NSF CAREER TTVN Seminar February 3, 2009

1. NSF CAREER TTVN SeminarFebruary 3, 2009 TEES Office of Strategic Research Development Laurie Garton lsgarton@tamu.edu 845-9775 VPR Office of Proposal Development Lucy Deckard L-deckard@tamu.edu 458-4290

2. For More Info • Go to • http://opd.tamu.edu, click “Seminar Materials”, then “Seminars by Date” and look for this seminar (first link) • Faculty in Engineering: go to http://teesresearch.tamu.edu/mission.htm and click on “Workshops“ • For an electronic version of this presentation • For additional resource materials

3. CAREER Seminar Schedule • Presentations (50 min.): • NSF and CAREER overview – Lucy Deckard • Preparing a competitive CAREER proposal – Laurie Garton • Eugene Billiot (Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi) CAREER and PECASE Awardee and Reviewer – discussion and Q&A (45 min) • Q & A

4. NSF Strategic Goals, 2006 - 2011 • Discovery • Advance frontiers of knowledge • Emphasize areas of greatest opportunity and potential benefit • Establish nation as global leader in transforming science and education • Learning • Cultivate a world-class, broadly inclusive S&E workforce • Expand scientific literacy of all citizens

5. NSF Strategic Goals (cont’d) • Research Infrastructure • Build nation’s research capability through investments in advanced instrumentation, facilities, cyberinfrastructure and experimental tools • Stewardship • Support excellence in science and engineering research and education through a capable and responsive organization

6. NSF Structure • Divided into directorates: • Biological Sciences (BIO) • Computer and Information Science and Eng (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) • Each directorate divided into divisions and programs • See http://www.nsf.gov/funding/browse_all_funding.jspfor description of programs

7. NSF Culture • Each directorate has its own culture and priorities • Get to know the directorates and divisions that could fund your work • Read web site – goals, priorities of directorate, division, programs • Get to know program directors • Use funded programs data base to find out what has been funded recently - http://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/index.jsp • Volunteer to serve as reviewer

8. NSF CAREER Program • Duration: 5 years • Funding level: “minimum” $400K total (except min. $500K total for BIO directorate) • Eligibility: • Have a PhD • Untenured, holding tenure-track Asst. Prof. position or equivalent • Have not competed in CAREER more than two times previously • Have not won a CAREER award • Due: July 21 – 23 depending on directorate • NSF CAREER page:http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=503214&org=NSF&sel_org=NSF&from=fund • Solicitation: http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2008/nsf08557/nsf08557.htm

9. Submit CAREER • Submit CAREER to specific disciplinary program • Except for special interdisciplinary proposals • Be sure you’re submitting to the right program!

10. NSF CAREER Statistics • In 2007 • ~2600 proposals submitted • 458 awards made (18%) • Success rate NSF-wide typically 15% - 23%; varies by directorate • But remember you have three tries • About 20% of awards go to non-research-intensive institutions (“judge research in context of organization”)

11. Success Rates for CAREERs 2006 DirectorateSubmittedAwarded % ENG 636 121 19% MPS 461 118 26% CISE 417 128 31% BIO 346 42 12% GEO 65 21 32% EHR 36 5 14% SBE 91 13 14%

12. Success Rate for New Investigators: CAREER Compared to Other Awards (From presentation at Fall 2007 NSF Regional Grants Conference; Year not Specified)

13. Key Points for CAREER • Career Development Plan to “build a firm foundation for a lifetime of integrated contributions to research and education” • Where is your field going over the next 20 years? • What will help you become established at national level? • Establish that you have the experience and resources to accomplish what you propose

14. Key Points for CAREER • Career development plan must have two major components: • Research plan • Integrated education plan • Plus • Description of how research and education are integrated with each other • Results of Previous NSF support, if applicable

15. Review Criteria • Intellectual Merit and Broader Impacts weighted equally • Must show you have the skills to carry out the project • Support from your department is critical • State benefits of your research clearly • Be sure to emphasize integration of education and research

16. “Strengths of Successful Proposals • Novel or high-impact research focus • Innovative research plan • Education plan is well-developed, integrated with research and includes some consideration of evaluating its success • Education plan goes beyond routine course development expected of all assistant professors” Quoted from J. Tornow presentation at QEM Workshop

17. “Weaknesses of Unsuccessful CAREER Proposals • Research is either too ambitious or too narrowly focused • Proposed methods do not address the stated research goals • Educational component is either limited to routine courses or is unrealistically overambitious • Integration of research and education is weak or uninspired” Quoted from J. Tornow presentation at QEM Workshop

18. Planning and preparing a CAREER proposal Step by Step

19. Coming up with a Research Idea • What do you want to do? • Does it address important questions in your field? • Is it novel and cutting-edge? • Do you have the background and resources to accomplish your goals? • If you are moving into a new but related area, be sure you discuss collaborations with researchers who will fill any gaps • Will it contribute to your career goals? • Will it contribute to your department’s goals? • Important: Talk to your department head and research departmental goals!

20. Next Step – Strategic Info Gathering Determine which NSF program to submit your proposal to. • Extremely important! Submitting to wrong program can doom good proposal. • Do this by e-mailing or calling program director. • Have a paragraph summary of your proposed research prepared. • Use NSF web site • Search awarded CAREER projects in directorate • Check program goals • Talk to senior researchers in the area: where are they funded?