PROGRAM OBJECTIVES:
NSF's Directorate for Engineering (ENG) seeks to improve the quality of life and the economic strength of the Nation by fostering innovation, creativity, and excellence in engineering education and research. Specifically, ENG enables the Nation's long- term capacity to perform by: (1) Investing in the creation of new engineering knowledge and the development of human capital within disciplines and at their interfaces; (2) making critical investments to enable an intelligent, agile and adaptable physical infrastructure for engineering education and research; (3) improving the quality and effectiveness of engineering education and research through the integration of and systemic reform of these processes; and (4) enabling knowledge transfer connections among diverse constituencies and communities. Areas of research include: tissue engineering; metabolic pathway engineering; bioinformatics; protein drug processing, fluid flow; combustion; heat transfer; fuel cells; sensors; integrated modeling of the behavior of materials and structures; civil infrastructure; structures and mechanical systems; engineering in geologic materials; reducing risks of natural and technological hazards; enterprise-level integration technologies; innovative design strategies; manufacturing processes and materials; production systems; microelectronic, nanoelectronic, micromagnetic, photonic, and electromechanical devices and their integration into circuits and microsystems; design and analysis of systems and the convergence of control, communications and computation; Engineering Research Groups; Engineering Research Centers; Industry/University Cooperative Research Centers; Engineering Education; Human Resources Development; cross cutting activities and special studies and analyses. Support is also provided for undergraduate student research, graduate research fellowships, research equipment and instrumentation, Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR), Innovation and Organizational Change and Grant Opportunities for Academic Liaison with Industry (GOALI). ENG also provides support for Foundation-wide programs including the Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) program and the Integrative Graduate Education and Research Training (IGERT) Program.

ELIGIBLE FUNCTIONAL CATEGORIES:
1. EDUCATION;
- Higher Education - General;
2. SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY;
- Research - General;

WHO CAN BENEFIT FROM THIS PROGRAM:
- Federal;
- State;
- Local;
- Public nonprofit institution/organization;
- Individual/Family;
- Profit organization;
- Private non-profit institution/organization;
- Scientist/Researcher;
- Engineer/Architect;

WHO CAN APPLY:
- Federal;
- State (includes District of Columbia, public institutions of higher education and hospitals);
- Local (includes State-designated Indian Tribes, excludes institutions of higher education and hospitals);
- Public non-profit institution/organization (includes institutions of higher education and hospitals);
- Individual/Family;
- Small business (less than 500 employees);
- Profit organization;
- Private non-profit institution/organization (includes institutions of higher education and hospitals);