[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 248 (Tuesday, December 24, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67779-67780]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-32647]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY


Notice of Restricted Eligibility Support of Fossil Resource 
Utilization Research by Historically Black Colleges and Universities 
and Other Minority Institutions

AGENCY: U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Federal Energy Technology 
Center (FETC).

ACTION: Notice of restricted eligibility.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Energy announces that it intends to conduct 
a competitive Program Solicitation and award financial assistance 
(grants) to U.S. Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Other 
Minority Institutions in support of innovative research and development 
of advanced concepts pertinent to fossil resource conversion and 
utilization. Applications will be subjected to a technical merit review 
by a DOE technical panel, and awards will be made to a limited number 
of applicants on the basis of the scientific merit of the application, 
application of relevant program policy factors, and the availability of 
funds. Collaboration with private industry is encouraged.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. John R. Columbia, U.S. Department 
of Energy, Federal Energy Technology Center, Acquisition and Assistance 
Division, P.O. Box 10940, MS 921-143, Pittsburgh, PA 15236-0940, 
Telephone: (412) 892-6219, FAX: (412) 892-6216. The solicitation 
(created in Word Perfect 5.2 for Windows) will be released on DOE's 
PETC World Wide Web Server Internet System (http://www.petc.doe.gov/
business) on or about January 3, 1997. If applicants do not have 
internet capability or experience difficulty accessing the solicitation 
files, a 3.5'' double-sided/high density diskette copy of the 
solicitation will be available, upon receipt of a written request 
submitted via facsimile (fax) at (412) 892-6216. No

[[Page 67780]]

telephone requests will be honored for request of disks.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Title of Solicitation

    ``Support of Fossil Resource Utilization Research by Historically 
Black Colleges and Universities and Other Minority Institutions''

Objectives

    Through Program Solicitation No. DE-PS22-97PC97201, the Department 
of Energy seeks applications from Historically Black Colleges and 
Universities (HBCUs) and Other Minority Institutions (OMIs) and HBCU/
OMI-affiliated research institutes for innovative research and 
development of advanced concepts pertinent to fossil resource 
conversion and utilization. The resultant grants are intended to 
maintain and upgrade educational, training, and research capabilities 
of our HBCU/OMIs in the fields of science and technology related to 
fossil energy resources; to foster private sector participation, 
collaboration, and interaction with HBCU/OMIs; and to provide for the 
exchange of technical information and to raise the overall level of 
HBCU/OMI competitiveness with other institutions in the field of fossil 
energy research and development. Thus, the establishment of linkages 
between the HBCU/OMI and private sector fossil energy community is 
critical to the success of this program, and consistent with the 
Nation's goal of ensuring a future supply of fossil fuel scientists and 
engineers from a previously under-utilized resource.

Eligibility

    Eligibility for participation in this Program Solicitation is 
restricted to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and 
Other Minority Institutions (OMIs) recognized by the Office for Civil 
Rights (OCR), U.S. Department of Education, and identified on the OCR's 
United States Department of Education U.S. Accredited Postsecondary 
Minority Institutions list in effect on the closing date of the program 
solicitation. Applications submitted by any institution not on OCR's 
aforementioned list are ineligible for technical evaluation and award. 
For information regarding the qualification criteria and process of 
becoming recognized by the Education Department's Office for Civil 
Rights as a ``Minority Institution'', institutions should contact the 
Education Department directly at the following address: Mr. Peter A. 
McCabe, Office for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Education, 
Washington, DC 20202, Telephone (202) 205-9567.

    Note: The Education Department should only be contacted on 
matters related to Institutional status; questions regarding the 
Program Solicitation should be directed to Mr. Columbia at DOE by 
telefacsimile on (412) 892-6216.

    Applications from HBCU/OMI-affiliated research institutes must be 
submitted through the college or university with which they are 
affiliated. The university (not the university-affiliated research 
institute) will be the recipient of any resultant DOE grant award.
    Applications submitted in response to the solicitation must meet 
the following two criteria: The Principal Investigator or a Co-
Principal Investigator must be a teaching professor at the submitting 
university listed in the application; and at least one student 
registered at the university is to be compensated for work performed in 
the conduct of research proposed in the application. Although it is not 
required as an application qualification criterion, collaboration with 
the private sector is encouraged, and applications proposing private 
sector collaboration may be evaluated more favorably. The solicitation 
will contain a complete description of the technical evaluation factors 
and relative importance of each factor. Collaboration by the private 
sector with the HBCU/OMI may be in the form of cash cost sharing, 
consultation, HBCU/OMI access to industrial facilities or equipment, 
experimental data and/or equipment not available at the university, or 
as a subgrantee/subcontractor to the HBCU/OMI.

Areas of Interest

    In order to develop and sustain a national program of HBCU/OMI 
research in advanced and fundamental fossil fuels studies, the 
Department is interested in innovative research and development of 
advance concepts pertinent to fossil fuel conversion and utilization 
limited to the following seven (7) technical topics:

Topic 1--Advanced Environmental Control Technology for Coal
Topic 2--Advanced Coal Utilization
Topic 3--Coal Liquefaction Technology
Topic 4--Heavy Oil Upgrading and Processing
Topic 5--Advanced Environmental and Recovery Technologies for Oil
Topic 6--Natural Gas Supply
Topic 7--Faculty/Student Exploratory Grants

    Note: This is the only topic (Topic seven (7)) under this 
Program Solicitation wherein the inclusion or exclusion of private 
sector collaboration will not affect the technical evaluation of the 
application.

Awards

    DOE anticipates issuing financial assistance (grants) for each 
project. DOE reserves the right to support or not support any or all 
applications received in whole or in part, and to determine how many 
awards may be made through the solicitation subject to funds available 
in this fiscal year. The limitation on the maximum DOE funding for each 
selected grant to be awarded under this Program Solicitation is as 
follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                           Maximum award
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Topics 1-6:                                                             
  To 12 months grant duration...........................      $80,000.00
  13-24 months grant duration...........................      140,000.00
  25-36 months grant duration...........................      200,000.00
Topic 7:                                                                
  To 12 months grant duration...........................       10,000.00
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    Approximately $780,000.00 is planned for this solicitation. The 
total should provide support for approximately four to six R&D 
application selections (Topics 1-6), and approximately two to four 
faculty/student exploratory application selections (Topic 7).

Solicitation Release Date

    The Program Solicitation is expected to be ready for release on or 
about January 3, 1997. Applications must be prepared and submitted in 
accordance with the instructions and forms contained in the Program 
Solicitation. To be eligible, applications must be submitted to the 
designated DOE office by the closing date specified in the Program 
Solicitation (anticipated to be on or about February 26, 1997).
Dale A. Siciliano,
Contracting Officer, Acquisition and Assistance Division.
[FR Doc. 96-32647 Filed 12-23-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P