[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 27 (Thursday, February 8, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9562-9563]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-3314]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY


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

AGENCY: National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), U.S. Department 
of Energy (DOE).

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: Ms. Cynthia Y. Mitchell, 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: 412-386-4862, 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 February 2, 2001. 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 Ms. 
Mitchell. 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-PS26-01NT40950, 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 a 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.

[[Page 9563]]

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 Ms. Mitchell 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 nine (9) 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--Infrastructure Reliability for Natural Gas
    Topic 8--Fuel Cells
    Topic 9--Facility/Student Exploratory Research Training Grants

    Note: Technical Topic No. 9, 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:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                Maximum
                                                                 award
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Topics 1-8:
    0-12 months grant duration...............................    $85,000
    13-24 months grant duration..............................    150,000
    25-36 months grant duration..............................    200,000
Topic 9:
    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 1-8), and approximately two to twelve 
faculty/student exploratory research training application selections 
(Topic 9).
    Solicitation Release Date: The Program Solicitation is expected to 
be ready for release on or about February 2, 2001. 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 March 20, 2001 at 5:00 PM Eastern Standard Time).

    Issued in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on January 30, 2001.
William R. Mundorf,
Contracting Officer, Acquisition and Assistance Division.
[FR Doc. 01-3314 Filed 2-7-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-U