Opportunity Overview
Verification hold. The West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission STaR Division is accepting FY ’27 Instrumentation Grant proposals to strengthen undergraduate STEM instruction through scientific instrumentation at eligible West Virginia primarily undergraduate institutions.
Funding and Deadline
Maximum award: $20,000. The program anticipates approximately four to five awards with about $100,000 available. No institutional cost share is required.
Published deadline: October 1, 2026. The controlling current RFP does not publish an exact submission clock time or time zone. Under Atlas verification rules, this record remains in Draft / VERIFICATION HOLD until the exact deadline can be authoritatively resolved. Do not begin applicant outreach while this hold remains.
Eligibility
Eligible applicants are primarily undergraduate colleges and universities in West Virginia. Faculty from the main campuses of West Virginia University and Marshall University are ineligible, while eligible branch campuses may apply under the RFP. The principal investigator must satisfy the current STaR faculty eligibility rules.
Allowable Scope
The RFP supports scientific instruments used for undergraduate STEM education and related undergraduate research. Operating expenses, expendable supplies, service contracts, software, and personal computers are not allowable unless a computer is linked to or critical to the proposed scientific instrument.
Application Requirements
Submission is through the STaR Grant Opportunity (GO!) system. The application includes a project summary, an up-to-800-word project description, a budget, and vendor quotation information for the proposed instrument. Applicants must follow the current RFP and GO! instructions.
Atlas Analysis
Atlas Opportunity Score: 90/100, verification hold. This is a strong equipment-oriented higher-education STEM opportunity, but the missing official cutoff time and time zone prevent publication and outreach under the controlling Atlas rules.
N9+ Fit Score: 78/100, conditional. A potential fit exists only where an eligible West Virginia undergraduate institution independently develops a defensible STEM instructional or research use for the Nonagon N9+ as scientific instrumentation and the funder accepts that classification. Atlas does not assume such eligibility. Dr. Miltie is not an eligible direct applicant; a vendor role is possible only if an eligible institution independently selects the product for an allowable project.
Official Sources
West Virginia STaR Instrumentation Grant Program