Physics of Living Systems — U.S. National Science Foundation funding opportunity
U.S. National Science Foundation · Federal agency

Physics of Living Systems

The program "Physics of Living Systems" (PoLS) in the Physics Division at the National Science Foundation targets theoretical and experimental research exploring the most fundamental physical processes that living system...

66
match
Deadline Fixed Location Alabama Type grant Level Federal Open posted May 13, 2011
✦ AI Summary
  • Who can apply: Federal-level applicants (see eligibility for details).
  • Funding amount: total funding pool ~$2,000,000.
  • Issued by: U.S. National Science Foundation.
How was this generated?

The “key facts” mode pulls structured fields directly from the official source posting (amount, deadline, eligibility tags). The AI mode adds a short plain-English narrative on top, generated from the same source. Always verify with the agency before applying.

AI-generated. Always verify with the official source.

Deadline
Fixed
Total pool
$2M

About this opportunity

The program "Physics of Living Systems" (PoLS) in the Physics Division at the National Science Foundation targets theoretical and experimental research exploring the most fundamental physical processes that living systems utilize to perform their functions in dynamic and diverse environments. The focus should be on understanding basic physical principles that underlie biological function. Proposals that use physics only as a tool to study biological questions are of low priority.PoLS encourages research that emphasizes the physical principles of organization and function of living systems, including the exploration of artificial life forms. While the problems under study must be important to advancing our understanding of the living world in a quantitative way, particular emphasis will be placed on those projects in which lessons learned from the biological application also expand the intellectual range of physics. Awards will cover a broad spectrum of physics approaches in biology, ranging from the physical principles and mechanisms at the single cell level such as cellular organization ( cytoskeleton), energy metabolism, gene regulation and intracellular and intercellular communication, to collective behavior and evolution of complexity in life forms and living populations of organisms. This systems approach in physics has been very successful in understanding inanimate systems, and has the potential to bring deep understanding of the world of animated, replicating systems, through falsifiable phenomenological theories. The program funds individual investigators, although collaborative proposals between physicists and biological researchers are welcome. Proposals with potential societal impact such as renewable energy and human health are good examples of strong broader impact and are of interest to the program.

Funding agency

Tags

Want help applying?

Our specialists will check your eligibility, prepare the application, and walk you through every step — for free. Create a free account →

Who can apply

Eligibility details aren't on file yet — check the agency source link in the Documents tab for the latest rules.

Geographic eligibility

  • Alabama
  • Alaska
  • Arizona
  • Arkansas
  • California
  • Colorado
  • Connecticut
  • Delaware
  • Florida
  • Georgia
  • Hawaii
  • Idaho
  • Illinois
  • Indiana
  • Iowa
  • Kansas
  • Kentucky
  • Louisiana
  • Maine
  • Maryland
  • Massachusetts
  • Michigan
  • Minnesota
  • Mississippi
  • Missouri
  • Montana
  • Nebraska
  • Nevada
  • New Hampshire
  • New Jersey
  • New Mexico
  • New York
  • North Carolina
  • North Dakota
  • Ohio
  • Oklahoma
  • Oregon
  • Pennsylvania
  • Rhode Island
  • South Carolina
  • South Dakota
  • Tennessee
  • Texas
  • Utah
  • Vermont
  • Virginia
  • Washington
  • West Virginia
  • Wisconsin
  • Wyoming
  • District of Columbia

How to apply

We don't have application instructions on file yet — head straight to the official source.

Apply on agency site
Tip from our team:

Read the agency's eligibility checklist before you start — it's almost always shorter than the full NOFO and will tell you in 90 seconds whether to keep going.

Need help getting in touch with the right agency contact?

Create a free account and our specialists will guide you through the application end-to-end.

Source documents

View on agency site
Canonical NOFO, application packet, and forms
No supplemental documents yet.

Direct downloads (NOFO PDFs, application forms, FAQs) will appear here once our team attaches them. For now, the agency site has the canonical packet.

Citation details

Source systemgrants.gov
Source ID93900
PostedMay 13, 2011

Frequently asked questions

No FAQs yet.

Have a question about this fund? Sign in to open a ticket about this fund.