Research Workshop

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Research Workshop

• National Science Foundation 101
• Dr. Heather J. Brown
• ETIS Department, CIM Program

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Three NSF Programshttp//www.nsf.gov/funding/

• IGERT - Integrative Graduate Education and
  Research Traineeship Program
• MRI Major Research Instrumentation
• CCLI Course, Curriculum and Laboratory
  Improvement

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What are NSF reviewers thinking?
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Does this program fit my interests, goals and
college/department mission?
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Who do I need to involve in this process?
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IGERT Program Description

• The program is intended to catalyze a cultural
  change in graduate education, for students,
  faculty, and institutions, by establishing
  innovative new models for graduate education and
  training in a fertile environment for
  collaborative research that transcends
  traditional disciplinary boundaries. It is also
  intended to facilitate greater diversity in
  student participation and preparation, and to
  contribute to the development of a diverse,
  globally-engaged science and engineering
  workforce.

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IGERT

• IGERT is an NSF-wide endeavor involving
• Directorates for Biological Sciences (BIO)
• Computer and Information Science and Engineering
  (CISE)
• Education and Human Resources (EHR)
• Engineering (ENG)
• Geosciences (GEO)
• Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS)
• Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences (SBE)
• Office of Polar Programs (OPP)
• Office of International Science and Engineering
  (INT).

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IGERT Example

• Three institutions Tennessee Tech, Georgia
  Tech, MTSU
• Three PIs with similar research background
• Involvement of graduates and undergraduate
  students
• The proposed program will create a unique
  extended campus network between Tennessee
  Technological University (TTU), Middle Tennessee
  State University (MTSU) and Georgia Institute of
  Technology (GIT) that also draws upon the
  powerful instrumental and computational resources
  of Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and the
  National Institute of Standards and Technology
  (NIST). The proposed interdisciplinary
  collaboration integrates civil and chemical
  engineering, chemistry and materials technology.
  Over a five year period, the IGERT targets
  training and research experiences for a total of
  18 PhD, four MS and as many as 95 or more summer
  and academic term undergraduates.

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Panel Review Comments

• The project involves inter-institutional
  participation and broad institutional
  collaboration.
• The existing internal infrastructure with
  respect to good equipment and expertise is
  superb.
• Working at or with ORNL and NIST, especially,
  are likely to attract talented individuals and to
  provide students with opportunities for good
  positions following graduation.
• The implementations of educational practices
  rely on a rich mixture of Internet- and
  computer-based educational efforts. This would
  help address some of the needs due to the
  geographical separations of participating
  institutions to build and maintain productive
  relations.
• A broader participation of faculty and
  associated researchers spanning a wider range of
  expertise would help.
• It would make the proposal more attractive if
  issues concerning how to successfully integrate
  both research and educational activities at such
  a scattered and diverse set of locations and
  institutions could be specifically addressed in
  detail.

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2005 Abstracts Awarded551 Proposals
Submitted120 Proposals Invited30 Proposals
Awarded

• Integrative Nanoscience and Microsystems
• Chemical Genomics Forging Complementation at the
  Interface of Chemistry, Engineering,
  Computational Sciences and Cell Biology
• An Entrepreneurial Ph.D. Education in Fuel Cell
  Manufacturing, Materials Development, and
  Modeling
• Plant System Biology Interdisciplinary Graduate
  Training Program
• Interdisciplinary Relationship Science Program
• Sustainability Initiative in Engineering
• Research and Innovation in Nanoscale Device
  Development
• Sensor Science, Engineering, and Informatics
• Training Program in Politics, Economics, and
  Psychology
• Urban Ecology

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Deadlines

• Preproposals February 2006
• Invited Full Proposals August 2006
• Anticipated Type of Award Continuing Grant
• Estimated Number of Awards 30 new and renewal
  awards, depending upon the quality of proposals
  and availability of funds
• Anticipated Funding Amount 15,500,000 - Up to
  3.0M per award over 5 years. Up to 200K total
  per award for approximately 10 projects that
  include strongly integrated international
  research activities in Years 2 - 5. For new
  awards, up to 200K additional in Year 1 for
  appropriate purposes.

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MRI Program Description

• Increase access to scientific and engineering
  equipment for research and research training in
  our Nation's organizations of higher education,
  research museums and non-profit research
  organizations.
• The MRI program encourages the development and
  acquisition of research instrumentation for
  shared inter- and/or intra-organizational use and
  in concert with private sector partners. 

• Proposals may be for a single instrument, a large
  system of instruments, or multiple instruments
  that share a common or specific research focus.

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MRI Example

• With this award from the Major Research
  Instrumentation (MRI) Program, the Department of
  Chemistry at Middle Tennessee State University
  will acquire a 400 MHz NMR Spectrometer. Nuclear
  Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is one of
  the most powerful tools available to chemists for
  the elucidation of the structure of molecules. It
  is used to identify unknown substances, to
  characterize specific arrangements of atoms
  within molecules, and to study the dynamics of
  interactions between molecules in solution.
  Access to state-of-the-art NMR spectrometers is
  essential to chemists who are carrying out
  frontier research. The results from these NMR
  studies will have an impact in synthetic organic
  chemistry and biochemistry.

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Panel Review Summary

• This RUI institution has demonstrated the need
  for the 400 MHz instrument.
• The intellectual merit of the proposal is very
  good and the research is high quality.
• Drs. Dunlap and Friedli are productive
  researcher showing high quality recent
  publications
• There is also some concern in relation to the low
  level of external research funding which can
  impair the execution of good science.
• The broader impact for this proposal is very
  strong. MTSU has the highest enrollment of
  Tennessee universities. The attention given to
  the uses of this instrument in the undergraduate
  curriculum is commendable. Many student will be
  positively impacted with the acquisition of the
  new instrument.

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Deadlines

• Full Proposal  Fourth Thursday of January
  annually
• Anticipated Type of Award Standard Grant
• Estimated Number of Awards 220
• Anticipated Funding Amount 90,000,000
  (Proposals submitted in response to this program
  solicitation will be competing for about 90
  million, pending availability of funds, in Fiscal
  Year 2005.)

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CCLI Program Description

• Increased emphases in new CCLI solicitation
• Building on and contributing to STEM education
• Building a community of scholars
• Identifying project specific measurable outcomes
• Using them in the project management and
  evaluation

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CCLI Cycle of Innovation
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Three Scales of Projects

• Phase 1 Exploratory Projects
• Up to 150,000 (200,000 with 2yr. School) 1-3
  yr.
• Phase 2 Expansion Projects
• Up to 500,000 2-4 yr. build on smaller-scale
  proven ideas. Diverse users at several
  institutions
• Phase 3 Comprehensive Projects
• Up to 2,000,000 3-5 yr. combine several proven
  results and mature projects. Involve several
  diverse institutions

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Key Elements

• Focus on student learning
• Rationale and methods derived from existing STEM
  knowledge base
• Include interactions with similar investigators,
  and experts in evaluation, educational
  psychology.
• Measurable outcomes are used to monitor progress,
  guide the project, and evaluate its ultimate
  success
• Viable project for next phase

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Funding and Deadlines

• 31 million for FY06
• Phase I May 17-19 depending upon state
• Phase 2 and 3 January 24

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Final Tips

• Good assessment plan and person identified on
  campus
• Identified persons Amy Phelps, Michael Hein,
  Gloria Hamilton and Ginger Rowell
• Use mentors as Senior Personnel on grants
• Including layouts of space Watson Hannah
• Support from MTSU and industry partners through
  matching dollars and letters of support
• Make sure clear goals are mentioned in the
  letters of support in-kind donations, facility
  usage, hiring of interns, scholarships, dedicated
  research time on equipment