AFRL/AFOSR-Taiwan NSTC Frontiers in Materials and Nanostructures: AI-Driven Discovery, Quantum Geometry, and Energy-Efficient Information Technologies 2027-2030
This program funds three-year basic research collaborations in materials and nanostructures for U.S. and Taiwan investigator pairs, with an AFOSR focus on AI-driven discovery, quantum geometry, and energy-efficient information technologies.
⚑ Open call, but each pre-proposal must be submitted by a US-Taiwan team; a U.S. university cannot apply alone. · Each US-Taiwan pair may submit only one pre-proposal. · Same pre-proposal must be submitted to both AFOSR and NSTC. · International collaboration requirement with one investigator from a Taiwan institution and one from a U.S. institution or DoD lab.
This is a basic materials/nanoscience and AI-for-discovery solicitation with a required US-Taiwan technical collaboration, which is far outside IPPRA’s social-behavioral, policy, risk-perception, and public-opinion portfolio. None of the team’s standing lines in hazard communication, energy attitudes, or education policy align with the core scientific aims here.
JUDGED AGAINST THE ROSTER'S PUBLICATION DOSSIER · GPT-5.4-MINI · 2026-10-29
Unit fits — one characterization, each unit's own rules
| Physical Sciences & Engineering (demo) | 75 strong | technical depth: central; funds basic research |
| IPPRA | 42 partial | peripheral portfolio topic: energy; social/behavioral work is none; funds basic research; university can only partner, not lead |
| Tom Love Innovation Hub | 30 weak | prototyping/demonstration stage; deep-tech content |
Description
This is a special Notice of Funding Opportunity Announcement (NOFO) sponsored by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) and Taiwan’s National Science and Technology Council (NSTC), which will hereafter generally be referred to as “we, us, our, or AFOSR.” We announce the solicitation for a three-year program entitled “Frontiers in Materials and Nanostructures: AI-Driven Discovery, Quantum Geometry, and Energy-Efficient Information Technologies.”
The US Air Force-Taiwan Nanoscience Program is one of the Air Force Office of Scientific Research’s (AFOSR) International Research Initiatives. This international program is focused on shaping the direction and advancing the state-of-the-art in nanoscience research. Starting in 2002, grants were provided to Taiwan investigators to focus on basic research in specific nanoscience areas of interest as described by program managers at AFOSR or at the Air Force Research Lab (AFRL). In 2011 the program evolved to become a collaborative effort to pair US and Taiwan investigators to conduct basic science research on topics of common interest. In order to continue to provide opportunities for scientists to collaborate in emerging technology areas and to leverage their intellectual resources, AFOSR and NSTC are offering a new program dedicated to frontiers in materials and nanostructures in a variety of topic areas.
This is an open call with open competition; therefore, all applications are welcome. Initial applications (pre-proposals) must have two investigators - one from a US institution or DoD Lab, and one from a Taiwan institution. Teams consisting of a US investigator and his/her counterpart from Taiwan are invited to submit a joint pre-proposal (white paper) indicating what their collaboration could accomplish with three years of funding. Each US-Taiwan pair is to submit only one pre-proposal. The same pre-proposal is to be submitted to both AFOSR and NSTC. Please see the Eligibility section below for further details.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Applicants should be alert for any amendments that may modify the announcement. Amendments to the original Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) will be posted to the Grants.gov Webpage: https://www.grants.gov/.
Apply
View on Grants.gov → CONTACT: Daniel P Smith Procurement Analyst <alexander.kamrud.1@us.af.mil>
Proposal brief SEE AN EXAMPLE →
A one-page internal memo: fit assessment, submission requirements, document scaffold, and next steps dated back from the deadline — tailored to your project idea if you add one.
Proposal shell · Department of Defense (BAA-style) conventions SEE A DOD EXAMPLE →
Funder-faithful document skeletons — Department of Defense (BAA-style)'s document set with section headings, page limits, reviewer guidance, and writing prompts; add a project idea to get [DRAFT] starter bullets. Download as .md for Word or Overleaf.