Notice2026-03164
Proposal Review Panel for Emerging Frontiers and Multidisciplinary Activities; Committee Renewal
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
February 18, 2026
Effective
February 27, 2026
Issuing agencies
National Science Foundation
Abstract
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is renewing the committee for Emerging Frontiers and Multidisciplinary Activities.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 32 (Wednesday, February 18, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 32 (Wednesday, February 18, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7540-7542]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-03164]
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NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
Proposal Review Panel for Emerging Frontiers and
Multidisciplinary Activities; Committee Renewal
AGENCY: National Science Foundation.
ACTION: Committee Management Renewal.
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SUMMARY: The National Science Foundation (NSF) is renewing the
committee for Emerging Frontiers and Multidisciplinary Activities.
DATES: NSF approves the continuation of this committee on 2/12/2026.
Effective date for renewal is February 27, 2026. For more information,
please contact Crystal Robinson, NSF, at (703) 292-8687.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Crystal Robinson, Committee Management
Officer, NSF, at (703) 292-8687, or by mail to National Science
Foundation, Randolph Building, 401 Dulany Street, Alexandria, VA 22314.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The NSF management officials having
responsibility for the advisory committee listed below have determined
that renewing this committee for another two years is necessary and in
the public interest in connection with the performance of duties
imposed upon the Director, National Science Foundation (NSF), by 42
U.S.C. 1861 et seq. This determination follows consultation with the
Committee Management Secretariat, General Services Administration.
Committee
Proposal Review Panel for Emerging Frontiers and Multidisciplinary
Activities, #34558.
Pursuant to 41 U.S.C. 102-3.60(a), to establish, renew,
reestablish, or merge a discretionary (agency discretion) advisory
committee, an agency must first consult with the General Services
Administration's Committee Management Secretariat (the Secretariat)
and, as part of the consultation, provide a written public interest
determination approved by the head of the agency to the Secretariat
with a copy to the Office of Management and Budget. In addition,
pursuant to 41 U.S.C. 102-3.35, an agency shall follow the same
[[Page 7541]]
consultation process and document in writing the same determination of
need before creating a subcommittee under a discretionary committee
that is not made up entirely of members of a parent advisory committee.
Information on the following factors for the committee is provided to
the Secretariat to demonstrate that renewing the committee is in the
public interest:
1. Annual budget: $117,500.
a. Federal personnel on a full-time equivalent (FTE) basis: 1.5
FTE.
b. Other Federal internal costs: $2,000.
c. Proposed payments to members: $108,000.
d. Proposed number of members: 270.
e. Reimbursable costs: $7,500.
2. If applicable, the total dollar value of grants expected to be
recommended during the fiscal year: $50,000,000.
3. Criteria for selecting members to ensure the committee has the
necessary.
Committee members are selected based on their scientific and
technical expertise, professional experience, and ability to provide
informed, objective advice on proposals within the scope of EFMA
activities. Membership is drawn from a broad range of disciplines to
ensure representation of the scientific areas encompassed by the
committee's review portfolio. Membership consists of approximately 270
members considering all meetings. The subject matter and volume of
proposals to be reviewed determine the number of members participating
in any given meeting. Every effort is made to ensure balanced
membership, including representation across scientific disciplines,
institutions, and geographic regions. Members are selected to provide
complementary perspectives and the depth of technical expertise
necessary to conduct thorough and credible proposal reviews. The
majority of committee members are anticipated to be comprised of
Special Government Employees (SGEs) with a small percentage of Regular
Government Employees (RGEs) when subject matter expertise requires.
4. List of all other Federal advisory committees of the agency:
84684 Advisory Committee for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships
1172 Alan T. Waterman Award Committee
13883 Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory Committee
1173 Committee on Equal Opportunities in Science and Engineering
1186 Proposal Review Panel for Astronomical Sciences
10751 Proposal Review Panel for Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences
10747 Proposal Review Panel for Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences
10743 Proposal Review Panel for Biological Infrastructure
1189 Proposal Review Panel for Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental,
and Transport Systems
1191 Proposal Review Panel for Chemistry
1194 Proposal Review Panel for Civil, Mechanical, and Manufacturing
Innovation
1207 Proposal Review Panel for Computer and Network Systems
1192 Proposal Review Panel for Computing & Communication Foundations
1185 Proposal Review Panel for Cyberinfrastructure
1569 Proposal Review Panel for Earth Sciences
1196 Proposal Review Panel for Electrical, Communications, and Cyber
Systems
44011 Proposal Review Panel for Emerging Frontiers in Biological
Sciences
173 Proposal Review Panel for Engineering Education and Centers
10744 Proposal Review Panel for Environmental Biology
1756 Proposal Review Panel for Geosciences
57 Proposal Review Panel for Graduate Education
1200 Proposal Review Panel for Information and Intelligent Systems
84685 Proposal Review Panel for Innovation and Technology Ecosystems
2469 Proposal Review Panel for Integrative Activities
10745 Proposal Review Panel for Integrative Organismal Systems
10749 Proposal Review Panel for International Science and Engineering
1203 Proposal Review Panel for Materials Research
1204 Proposal Review Panel for Mathematical Sciences
10746 Proposal Review Panel for Molecular and Cellular Biosciences
10752 Proposal Review Panel for Ocean Sciences
1208 Proposal Review Panel for Physics
1209 Proposal Review Panel for Polar Programs
59 Proposal Review Panel for Research on Learning in Formal and
Informal Settings
10748 Proposal Review Panel for Social and Economic Sciences
1766 Proposal Review Panel for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences
84683 Proposal Review Panel for Translational Impacts
1214 Proposal Review Panel for Undergraduate Education
5. Justification that the information or advice provided by the
Federal advisory committee or subcommittee is not available from
another Federal advisory committee, another Federal Government source,
or any other more cost-effective and less burdensome source.
Proposal peer review is central to NSF processes. Specific advisory
committees (i.e., review panels) are impaneled for individual programs
to directly provide the technical expertise relevant to the proposals
under review. This therefore requires distinct membership for
committees responsible for review of distinct subject areas. Notably,
the EFMA Office supports multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary
activities that encompass a wide range of engineering and scientific
areas necessitating the recruitment of committee members with unique
combinations of technical expertise.
6. If the consultation is a committee renewal, a summary of the
previous accomplishments of the committee and the reasons it needs to
continue.
Past committees have been instrumental in identifying cutting edge
topics and projects that pursue bold, innovative research that
addresses national needs, strengthens U.S. leadership and fosters
advances in new areas of fundamental or applied research, catalyzes
development of new industries or capabilities that increase the
leadership position for the country, and/or makes significant progress
towards addressing a national need or grand challenge, particularly in
current priority areas including, but not limited to, artificial
intelligence, bioengineering, quantum engineering, robotics, and
nuclear engineering. An example of a groundbreaking area identified by
the committee is Quantum research in 2016 before it became a priority
topic at NSF and subsequently a national initiative: the National
Quantum Initiative.
7. Explanation of why the committee/subcommittee is essential to
the conduct of agency business.
The ENG FACA committees are essential to the conduct of agency
business as they align with the agency's usage of the merit review
process and criteria in keeping with 42 U.S. Code Sec. 1862s, which
outlines that ``the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts
criteria are appropriate for evaluating grant proposals'' and directs
the Foundation to ``maintain the intellectual merit and broader impacts
criteria, among other specific criteria as
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appropriate, as the basis for evaluating grant proposals in the merit
review process.''
NSF's mission, as described in the 1950 NSF act, is ``to promote
the progress of science, advance national health, prosperity, and
welfare, and secure the national defense. This is achieved by investing
in research to expand knowledge in science, engineering, and education,
and by increasing the capacity of the U.S. to conduct and benefit from
such research. Merit review panels under these FACA committees serve as
the basis for the gold standard merit review to support the most
compelling research to advance the NSF mission.
This public interest determination documents that renewing the
committee is essential to the conduct of agency business and that the
information to be obtained is not already available through another
advisory committee or source within the Federal Government.
Dated: February 13, 2026.
Crystal Robinson,
Committee Management Officer, National Science Foundation.
[FR Doc. 2026-03164 Filed 2-17-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7555-01-P
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