August 19, 2026

On August 7, the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation (CMEI) published a Notice of Intent (NOI) to establish the PROSPECT Program—Providing Opportunities for Specialized Education in Critical Technologies—and anticipates investing up to $100 million to strengthen the nation's educational capacity in critical minerals and materials.

The activities under this anticipated PROSPECT Program support collaborative approaches that strengthen educational pathways across the entire critical minerals and materials value chain—from mineral resource development and extraction through processing, manufacturing, recycling, and related supply chain activities.  Specifically, the planned PROSPECT Program would build on existing investments in critical minerals and materials research, development, demonstration, and deployment by ensuring that the United States has the highly skilled workforce needed to support continued innovation and growth across the domestic supply chain. Through collaboration among academia, industry, national laboratories, and other partners, the program is expected to help develop a durable talent pipeline that strengthens U.S. economic competitiveness, energy security, and national security.  

This Notice of Intent (NOI) is issued so that interested parties are aware of CMEI’s intention to establish this PROSPECT Program in the near term.   Other recent funding opportunities related to critical materials include the Critical Minerals and Materials Accelerator and the Battery Materials Processing & Battery Manufacturing and Recycling Grant Programs.  Others will likely follow.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has released NSF 26-517: Core Research in Biological Sciences (BIO Core), which describes substantial changes in how proposals will be submitted to NSF for research funded previously by the Divisions of Environmental Biology, Integrative Organismal Systems, and Molecular and Cellular Biosciences. Programs previously managed by the Division of Biological Infrastructure will continue to have separate solicitations.

The first step in submitting through BIO Core, which has open deadlines, is to identify which of the three new organizational units that have replaced the former Divisions is the best fit for your work. These thematic areas each have informational webpages linked from the main BIO page.

Foundations of Life (bio-fl@nsf.gov): Exploring natural or synthetic molecules, cells and tissues, and the physiology of living things

Living Systems (bio-ls@nsf.gov): Understanding how species evolve, interact, and shape Earth’s ecosystems

Bioinnovation and Infrastructure (bio-bi@nsf.gov): Investigating the functional genomic complexity of life and developing the tools, data, and technologies to drive biological discovery 

It is advisable to contact program officers either directly or at one of these email aliases and make sure your proposal topic fits the unit. When preparing your proposal, make sure that you use keywords that will allow sorting by AI to the proper thematic area.

Information shared at a recent BIO Virtual Office Hour included the guidance to address the impact of the project on a general biological audience.

BIO has added directorate-specific requirements for the Data Management and Sharing Plan that are described here: https://www.nsf.gov/bio/data-management-plans

BIO will hold another Virtual Office Hour on September 16. Information and registration are available here. 

Kansas State University’s Graduate School, the Office of Scholar Development and Undergraduate Research, and the Office of Research Development are hosting an information session on the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) via zoom at 3:30 p.m. on September 3, 2026.  Both students and their mentors/major professors are invited.  This fellowship supports outstanding graduate students, in NSF-supported science, technology, engineering and mathematics disciplines, who are pursuing research-based Master’s or PhD degrees. Note to apply for a GRFP fellowship you must be a U.S. citizen.

The information session will start with an in-depth look at the requirements for an NSF GFRP submission. This presentation will be followed by a panel of student awardees and faculty members who have served on review panels for this program. They will discuss tips and provide advice that you will not find in this program’s Request for Proposals. If you are serious about submitting to this program, this is a session you should not miss.

Please register here for this session.

The Office of Research Development (ORD) is now hosting in-person office hours to assist and connect with K-State researchers. 

During ORD office hours, researchers can meet with members of the ORD team to discover funding opportunities, discuss specific funders and programs, review white papers or engage in casual conversation about research activity. 

The next session will take place August 27 from 2-4 p.m. at the Cornerstone Café inside Hale Library.

If you are interested in discussing your white paper, please send a copy of the paper to ord@ksu.edu at least three days in advance.

Additional office hours will be hosted at the Cornerstone Cafe from 2-4 p.m. on September 10, October 1, 15 and 29, November 19 and December 3 and 17.

Please contact ord@ksu.edu with any questions.

K-State faculty, staff, and graduate students can request guidance on practical, responsible, and research-informed uses of artificial intelligence.

AI Consultation Services is a one-year pilot designed to help members of the K-State community connect with the most appropriate support for their goals. Whether you are exploring AI tools for everyday work, planning a class session in the AI Studio, or considering how AI might be applied in a research project, our consultation teams can help you identify next steps.

Request a consultation:

General AI Literacy for faculty, staff, and graduate students seeking guidance on practical and responsible AI use.
AI Studio for individuals or teams who want hands-on exploration in a supported space.
Research Support for faculty, staff, and graduate students considering technical AI integration in research or scholarly project.

Register to attend upcoming events:

September 9: AI Instruction in the Classroom: Optional, Obligatory or Forbidden? 
September 10: Fine-Tuning LLMs - From Generic to Specialist: A Practical Walkthrough
September 16: Image Processing with AI: From Pixels to Intelligent Visual Understanding
September 24: LLMs 101: Chatting to Agents and the Engine Under the Hood

One of the key components of an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) proposal is the personal statement. Beth Powers, Director of K-State’s Office of Scholar Development and Undergraduate Research, will lead a Writing Workshop that will give you a chance to test run your NSF GRFP personal statement. Your draft must be submitted to Beth Powers (bethpowers@ksu.edu) by noon on Friday, September 18. Each attendee will be assigned to review one peer’s application using a rubric provided. You will then lead feedback on that application. Beth will read all applications and facilitate a conversation where feedback is given to each person, and everyone gets a chance to learn from their own and others’ feedback.

This session will be held on September 21 from 3:30-5pm. This session will be held via Zoom only. NOTE: To participate you MUST submit an essay by noon Friday the 18th.

Please register here.

NSF webinars & office hours:

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has issued a request for information on Proposed Changes to Reporting Outcomes from NIH Peer Review (https://rfi.grants.nih.gov/?s=6a2b1c22c3fcfda46e0badd2).

Briefly, NIH is proposing a change in the initial peer review process such that the PI, applicant institution, and NIH staff would no longer receive a quantitative impact score based on individual reviews. They would receive a qualitative ranking placing the proposal into one of three categories: “Most competitive”, “Competitive”, or “Not discussed”.

Comments are invited for this proposed change and must be received by October 13, 2026. Researchers are welcome to respond from a non-K-State email account in their capacity as private citizens.

NEW! Application Walk-Through - Join IIE's Application & Selection Lead Catherine Matto for a pre-recorded overview of the Fulbright U.S. Scholar online application.

NEW! Watch our Application Writing Clinic for the Fulbright U.S. Scholar 2027-2028 Competition, Part II

Review detailed Application Instructions on the Fulbright Scholar Website.

Halo (Halo Science) is an AI-powered R&D partnering platform that connects academic researchers, universities, and startups with corporate research and development teams. Their new feature—PulseCheck—allows university researchers to immediately connect to a company needing a solution through a one-click expression of interest. No form or write-up is needed; an investigator simply flags their existing Halo profile or technology readiness through this mechanism.  

Below are active PulseChecks from companies currently looking for university partners through Halo. If any are relevant to your work, use the one-click feature to raise your hand to express your interest and connect with the sponsoring company. Make sure that 1) “academic researchers” are listed as one of the eligible partners and 2) you have a researcher profile on the Halo Science Innovators Page.

Enrichment-free rapid pathogen detection for food safety testing

Automation and imaging technologies for Petri Film-based testing

Food-enabled nutrition innovations for GLP-1 consumers

LCA-grade landfill degradation kinetics for biopolymers

Efficient inference and model compression for on-device agentic AI

NSF has made a critical investment in a new model for STEM doctoral education. The UIDP Industry-Integrated PhD (I-PhD) Scholars Program, supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation Technology, Innovation and Partnerships Directorate (TIP), is a jointly funded model through which universities, industry, and organizations co-invest in STEM doctoral training. The UIDP I-PhD Scholars Program is a national pilot designed to integrate sustained industry research experiences into rigorous, dissertation-based doctoral education.

View this August 3 session to learn more about the program. This session explained how your organization can get involved in an emerging national initiative to strengthen and modernize STEM PhD training. The webinar included an overview of the program’s goals, structure, design, and pilot launch timeline, as well as opportunities for universities and companies to participate. Speakers discussed the anticipated selection process and answered questions from prospective participants. Whether you educate, employ, fund, mentor, or support STEM doctoral talent, this webinar will help you understand where your organization fits within the I-PhD Scholars model. 

Join us for the latest information on the UIDP Industry-Integrated PhD (I-PhD) Scholars Program on September 3, 2026.

Since its launch, the innovative project has generated significant interest from universities, industry, and other organizations committed to strengthening STEM doctoral education. This webinar will cover next steps as the national pilot forms the inaugural cohort of university-industry partnerships.

The UIDP I-PhD Scholars Program, supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation Technology, Innovation and Partnerships Directorate (TIP), is a jointly funded model through which universities, industry and organizations co-invest in STEM doctoral training. The program is designed to integrate sustained industry research experiences into rigorous, dissertation-based doctoral education. Universities and companies interested in joining can learn more and submit an application through the program website.

This informational webinar includes an opportunity for Q&A with the speaker. There is no cost to participate, but registration is required.

The Common Fund supports bold scientific programs that catalyze discovery across all biomedical and behavioral research. These programs bring together investigators and multiple NIH Institutes, Centers and Offices (ICOs) to collaborate on innovative research. Common Fund programs are expected to address high-priority challenges for NIH as a whole and make a broader impact on the scientific community. 

The NIH requests ideas for biomedical and behavioral research challenges and opportunities that may be of interest to the Common Fund. These ideas may inform activities to advance areas of science relevant to these challenges/opportunities, including, but not limited to, scientific workshops, pilot initiatives, and/or future Common Fund programs.

NIH encourages idea submissions that may include, but are not limited to, the following:

• A critical challenge or exciting emerging opportunity in biomedical/behavioral research
• Resources, tools, or knowledge that are needed to address the important challenge or opportunity
• Scientific advancements or other factors that make addressing the important challenge or opportunity particularly timely
• Critical challenges that small labs or research groups face with respect to funding, contracting, or navigating the regulatory landscape
• Priorities from "Advancing NIH's Mission Through a Unified Strategy" and "Make Our Children Healthy Again Strategy."

Submissions are due September 19, 2026. 

View the full announcement for additional information.