The U.S. National Science Foundation is an independent federal agency that supports science and engineering in all 50 states and U.S. territories. NSF was established in 1950 by Congress to promote the progress of science, advance the national health, prosperity and welfare, and secure the national defense.
The grant program focuses on supporting physics research in numerous specialized areas such as Plasma Physics, Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics, Elementary Particle Physics, Gravitational Physics, Nuclear Physics, and Quantum Information Science, among others. It encourages proposals that contribute to the advancement of these fields while emphasizing the importance of increasing diversity within the physics community. The Division encourages submitting a single proposal for potential co-review to strengthen interdisciplinary and cross-disciplinary research.