NSF-UKRI/EPSRC Lead Agency Opportunity on Understanding and Exploiting Quantum Information in Chemical Systems

NSF-UKRI/EPSRC Lead Agency Opportunity on Understanding and Exploiting Quantum Information in Chemical Systems is sponsored by U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF). This is a collaborative opportunity between NSF and UKRI/EPSRC focusing on research that understands and exploits quantum information in chemical systems.

NSF-UKRI/EPSRC Lead Agency Opportunity on Understanding and Exploiting Quantum Information in Chemical Systems | NSF - U.S. National Science Foundation NSF's implementation of the revised 2 CFR NSF Financial Assistance awards (grants and cooperative agreements) made on or after October 1, 2024, will be subject to the applicable set of award conditions, dated October 1, 2024, available on the NSF website .

These terms and conditions are consistent with the revised guidance specified in the OMB Guidance for Federal Financial Assistance published in the Federal Register on April 22, 2024.

Important information for proposers All proposals must be submitted in accordance with the requirements specified in this funding opportunity and in the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) that is in effect for the relevant due date to which the proposal is being submitted. It is the responsibility of the proposer to ensure that the proposal meets these requirements.

Submitting a proposal prior to a specified deadline does not negate this requirement.

Updates to NSF Research Security Policies On July 10, 2025, NSF issued an Important Notice providing updates to the agency's research security policies, including a research security training requirement, Malign Foreign Talent Recruitment Program annual certification requirement, prohibition on Confucius institutes and an updated FFDR reporting and submission timeline.

NSF-UKRI/EPSRC Lead Agency Opportunity on Understanding and Exploiting Quantum Information in Chemical Systems Invites collaborative U.S.-U.K. research proposals focused on advancing quantum information science in chemical systems, promoting transatlantic partnerships by allowing a single submission and merit review through a lead agency opportunity.

Invites collaborative U.S.-U.K. research proposals focused on advancing quantum information science in chemical systems, promoting transatlantic partnerships by allowing a single submission and merit review through a lead agency opportunity. The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) have a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Research Cooperation.

The NSF-UKRI MOU provides an overarching framework to encourage collaboration between U.S. and U.K. research communities and sets out the principles by which jointly supported activities might be developed. The MOU provides for a lead agency opportunity whereby a single collaborative proposal between U.S. and U.K. researchers may be submitted to either NSF or UKRI, as described in this Dear Colleague Letter (DCL): NSF 23-128 .

Under this Lead Agency Opportunity DCL and through the DCL NSF 24-134 , the NSF Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences Division of Chemistry (NSF/MPS/CHE) and UKRI’s Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (UKRI/EPSRC) initiated a joint funding call focusing on Quantum Information in Chemical Systems in FY 2025 where UKRI/EPSRC served as the lead agency. The list of joint awards can be found here .

NSF will serve as the lead agency for all proposals in the current round of competition, FY 2026 (October 2025-September 2026), as described in this DCL. The goal of this activity is to promote transatlantic collaborative research by reducing some of the barriers that researchers may encounter in collaborative work.

The lead agency opportunity allows U.S. and U.K. researchers to submit a single proposal describing a project involving both U.S. and U.K. groups. The proposal will undergo a single merit review process by the lead agency, on behalf of both NSF/MPS/CHE and UKRI/EPSRC.

Proposers must provide a clear rationale for the need for a U.S.-U.K. collaboration, including a description of the unique expertise and synergy that the collaborating groups will bring to the project. In FY 2026, proposals in response to this lead agency opportunity should be submitted to the NSF.

They will be reviewed by NSF and funding recommendations will be based on both success in merit review and the availability of funds from NSF/MPS/CHE and UKRI/EPSRC. Only proposals relevant to the following research area and agency programs are eligible for submission under this lead agency opportunity in FY 2026.

Quantum Information Science (QIS) in Chemistry The fundamental understanding and the application of QIS concepts represent a significant scientific challenge for the chemistry community. Meeting this challenge will require the community to draw upon its collective expertise in synthesis, measurement, and theory.

With chemistry's vast ability in molecular design, there is the potential to design novel molecular systems that manifest desired quantum behavior for use in quantum computing, quantum sensing, and quantum communications.

To this end, NSF/MPS/CHE and UKRI/EPSRC aim to strengthen the research on QIS in the context of chemical systems by fostering collaborations and synergies between research teams in the U.K. and in the U.S. This opportunity is for U.S.-U.K. collaborative research proposals that advance our fundamental understanding of QIS concepts in the context of chemical systems, or that leverage QIS concepts to advance chemistry research.

(See the report for the U.S.-U.K. bilateral workshop on the “The Quantum Information Science Challenge for Chemistry. ”) Research topics include but are not limited to these examples: Developing new ways of creating, observing, and quantifying QIS phenomena (e.g., quantum correlations, coherence, entanglement) in electronic, vibrational, and/or rotational quantum states of molecular systems.

Studying the role of QIS phenomena (e.g., quantum correlations, coherence, entanglement) in chemical reactions or exploiting those phenomena in the exploration of new reaction pathways. Developing new quantum sensors that can enhance our ability to monitor chemical systems and understand mechanisms.

Developing new approaches that exploit quantum phenomena to visualize chemical systems at very short length scales and/or very short time scales. Proposals that include close, synergistic experimental and theoretical components are encouraged. Proposals that leverage artificial intelligence (AI) methods in the design/synthesis of the target systems, the design of experimental protocols, and/or the data analysis are also encouraged.

Proposal Preparation and Submission Proposers must follow the 2-stage application process described in NSF 23-128 . Proposers must first submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) by emailing the completed EOI form to che-epsrc@nsf. gov .

Only applicants who have submitted a qualified EOI, will be invited for full proposal submission. NSF is the lead agency for FY2026. Full proposals must be prepared and submitted according to the instructions provided in NSF 23-128 .

Special instructions associated with submission of NSF-UKRI/EPSRC QIS Chemistry EOIs: EOIs that are inappropriate for funding by NSF/MPS/CHE or UKRI/EPSRC or are not responsive to this funding opportunity will not be invited for full submission, including but not limited to materials- or engineering-focused projects that are more appropriate for programs in the NSF Division of Materials Research or Engineering Directorate.

The U.K. investigators must be eligible to submit proposals to UKRI/EPSRC as outlined in https://www. ukri. org/publications/organisation-eligibility/research-organisations-eligible-for-ukri-funding/ .

The EOI’s proposed project title should be prefaced with “MPS/CHE-EPSRC:” to signify that NSF is the lead agency. In addition to the peer review, funding decision, and post-award considerations outlined in NSF 23-128 , the following also apply: Proposals submitted in FY26 will be reviewed in competition with other proposals received in response to this DCL.

Proposals will be reviewed in accordance with the lead agency's review criteria, in this case, NSF's. The NSF merit review criteria are described in the PAPPG . The lead agency may share proposal documents with the non-lead agency via secure file transfer, according to the lead agency’s confidentiality regulations.

Only unattributed reviews and panel summaries will be shared between NSF/MPS/CHE and UKRI/EPSRC. If a proposal is recommended for funding, the U.S. organization(s) will be supported by NSF/MPS/CHE, and the U.K. organization(s) will be supported by UKRI/EPSRC. NSF/MPS/CHE and UKRI/EPSRC staff will review budgets to ensure that there are no overlaps or duplications in funding.

Overlaps or duplications may lead to reduced funding or no award at all. EOI applications will be evaluated by NSF and UKRI/EPSRC program staff on a rolling basis. Once the invitation is extended, the proposer will have up to 90 days to submit a full proposal, but full proposals should be submitted before March 15, 2026, to receive full consideration.

Proposals submitted without an invitation will be returned without review. General questions should be directed to: Specific programmatic inquiries should be directed to: John Papanikolas, jpapanik@nsf. gov Richard Dawes, rdawes@nsf.

gov Colby Foss, cfoss@nsf. gov General questions should be directed to: International@epsrc. ukri.

org Specific programmatic inquiries should be directed to: Daniel Smith, Daniel. Smith@epsrc. ukri.

org Sandra Lee, Sandra. Lee@epsrc. ukri.

org David Berkowitz, Assistant Director Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences Division of Chemistry (MPS/CHE)