Â鶹ÊÓƵ

Below is a summary assembled by the Research & Innovation Office (RIO). Please see the full solicitation for complete information about the funding opportunity.

Program Summary

This program seeks applications for industry-informed, university-based artificial intelligence-powered autonomous experimentation (AI/AE) collaborations, including research and development, education and workforce development, and related activities relevant to sustainable semiconductor materials and processes. If successful, awards will support the long-term viability of next-generation domestic semiconductor manufacturing, accelerating the discovery, design, synthesis, and adoption of materials and processes, and the development of new researchers needed to meet the industry’s technology, economic, and sustainability goals.

The CHIPS Research and Development Office (CHIPS R&D) aims to achieve the following objectives:

1. Accelerate research into and delivery of targeted, industry-relevant, sustainable semiconductor materials and processes through the application of AI/AE;
2. Propagate models for incorporating sustainability metrics into semiconductor industry materials design and discovery, in addition to continued advancement in power, performance, area, cost, or other relevant technology metrics;
3. Expand the capabilities of emerging research institutions and other emerging R&D participants through cohesive, innovative teams of universities, industry, government labs, and other stakeholders; and
4. Build an exceptional workforce of university graduates and faculty with AI/AE R&D expertise

CHIPS R&D investments should demonstrate that new sustainable semiconductor materials and processes, meeting industry needs, can be designed and adopted for industry testing within five years. Further, the investment should accelerate a step-change in the number of universities, researchers, and graduates participating in the U.S. semiconductor R&D ecosystem.

See the solicitation for complete details.

Deadlines

• CU InternalÌýDeadline: 11:59pm MST December 16, 2024
• Sponsor Concept Paper Deadline: 9:59pm MST January 13, 2025
• Sponsor Application Deadline (by invitation): TBD

Internal Application Requirements (all in PDF format)

• Concept Paper Summary (3 pages maximum): Please include 1) an impact statement with a clear problem statement and well-defined project outcomes; 2) a project teamdescription with the roles and capabilities of the lead applicant organization and collaborators; 3) a stakeholder collaboration strategy for including a Research Advisory Board Plan and CHIPS-funded Entity Collaboration Plan; 4) a research and infrastructure strategy with an explanation of the project’s scientific and technical merit; and 5) an education and workforce development plan addressing programmatic targets, roles and responsibilities and project phases and SMART milestones.
• Lead PI / Project Director Curriculum Vitae
• Budget Overview (1 page maximum): A basic budget outlining project costs is sufficient; detailed OCG budgets are not required.

To access the online application, visit:

Eligibility

CHIPS R&D strongly encourages applications from multi-disciplinary, multi-organization project teams that collectively demonstrate the full range of expertise, experience, and development capabilities needed to achieve the objectives of this program. See the solicitation for full eligibility details.

Limited Submission Guidelines

Eligible applicants may submit only one concept paper and, if invited, one full application.

Award Information and Duration

• Anticipated Award Size: $20M - $40MÌý
• Award Duration: 5 years

Review Criteria

The CHIPS R&D merit review process will assess concept papers against the following five criteria:

1. relevance to economic and national security;
2. overall scientific and technical merit;
3. project management;
4. transition and impact strategy; and
5. education and workforce development.

The first two criteria—relevance to economic and national security and the overall scientific and technical merit—will receive the greatest and approximately equal weight. The remaining three criteria will receive approximately equal weight to each other.Ìý