NSF CAREER TTVN Seminar February 3, 2009 VPR Office of Proposal Development Lucy Deckard L-deckard@tamu.edu 458-4290 TEES Office of Strategic Research Development Laurie Garton lsgarton@tamu.edu 845-9775

For an electronic version of this presentation For More Info Go to http://opd.tamu.edu, click “Seminar Materials”, then “Seminars by Date” and look for this seminar (first link) Faculty in Engineering: go to http://teesresearch.tamu.edu/mission.htm and click on “Workshops“ For an electronic version of this presentation For additional resource materials

CAREER Seminar Schedule Presentations (50 min.): NSF and CAREER overview – Lucy Deckard Preparing a competitive CAREER proposal – Laurie Garton Eugene Billiot (Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi) CAREER and PECASE Awardee and Reviewer – discussion and Q&A (45 min) Q & A

Advance frontiers of knowledge NSF Strategic Goals, 2006 - 2011 Discovery Advance frontiers of knowledge Emphasize areas of greatest opportunity and potential benefit Establish nation as global leader in transforming science and education Learning Cultivate a world-class, broadly inclusive S&E workforce Expand scientific literacy of all citizens

NSF Strategic Goals (cont’d) Research Infrastructure Build nation’s research capability through investments in advanced instrumentation, facilities, cyberinfrastructure and experimental tools Stewardship Support excellence in science and engineering research and education through a capable and responsive organization

Divided into directorates: NSF Structure Divided into directorates: Biological Sciences (BIO) Computer and Information Science and Eng (CISE) Education and Human Resources (EHR) Engineering (ENG) Geosciences (GEO) Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS) Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences (SBE) Office of Polar Programs (OPP) Each directorate divided into divisions and programs See http://www.nsf.gov/funding/browse_all_funding.jsp for description of programs

Each directorate has its own culture and priorities NSF Culture Each directorate has its own culture and priorities Get to know the directorates and divisions that could fund your work Read web site – goals, priorities of directorate, division, programs Get to know program directors Use funded programs data base to find out what has been funded recently - http://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/index.jsp Volunteer to serve as reviewer

NSF CAREER Program Duration: 5 years Funding level: “minimum” $400K total (except min. $500K total for BIO directorate) Eligibility: Have a PhD Untenured, holding tenure-track Asst. Prof. position or equivalent Have not competed in CAREER more than two times previously Have not won a CAREER award Due: July 21 – 23 depending on directorate NSF CAREER page: http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=503214&org=NSF&sel_org=NSF&from=fund Solicitation: http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2008/nsf08557/nsf08557.htm

Submit CAREER to specific disciplinary program Except for special interdisciplinary proposals Be sure you’re submitting to the right program!

In 2007 NSF CAREER Statistics ~2600 proposals submitted 458 awards made (18%) Success rate NSF-wide typically 15% - 23%; varies by directorate But remember you have three tries About 20% of awards go to non-research-intensive institutions (“judge research in context of organization”)

Success Rates for CAREERs 2006 Directorate Submitted Awarded % ENG 636 121 19% MPS 461 118 26% CISE 417 128 31% BIO 346 42 12% GEO 65 21 32% EHR 36 5 14% SBE 91 13 14%

Success Rate for New Investigators: CAREER Compared to Other Awards (From presentation at Fall 2007 NSF Regional Grants Conference; Year not Specified)

Key Points for CAREER Career Development Plan to “build a firm foundation for a lifetime of integrated contributions to research and education” Where is your field going over the next 20 years? What will help you become established at national level? Establish that you have the experience and resources to accomplish what you propose

Career development plan must have two major components: Key Points for CAREER Career development plan must have two major components: Research plan Integrated education plan Plus Description of how research and education are integrated with each other Results of Previous NSF support, if applicable

Review Criteria Intellectual Merit and Broader Impacts weighted equally Must show you have the skills to carry out the project Support from your department is critical State benefits of your research clearly Be sure to emphasize integration of education and research

“Strengths of Successful Proposals Novel or high-impact research focus Innovative research plan Education plan is well-developed, integrated with research and includes some consideration of evaluating its success Education plan goes beyond routine course development expected of all assistant professors” Quoted from J. Tornow presentation at QEM Workshop

“Weaknesses of Unsuccessful CAREER Proposals Research is either too ambitious or too narrowly focused Proposed methods do not address the stated research goals Educational component is either limited to routine courses or is unrealistically overambitious Integration of research and education is weak or uninspired” Quoted from J. Tornow presentation at QEM Workshop

Planning and preparing a CAREER proposal Step by Step

Coming up with a Research Idea What do you want to do? Does it address important questions in your field? Is it novel and cutting-edge? Do you have the background and resources to accomplish your goals? If you are moving into a new but related area, be sure you discuss collaborations with researchers who will fill any gaps Will it contribute to your career goals? Will it contribute to your department’s goals? Important: Talk to your department head and research departmental goals!

Next Step – Strategic Info Gathering Determine which NSF program to submit your proposal to. Extremely important! Submitting to wrong program can doom good proposal. Do this by e-mailing or calling program director. Have a paragraph summary of your proposed research prepared. Use NSF web site Search awarded CAREER projects in directorate Check program goals Talk to senior researchers in the area: where are they funded?