NSF MRI grants: recently funded projects and award sizes

Project length

Up to 3 years for acquisition, up to 5 for development

Tracks

Set by the size of the request

Limits

A limited number of proposals per institution per competition

Cost sharing

Rules depend on institution type and are set in the solicitation

Limits change between notices: the notice you apply to is what counts.

No NSF MRI notices are open on Grants.gov right now. See all open NSF funding.

• MRI: Track 1 Acquisition of a NanoRaman and Scanning Probe Microscopy Hybrid System for Materials Characterization

  Placidus B Amama · Kansas State University, KS · ENG · $1M · Aug 31, 2026

  This Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) award supports the purchase of a state-of-the-art Raman technology (NanoRaman) integrated with scanning probe microscopy, tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy, photoluminescence spectroscopy, and tip-enhanced photoluminescence spectroscopy to advance nanotechnology research,…

• MRI: Track 1 Acquisition of a Centrifuge Shaker System for Multi-Hazard Resilience Research and Training

  Shideh Dashti · University of Colorado at Boulder, CO · ENG · $1.1M · Aug 20, 2026

  This Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) project enables the acquisition of a cutting-edge geotechnical testing facility at the University of Colorado Boulder to advance the resilience of critical infrastructure against natural disasters. Modern lifelines across the country face compounding threats from severe…

• MRI: Track 1: Development of a Computational System for Agricultural Structural Modeling and Analysis

  Abigail Stylianou · Saint Louis University, MO · CSE · $1.2M · Aug 18, 2026

  This project will build a shared research instrument that helps plant scientists turn field images into useful measurements of plant structure. Researchers can now collect large amounts of crop imagery from drones, ground sensors, and robotic platforms, but it is still difficult to turn those images into detailed…

• MRI: Track 1 Acquisition of an X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy Platform for Surface Measurements in Extreme and Complex Environments

  Michael W Keller · University of Tulsa, OK · ENG · $1.2M · Aug 17, 2026

  This Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) award will support the acquisition of a state-of-the-art surface analysis instrument that allows scientists to precisely analyze the chemical composition of material surfaces, enabling breakthroughs across energy, manufacturing, aerospace, and biotechnology. Many of today’s…

• MRI: Track 1 Acquisition of a Variable Pressure Scanning Electron Microscope for Nano and Micro-scale Imaging, Elemental Analysis and Materials Science at Idaho State University

  John V Dudgeon · Idaho State University, ID · O/D · $745K · Aug 14, 2026

  Recent advances in microanalysis for earth, historical, and forensic sciences recognize that the characteristics of materials observed with the naked eye have corresponding structural features at micro and nano scales of observation that fuel novel research questions, support applied science that tackles real-world…

• MRI: Track 1: A new State of the Art Electron Probe Microanalyzer

  Philip M Piccoli · University of Maryland, College Park, MD · GEO · $1.4M · Aug 13, 2026

  The new electron microprobe (EPMA) will have state-of-the-art capabilities. It will analyze a range of geological, engineering, and other materials. It will also enable scientific discoveries across disciplines. These include the distribution of strategic and critical minerals within the Earth, and techniques to…

• NSF: MRI: Track 2: SUMMIT: Development of a Secure and Resilient Multi-site Smart Grid Testbed for Multidisciplinary Research and Training

  Vinod M Vokkarane · University of Massachusetts Lowell, MA · CSE · $2M · Aug 12, 2026

  The electric power grid is one of the most important systems in modern life. It is changing fast as multiple generation sources are quickly added while computers and networks are taking over its control. These changes make the grid smarter, but they also open new ways for it to fail or be attacked. Studying how to…

• MRI: Track 2 Acquisition of X-ray Microscopy System for in situ Measurements of Submicrometer-scale Features Across Diverse Materials

  Chelsea M Heveran · Montana State University, MT · ENG · $3M · Aug 11, 2026

  This Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) award will allow Montana State University (MSU) to acquire a high-resolution, three dimensional (3D) X-ray microscope to address pressing challenges in water resources, infrastructure, biomaterials, agriculture, energy, and human health. This instrument will serve as a…

• MRI: Track 1 Acquisition of a Microfocused Dual-Source X-ray Diffraction System

  Joshua S Figueroa · University of California-San Diego, CA · MPS · $646K · Aug 11, 2026

  This award supports the acquisition of a microfocused dual-source X-ray diffractometer to facilitate research in the areas of synthetic organic, inorganic, and organometallic chemistry, catalysis, advanced materials synthesis and fabrication, medicinal chemistry, and structural biology. This X-ray diffractometer…

• MRI: Track 1 Acquisition of a State-of-the-Art 400 MHz NMR Spectrometer to Enhance Research and Education in South Texas

  Mark A Olson · Texas A&M University Corpus Christi, TX · MPS · $547K · Aug 11, 2026

  This award supports the acquisition of a 400 MHz nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometer and a helium recovery and storage unit. This instrument strengthens the research and education in the South Texas Gulf Coast region. In general, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy is a powerful method for identifying…

• MRI: Track 2: Next Generation Electronics for KamLAND2-Zen

  Christopher Grant · Trustees of Boston University, MA · MPS · $2.7M · Aug 11, 2026

  Understanding why the Universe is made almost entirely of matter, rather than equal amounts of matter and antimatter, remains one of the most important unanswered questions in modern physics. Neutrinos may hold the key to this mystery through an extremely rare nuclear process known as neutrinoless double-beta decay.…

• MRI: Track 1: Development of a Fast Multi-Contrast High-Resolution Optical Pump-Probe Microscope

  Martin Fischer · Duke University, NC · MPS · $1.4M · Aug 11, 2026

  Non-technical description: The goal of this project is the development of a powerful optical microscope to study the structure and function of a wide range of materials. For example, to investigate effects such as energy conversion in solar cells, the microscope needs to be able to record energy signatures on a…

• MRI: Track 1 Development of a Novel Radio Telescope Designed to Search for Dark Matter

  Bradley R Johnson · University of Virginia Main Campus, VA · MPS · $1.4M · Aug 11, 2026

  This award supports the construction and deployment of a 5-m radio telescope that will be used to search for dark matter particles that comprise almost a third of the matter+energy content of the universe. One compelling candidate dark-matter particle is the axion. Axions should have rare but unavoidable feeble…

• MRI: Track 2 Development of a Multi-Sensor Data Acquisition Remote Tower System to Enable Research for Safe and Secure Airspace Management

  Benjamin Kwasa · Kent State University, OH · ENG · $2.6M · Aug 5, 2026

  This Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) award supports the development of an integrated airspace sensing and analysis system at the Kent State University Airport and the Kent State University College of Aeronautics and Engineering training facilities. The national airspace is becoming increasingly complex as crewed…

• MRI: Track 1 Acquisition of a CPAD X-ray Diffractometer for Chemical and Biochemical Research and Education

  Joseph M Tanski · Vassar College, NY · MPS · $450K · Jul 30, 2026

  This award supports the acquisition of an X-ray diffractometer which facilitates research in several areas of chemistry and biochemistry, and in molecular structural science in general. Specifically, the instrument enables chemical and biochemical crystallography - the determination of the identity and…

1. 1University of California-Santa Barbara, CA2
2. 2Duke University, NC1
3. 3Idaho State University, ID1
4. 4Kansas State University, KS1
5. 5Kent State University, OH1
6. 6Montana State University, MT1
7. 7North Dakota State University Fargo, ND1
8. 8Saint Louis University, MO1
9. 9Smithsonian Institution Astrophysical Observatory, MA1
10. 10Stanford University, CA1

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