encouraged. Investigators who have been collaborators must demonstrate that the proposed project represents a new research direction for the collaborative team. The program will not accept proposals for projects that are currently funded by other funding sources. The program will also not accept proposals for projects that largely overlap or are closely related to research projects that are currently funded by other sources nor will it accept projects that only constitute an incremental extension of projects that are already carried out in the collaborators&#8217; laboratories. The program also requires that the proposed projects will meaningfully involve the participation of undergraduate students, graduate students and postdoctoral research associates, including those from underrepresented groups. The program also encourages the development and use of cyber infrastructure to increase the level of synergy of the proposed projects.
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GrantorContactText: NSF grants.gov support&lt;br/&gt;grantsgovsupport@nsf.gov&lt;br/&gt;
CloseDateExplanation: Full Proposal Deadline(s): April 17, 2012