Overview Preparing a Successful Career Development Plan – My Perspective and Experience Dr. Mario Richard Eden Department of Chemical Engineering Auburn University NSF CAREER Proposal Writing Workshops Honolulu and Hilo, Hawaii March 23 & 26, 2007

My Background Education –1999: M.Sc. (Chem. Eng.), Tech. University of Denmark –2003: Ph.D. (Chem. Eng.), Tech. University of Denmark Professional Experience –2002 – 2003: Visiting Lecturer, Auburn University –2004 – Now: Assistant Professor, Auburn University CAREER Experience –2004: Rejected for CAREER Proposal Writing Workshop –2005: Accepted for CAREER Proposal Writing Workshop –2005: Submission of successful CAREER proposal

Disclaimers The material presented here are derived from my own experiences and does not represent the views and/or opinions of the National Science Foundation! Look very critically at each piece of advice and recommendation and determine whether it applies to you and your particular area!

Acknowledgements Mentoring and Career Advice –Dr. Chris Roberts, Auburn University –Dr. Mahmoud El-Halwagi, Texas A&M University Inspiring this Presentation –Dr. Gracious Ngaile, North Carolina State University –Dr. Ana Muriel, University of Massachusetts Amherst –Dr. Jim Smay, Oklahoma State University –Dr. Martin Culpepper, MIT

The Key to Securing Funding Funding agencies do not fund good projects – they fund good people with good projects! Technical quality has to be high, but a really strong proposal makes it clear: 1. Why your research is novel and important! 2. Why you are the best PI to carry out this project! TRANSLATION

CAREER vs. Career Writing a Career Development Plan –Important and valuable exercise –Should be done by any new faculty member –Describe your short and long-term career goals –Detailed plan for first 5 years leading to these goals –Should include submission of CAREER proposal The NSF CAREER Program –Provides wonderful foundation for your career –Only one of many components in an academic career –Not likely to singlehandedly make/break your career! –Many successful faculty members without CAREER

The CAREER Proposal 1:3 Structure of Most CAREER Proposals –Project Summary –Project Description Research Plan Education Plan –Integration of Research and Education Previously called career development plan

The CAREER Proposal 2:3 Some General Comments –Very different from a regular research proposal –Goal is to convince reviewers of your qualifications and promise for a career with valuable contributions in research and education –Reviewers need to be made aware of your vision from the beginning and the proposal should outline a path toward achieving that vision –Proposal is meant to cover all your activities, so there will be significant (technical) overlap with other proposals submitted or in preparation

The CAREER Proposal 3:3 Your CAREER proposal represents your career development plan! The research and educational activities proposed should be things you are going to do regardless of whether the proposal is successful!

My CAREER Proposal 1:3 General Structure –Wanted to show cohesiveness of research projects –My research area: Process Design and Optimization –Spent more time on finding the right outline than on actual proposal writing Research Plan –Two well-developed research projects #1: Extension of my Ph.D. work #2: New area ventured into after joining AU –One project still in its infancy #3: Builds upon my general expertise as well as #1 and #2

My CAREER Proposal 2:3 Education Plan –Was unable to write a ”separate” education plan –Course responsibilities are closely related to research CHEN4460 Process Synthesis, Simulation and Optimization CHEN4470 Process Design Practice –Decided to incorporate the educational aspects as natural (logical) extensions of research work to avoid being repetitive This is a luxury not offered to all new faculty members!

My CAREER Proposal 3:3 Outreach Plan –Did not want to suggest outreach activities that I did not feel made sense to me and my research area Did not want to include ”token” statements about planning to ”infuse process design and integration into K-12 education” Wanted to recruit K-12 students away from computer science by illustrating how engineers use computers and math –Resisted attempting to ”reach out” to everyone No significant Hispanic or Native American population in area Auburn is close to Tuskegee University (a HBCU 20 miles away) –Decided to write an ”honest” proposal Unlikely that the only thing the reviewers criticized was the lack of novel and innovative outreach components

General Advice 1:5 Project Summary –First thing the reviewers see! –Needs to excite them about the rest of the proposal –Imperative that you point out the importance of your work and why you are just the right person to do it –Get a non-technical person to read it –Help the reviewers find your contributions through bullets, italics or bold fonts

General Advice 2:5 Research Plan –Establish your career objectives Where do you want to be in 5 years? 10 years? a career? –The award is for 5 years so be ambitious, but focused –Establish your track-record as a researcher to convince the reviewers that you can do the project Preliminary results and publication record on the subject Prior funding –Letters from collaborators Provides validity if collaborator is willing to invest in you Should illustrate knowledge of your work

General Advice 3:5 Education Plan –Develop graduate level elective course –Mentor and train graduate students and undergraduate researchers –Involvement in honors and professional societies PAR FOR THE COURSE! These do not add much positive value, but reviewers notice if they are omitted!

General Advice 4:5 Education Plan (Continued) –Integrate research and education activities Ease and seamlessness depends on course assignments –Remember that all research results can be translated into something that has educational value Tabletop experiments Computational tools Interactive websites Case studies highlighting aspects of interest to a given class –Be creative, but propose only what makes sense to you

General Advice 5:5 Outreach Plan –Has a tendency to become ”all encompassing” Make sure you leave time for research –Increasing diversity in science and engineering Sensitive subject and addressed differently at each school You are not expected to solve this all by yourself Capitalize on what is unique to your region, e.g. HBCU’s etc. –K-12 Most universities have established procedures and channels Use this infrastructure to the extend possible Propose only what you would like to do anyway, not what you think the reviewers would like to see

Final Thoughts Your career should not depend on your CAREER proposal! Regardless of the reviews, you will not radically change research directions! There is no reason to reinvent the wheel, nor is there any reason to invent a square wheel just because it would be a novel approach! Remember, funding agencies do not fund good projects – they fund good people with good projects!

Contact Information Dr. Mario Richard Eden Assistant Professor Department of Chemical Engineering 222 Ross Hall Auburn University, AL Phone: (334) Fax: (334) Web: