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Division of Chemistry Newsletter No. 3 August, 2003

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Statistics
Proposal compliance
Proposal handling and eJacket
Workshop reports
Personnel changes and request for program officers
Request for qualified reviewers
Gathering at the ACS National Meeting in New York
NSF Custom News Services

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Statistics

Statistics are compiled for the Division of Chemistry for each fiscal year, which begins October 1. Fiscal year 2002 data are available at http://www.nsf.gov/mps/divisions/che/news/stats.htm. In addition, the Division of Science Resource Statistics at NSF collects data nationally and internationally on research and development and on science and engineering workforce and education. Their website is http://www.nsf.gov/sbe/srs/stats.htm.

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Proposal compliance

The Division of Chemistry requests your cooperation in ensuring that your proposals conform to the NSF Grant Proposal Guidelines (GPG). This is a shared responsibility with our community that is intended to promote as equitable a reviewing process as possible. In accord with the Director’s letter of July 8, 2002, http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2002/iin127/imptnot.pdf, ANY proposal that does not contain separate, clear statements in the Project Summary regarding both the intellectual merit and broader impacts of the project will be returned to the PI without review; the Division has circulated a Dear Colleague letter, http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2002/nsf02161/nsf02161.htm, that illustrates the many ways that colleagues in the chemical sciences are meeting the broader impacts criterion.

Proposals must also conform to other requirements related to length and format (font size, references, and biographical data, e.g.). The most recent version of the NSF GPG has a convenient checklist for ensuring that your proposal is in compliance with the GPG: http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2003/nsf03041/appa.htm.

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Proposal handling and eJacket

The Division of Chemistry has begun to pilot an all-electronic proposal handling system called eJacket that will soon be used Foundation-wide. The eJacket system facilitates handling of proposals while electronically protecting reviewer confidentiality. It should enable the Division to make an already strong and efficient peer-review system even better.

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Workshop reports

The Division of Chemistry hosted three workshops this spring to explore with our community initiatives on chemical bonding centers (organizers Ralph Nuzzo and George Whitesides), postdoctoral roles and opportunities (organizers Robert Lichter, Willie Pearson, Jr., and Geraldine Richmond), and undergraduate research centers (organizers Moses Lee and Jeanne Pemberton). We thank the workshop organizers, their steering committees, and workshop participants for their assistance. The workshop reports are available at http://www.mrl.uiuc.edu/docs/nsfgmwfinal.pdf, http://www.merrimackllc.com/2003/postdoc-workshop.html, and http://urc.arizona.edu, respectively. New programs informed by these workshops are under development by the Division of Chemistry.

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Personnel changes and request for program officers

We congratulate Kathy Covert and Ty Mitchell on becoming permanent program officers in the Division of Chemistry. Kathy now serves in the Special Projects Office and Ty continues to serve in the Organic and Macromolecular Chemistry program. We welcome Raima Larter, Charles Pibel, and Philip Shevlin to the Division of Chemistry. Raima is based at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis and is assisting the Theoretical and Computational Chemistry program. Charles is based at American University and will help manage the Experimental Physical Chemistry program. Philip is based at Auburn University and will help staff the Organic and Macromolecular Chemistry Program. Lynn Schneemeyer is serving this year in the Inorganic, Bioinorganic and Organometallic Program. A complete listing of current staff may be found at http://www.nsf.gov/staff/orgpage.cfm?key=32.

We thank Mark Pederson, who returns to the Naval Research Laboratory, for his assistance in the Theoretical and Computational Chemistry program; and Robin Polt, who returns to the University of Arizona, for his help with the Organic and Macromolecular Chemistry program. The chemistry community has benefited greatly from Mark's and Robin's contributions.

The Division of Chemistry asks you to consider serving as a program officer if your circumstances permit and to help us identify other individuals who might serve in this capacity. About half of our 16 program officers are rotators, and they bring fresh insights to our work at NSF. Rotators can maintain their research programs while working at the Foundation. NSF provides time, travel resources, and use of technology to enable rotators to stay in touch with co-workers at their home institutions. Rotator positions are typically held for one or two years, but other arrangements are possible. Rotators not only serve the community and help to shape chemistry, but they also have excellent opportunities for professional development and establishment of new research directions upon returning to their laboratories.

Rotators are responsible for planning, coordinating, and managing programs that support research, education, and human resource development in the chemical sciences. Applicants should have a Ph.D. or equivalent training in the chemical sciences, extensive knowledge of one or more chemistry subfields, and at least six years of successful independent research activity. Applicants should be familiar with the chemistry community and have administrative experience. Other important attributes are strong verbal and written communication skills, organizational skills, facility in using technology tools, and the ability to work effectively on a team. If you are interested in serving as a rotator, please see http://www.nsf.gov/oirm/hrm/jobs/rotators/start.htm. Information about current open rotational program officer positions can be found at http://www.nsf.gov/pubsys/ods/results.cfm?url_type=Vacancy%20Announcements&url_subtype=
Scientific%20and%20Professional&browse_type=doc_type
. Applicants interested in rotational positions should send an email describing their interest and CV to aellis@nsf.gov. NSF is an equal opportunity employer committed to employing a highly qualified staff that reflects the diversity of our nation.

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Request for qualified reviewers

The Division of Chemistry seeks to enhance its pool of qualified reviewers of proposals. We invite established researchers in the chemical sciences who have not previously reviewed for the Division of Chemistry but are interested in providing this service to contact us by visiting our website at http://www.nsf.gov/mps/divisions/che/news/reviewerinfo.htm and completing the online registration form. We welcome qualified reviewers from academic, industrial, and government employment, as well as from other countries. It is important to recognize that the National Science Foundation reserves the right to choose reviewers. While we are unable to assure individuals that they will be asked to review proposals, we do attempt to call upon as many qualified reviewers as possible, and we try to limit the number of requests that we make to any single individual, recognizing the many demands our reviewers have on their time.

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Gathering at the ACS National Meeting in New York

We invite you to speak with NSF staff members at the upcoming ACS National Meeting in New York. On Monday, September 8, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the Westin New York, in room Ambassador III, the following NSF staff members will be available to meet with you informally: Henry Blount, Don Burland, Mike Clarke, Elizabeth Dorland, John Dwyer, Art Ellis, Joan Frye, and Lynn Schneemeyer. This is an excellent opportunity to share information and perspectives on developments in the chemistry community and at NSF. As part of the event, a continuous slide show of research “nuggets” provided by our principal investigators will be presented and refreshments will be available. Our website now includes nuggets submitted by principal investigators: http://www.nsf.gov/mps/divisions/che/nuggets/nuggets.htm

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NSF Custom News Services

In order to receive NSF program announcements, vacancy announcements, newsletters or other information as soon as they are published, you can subscribe to the NSF Custom News Services. You pre-select as many key words as you like; every time an NSF document containing one or more of your key words is published, you'll receive email notification with a link to the appropriate web page. For further information, please visit the Custom News Service website: http://www.nsf.gov/home/cns/

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NSF 04-006