[STEM-funding] NSF VRS; NIH proposal preparation webinars; NSF science educators in polar research; NSF NRI; NSF ECR; ONR STEM

Tue Oct 28 13:11:50 EDT 2014

*1) NSF Veterans Research Supplement (VRS):* You may be familiar with the
National Science Foundation's Research Experiences for Undergraduates
<http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=5517&from=fund> (REU)
program, Research Experiences for Teachers (RET), and other funding to
support internships in research labs. The NSF Engineering Directorate is
offering supplements to fund research experiences in active NSF grants to
veterans who are STEM undergraduate or graduate students, K–12 teachers, or
community college faculty. Active PIs in the following NSF programs are
eligible to apply for VRS supplements:

   - Industry/University Cooperative Research Centers (I/UCRC)
   - Engineering Research Center (ERC)
   - Research Experiences for Teachers in Engineering and Computer Science
   (RET)
   - Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) sites,
   - Engineering Education Research (EER) grantees
   - Nanotechnology Undergraduate Education (NUE) in Engineering grantees
   - Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II grantees
   - Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase II grantees
   - Partnerships for Innovation - Building Innovation Capacity (BIC)
   grantees
   - Partnerships for Innovation - Accelerating Innovation Research (AIR)
   grantees
   - Grant Opportunities for Academic Liaison with Industry (GOALI) grantees

The VRS program is described in a "Dear Colleague Letter" (
http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2014/nsf14124/nsf14124.jsp). Supplements can be up
to $10,000 per veteran. PIs may apply for a maximum of two supplements per
year.

*2) NIH proposal preparation webinars:* The NIH Center for Scientific
Review (CSR) will host four Meet the Experts in NIH Peer Review Webinars in
early November 2014 to give new NIH grant applicants and others useful
insights into the submission and peer review processes. CSR is the portal
for NIH grant applications and their review for scientific and technical
merit.

The webinars will each focus on a different type of NIG grant application:

   - Academic Research Enhancement Awards (R15): November 4, 2014
   - Fellowship Awards: November 5, 2014
   - Small Business Grants (SBIR/STTR): November 7, 2014
   - Research Project Grants (R01): November 10, 2014

Webinar content:

   - The Review of Your NIH Grant Application Begins Here
   - What You Need to Know about Application Receipt and Referral
   - How Your Application Is Reviewed
   - Key Things to Know About Your Type of Application (See above
   list.)
   - Jumpstart Your Career with CSR’s Early Career Reviewer Program

For more information and to register, visit
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-15-002.html
*3) NSF Support for Including Science Educators in Polar Research:* An NSF
"Dear Colleague" Letter describes funding to "facilitate the participation
of pre-service and in-service middle and high school teachers as well as
faculty from Primarily Undergraduate Institutions (PUI), including
community colleges and Minority Serving Institutions (MSI), in research
projects focused on the Arctic and Antarctic" (
http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2014/nsf14122/nsf14122.jsp):

In order to organize the participation of educators in polar research
programs and to provide for their preparation and safety, PLR and EHR will
consider proposals that provide for inclusion of educators in polar
research. Proposals that make use of innovative technology for remote
access and inclusion of larger groups of educators are encouraged.
Proposals that include participation of individuals in various research
projects are also encouraged and may include the selection of participants,
matching of participants with polar research projects and researchers,
preparation of participants for field experiences, logistical support for
participants' travel, and organization of subsequent outreach, education
and evaluation efforts. Activities should reflect an understanding of best
practices for educator professional development and include development and
maintenance of a variety of web-based products for dissemination of program
information and educational products to the broadest possible audience.

The funding amount is not specified. Proposals are to be submitted to the
January 13, 2015 NSF IUSE solicitation.

*4) NSF National Robotics Initiative (NRI):* NSF has released a revised
solicitation for its NRI program (
http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=503641). This solicitation
includes funding from NSF, NASA, NIH, DARPA, and USDA. In addition to
funding scientific and engineering research to advance robotics, NRI also
funds the use of robots in K-16 education. From the program description:

Methods for the establishment and infusion of robotics in educational
curricula and research to gain a better understanding of the long term
social, behavioral and economic implications of co-robots across all areas
of human activity are important parts of this initiative....Additionally,
robotics science and technology together with the science of learning have
the potential to play a very important role in Science, Technology,
Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education as a unique, integrative
discipline that brings together basic science, applied engineering, and
creative thinking.

*II.C. Planning Testbeds and Applications for K-16 Education*

To explore the linking of robotics research efforts and testbeds for K-16
education, NSF's Directorate for Education and Human Resources will provide
funding at the lower end of the funding range for planning, study and
prototyping projects (refer to section III). Successful applicants are
expected to demonstrate high potential to advance K-16 science, technology,
engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. Due to limited funds and the
multi-agency nature of this solicitation, *education-focused proposals are
discouraged at the higher end of the funding range.*

Example activities are:

   - Design of innovative robotic technologies as tools for enhancing STEM
   learning in formal and informal learning environments.

   - Applications that further the development of co-robot systems that
   support personalized learning.

   - Design, implementation, and rigorous study of robotics competitions
   impact on student engagement, motivation to learn STEM content, and STEM
   career motivation.

Proposals are due January 14, 2015. Funding varies by agency:

   1. *NIH* and *USDA* will consider projects comprising one or more
   investigators with budgets ranging from approximately $100,000 to $250,000
   per year in *direct costs* averaged over the duration of the project,
   with durations of one to three years.
   2. *NSF,* *NASA,* and *DARPA* will consider projects comprising one or
   more investigators with budgets ranging from approximately $100,000 to
   $1,000,000 per year in *total costs* (direct and indirect) averaged over
   the duration of the project, with durations of one to three years. It is
   expected that the bulk of awards will be made at the smaller end of the
   range.

*5) NSF EHR Core Research (ECR):* NSF has released a revised ECR
solicitation (http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=504924),
which now incorporates the Research on Education and Learning (REAL)
program. From the program synopsis:

The ECR program is distinguished by its emphasis on the accumulation of
robust evidence to inform efforts to (a) understand, (b) build theory to
explain, and (c) suggest interventions (and innovations) to address
persistent challenges in STEM interest, education, learning, and
participation. The program supports advances in fundamental research on
STEM learning and education by fostering efforts to develop foundational
knowledge in STEM learning and learning contexts, both formal and informal,
from childhood through adulthood, for all groups, and from the earliest
developmental stages of life through participation in the workforce,
resulting in increased public understanding of science and engineering. The
ECR program will fund fundamental research on: human learning in STEM;
learning in STEM learning environments, STEM workforce development, and
research on broadening participation in STEM.

Proposals are due February 3, 2015. Funding varies by proposal type:

   - *Level I:* up to $500,000 across 3 years
   - *Level II:* up to $1,500,000 across 3 years
- *Level III:* up to $2,500,000 across 5 years
   - *Synthesis:* up to $300,000 across two years.

*6) ONR Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics Education, Outreach,
and Workforce Program:* The Office of Naval Research has released their
FY15 solicitation for their STEM Program (
http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/search-grants.html?keywords=ONR-FOA-15-0002).
>From the funding opportunity description:

While this announcement is relevant for any stage of the STEM pipeline, for
FY15, funding efforts will be targeted primarily towards High School,
Post-Secondary education, and outreach designed to enhance the DoN (or
Naval) STEM workforce and its mission readiness. Emphasis will be given
both to key engineering and scientific areas outlined in the Naval S&T
Strategic Plan such as our National Naval Responsibilities (see ONR
website), and to identified STEM related workforce gaps and new strategic
goals on the uniformed and civilian side.

Currently, we are especially interested in efforts related to:

   - Developing and strengthening the engineering disciplines across all
   Naval activities, as well as improving our technician pipeline.
   - Developing the capacity of the current and future Naval workforce to
   utilize big data analytics and enhance information science disciplines
   across all Naval activities. See
   http://www.navy.mil/secnav/secnav-dtp/priorities.html for reference.
   - Develop efforts that engage Veterans in Naval STEM careers.

While not a formal requirement or program focus of this FOA, applicants are
strongly encouraged to consider under-represented populations including
women and minorities in program plans.

Awards are up to $200,000/year for 1–3 years. Pre-proposals are accepted
through February 28, 2015.

-Chris

 [image: The Ohio State University]
Christopher Andersen
Director
STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) Initiatives
186 University Hall, 230 North Oval Mall, Columbus, OH 43210-1335 USA
andersen.18 at osu.edu
Looking for upcoming STEM outreach activities? Visit
http://stemoutreach.osu.edu
Education, outreach, & diversity resources for faculty & staff at
http://steminitiatives.osu.edu

<http://stemoutreach.osu.edu/>

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