U.S. National Science Foundation · United States

Crosscutting Activities in Materials Research

Open

Eligible applicant types include unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled "Additional Information on Eligibility".

Deadline: Not published yet — check the official call
Grant amount: Not stated — see the official call
Funding rate: No mandatory cost sharing stated; funding percentage not stated
Expected awards: 100
Cost sharing: Not required
Likely applicant types: Companies, SMEs / start-ups, Non-profits, Universities & research, Public bodies, Individuals From source categories or programme rules; the call decides.
Funder: U.S. National Science Foundation
Reference: PD-18-7222
Assistance listing: 47.049 Mathematical and Physical Sciences
Last checked: 13 Nov 2026

Open the official call ↗

About this call

Crosscutting Activities in Materials Research (XC) coordinates and supports crosscutting activities within the Division of Materials Research (DMR) and more broadly across NSF.

The emphasis within XC is diversity and inclusion, international cooperation, and education (including experiential learning at REU/RET Sites). Additionally, activities that broadly engage the community, such as summer schools, institutes, workshops, and conferences that do not fit within just one or two programs in the Division of Materials Research, may be supported by XC.If preparing a workshop proposal, follow the Special Guidelines for Conference Proposals outlined in the Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG). Occasionally projects crossing several programs in DMR are shifted to XC or co-funded by XC. The goal is to bring greater visibility to these projects through DMR’s XC website.

Proposals are welcome that do not fit elsewhere at NSF that are also highly relevant for the materials research and education community. Some XC activities are co-funded with other NSF units. XC does not handle traditional research proposals suitable for submission to topical or other programs in DMR. For this reason, the XC Team welcomes inquiries that include a draft of one-page NSF summary, or a shorter write-up. It is highly recommended that you contact one of the Program Directors for XC prior to submission of a full proposal exceeding $50,000.

Read the full text

Crosscutting Activities in Materials Research (XC) replaced the Office of Special Programs in Materials Research (OSP) in 2016.

Diversity:

• Activitiesthat focus on broadening participation of underrepresented groups and/or diversity and inclusion are supported.

• Supplements(e.g., CLB, AGEP-GRS, MPS-GRSV and ROAs) are handled by the cognizantProgram Director of the original award. See the Related Publications section below for more information.

• XC supports Facilitation Awards for Scientists and Engineers with Disabilities (see Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide, Chapter II.E.6 for details) https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/policydocs/pappg18_1/pappg_2.jsp#IIE6

International:

• In2016 a Dear Colleague Letter outlining collaborative projectswith Israel (BSF) was issued; it remains active until archived.

• Submissionof full proposals with an international component may be made to thedisciplinary programs (but not to XC directly).

• Supplementsare handled by the cognizant Program Director of the original award.

• Discontinuedin 2014: The previous International Materials Institutes (IMI)and Materials World Network (MWN) programs are no longer supported .

Education:

• Innovativeand creative ideas in education (e.g., materials science and/or engineering, solid state and materials chemistry, condensed matterphysics, integrated computational materials science/engineering, ormaterials data science/analytics) that do not have a forum elsewhere at NSFare of interest.

• XC encourages outreach and/or materials education proposals targeting underserved populations such as K-12students in rural communities and those designed to increase public scientific literacy.

Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU)/ Research Experiences for Teachers (RET): reu.dmr@nsf.gov

• XCcoordinates the REU and RET Sites activities within DMR. See the REU Site Solicitation for deadlines and additional program information.

• REU/RET supplements to research proposals are handled by the cognizant ProgramDirector of the original award.

Who can apply

Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled "Additional Information on Eligibility"

Applicant categories are a starting point. The official call decides eligibility.

Topics

Science and Technology and other Research and Development

Timing

Proposals accepted anytime

How to apply

Apply through the funder’s official page (link below); it states the procedure, documents and deadline.

From the call text

Who can apply: Not stated in the call text we hold — check the official page
Company stage: Not stated in the call text we hold — check the official page
Single applicant or consortium: Not stated in the call text we hold — check the official page
Where applicants must be based: Not stated in the call text we hold — check the official page
Where to apply: Not stated in the call text we hold — check the official page

Contact

U.S. National Science Foundation · grantsgovsupport@nsf.gov · 703-292-4203

Where these facts come from

Fact	Value	How we know	Taken from the source
Deadline	Unknown — not stated in the source we hold	unknown	—
Amount per applicant	Unknown — not stated in the source we hold	unknown	—
Total budget	Unknown — not stated in the source we hold	unknown	—
Funding rate	No mandatory cost sharing stated; funding percentage not stated	read from the official text	15 Nov 2026
Who can apply	Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled "Additional Information on Eligibility"	official data field	15 Nov 2026
Where to apply	Unknown — not stated in the source we hold	unknown	—

Official sources

Official call page · Funder's programme page

Facts on this page come from the official source and were last checked 13 Nov 2026. The funder's own documents, including later amendments, always take precedence.