NSF looking for Grand Challenges for Engineering

We can submit our challenges for friendly AI, molecular nanotechnology, large scale quantum computers, and mass producible thorium liquid fluoride reactors to the NSF.

The NSF is looking for the greatest technological challenges of the next century — a nine-month process that could give birth to new research initiatives.

The project, called the “Grand Challenges for Engineering” program, is aimed at gathering up all those ideas and distilling them into a list of 20 puzzles for engineers to solve — in fields ranging from energy to communications to aerospace to advanced materials.

The National Academy of Engineering, an arm of the Washington-based National Academies, is supervising the project, armed with a $500,000 grant from the National Science Foundation. The academy is a congressionally chartered, nonprofit organization that provides the U.S. government with expert advice on engineering issues.

Go to to submit challenges.

the current submission list is here