Engineering at NSF: Big Ideas and More

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Reception to follow
 

The National Science Foundation announced its Ten Big Ideas for Future Investments three years ago. From Harnessing the Data Revolution to defining the Future of Work at the Human-Technology Frontier and Understanding the Rules of Life, all of the Big Ideas require cross-disciplinary, convergent research to make significant progress on these important societal challenges. 

This talk will present an overview of these ideas and describe some of the funding opportunities. There will also be a summary of the NSF Engineering Directorate’s activities, highlights of new NSF cross-cutting programs and time for Q&A.

Dawn Tilbury leads NSF's Directorate for Engineering in its mission to support engineering research and education critical to the nation's future, and foster innovations to benefit society. The Engineering Directorate provides about 32% of the federal funding for fundamental research in engineering at academic institutions and distributes about 1,600 research awards each year. The Engineering Directorate also helps to advance NSF’s Ten Big Ideas, including the Future of Work at the Human-Technology Frontier, the Quantum Leap and NSF INCLUDES. 

A professor in mechanical and electrical engineering at the University of Michigan since 1995, Tilbury has a background in systems and control engineering. She is the inaugural chair of the Robotics Steering Committee and served as an associate dean for research in the College of Engineering. Tilbury retains her position with the University of Michigan and will return after her NSF term expires.