National Aggregate Research Center Update - Disappointing but Encouraging

The Center for AggReGaTe recently received comments from NSF and unfortunately, the Center was declined for funding this round. This is a competitive application process, and it is rare for a Center to be funded on the first submission. Note that the Center for Concrete Advanced Network was funded this round, which was their second submission. This is encouraging to know that we can have a good shot after revising and resubmitting. 
 
Overall, our review comments were encouraging. The reviewers recognized the importance of the Center and liked the idea. Our proposal was ranked as “Competitive”, which is the second tier, meaning that we had a shot at being funded this round if there was sufficient funding available. The submission team received a lot of helpful comments that can easily be addressed, and they will be meeting with the NSF Program Manager soon to discuss the best approach to get the Center funded on the next round.  
 
We hope you all will continue to support the Center as we plan for a revised submission due December 2024. Please reach out with any questions or comments.