National Science Foundation to Fund Blockchain Security Research

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is seeking to fund research into how technologies like blockchain can improve the resiliency of cyber-infrastructure.

According to a grant proposal solicitation initially released last year and updated at the start of 2017, the NSF is looking to fund research to the tune of $8.5m. The agency is looking to grant between seven and nine awards of up to $1m apiece.

While not explicitly focused on blockchain, the grant does invoke the technology as one topics of exploration once funds have been granted. The NSF is a US government agency that funds scientific research in a variety of areas.

As the solicitation noted:

It’s not the first time that the NSF has thrown its weight behind research involving the technology.

In mid-2015, the agency awarded roughly $3m in grant funding for a cryptocurrency research project involving participants from Cornell, the University of Maryland and the University of California Berkeley.

On a broader scale, the US government has moved in the past year and a half to promote or fund blockchain projects or startups.

For this latest grant round, the NSF is looking for university-based teams, as well as nonprofits and research outfits, to submit proposals. The proposal deadline is 1st March, according to the solicitation sheet.

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