[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 8 (Wednesday, January 12, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1854-1855]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-748]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Notice of Restricted Eligiblity Support of Advanced Fossil
Resource Utilization Research by Historically Black Colleges and
Universities and Other Minority Institutions
AGENCY: U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), National Energy Technology
Laboratory (NETL).
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 (HBCU)
and Other Minority Institutions (OMI) in support of innovative research
and development of advanced concepts pertinent to fossil resource
conversion and utilization. Applications will be subjected to a review
by a DOE technical panel, and awards will be made to a select number of
applicants based on the scientific merit of the application, relevant
program policy factors, and the availability of funds. Collaboration
with private industry is encouraged.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mrs. Debra A. Duncan, U.S. Department
of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory, Acquisition and
Assistance Division, P.O. Box 10940, MS 921-107, Pittsburgh PA 15236-
0940, Telephone:
[[Page 1855]]
412-386-5700, FAX: 412-386-6137, E-mail: [email protected]. The
solicitation (available in both Word Perfect 6.1 for Windows and
Portable Document Format (PDF)) will be released on DOE's NETL World
Wide Web Server Internet System (http://www.netl.doe.gov/business/
solicit) on or about January 7, 2000. If applicants do not have
Internet capability, a 3.5'' double sided/high density diskette copy of
the solicitation will be available, upon receipt of a written request
submitted via fax or e-mail to Mrs. Duncan. No telephone requests will
be honored for request of diskettes.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title of Solicitation: ``Support of Advanced Fossil Resource
Utilization Research by Historically Black Colleges and Universities
and Other Minority Institutions.''
Objectives: Through Program Solicitation No. DE-PS26-00FT40760, the
Department of Energy seeks applications from HBCU and OMI 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/OMI in the
fields of science and technology related to fossil energy resources; to
foster private sector participation, collaboration, and interaction
with HBCU/OMI; 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 the
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 an
previously under-utilized resource.
Eligibility: Eligibility for participation in this Program
Solicitation is restricted to HBCU and OMI recognized by the Office for
Civil Rights (OCR), U.S. Department of Education, and identified on the
OCR's U.S. Department of Education list of 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 OCR 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 Mrs. Duncan at DOE.
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 a minimum of 30% of personnel time
invoiced under the grant is to pay for student assistance for each year
of the grant. 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 fuel
studies, the Department of Energy is interested in innovative research
and development of advanced concepts pertinent to fossil fuel
conversion and utilization limited to the following seven (7) technical
topics:
Topic 1--Advanced Environmental Control Technologies for Coal
Topic 2--Advanced Coal Utilization
Topic 3--Clean Fuels Technology
Topic 4--Heavy Oil Upgrading and Processing
Topic 5--Advanced Recovery, Completion/Stimulation, and Geoscience
Technologies for Oil
Topic 6--Natural Gas Supply, Storage, and Processing
Topic 7--Faculty/Student Exploratory Research Training Grants
Note: Technical Topic No. 7, Faculty/Student Exploratory
Research Training Grants, is the only topic 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 selected. DOE reserves the right to support or not
support, with or without discussions, 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:
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Maximum
award
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Topics 1-6:
Award 0-12 months grant duration......................... $85,000
13-24 months grant duration.............................. 150,000
25-36 months grant duration.............................. 200,000
Topic 7: 0-12 months grant duration........................ 20,000
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Approximately $900,000 is planned for this solicitation. The total
should provide support for four to eight research and development
application selections (Topics 1-6), and approximately two to twelve
faculty/student exploratory research training application selections
(Topic 7).
Solicitation Release Date: The Program Solicitation is expected to
be ready for release on or about January 7, 2000. Applications must be
prepared and submitted in accordance with the instructions and forms
contained in the Program Solicitation. To be eligible, applications
must be received by the designated DOE office by the closing time and
date specified in the Program Solicitation (anticipated to be on or
about February 18, 2000, at 5:00 PM Eastern Standard Time).
Issued in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on January 5, 2000.
William R. Mundorf,
Contracting Officer, Acquisition and Assistance Division.
[FR Doc. 00-748 Filed 1-11-00; 8:45 am]
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