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Advanced Materials (AM)

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Technology topic

Advanced Materials (AM)

The Advanced Materials topic addresses the development of new and improved materials for a wide variety of commercial and industrial applications. Proposals may focus on the creation of innovative material systems and/or on critical fabrication, processing or manufacturing challenges involved in the successful demonstration and commercialization of novel advanced materials. A broad range of applications areas will be considered as part of this topic.

Sub-Topics

AM1. Advanced Engineering Materials
AM2. Coatings and Surface Modifications
AM3. Metals and Ceramics
AM4. Novel Advanced Materials-based Sensors
AM5. Structural and Infrastructural Materials
AM6. Other Advanced Materials Technologies





Application process for Advanced Materials (AM) funding

Eligibility for Advanced Materials (AM) funding +
  • Your company must be a small business (fewer than 500 employees) located in the United States.
  • At least 50% of your company’s equity must be owned by U.S. citizens or permanent residents. NSF does not fund companies that are majority-owned by multiple venture capital firms, private equity firms, or hedge funds, to participate in SBIR and STTR.
  • All funded work, including work done by consultants and contractors, needs to take place in the United States.
  • The project’s principal investigator (tech lead) must be legally employed at least 20 hours a week by the company seeking funding. The principal investigator doesn’t need any advanced degrees.
  • The principal investigator needs to commit to at least one month (173 hours) of work on a funded project per six months of project duration.

Evaluation Criteria: What We Look for When Evaluating Advanced Materials (AM) proposals +

Take our project assessment to see if your work might be a good fit for NSF funding.

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