Call for Research in Nanoelectronics COmputing REsearch (nCORE)

• Program Objectives and Description
• Timetable and Deadlines
• Research Needs
• White Paper Guidelines
• Evaluation Criteria

Program Objectives and Description

The nanoelectronics COmputing REsearch (nCORE) program solicits white papers from U.S. universities for collaborative, multidisciplinary, multi-university research in selected areas of principal interest.

The objective of nCORE is to explore fundamental materials, devices, and interconnect solutions to enable future high-performance computing/storage paradigms beyond conventional CMOS technology, beyond von Neumann architecture, or beyond classical information processing/storage.

This solicitation aims to establish a material research center in the nCORE program with a multi-disciplinary team of researchers (from one or multiple universities) to address one or a few research needs described in the “nCORE Research Needs" document.

Timetable and Deadlines

Phase I: White Paper Submission

First, our primary goal is to accept white papers that outline a university team's proposal to form an nCORE research Center. These Center white papers will be reviewed by the Consortium, and the most promising will be selected to submit a full Center proposal in Phase II. The university teams selected to submit full proposals may be given feedback by the Consortium on ways they could strengthen their full proposal to meet the research goals. The Center white papers can target two different funding levels:

• A larger center funded at a level of $2.0M per annum for 3 years (2020-2022).
• A smaller center funded at a level of $1.0M per annum for 3 years (2020-2022).

During this initial whitepaper phase, the consortium will allow the submission of whitepapers for individual task(s) from individual PIs or very small teams. This mechanism is made available to encourage researchers who may have an innovative individual idea but may currently lack connectivity into one of the proposed Center whitepapers above. These individual task whitepapers will be reviewed by the Consortium and considered only if the task(s) can be integrated into a proposed Center whitepaper that are invited to submit a full Center proposal. Ultimately, these individual task(s) must be included as part of a full Center proposal or will not be considered for funding.

Phase II: Full Center Proposal

Full proposals for multi-university Centers will then be submitted, reviewed, and selected for award by the nCORE Governing Council of the Consortium.

General Considerations:

nCORE will be administered on behalf of the Consortium by the SRCco Inc. (“SRCco"). SRCco, a not-for-profit research management organization, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC). It operates under the direction of the nCORE Governing Council and in support of the nCORE Science Advisory Board. The Consortium participants will evaluate all proposals submitted in accordance with this Research Announcement. Selection of proposals for award shall be made by the Governing Council of the Consortium.

This solicitation is open to all U.S. universities and shall be conducted on a competitive basis. Universities are encouraged to join together to achieve the depth and scope needed to address the technical content of this Research Announcement. Proposed collaboration among PIs and universities, in the form of Centers or otherwise, should identify a lead university and lead PI for purposes of an award and consummation of a sponsored research agreement with the Consortium.

Research Needs

Our research needs are outlined in the Logic and Memory Devices research needs document. Researchers should carefully review this document.

White Paper Guidelines

nCORE Center white papers are  limited to 4 pages total, using a minimum of 10-point font size, and must be submitted via the SRC web-site by July 30, 2019 @ 11:59 PM ET/8:59 PM PT. Submissions not in compliance with all guidelines will be excluded from consideration.

Please include the following identifying information in your Center White Paper:

• Center title
• nCORE research needs addressed by this Center White Paper
• Center Director and Lead University
• Principal Investigator(s) and their associated Universities.
• Contacts of all proposed Center staff (telephone number, mailing address, and e-mail address).

Please address the following topics in your Center White Paper:

• Targeted Need: Emphasize area and problem to be addressed.
• Approach: Present your strategy for addressing the problem. Describe important findings from your research to date. Describe how your proposed research would advance the state of the art and be useful to nCORE member companies.
• Objective and Results: What you plan to accomplish in a 3-year period. What are the anticipated outputs of a successful effort? Please define quantitative trackable/transparent metrics and benchmarking methodologies.
• Center Organization: We recommend that Center research be divided into several meaningful themes with staffed / specific research tasks therein. Please indicate how you envision the Center's organization.
• Logistics: Please describe how this multi-university, multi discipline research Center will tackle distance and time to innovate at a mind-numbing pace. Consider co-location and / or an "increased mind share" of Center researchers in order to better amplify the efforts of nCORE funding.
• Funding Request and participants: Plan for yearly budget should include overhead charges by your institution. Besides faculty, please also indicate the number of students and post docs supported and their degree affiliations. A detailed approved budget is not required at this time as it will be part of selected full proposals.
• Funding Leverage: Please illustrate how leveraged will be helpful towards the center goals and objectives.
• Background IP: Identify any blocking pre-existing intellectual property on which new results will be based. 

Contract Awardees will be expected to:

• Drive and deliver meaningful annual project reviews and topical workshops. This should include participation from within and across nCORE research Centers.
• Define deliverables and provide updates that help nCORE members easily assess how the research is progressing.
• Interact with nCORE liaisons.
• Submit publications, posters, thesis, etc. resulting from the sponsored research.
• Provide e-Workshops that update the nCORE community on topics of keen interest.
• File patents in promising areas of research.
• Submit reports required for program compliance.
• Manage the center budget.
• Put forward a top-tier research agenda while also being mindful of the STEM-education and employment initiatives of nCORE members.

nCORE Single Task white papers are  limited to 2 pages total, using a minimum of 10-point font size, and must be submitted via the SRC web-site by July 30, 2019 @ 11:59 PM ET/8:59 PM PT. Submissions not in compliance with all guidelines will be excluded from consideration.

Please include the following identifying information in your Single Task White Paper:

• White paper title
• A primary and secondary nCORE theme addressed by this Single Task White Paper
• Principal Investigator(s) and their associated Universities.
• Contacts of all proposed PIs (telephone number, mailing address, and e-mail address).

Please address the following topics in your Single Task White Paper:

• Targeted Need: Emphasize area and problem to be addressed.
• Approach: Present your strategy for addressing the problem. Describe important findings from your research to date. Describe how your proposed research would advance the state of the art and be useful to nCORE member companies.
• Objective and Results: What you plan to accomplish in a 3-year period. What are the anticipated outputs of a successful effort? Please define quantitative trackable/transparent metrics and benchmarking methodologies.
• Funding Request and participants: Plan for yearly budget should include overhead charges by your institution. Besides faculty, please also indicate the number of students and post docs supported and their degree affiliations. A detailed approved budget is not required at this time as it will be part of selected full proposals.
• Funding Leverage: Please illustrate how leveraged will be helpful towards the center goals and objectives.
• Background IP: Identify any blocking pre-existing intellectual property on which new results will be based. 

Following the white paper review phase, nCORE leadership will look to facilitate relationships between the PIs that submitted single task white papers of interest to the consortium and potential nCORE center leaders. Contracts will not be awarded for single task white papers unless they are successfully incorporated into an awarded full center proposal. At that time PIs will be expected to comply with the center guidelines.

General Information:

Proposers should review the nCORE Research Needs document, which provides further information on areas of interest. White papers and subsequent proposals not meeting the format described in the pamphlet may not be reviewed. Offerors must submit all white papers and proposals as a single PDF document via the SRC nCORE Web Site. 

Evaluation Criteria

Evaluation of white papers and later proposals will be accomplished through a technical review of each white paper and proposal using the following criteria:

• Overall scientific and technical merit
• Ingenuity, novelty, and impact of overall Center
• Impact of proposed research on needs of the Consortium Industry Members
• Capabilities of proposed investigators
• Cost effectiveness, realism

Please direct all questions to nCORE-solicitation@src.org.