Directorate for Biological Sciences

1. Directorate for Biological Sciences Todd A. Crowl , Program Director Division of Environmental Biology Vermont EPSCoR Water Dynamics Workshop November 2008

2. Directorate for Biological Sciences (BIO) Division of Environmental Biology (DEB) Division of Integrative Organismal Systems (IOS) Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences (MCB) Division of Biological Infrastructure (DBI) Human Resources Ecological Biology Behavioral Systems Biomolecular Systems Research Resources Ecosystem Science Developmental Systems Cellular Systems Population and EvolutionaryProcesses Neural Systems Genes and Genome Systems Plant Genome Research Program Systematic Biology and Biodiversity Inventories Physiological and Structural Systems Emerging Frontiers (EF) Effective April, 2008

3. BIO Core Areas - MCB Molecular and Cellular Biosciences • Genes and Genome Systems • Biomolecular Systems • Cellular Systems

4. BIO Core Areas - IOS Integrative Organismal Biology • Behavioral Systems • Developmental Systems • Physiological and Structural Systems • Neural Systems

5. BIO Core Areas - DBI Biological Infrastructure • Research Resources • Field Stations & Marine Labs • Instrument Development • Biological Databases & Informatics • Living Stock Collections • Biological Research Collections • Human Resources • Postdoctoral Fellowships • Research Experiences for Undergraduates - Sites • Undergraduate Research and Mentoring

6. BIO Core Areas - DEB Environmental Biology • Ecosystem Science • Long-term Ecological Research Network • Ecological Biology • Population & Evolutionary Processes • Systematic Biology & Biodiversity Inventories

7. Some Funding Opportunities • Microbial Systems in the Biosphere • Ecology of Infectious Diseases • Assembling the Tree of Life • Center for Environmental Implications of Nanotechnology • Cyber-enabled Discovery and Innovation • Dynamics of Coupled Natural and Human Systems • Planetary Biodiversity Inventories • Partnerships for International Research and Education • Long-term research in Environmental Biology • Partnerships for Enhancing Expertise in Taxonomy

8. Advancing Theory in Biology • New theory or significant extension of existing theory • Explanatory framework for common themes that cross levels of biological organization • Theory should cut across established disciplines • 17 Feb 09 deadline to further our understanding of general biological principles, to integrate phenomena under these principles, to guide model construction and experimentation, and to identify new organizing principles.

9. Faculty Early Career Development Program(CAREER) • Supports teacher-scholars • Supports plans that effectively integrate research and education • BIO minimum of $500,000 for 5 years • Check eligibility criteria Deadline: Third week in July, annually Announcement: NSF 05-579

10. Opportunities for Promoting Understanding and Synthesis (OPUS) • Support investigators to synthesize the body of their research: career production of important papers • Not for production of new data or for synthesizing other investigators’ research • Mid-to-late career stages (but not always) • 9 Jan 09 deadline Ecological Biology, Ecosystem Science, and Population and Evolutionary Processes Clusters

11. Research Coordination Networks (RCN) • To foster communication and collaboration across disciplinary, geographical and organizational boundaries • To move a field forward or to create new research directions or opportunities • Facilitate open exchange of information • Nurture a sense of community among young scientists • Last Monday in June deadline • Contact tcrowl@nsf.gov

12. Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grants (DDIG) • Division of Environmental Biology (DEB) and the Behavioral Systems program in the Division of Integrative Organismal Systems (IOS) • Must pass candidacy by the deadline • Funds research-related costs only • Recent changes: • increased upper limit to $15,000 [NEW!] • allow travel to meetings Deadline: 3rd Friday in November, annually Contact: tcrowl@nsf.gov Announcement: NSF 08-564

13. Undergraduate Research & Mentoring • Year-round support for undergraduate students • Any area of biology except biomedicine • Projects must include a strong mentoring component and emphasize strategies that encourage and enable members of underrepresented groups • Build skills needed for full participation in graduate research • First Tuesday in March deadline

14. Undergraduate BIO-Math • Jointly-conducted long-term research experiences for interdisciplinary balanced teams • Focus on research at the intersection of the mathematical and biological sciences • Involve students from both areas in collaboration • Joint mentorship by faculty in both fields • 12 Feb 09 deadline Projects should provide students exposure to contemporary mathematics and biology, addressed with modern research tools and methods. That is, projects must be genuine research experiences rather than rehearsals of research methods.

15. BIO 2009-2010 Priorities • Life in Transition (LIT) – Strengthening Core Programs • Origins • Energy • Adaptation • Dynamics of Water Processes in the Environment • NEON • STREON • GLEON See recent Dear Colleague letter

16. Origins: How, where and when did life on Earth begin? Open system chemistry Self-replication DNA World RNA World • How did the biological complexity of life emerge from pre-biotic chemistry and geochemistry? • Self-contained – The Cell • Self-sustaining - Energy • Self-replicating – RNA, DNA • Evolving - Biodiversity H2 + CO2 => [ HCO ]n Self-sustaining biochemistry Basic elements

17. How is energy obtained and used by living systems to sustain life? Au PS I Ag Applied Photosynthesis e- e- photon e- Assemble the basics e- Barry Bruce (UTN), NSF/EF -/+ Chloroplasts Understanding natural energy transduction systems will inspire the development of biology-based technologies capable of delivering sustainable, renewable, efficient energy.

18. Microbial Research to Enhance Our Understanding of Novel Energy Systems Diverse Chemical Sources of Energy for Living Systems: Arsenate (AsO43-) Iron (Fe3+) Manganese (Mn4+) Nitrate (NO3-) Selenate (SeO43-) Sulfate (SO42-) Uranyl oxide (UO22+) Anna-Louise Reysenbach, Portand State Univ. Everett Schock, Washington Univ. St. Louis

19. Adaptation Transformations and Transitions in the Story of Life What will survive, and how? Diversity Understanding life’s resilience and adaptation will reduce uncertainty about the future of life on Earth in response to global climate change: Adaptive Systems Technology Dynamics of Water Processes in the Environment NEON Changes

20. Dynamics of Water Processes in the Environment GOAL: Support research on the resilience that is conferred by the presence of living organisms in freshwater ecological systems.

21. NEON Biosphere, Geosphere, Atmosphere

22. Why NEON ? • Answering continental-scale questions: e.g. Will changing climate increase or decrease the biological carbon uptake or emission of the US and by how much? • Requires measuring the drivers (climate, biological processes, land use change) and the phenomena (CO2 uptake or emission) over regional to continental scales over long time periods • As well as conducting controlled experiments to understand the mechanisms involved in observed changes • And • Existing infrastructure is neither optimally configured geographically nor operationally standardized to do this

23. Featured Programs Divisions

24. What is changing in Biology? Lines of Inquiry becoming Planes of Inquiry SCOPE Site-specific Transferable SUBJECT Disciplinary Interdisciplinary SCALE Restricted Comprehensive

25. New technologies New Approaches Connectivity

26. Data volume

27. Famous Quotes: “The difference between a great research project and a great research project that receives funding is usually found in the broader impacts” Firth, 2000