National Science Foundation and Funding Opportunities

1. 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

2. Outline • Overview of NSF • Different NSF Funding Opportunities • NSF’s Priority Areas (NSF-Wide Investment Areas) • NSF Merit Review Criteria

3. NSF Vision NSF: Where Discovery Begins Enabling the Nation’s future through discovery, learning and innovation.

4. 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

5. NSF Support as a Percent of Total US Federal Support forAcademic 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%

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. NSF Disciplines & Structure • Biological Sciences (BIO) • Computer and Information Sciences and Engineering (CISE) • Education and Human Resources (EHR) • Engineering (ENG) • Geosciences (GEO) • Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS) • Social, Behavioral And Economic Sciences (SBE) • Polar Programs • Office of Cyberinfrastructure • Office of International Science and Engineering • Office of Integrative Affairs

10. 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

11. 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

12. Directorate for EngineeringReorganized FY 2007 Office of the Assistant Director Deputy Assistant Director Program Director for Diversity &Outreach Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation (EFRI) Senior Advisor Nanotechnology Engineering Education and Centers (EEC) Civil, Mechanical, and Manufacturing Innovation (CMMI) Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, And Transport Systems (CBET) Electrical, Communications and Cyber Systems (ECCS) Industrial Innovation and Partnerships (IIP)

13. NSF Engineering Directorate Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation (EFRI) 2007 http://nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=nsf06596 • Autonomously Reconfigurable Engineered Systems Enabled by Cyberinfrastructures (ARES-CI) • 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

14. NSF Engineering Directorate Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation (EFRI) 2008 • Cognitive Optimization And Prediction: From Neural Systems To Neurotechnology (COPN) • Resilient And Sustainable Infrastructures (RESIN) Details: • $22M (11 awards) • LOI: 9/25/07 (required) • Preliminary Proposals: 10/26/07 • Full Proposals: 4/30/08 • $500k/year (4 years) • One PI and 2co-PIs (3 different disciplines) • Information: webcast 9/5/07

15. 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 • From Data to Knowledge • Understanding Complexity in Natural, Built and Social Systems • Building Virtual Organizations Details: • Transformative research • Innovation in, or innovative use of computational thinking • Multidisciplinary • 3 types of proposals • LOI: 11/30/07 (required) • Preliminary Proposals: 1/8/08 • Full Proposals: 4/29/08

16. 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?

17. 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?

18. 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?

19. 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 Tips for Successful Proposal Writing

20. ENG and Cross-Directorate Activities at NSF Program Director, Biomedical Engineering (BME) • Research to Aid Persons with Disabilities (RAPD) • Multi-Scale Modeling  in Biomedical, Biological, and Behavioral Systems (MSM) • Collaborative Research in Computational Neuroscience (CRCNS) • Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) • Nanoscale Science and Engineering for Nanoscale Exploratory Research (NER) Theme: "Multi-scale, Multi-phenomena Theory, Modeling and Simulation at the Nanoscale“ • Dynamic Data Driven Applications Systems (DDDAS) • Active Nanostructures and Nanosystems (ANN), Nanoscale Interdisciplinary Research Teams (NIRT) Theme: Nanoscale Devices and System Architecture • NIH/NSF for Bioengineering Approaches to Energy Balance and Obesity (2005-) • Engineering Research Centers (ERC) Partnerships in Transforming Research, Education and Technology, Program Solicitation NSF 07-521 (2007- ) • 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

21. Thanks for the invitation! www.nsf.gov