NSF funds multi-year Research Infrastructure Improvement (RII) grants in amounts ranging from $4 million to $20 million. EPSCoR states must apply for the awards in a merit-based competition. The National Science Board considers the recommendations of the NSF, reviews proposals and makes the final decision. Nebraska EPSCoR has successfully received NSF EPSCoR Research Infrastructure Improvement awards since 1993; for a history of Nebraska EPSCoR's NSF awards, please visit our History page.

The purpose of an EPSCoR Research Infrastructure Improvement award is to provide support for lasting improvements in a state's academic research infrastructure, as well as increased national competitiveness. EPSCoR support is intended to add specific value to the state's academic infrastructure not generally available through other funding sources. Successful infrastructure improvement plans are likely to be those that include opportunities for enhanced academic R&D competitiveness among a state's universities, including plans for generation of sustained non-EPSCoR support.

Because competitive university research programs need a robust pipeline of quality students, a major component of the RII awards is workforce development through education and outreach. Nebraska EPSCoR has developed several programs to fulfill that aim and encourage participation from those segments of the population that are underrepresented in the STEM fields; for more information, please see our Education & Outreach pages.

A Research Infrastructure Improvement grant does not support individual faculty research projects, although as part of the workforce development component of the awards, Nebraska EPSCoR offers a small grant competition for new faculty, called the First Award, in any area that NSF supports. For more information on First Awards, go here.

In July 2010, Nebraska EPSCoR finished a $9 million, 3-year award program that supported nano-enhanced epigenetics research at Creighton University, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and the University of Nebraska Medical Center. For more information on this grant and other prior NSF grants, go here.

Current NSF Awards

RII Track 1: Creating Research Centers of Excellence in Nanohybrid Materials and Algal Biology, 2010-2015

RII Track 2: Cyberinfrastructure-enabled Computational Nanoscience for Energy Technologies, 2010-2013

RII Track C2: Cyberinfrastructure for Nebraska, 2010-2012