National Science Foundation and Funding Opportunities · NSF-Wide Investment Areas (REQUEST for FY 09) • Adaptive Systems Technology • NSF Centers Programs and Funding • Climate

National Science Foundation and

Funding Opportunities

Semahat Demir, Ph.D.

Program Director

Biomedical Engineering Program

National Science Foundation

Brown University

April 16, 2008

Providence, RI

Outline

• Overview of NSF

• Different NSF Funding Opportunities

• NSF’s Priority Areas (NSF-Wide Investment Areas)

• NSF Merit Review Criteria

NSF Vision

NSF: Where Discovery Begins

Enabling the Nation’s future

through discovery, learning and

innovation.

Overview

• Founded in 1950

• An independent federal agency

• Responsible for advancing science and engineering

• Makes merit-based grants and cooperative agreements

• Individual researchers and groups

• Colleges, universities,

• Other institutions: public, private, state, local and federal

• Does not operate laboratories

• Peer-review and evaluation of 42,000 proposals (FY05) submitted by science and engineering research and education communities

• 9,800 new awards (success rates are different for different programs)

• 246,000 proposal reviews done

NSF Support as a Percent of

Total US Federal Support for

Academic Basic Research in Selected Fields

• Physical Sciences: 40%

• Engineering: 46%

• Social Sciences: 52%

• Environmental Sciences: 54%

• Biology (excluding NIH): 66%

• Mathematical Sciences: 77%

• Computer Science: 86%

People Involved in NSF Activities (FY05)

• 32,000 Senior Researchers

• 12,000 Other Professional

• 6,000 Postdoctoral Associates

• 27,000 Graduate Students

• 33,000 Undergraduate Students

• 11,000 K-12 Students

• 74,000 K-12 Teachers

Funding Opportunities at NSF

• Individual Programs

– Research, education, center programs

• Priority Areas (Investment Areas for FY)

– Cross-Programs and Cross-Directorates

• Cross Disciplinary Areas

– Cross-Programs and Cross-Directorates

• Interagency Programs

– NSF, and other government agencies

Award (Grant) Types

• Individual Investigator Initiated Awards

• CAREER Awards

• SGER awards

• Supplements

• Workshops, conferences

• Center Awards

• SBIR/STTR awards

• Cross-disciplinary or cross-directorate

– GOALI– ADVANCE– MRI

• Specific Solicitation Awards

– NSF solicitations– Interagency solicitations

NSF Disciplines & Structure

1) Biological Sciences (BIO)

2) Computer and Information Sciences and Engineering (CISE)

3) Education and Human Resources (EHR)

4) Engineering (ENG)

5) Geosciences (GEO)

6) Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS)

7) Social, Behavioral And Economic Sciences (SBE)

8) Polar Programs

9) Office of Cyberinfrastructure

10) Office of International Science and Engineering

11) Office of Integrative Affairs

NSF-Wide Investment Areas

(FY 08)

• Climate Change Science Program

• Cyberinfrastructure

• Cyber-enabled Discovery & Innovation

• Human and Social Dynamics

• National Nanotechnology Initiative

• Networking Information Technology R&D

NSF-Wide Investment Areas

(REQUEST for FY 09)

• Adaptive Systems Technology

• NSF Centers Programs and Funding

• Climate Change Science Program

• Cyber-enabled Discovery & Innovation

• Cyberinfrastructure

• Dynamics of Water Processes in the Environment

• National Nanotechnology Initiative

• Networking Information Technology R&D

• Science and Engineering Beyond Moore’s Law

• Selected Crosscutting Programs

Emerging Frontiers in

Research and Innovation

(EFRI)

Chemical,

Bioengineering,

Environmental,

And Transport

Systems

(CBET)

Civil,

Mechanical, and

Manufacturing

Innovation

(CMMI)

Electrical,

Communications

and Cyber

Systems

(ECCS)

Engineering

Education and

Centers

(EEC)

Industrial

Innovation and

Partnerships

(IIP)

Directorate for EngineeringReorganized FY 2007

Office of the Assistant Director

Deputy Assistant Director

Program Director for Diversity &Outreach

Senior Advisor

Nanotechnology

NSF Engineering Directorate

Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation (EFRI) 2007

http://nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=nsf06596

1. Autonomously Reconfigurable Engineered Systems Enabled by Cyberinfrastructures (ARES-CI)

2. Cellular and Biomolecular Engineering (CBE)

Details:

• $22M (11 awards)

• LOI: 10/16/2006

• Preliminary Proposals: 11/17/06

• Full Proposals: 4/30/06

• $500k/year (4 years)

• One PI and 2co-PIs (3 different disciplines)

• Information: webcast 9/19/2006

NSF Engineering Directorate

Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation (EFRI) 2008

1. Cognitive Optimization And Prediction: From Neural Systems To Neurotechnology (COPN)

2. Resilient And Sustainable Infrastructures (RESIN)

Details:

• $22M (11 awards)

• LOI: 9/25/07 (required)



• $500k/year (4 years)

• One PI and 2co-PIs (3 different disciplines)

• Information: webcast 9/5/07

Cyber-Enabled Discovery and Innovation (CDI)

• Solicitation: http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2007/nsf07603/nsf07603.htm

• FAQ, examples, resources: http://www.nsf.gov/crssprgm/cdi

1. From Data to Knowledge

2. Understanding Complexity in Natural, Built and Social Systems

3. Building Virtual Organizations

Details:

• Transformative research

• Innovation in, or innovative use of computational thinking

• Multidisciplinary

• 3 types of proposals

• LOI: 11/30/07 (required)



NSF Merit Review Criteria

• Criteria include:

• What is the intellectual merit and quality of the proposed activity?

• What are the broader impacts of the proposed activity?

What is the intellectual merit of

the proposed activity?• Potential Considerations:

• How important is the proposed activity to advancing knowledge and understanding within its own field or across different fields?

• How well qualified is the proposer (individual or team) to conduct the project? (If appropriate, the reviewer will comment on the quality of prior work.)

• To what extent does the proposed activity suggest and explore creative and original or potentially transformative concepts?

• How well conceived and organized is the proposed activity?

• Is there sufficient access to resources?

What are the broader impacts

of the proposed activity?

• Potential Considerations:

• How well does the activity advance discovery and understanding while promoting teaching, training and learning?

• How well does the activity broaden the participation of underrepresented groups (e.g., gender, ethnicity, disability, geographic, etc.)?

• To what extent will it enhance the infrastructure for research and education, such as facilities, instrumentation, networks and partnerships?

• Will the results be disseminated broadly to enhance scientific and technological understanding?

• What may be the benefits of the proposed activity to society?

Tips for Successful Proposal Writing• Determine if your project is relevant to the program

• Get in touch with the Program Director

• Program Director:

– Review Panels– Award/decline recommendation– Post management of the awards (progress report)

• Follow the instructions posted by the agency

• Format, sections, project plan

• Agency’s Review Criteria (NSF Merit Review Criteria)

• Priority Areas for the agency

• Respond to a solicitation

• Deadlines (preproposal, letter of intent, full proposal)

• Additional review criteria and requirements

• Read “successful” proposals of your colleagues

• Have your proposal reviewed by collaborators or colleagues before submitting

• Do not submit on the day of the deadline

• Volunteer to serve on a review panel

ENG and Cross-Directorate Activities at NSFProgram Director, Biomedical Engineering (BME)

1. Research to Aid Persons with Disabilities (RAPD)

2. Multi-Scale Modeling in Biomedical, Biological, and Behavioral Systems (MSM)

3. Collaborative Research in Computational Neuroscience (CRCNS)

4. Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT)

5. Nanoscale Science and Engineering for Nanoscale Exploratory Research (NER) Theme: "Multi-scale, Multi-phenomena Theory, Modeling and Simulation at the Nanoscale“

6. Dynamic Data Driven Applications Systems (DDDAS)

7. Active Nanostructures and Nanosystems (ANN), Nanoscale Interdisciplinary Research Teams (NIRT) Theme: Nanoscale Devices and System Architecture

8. NIH/NSF for Bioengineering Approaches to Energy Balance and Obesity (2005-)

9. Engineering Research Centers (ERC) Partnerships in Transforming Research, Education and Technology, Program Solicitation NSF 07-521 (2007- )

10. Emerging Frontiers Research and Innovation (EFRI (2007-)

Representative of Engineering Directorate

• NSF Learning and Workforce Development (LWD) Cyber Infrastructure (CI) SWOT

• NSF initiative in Neuroscience and Cognition

Chair, ENG Neurotech Working Group

NSF Representative, National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) Subcommittee on

Biometrics and Identity Management, (2006-)

Co-Chair, NIH BECON Bridges Team

Thanks for the

invitation!

www.nsf.gov

Documents

National Science Foundation and Funding Opportunities · NSF-Wide Investment Areas (REQUEST for FY 09) • Adaptive Systems Technology • NSF Centers Programs and Funding • Climate