Addressing Systems Challenges through Engineering Teams | 22 534

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) - NSF ECCS ASCENT (Addressing Systems Challenges through Engineering Teams)

1) What is the ASCENT program?

ASCENT (Addressing Systems Challenges through Engineering Teams) is a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant program offered through the Electrical, Communications and Cyber Systems (ECCS) Division. It supports high-impact, transformative engineering research carried out by tightly coordinated teams, with an emphasis on solving large, systems-level challenges rather than advancing a single isolated component or discipline.

2) Which NSF division runs this opportunity?

This opportunity is run through NSF's Electrical, Communications and Cyber Systems (ECCS) Division.

3) What kinds of technologies and research areas does ECCS support in general?

ECCS supports foundational work across a broad range of technologies that underpin modern engineering systems, including electronic, photonic, and magnetic devices; communications and networking; integrated circuits; antennas and sensors; machine learning; and control.

4) What is the overall goal of ASCENT-funded research?

The program aims to fund bold, ground-breaking basic research that is designed to translate into major societal benefits. ASCENT pushes teams to integrate multiple technical layers and disciplines in order to remove major systems bottlenecks and enable disruptive technologies or entirely new research directions.

5) What does ASCENT mean by "systems challenges"?

In ASCENT, "systems challenges" refers to large bottlenecks that emerge when devices, circuits, algorithms, systems, and networks are treated as separate layers. The program encourages teams to tackle these bottlenecks with end-to-end thinking, connecting fundamentals through implementation and deployment to achieve system-level breakthroughs.

6) What makes an ASCENT proposal different from a typical single-discipline project?

ASCENT is positioned as a strategic ECCS investment that requires collaboration beyond typical single-discipline projects. Proposals are expected to integrate perspectives and methods across subfields rather than focusing on incremental improvements within one specialty.

7) Does ASCENT prioritize incremental improvements or disruptive innovation?

ASCENT explicitly calls for proposals that are bold and ground-breaking. The solicitation framing emphasizes work that can realistically produce disruptive technologies or spark new research directions, not just incremental advances within a single area.

8) What societal benefit areas does the program expect the research to impact?

The program framing indicates that basic research supported by ECCS (and by extension ASCENT) is expected to translate into major societal benefits across areas such as communications, energy and power, healthcare, environmental monitoring, transportation, and manufacturing.

9) Are education and workforce development part of ASCENT expectations?

Yes. A core expectation is that projects strengthen education and workforce development. The emphasis includes preparing a diverse, professionally skilled talent pipeline and building connections across disciplines and with external partners.

10) What types of partnerships and connections does ASCENT encourage?

The program emphasizes building connections across disciplines as well as with industry, government, and international partners as part of the broader education and workforce development expectation.

11) What are the two research themes for this specific solicitation cycle?

For this cycle, ASCENT concentrates on two themes aligned with national priorities around semiconductor leadership: (1) Future Semiconductor Technology (FST) and (2) Sustainable Micro- and Nano-Electronics (SMN).

12) What is the Future Semiconductor Technology (FST) theme focused on?

Future Semiconductor Technology (FST) targets next generations of semiconductor capabilities and the fundamental advances needed to sustain or redefine progress in microelectronics.

13) What is the Sustainable Micro- and Nano-Electronics (SMN) theme focused on?

Sustainable Micro- and Nano-Electronics (SMN) emphasizes sustainability concerns in micro- and nano-electronic technologies. It encourages approaches that reduce environmental footprint, improve energy efficiency, extend device lifetimes, or otherwise improve sustainability across the electronics life cycle.

14) Are FST and SMN permanent ASCENT themes?

No. The information provided indicates that the focus on FST and SMN is specific to this solicitation cycle. NSF notes that continuation of the competition depends on available budget and that themes and priorities may change over time.

15) What research approaches does ASCENT expect teams to use?

ASCENT projects are expected to use either a deep-integrated approach or a convergent approach. The deep-integrated approach involves co-designing and tightly coupling multiple technical layers. The convergent approach involves deliberately fusing disciplines to create something new.

16) What is meant by a "deep-integrated" approach in ASCENT?

A deep-integrated approach is one where multiple technical layers (for example, devices, circuits, architectures, algorithms, and systems) are co-designed and tightly coupled as a unified effort, rather than developed separately.

17) What is meant by a "convergent" approach in ASCENT?

A convergent approach is one where different disciplines are intentionally fused to create new capabilities or directions, going beyond routine collaboration to produce integrated, cross-disciplinary innovation.

18) What kinds of methods or technical elements may proposals incorporate?

The solicitation signals that proposals may draw on or incorporate advanced materials, power electronics, novel computing architectures, and emerging design, learning, and fabrication methods, as long as the work remains rooted in the cross-disciplinary expertise central to ECCS.

19) Does ASCENT encourage end-to-end innovation?

Yes. In practical terms, ASCENT encourages teams to connect fundamentals (materials and devices) through implementation (circuits and architectures) to function (algorithms and learning) and deployment (systems and networks), aiming for end-to-end innovation rather than isolated component advances.

20) What is the Funding Opportunity Number for this ASCENT solicitation?

The Funding Opportunity Number provided is 22-534.

21) What is the CFDA number and category listed for this opportunity?

The opportunity is listed in the science and technology R&D category with CFDA 47.041.

22) What type of grant opportunity is ASCENT described as?

It is described as an NSF discretionary grant opportunity.

23) What is the anticipated award ceiling for this solicitation?

The anticipated award ceiling listed is $1,500,000.

24) How many awards were expected in this cycle?

The opportunity indicated an expectation of five awards.

25) What was the original closing date for the solicitation?

The original closing date listed was May 31, 2022.

26) Who is eligible to apply?

Eligibility is stated as "Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification)." Based on the provided information, applicants would need to consult the full solicitation details to confirm which organizations or institution types qualify.

27) Is future ASCENT funding guaranteed?

No. NSF notes that continuation of the ASCENT competition in later years depends on available budget, and themes and priorities may change over time.

28) How does ASCENT connect to national semiconductor priorities?

For this solicitation cycle, ASCENT is framed around national priorities related to semiconductor leadership through its two themes: Future Semiconductor Technology (FST) and Sustainable Micro- and Nano-Electronics (SMN).