[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 4 (Monday, January 7, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 725-726]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-283]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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), Department of 
Energy (DOE).

ACTION: Notice of restricted eligibility.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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 December 20, 2001. No 
telephone requests will be honored for solicitation copies.

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-PS26-02NT41430, 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 Ms. Mitchell at DOE.

    Applications from HBCU/OMI-affiliated research institutes must be 
submitted through the college or

[[Page 726]]

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
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    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 December 20, 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 February 1, 2002, at 5 PM 
Eastern Standard Time).

    Issued in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on December 7, 2001.
William R. Mundorf,
Contracting Officer, Acquisition and Assistance Division.
[FR Doc. 02-283 Filed 1-4-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P