Opportunity: Funding Opportunity Announcement

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Environmental Management (EM), through this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), seeks to award one or more cooperative agreements (anticipated to be for a term of up to five years) to accredited United States (U.S.) Colleges and Universities (hereafter referred to as “Universities”) to train graduate students in specific disciplines or sub-disciplines aligned with DOE science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) workforce needs in the area of Robotics, particularly as they apply to the mission of EM. Robotics engineers with education and advanced degrees in hardware, software, and integration of robotics are needed to enable the design, manufacturing, and deployment of advanced radiation robotics. This DOE Traineeship program will support innovative proposals for graduate level training that leverage DOE assets and capabilities and strategic partnerships, and address emerging needs in graduate training to enable preparedness for STEM careers beyond those in academia. DOE has mission-specific workforce needs in STEM fields and a responsibility to support the training of the next generation of STEM professionals who will serve that mission. The complex nature of the scientific and technical work supported by DOE and carried out by the DOE laboratories, colleges and universities, and the private sector generally requires advanced graduate level training. Historically, the DOE’s primary mechanism for supporting the training of graduate students has been through the inclusion in standard research awards to universities and DOE laboratories. This FOA will establish DOE-sponsored University-led traineeships as a mechanism for graduate-level training critical to DOE mission-driven workforce needs. This will be accomplished through a focused academic graduate program that delivers unique, innovative curriculum, coupled with a rigorous thesis or dissertation research requirement, in the desired DOE-relevant scien