Director's
Dear Colleagues Letter on Merit Review
The Major
Research Instrumentation Program (MRI) is designed to improve
the scientific and engineering equipment for research and
research training in our Nation's academic institutions. This
program seeks to improve the quality and expand the scope
of research and research training in science and engineering,
and to foster the integration of research and education by
providing instrumentation for research-intensive learning
environments.
The MRI
Program assists in the acquisition or development of major
research instrumentation by U.S. institutions that is, in
general, too costly for support through other NSF programs.
The maintenance and technical support associated with these
instruments are also supported. Proposals may be for a single
instrument, a large system of instruments, or multiple instruments
that share a common research focus. Computer systems, clusters
of advanced workstations, networks, and other information
infrastructure components necessary for research are encouraged.
Awards
for instrumentation range from $100,000 to $2 million. Lesser
amounts are considered in proposals from non-Ph.D. granting
institutions, from mathematical sciences, or from the social,
behavioral and economic science communities.
The FY
2004 MRI competition is currently under way. Proposals to
this year's competition are due to NSF on January 22, 2004.
Proposals submitted in response to the FY 2004 program solicitation
are competing for about $75 million. The funding rate for
the FY 2003 MRI competition was approximately 40%.
Before
preparing your proposal please review the new solicitation
(NSF
05-515).
NOTE:
No proposals will be accepted after the deadline (Thursday,
January 27, 2005). It is the responsibility of the proposing organization to thoroughly review each proposal prior to submission. Changes to the content of a previously submitted proposal after the established deadline should not be requested (per GPG Guidelines NSF 04-2).
Historical
Document: Research
Instrumentation: Enabling the Discovery Process (NSF 94-102)
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