The Grainger College of Engineering (GCOE) has designated funds to provide research equipment upgrades, repairs, trade-ins, and purchases of research equipment, computers, or software. The parameters of the competition are the following:
- Priority in scoring will be given to justified requests from teams of two or more GCOE faculty.
- Priority in scoring will be given for equipment upgrades, repairs, trade-ins, or crucial equipment that is obsolete and/or unsupported by the vendor.
- Priority in scoring will be given to proposals from new awardees (PI(s) who did not receive funding through previous years’ Equipment programs).
- NOTE: Individual faculty members can participate in a maximum of two proposals.
Guidelines for required matching and related maintenance agreements:
- For total requests of less than $100K, faculty participants must provide a minimum 10% match, with more significant percentage matches given priority in scoring.
- For total requests of more than $100K, faculty participants must provide any required resources over $90K.
- Associated maintenance agreements for the equipment can be included and in force for up to three years but must be counted as part of the total cost of the purchase.
Guidelines for required matching and related maintenance agreements:
- The maximum funds provided by Grainger Engineering is $90K.
- A minimum of a 10% match of the total cost must be provided by faculty participants.
- Associated maintenance agreements for the equipment can be included and in force for up to three years but must be counted as part of the total cost of the purchase.
Proposal Preparation Guidelines
- The proposal should not exceed one page, using one-inch margins, and 12 pt font.
- Proposals should adhere to formatting that is consistent with the NSF PAPPG:
- Fonts similar to Arial (min. 10 pt.) or Times New Roman (min. 11 pt.) are recommended.
- Margins, in all directions, must be at least an inch.
- Proposers are strongly encouraged to use only a standard, single-column format for the text.
- Each proposal should include the following elements in order:
- Participating faculty (tenure track or specialized) with primary departmental appointments
- Equipment upgrade, repair, trade-in, or purchase requested
- A brief description of the function of the equipment, along with a summary of the research enabled by the equipment
- A brief statement about the potential impact of the equipment and the extent to which it would help distinguish Illinois from its peer engineering institutions
- Any justification for the request, including any details regarding needed upgrades or repairs, trade-ins, or acquisition of a new capability
- A short explanation of why this equipment is not or cannot be included in an externally sponsored research proposal
- An explanation by the participating faculty of the extent to which the equipment will be accessible to other faculty upon request as a shared resource for the GCOE
- Please clearly identify the CFOP being utilized for the required matching agreement
Attached to this single-page proposal should be an unofficial or official quote from a vendor (no page restriction). Please note that the eventual purchasing process may still require the acquisition of multiple quotes from relevant vendors and that awarded funds can only be used for the specified equipment.
Proposal submission deadline and instructions
Submissions consisting of the one-page proposal plus the relevant quote should be submitted online by Wednesday, January 29th at 11:59 PM, through the OVCR Special Programs system (https://specialprograms.research.illinois.edu/). Involved faculty names must be inserted into the requested field in the portal. Proposals not providing the complete information listed above will not be considered for the competition.
Award terms
Proposals will be reviewed by a group of faculty drawn from across the College. Announcements of selected proposals may be expected around the last week of March. Funds will be available immediately and expected to be obligated or documented as in progress by at the latest May 31, 2025. Any funds remaining after the purchase will revert to the College. Any expenses over those approved in the award are the responsibility of the participating faculty. If there are Co-PIs from outside GCOE, the teams will be asked to pursue at least partial funding from outside the Grainger College of Engineering and their matching funds if the proposal is selected for an award.
For any questions, please contact L’y Feher, Program Coordinator, at feher2@illinois.edu.
Eligibility
- PIs need to be from 1 or more of the 12 identified Engineering departments (including ChBE & ABE).
- PIs need not be tenure track to submit application.
- Co-PIs from other colleges should plan to contribute to the match if selected
- For total requests of less than $100K, faculty participants must provide a minimum 10% match, with larger percentage matches given priority in scoring.
- For total requests of more than $100K, faculty participants must provide any required resources over $90K.
PI Requirements
- The PI and their unit are fully responsible for any overages if the funding request is calculated incorrectly.
- The PI is responsible for consulting with the relevant offices/agencies and meeting all requirements.
- To the best of the PI's knowledge, all the information provided in the application is correct.
Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research & Innovation