FY2021 Research Opportunities in High Energy Physics | DE FOA 0002424

Opportunity Information: Apply for DE FOA 0002424

The FY2021 Research Opportunities in High Energy Physics funding opportunity (DE-FOA-0002424) is a Department of Energy Office of Science announcement from the High Energy Physics (HEP) program seeking both new and renewal grant applications to support research in particle physics and closely related enabling technologies. The central aim is to advance understanding of the universe at the most fundamental level by studying the basic building blocks of matter and energy, the forces and interactions among them, and the underlying nature of space and time. The opportunity is explicitly framed around the community priorities laid out by the High Energy Physics Advisory Panel (HEPAP) and its long-range Particle Physics Project Prioritization Plan (P5), which DOE uses as a strategic guide for setting scientific directions.

The FOA is organized around six core HEP subprograms, which applicants are expected to align with clearly and explicitly. Three are experimental discovery frontiers. The Energy Frontier supports research using high-power particle accelerators to create and study new particles and to probe fundamental forces at the highest energies. The Intensity Frontier focuses on experiments that rely on very intense particle beams and extremely sensitive detectors to measure rare processes and subtle effects, often enabling precision tests of the Standard Model and searches for new physics through phenomena that do not require the highest collision energies. The Cosmic Frontier supports non-accelerator experiments that use the universe itself as a laboratory, including measurements relevant to cosmic acceleration and dark energy, observations of the cosmic microwave background, searches for dark matter particles, and other studies of cosmic particles and large-scale phenomena that reveal fundamental physics.

Complementing those frontiers are three crosscutting areas that HEP treats as integral to discovery because they provide the ideas, instruments, and infrastructure needed for experiments to succeed. Theoretical High Energy Physics supports the development of mathematical frameworks and physical theories that interpret existing results and propose new tests of nature, including work that extends or challenges current models of particles, forces, spacetime, and cosmology. Accelerator Science and Technology R and D supports the underlying science and engineering advances that enable next-generation accelerator capabilities and the operation of accelerator facilities central to HEP research. Detector Research and Development supports the foundational technologies and methods needed to design and build advanced particle and astrophysics detectors, including generic detector R and D that can be broadly enabling rather than tied to one specific experiment.

A key feature of this opportunity is that it allows and encourages proposals that span more than one of the six subprograms, as long as the application clearly explains the goals in each area and how the combined effort advances HEP mission needs and priorities. It also explicitly encourages "transitional" research, meaning cases where a principal investigator or team is shifting from one HEP thrust area to another and needs support to build a credible new line of work. For multi-program or transitional proposals, DOE encourages submission of a single, integrated application that describes the full research plan, includes a level-of-effort table showing how time is divided across subprograms, and provides a timeline for any planned transition so reviewers can judge the overall scope, fit, and impact.

The FOA also signals that multi-institution teams are welcome, especially when collaboration across organizations enables a larger and more capable group to tackle bigger scientific questions than a single institution could address alone. At the same time, DOE is careful to note that currently supported activities are not guaranteed future support, reflecting the reality that research directions in high energy physics can shift as results emerge and new opportunities arise. Applicants are pointed to the HEP program website and the HEP research page for more detailed descriptions of the subprogram areas and for context on currently supported experiments, facilities, and research thrusts.

Equally important are the boundaries of what this FOA will not fund. Applications that are not in direct support of HEP research are discouraged from being submitted here, with examples including conferences, experimental operations, and project-specific conceptual R and D, design, or fabrication aimed at a particular project. Those kinds of activities are generally directed instead to the broader annual Office of Science FOA or other relevant DOE funding announcements on Grants.gov. The FOA also clarifies routing for detector and accelerator work: generic detector R and D should be submitted under the Detector R and D subprogram, while physics studies and pre-conceptual R and D aimed at a specific experiment should be submitted under the relevant experimental frontier. Accelerator R and D aimed primarily at non-HEP accelerator applications is stated to be out of scope for this FOA, with applicants directed to the DOE Office of Science Engineering and Technology Office for those topics.

From an administrative standpoint, this is a discretionary grant opportunity under CFDA 81.049, with eligibility listed as unrestricted (open to any entity type, subject to any additional clarifications in the full text). The posting date is November 17, 2020, with an original closing date of January 26, 2021. DOE anticipated around 100 awards, and the listed award ceiling is up to $15,000,000, indicating that while many awards may be smaller research grants, the program also contemplates the possibility of relatively large efforts where justified by scope and significance. The program is run by the DOE Office of Science, High Energy Physics program, and applicants are encouraged to contact the listed technical points of contact to discuss alignment with the frontiers and crosscutting areas before submitting.

• The Department of Energy - Office of Science, Office of Science in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "FY2021 Research Opportunities in High Energy Physics" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 81.049.
• This funding opportunity was created on Nov 17, 2020.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jan 26, 2021. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $15,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 100 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility.

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