MIT.nano has announced a call for proposals for the 2019 SENSE.nano seed grants.
Open to MIT principal investigators, the call seeks innovative projects that have the potential to advance the mission of SENSE.nano. SENSE.nano—the first Center of Excellence powered by MIT.nano—focuses on novel sensors, sensing systems, and sensing solutions that provide previously unimaginable insight into the condition of our world.
These are Internal Seed Grants of $75k for one year, to facilitate Grand Challenges identification, to seed projects, to start collaborations, and motivate further industry funding. Proposals are due September 20, 2019. The time is short, so that we can prepare to discuss the proposals at an October 1, 2019, SENSE.nano advisory board meeting with external industry-based advisors.
A reminder: the annual SENSE.nano symposium is September 30 2019. The SENSE.nano 2019 symposium will highlight the needs, innovations, and impact of SENSE technologies in "Enhanced Realities" and "Advanced Manufacturing" systems. SENSE technologies include sensors, instrumentation, remote monitoring, data analysitcs, and related solutions and system.
Categories
Interested investigators are encouraged to submit proposals in the following broad categories:
1. Research projects in application areas of sensors, sensor systems, sensor science and engineering, sensor manufacturing, novel instrumentation, data analytics, including, but not limited to:
- Manufacturing: machines, factory, supply chains (2019 focus area)
- Virtual and Augmented Environments (2019 focus area)
- Natural Environment: forests, ice caps, water, air
- Built Environment: infrastructure, buildings, manufacturing facilities
- Agriculture: soil, irrigation, livestock
- Machines: condition, imaging, autonomous vehicles, robotics, manufacturing
- Animal / Human: diagnostics, healthcare, monitoring wellness, imaging
- Ecosystem: air / gas aensing, water, food, energy
2. Research projects in enabler technologies for sensors, sensor systems, including, but not limited to:
- Backbone technologies
- Manufacturing technologies
- Design and usability
- Data science
- Regulation and policy
- Fusion of data
- Pattern recognition
3. Projects to promote engagement and collaboration on topics and activities that may impact SENSE.nano, such as developing a course, teaching a course, student exchange, event organization (e.g., a hackathon or other application type activity), and so forth.
The Seed Program encourages proposals that involve collaborative research across MIT or with companies likely to enage with SENSE.nano, and that have potential for sustainability beyond the grant period.
How to Apply
The deadline to submit proposals is September 20, 2019. The grant period will be for one year. Applicants will be informed of the results by the end of October 2019. Funds will be available for use by January 1, 2020 through December 31, 2020.
Applications must include a project proposal and a project budget. For both the project proposal and the project budget, please use the following templates:
2019 SENSE.nano seed grant template: PROPOSAL
2019 SENSE.nano seed grant template: BUDGET
Please submit the project proposal and project budget via email to sense.nano.seed@mit.edu. Any proposal or budget related questions can be raised via this email as well.
At the end of the grant period, grantees will be required to submit a brief report to the MIT.nano office highlighting the accomplishments and results of the project, the project’s impact on MIT, the definitions of Grand Challenges within SENSE.nano, publications by the project, if any, as well as a final budget. The report need only be 2–4 pages in length, and may be used in whole or in part in materials submitted to industry partners, as well as on the MIT.nano or SENSE.nano websites.