Manufacturing Machines and Equipment

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The MME program supports fundamental research that enables the development of new and/or improved manufacturing machines and equipment, and optimization of their use, with a particular focus on equipment appropriate for the manufacture of mechanical and electromechanical devices, products, and systems featuring scales from microns to meters (proposals relating to nanomanufacturing should be submitted to the CMMI NanoManufacturing program, and those relating to the manufacture of electronic devices such as IC products should be submitted to the ECCS Division). Proposals relating to a wide range of manufacturing operations are encouraged, including both subtractive and additive processes, forming, bonding/joining, and laser processing. Of particular interest are proposals that relate to the manufacture of equipment and facilities that enable the production of energy products. Competitive projects will propose hypothesis-driven research that advances the frontiers of knowledge in relevant areas. Proposals submitted to the MME program should include a clearly articulated research (not developmental) objective and a coherent plan to accomplish the stated objective. Both experimental and theoretical work are supported. All proposals must include a statement outlining the societal benefits of the proposed activities, including the proposed research, in a separate section labeled “Broader Impacts of the Proposed Work”. Proposals accepted for consideration in the MME program must be fully compliant with the most recent version of the NSF Grant Proposal Guide (GPG). Persons submitting proposals to the program should review the GPG (http://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=gpg) as it is updated frequently and submission requirements change.