Issue: ORN-2026-16
NJIT Research Newsletter includes recent awards, and announcements of research related seminars, webinars, national and federal research news related to research funding, and Grant Opportunity Alerts (with links to sections). The Newsletter is posted on the NJIT Research Website https://research.njit.edu/funding-opportunities.
Special Announcements
NIH Announces System Enforcement of Common Forms and End of Leniency Period
On April 21, 2026, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) released Notice NOT-OD-26-079, announcing the end of the agency’s leniency period regarding use of the Common Forms for Biographical Sketch, Current and Pending (Other) Support, and NIH Biographical Sketch Supplement.
Beginning May 8, 2026, all NIH applications and related submissions, including Just-in-Time (JIT), progress reports, and prior approval requests, must use the new Common Forms via SciENcv. The previously announced “leniency period” will end on May 7, 2026, after which non-compliant submissions will not be accepted.
The Notice also includes the announcement that, effective April 22, 2026, NIH has restored the Research Security Training (RST) certification language to the Common Forms, requiring that senior/key personnel certify that they have completed RST that meets the requirements specified in Item 2 of Important Notice No. 149 within 12 months prior to proposal submission.
NIH notes that if senior/key personnel already certified their Common Forms, prior to the addition of this text on April 22, 2026, for applications due on or after May 25, 2026:
- For applications that have yet been submitted, senior/key personnel should regenerate their Common Form PDFs prior to submission.
- For applications that been submitted, senior/key personnel do not need to resubmit with updated Common Forms, as NIH staff will collect these updated documents at JIT for applications selected for potential funding.
NIH will not hold senior/key personnel accountable for the RST-related portion of the certification statement for applications that include Common Forms for due dates on or before May 24, 2026.
The Notice also includes:
- The announcement that SciENcv has been updated to allow users to enter zero person months effort for Proposals/Active Projects and In-Kind Contributions on the Current and Pending (Other) Support Form
- A reminder for senior/key personnel to link their ORCID to their SciENcv and eRA Commons accounts
- A reminder that the RPPR, JIT, and Prior Approval (PA) eRA modules have been updated to allow Common Form attachments at an individual person-level, so documents for multiple individuals no longer have to be compiled and flattened as a single PDF.
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Upcoming Webinar: Multiple NSF Directorates Invite Research Security-Related Proposals
The National Science Foundation (NSF) will be holding a webinar on April 29, 2026, from 4-5:30pm EST, highlighting and differentiating the range of research security funding opportunities from multiple NSF directorates appropriate for those involved in research security policy, implementation, administration, and research. All organization types, including those in EPSCoR jurisdictions, are encouraged to attend. The following NSF programs will participate:
- Research on Research Security (RoRS)
- Growing Research Access for Nationally Transformative Economic Development (GRANTED): Dear Colleague Letter: Growing Research Compliance Support and Service Infrastructure for Nationally Transformative Economic Development (GRANTED DCL)
- Law & Science (LS)
- Security and Preparedness (SAP)
- Security, Privacy, and Trust in Cyberspace (SaTC 2.0)
- Science of Science: Discovery, Communication and Impact (SoS:DCI)
- Cybersecurity Innovation for Cyberinfrastructure (CICI)
Grant Opportunity Alerts
NSF: Engineering Biological and Biomedical Systems; Electronic, Photonic, Magnetic, and Quantum Devices (EPMQD); Energy, Power, Control, and Learning (EPCL); Circuits and Systems for Communications and Sensing (CSCS); Integrated Data Systems & Services (IDSS)
NIH: Forecast: NIH Specialized Center Grant (Parent P50)
Department of Defense/US Army/DARPA/ONR: Emerging Weapons and Munitions Systems and Soldier Lethality Related Technologies
Department of Energy: Critical Minerals and Materials Accelerator Notice of Funding Opportunity
NASA: ROSES25: A.11 Early Career Investigator Program in Earth Science; ROSES25: F.5 Future Investigators in NASA Earth and Space Science and Technology; A.3 NASA ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar Mission Data, Applications, Research, and Technology Team
Recent Research Grant and Contract Awards
In the News
Tech bills of the week: Creating data privacy standards; Securing critical infrastructure from drones; and more: A group of Republican lawmakers announced the introduction of two new data privacy bills on April 22: the SECURE Data Act and the GUARD Financial Data Act. Top Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the House Financial Services Committee — led by Reps. Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., and French Hill, R-Ark., respectively — teamed up to create and introduce the proposals. Both measures focus on the same six pillars: data minimization, data access rights, data deletion rights, sensitive data, national standards and avoiding dual regulation. The majority of these pillars give consumers control over how their data is collected and shared between institutions. It also defines sensitive data and mandates that controllers of that data take on more responsibility to inform consumers as to why and how their data is being collected and provide opt-out options.
Protecting critical infrastructure from drones
Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., introduced legislation on Thursday that would allow critical infrastructure operators to better guard against drone incursions, including enabling them to use kinetic solutions to bring down rogue aerial systems.
Federal action against biosecurity threats
Sens. Tim Kaine, D-Va., and Ted Budd, R-N.C., both on the Senate Armed Services Committee, introduced legislation on Tuesday to protect against biological threats at a national security level.
The Engineering Biology Readiness Act comes as advanced generative artificial intelligence is projected to have a major impact on scientific research and discovery. It seeks to renew requirements for a National Biodefense Strategy and creates an interagency coordination effort to offer recommendations to mitigate the risks associated with frontier biological research. More information is posted on the NextGov website.
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House lawmakers introduce quantum initiative reauthorization: House lawmakers introduced their version of the National Quantum Initiative Reauthorization Act on Thursday, which focuses on developing and advancing quantum information sciences and technology applications. Led by Rep. Randy Weber, R-Texas, and cosponsored by Reps. Brian Babin, R-Texas, and Jay Obernolte, R-Calif., the bill’s agenda is coordinated through the National Science and Technology Council’s Subcommittee on Quantum Information Science, which steers federal agencies to identify use cases for quantum information technologies as well as hurdles to development and scaling. The bill also reinstates the National Quantum Advisory Committee, a provision included in the original NQIA as well as in the Senate version of the reauthorization. It also supports the creation of international and private sector partnerships. More information is posted on the NextGov website.
Webinars and Events
Research Grant Opportunities:
National Science Foundation
National Institutes of Health
Department of Defense
Department of Energy
NASA
Proposal Submission and Streamlyne Information
The NJIT Proposal Submission Guidelines and Policy provides the expected institutional timeline for proposal submission. Streamlyne User Manuals are posted on https://research.njit.edu/streamlyne. For contact information on proposal submission, pre-award services and post-award grant management, please visit research website https://research.njit.edu/researchers and https://research.njit.edu/contact.