Plasma Physics

Proposals in the area of plasma physics submitted to the Division of Physics that are not governed by another solicitation (such as CAREER), should be submitted to the Division-wide solicitation: Division of Physics: Investigator-Initiated Research Projects.

The Plasma Physics program participates in multiple NSF meta-programs such as the ECosytem for Leading Innovation in Plasma Science and Engineering (ECLIPSE), Windows on the Universe: The Era of Multi-Messenger Astrophysics (WoU-MMA), and Computational and Data-enabled Science and Engineering (CDS&E). Topically appropriate proposals may also be submitted to the Plasma Physics program in response to NSF Dear Colleague Letters such as Critical Aspects of Sustainability (CAS): Innovative Solutions to Sustainable Chemistry (CAS-SC).

When permitted under an MOU between NSF and another funding agency or private foundation, NSF may share information from proposals submitted to this solicitation for consideration of joint funding, and may invite employees of such organizations to attend merit review panels as observers. MOUs of relevance to the Plasma Physics program presently exist with the Department of Energy/Office of Science, National Nuclear Security Administration, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, the US-Israel Binational Science Foundation, the Czech Science Foundation, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation), and the Swiss National Science Foundation.

Plasma Physics is a study of matter and physical systems whose intrinsic properties are governed by collective interactions of large ensembles of free charged particles. 99.9% of the visible Universe is thought to consist of plasmas. The underlying physics of the collective behavior in plasmas has applications to space physics and astrophysics, materials science, applied mathematics, fusion science, accelerator science, and many branches of engineering.

The Plasma Physics program supports research that can be categoriz