Please provide detailed comments on the quality of this proposal with respect to each of the two NSF Merit Review Criteria identified below, noting specifically the proposal's strengths and weaknesses. As guidance, a list of potential considerations that you might employ in your evaluation follows each criterion. These considerations are suggestions and not all will apply to any given proposal. While you are expected to separately address each NSF Merit Review criterion, you are requested to address only those considerations that are relevant to this proposal and for which you are qualified to make judgments. In addition, please provide an overall rating and summary statement that includes comments on the relative importance of the two criteria in assigning your rating. Please note that the criteria need not be weighted equally.

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, please comment on the quality of prior work.) To what extent does the proposed activity suggest and explore creative and original concepts? How well conceived and organized is the proposed activity? Is there sufficient access to the necessary 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 proposed 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?

The information requested on this reviewer form is solicited under the authority of the National Science Foundation Act of 1950, as amended. It will be used in connection with the selection of qualified proposals and may be disclosed to qualified reviewers and staff assistants as part of the review process, to government contractors, experts, volunteers and researchers as necessary to complete assigned work, to other government agencies needing information as part of the review process or in order to coordinate programs, and to another Federal agency, court or party in a court or Federal administrative proceeding if the government is a party. Fastlane permits you to add to or update the contact information we have on you as a reviewer. Information you choose to provide about yourself will be added to the Reviewer file and used to help select and contact potential candidates to serve as peer reviewers or advisory committee members. In addition to the disclosures described above, it may be disclosed to other Federal grant-making agencies needing the names of potential reviewers in particular fields. See Systems of Records, NSF-50, "Principal Investigator/Proposal File and Associated Records", 63 Federal Register 267 (January 5, 1998), and NSF-51, "Reviewer/Proposal File and Associated Records", 63 Federal Register 268 (January 5, 1998).

The Foundation does not otherwise disclose reviews and identities of reviewers who reviewed specific proposals to persons outside the government, except that verbatim copies of reviews without the name, affiliation, or other identifying information of the reviewer will be sent to the principal investigator. Submission of all requested information is voluntary.

Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 5 hours per response, including the time for reviewing instructions.

Send comments regarding this burden estimate and any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to:

Suzanne H. Plimpton
Reports Clearance Officer
Division of Administrative Services
National Science Foundation, Suite 295
4201 Wilson Boulevard
Arlington, VA 22230

For topics other than public burden, contact the cognizant NSF Program Official.

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