Early Career Faculty | 80HQTR22NOA01 22ECF B1

Opportunity Information: Apply for 80HQTR22NOA01 22ECF B1

NASA Headquarters offered the Early Career Faculty (ECF) grant as an appendix under the Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) umbrella NASA Research Announcement called "Space Technology Research, Development, Demonstration, and Infusion 2022 (SpaceTech-REDDI-2022)." Released on February 2, 2022, this opportunity sits within the Space Technology Research Grants (STRG) Program and is designed to help outstanding new university faculty launch independent research careers that directly connect to NASA space technology needs. The larger goal is to strengthen fundamental space technology research at U.S. universities while also building the talent pipeline of engineers and scientists through student training and broader partnerships with industry and government.

The solicitation focuses on a small set of targeted, anticipated research areas for this cycle. The topics include (1) development of lightweight solar sail attitude control technologies, (2) hibernation and recovery methods for solar-powered systems intended for lunar missions, and (3) tailorable composite design concepts aimed at creating dimensionally stable structures. In practice, these topics point toward enabling technologies for future exploration and in-space systems, ranging from propulsion-adjacent spacecraft control approaches to survivable lunar surface power strategies and advanced materials/structures that maintain tight tolerances in challenging thermal and mechanical environments.

Eligibility is tightly scoped to ensure the program supports truly early-career, independent faculty investigators. Only accredited U.S. universities (public/state-controlled or private institutions of higher education) may submit proposals, and they must do so on behalf of an eligible principal investigator. The PI must be an untenured Assistant Professor on the tenure track at the sponsoring U.S. university at the time of award, and must be either a U.S. citizen or a lawful permanent resident. A key structural rule is that the PI must serve as the primary researcher and co-investigators are not permitted, reinforcing that the award is meant to establish the PI's independent research direction. Collaborators are allowed, with specific restrictions (notably around NASA civil servants and JPL), and the solicitation directs applicants to Section 3.0 for the precise definitions and limitations. Each PI may submit only one proposal to this appendix.

On the funding side, the opportunity is a discretionary grant program (CFDA 43.012) with an award ceiling listed at $600,000. NASA anticipated making about six awards, though the final number depends on proposal merit and available funds, and NASA explicitly reserved the right to make no awards if warranted. Awards were planned to begin in early October 2022, aligning with the federal fiscal year timing often used for new starts.

For timing and submission mechanics, a Notice of Intent (NOI) was strongly encouraged by March 2, 2022, and full proposals were due by March 31, 2022 at 5:00 pm Eastern. Proposals had to be submitted electronically through NSPIRES or Grants.gov by an authorized organizational representative, and applicants were advised to register and become familiar with the submission platforms well before the deadline to avoid last-minute issues. The solicitation was accessible through NSPIRES by searching open solicitations for "Early Career Faculty (ECF)." Questions and technical/programmatic clarifications were directed to the STRG Program Executive, Claudia Meyer, at hq-ecf-call@mail.nasa.gov, with responses potentially incorporated into an FAQ posted with the NSPIRES solicitation, while preserving the anonymity of those submitting questions. NASA also emphasized inclusivity, encouraging submissions from all U.S. universities and particularly encouraging proposals that support early-career faculty who are women, members of underrepresented minority groups, and persons with disabilities.

• The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NASA Headquarters in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Early Career Faculty" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 43.012.
• This funding opportunity was created on Feb 02, 2022.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Mar 31, 2022. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $600,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 6 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education.

Apply for 80HQTR22NOA01 22ECF B1

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