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NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
4201 WILSON BOULEVARD
ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA 22230
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Dear Colleague,
The purpose of this Dear Colleague letter is to provide you with an update
of activities within the Astronomy Division, and to highlight several
ongoing funding opportunities and proposal preparation requirements. As
we described in our last Dear Colleague letter of August 2000, the Astronomy
Division made some changes to the way in which we received and processed
proposals internally with the aim of ensuring that the individual investigator
research grants programs respond effectively to the dynamic research environment
in astronomy and astrophysics. These changes have resulted in some evolution
in the content of the individual grants programs that we would like to
take this opportunity to describe here.
Proposals to the Astronomy and Astrophysics Research Grants (AAG) program
arrive at NSF on a common deadline date. Proposals to the Research in
Undergraduate Institutions (RUI) program should also be submitted to the
AAG program and meet its annual deadline. For FY2003, as previously announced,
this deadline is 15 November 2002, and we expect a similar
date in following years. Program Directors collectively examine all proposals
and organize them into natural groupings by topic which become individual
review panels. Panels are designed to provide the best, most appropriate
review for similar proposals or for proposals that rely on a particular
reviewer expertise. As a result, panels may span several program areas,
unified by themes of approach (e.g. star formation from local to high
redshift environments), technique (e.g. theory of magnetohydrodynamics
on all scales), or topic (e.g. stellar populations or observational cosmology).
Once defined, panels are then placed in a program (either Extragalactic
Astronomy and Cosmology (EXC), Galactic Astronomy (GAL), Stellar Astronomy
and Astrophysics (SAA), or Planetary Astronomy (PLA)) for administrative
purposes, and overseen by a program director who coordinates the review
and serves as primary contact for the PI. As a result, a panel that spans
astronomical scales may not seem to fit naturally into one of the old
program names, although all of its proposals will be closely related.
Under this new procedure, as anticipated, we have seen a shift in the
definition of the traditional program areas. The evolution of observational
capability and theoretical tools has shifted the boundaries of subjects
and our assignment of panels to programs has followed this migration.
For example, the detailed studies of stellar populations in the field
and in star clusters has moved beyond the Milky Way and its companion
galaxies to encompass the local group and beyond. Studies of individual
nearby galaxies can now approach the depth of analysis once reserved for
the Milky Way or Magellanic Clouds. Consequently, the panels treating
nearby galaxies have been administered this past year in the Galactic
Astronomy program, while the Extragalactic Astronomy and Cosmology program
has continued to see a growth in number of proposals looking at high redshift
objects, large scale structure, and cosmology. This shift of nearby galaxy
proposals into Galactic Astronomy also maintains a reasonable balance
in number of proposals between individual programs. We expect to see further
evolution of subject areas as the definition and assignment of panels
follows the changing field.
The median award in the research programs in the Astronomy Division is
approximately $80K per year for 3 years, with a large range about this
number. However, we realize that not all programs can be supported on
this amount, and conversely, that not every investigator needs an award
of this size to maintain a research program. We urge PI’s to request
support at the level and for the duration needed for the proposed project.
If you need core support to sustain your research program at a modest
level over an extended period, we encourage you to request it. Proposals
for modest amounts of funding will be evaluated like all other proposals,
on the basis of the two merit review criteria, but program directors often
have more flexibility in accommodating smaller requests within their program
budgets. The Division recognizes the importance of these sustaining grants
and expects that some proposals of this nature will be funded each year,
depending on the number and merit of the requests.
Supplements to grants for special purposes
Those investigators with current NSF grants are urged to consider requesting
supplemental funding to their award to support special programs such as
Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) and Research Opportunity
Awards (ROA). We sometimes receive inquiries from PI’s asking if
we have a program to support supplements to research grants for other
kinds of educational and outreach activities. Although the Astronomy Division
does not have a special targeted program for these activities, we are
happy to consider such requests. PI’s may submit modest supplemental
requests for special activities that broaden the impact of their research,
for example, by including K-12 teachers in their research activities or
engaging in educational and outreach activities to the public or local
schools. Under special circumstances, small supplement requests can be
used to ensure adequate completion of the original scope of work or to
support critical unforeseen expenditures. As with all requests for supplemental
funds, PI’s should contact the program director before submitting
any requests.
Merit review criteria – the importance of Criterion 2
We would also like to alert you to recent changes in requirements for
proposal submission and the need to address both National Science Board
review criteria when you prepare your proposals. Since 1997, proposals
to NSF have been reviewed on the basis of two review criteria - the intellectual
merit of the proposed activity and the broader impact resulting from the
proposed activity. However, the January 2002 issuance of the Grant Proposal
Guide (http://www.nsf.gov/pubsys/ods/getpub.cfm?gpg
) now specifies that principal investigators must address each of these
two review criteria in separate statements within the one-page Project
Summary and within the body of the Project Description of their proposals.
Beginning October 1, 2002, NSF will return without review proposals that
do not separately address both merit review criteria in the Project Summary.
Reviewers will be asked to comment on both criteria, and program directors
are required to address both in their analyses and recommendations.
There are many ways in which fundamental astronomical research has broad
impact either through the education of students or the public, through
the wide dissemination of data and research results, or through the enhancement
of infrastructure. Many of the activities encompassed in NSF’s concept
of broad impact are already an integral part of your research and educational
activities. The new guidelines now require that they be described explicitly
in proposals. Examples of the kinds of activities that demonstrate broader
impacts are available at: http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2002/nsf022/bicexamples.pdf
Through these opportunities and the continuing evolution of the research
grants programs, we anticipate funding the most meritorious projects across
the broad and dynamic fields of astronomy and astrophysics. We look forward
to seeing your proposals.
G. Wayne Van Citters
Director
Division of Astronomical Sciences
The National Science Foundation (NSF) funds research and education in
most fields of science and engineering. Grantees are wholly responsible
for conducting their project activities and preparing the results for
publication. Thus, the Foundation does not assume responsibility for such
findings or their interpretation.
NSF welcomes proposals from all qualified scientists, engineers and educators.
The Foundation strongly encourages women, minorities, and persons with
disabilities to compete fully in its programs. In accordance with federal
statutes, regulations, and NSF policies, no person on grounds of race,
color, age, sex, national origin, or disability shall be excluded from
participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination
under any program or activity receiving financial assistance from NSF
(unless otherwise specified in the eligibility requirements for a particular
program).
Facilitation Awards for Scientists and Engineers with Disabilities (FASED)
provide funding for special assistance or equipment to enable persons
with disabilities (investigators and other staff, including student research
assistants) to work on NSF-supported projects. See the program announcement
or contact the program coordinator at (703) 292-6865.
The National Science Foundation has Telephonic Device for the Deaf (TDD)
and Federal Relay Service (FRS) capabilities that enable individuals with
hearing impairments to communicate with the Foundation regarding NSF programs,
employment, or general information. TDD may be accessed at (703) 292-5090
or through FRS on 1-800-877-8339.
The National Science Foundation is committed to making all of the information
we publish easy to understand. If you have a suggestion about how to improve
the clarity of this document or other NSF-published materials, please
contact us at plainlanguage@nsf.gov.
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