Scientific Discovery through Advanced Computing (SciDAC) Institutes | DE FOA 0002223

Opportunity Information: Apply for DE FOA 0002223

The Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science, through its Advanced Scientific Computing Research (ASCR) program, is seeking proposals for large-scale Scientific Discovery through Advanced Computing (SciDAC) Institutes under funding opportunity DE-FOA-0002223. This opportunity is aimed at major, multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional teams pursuing ambitious research and development efforts that rely on high-performance computing (HPC) to enable scientific breakthroughs. The solicitation specifically targets projects requesting more than $3 million per year, signaling that DOE expects institute-level efforts with broad scope, strong collaboration structures, and substantial technical deliverables rather than small, single-lab studies.

At its core, the opportunity is designed to strengthen the ability of DOE-supported science communities to fully use current and emerging HPC systems. ASCRs broader mission is to advance applied mathematics and computer science, develop cutting-edge computational methods and scientific software, and partner with disciplinary science teams to deliver sophisticated computational applications. In practice, SciDAC Institutes function as hubs of expertise that bring together domain scientists (for example, in physics, chemistry, climate, materials, or biology), applied mathematicians, and computer scientists to solve problems that are not feasible without deep integration across these fields. The expected outcome is not just incremental software improvement, but "groundbreaking science through the use of HPC," reflecting SciDACs long-standing emphasis on tightly coupled scientific and computational innovation.

This funding opportunity represents the fourth re-competition of the SciDAC Institutes, referred to as SciDAC-5. The stated mission of SciDAC-5 Institutes is to provide intellectual leadership and shared resources in applied mathematics and computer science, including advanced algorithms, numerical methods, and scientific software tools, all focused on accelerating discovery in areas of strategic importance to the DOE Office of Science and the Department of Energy more broadly. The public-benefit framing is explicit: the work should advance national scientific capabilities and produce tools, methods, and knowledge that help the wider research community tackle DOE-relevant challenges using HPC.

In terms of award structure and scale, DOE anticipates making about two awards, with an award ceiling listed at $30,000,000. The funding instrument is a discretionary grant, categorized under science and technology and other research and development, with CFDA number 81.049. Eligibility is listed as unrestricted (open to any type of entity), although applicants are expected to follow any additional eligibility clarifications provided in the full funding announcement text. Key timing details in the posted record include a creation date of March 17, 2020, and an original closing date of May 12, 2020, indicating the competition window for this particular call.

Overall, the SciDAC Institutes opportunity is best understood as DOE support for flagship computational science organizations: large, coordinated teams that can produce advanced, reusable computational methods and software and demonstrate that these capabilities translate directly into major scientific advances on leading-edge supercomputers. The program places a premium on collaborative depth, institute-scale planning, and deliverables that help DOE science communities take full advantage of rapidly evolving HPC architectures and software environments.

• The Department of Energy - Office of Science, Office of Science in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Scientific Discovery through Advanced Computing (SciDAC) Institutes" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 81.049.
• This funding opportunity was created on Mar 17, 2020.
• Applicants must submit their applications by May 12, 2020. (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 $30,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 2 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility.

Apply for DE FOA 0002223

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