NSF's Minority Faculty Development Workshop - Engineering Activities and Trends

1. NSF’s Directorate for EngineeringActivities and TrendsMinority Faculty Development WorkshopJuly 30, 2006 – August 2, 2006 National Science Foundation Directorate for Engineering Assistant Director for Engineering (Acting) Richard O. Buckius

2. Topics • External Forces and Trends • ENG Reorganization • ENG Themes

3. External Reports • Engineering Research and America’s Future (NAE, 2005): Committee to Assess the Capacity of the U.S. Engineering Research Enterprise • The Engineer of 2020 (NAE, 2004) and Educating the Engineer of 2020 (NAE, 2005) • Innovate American: National Innovation Initiative Final Report (Council on Competitiveness, 2005) • Rising Above the Gathering Storm: Energizing and Employing America for a Brighter Economic Future (NRC/COSEPUP, 2005)

4. American Competitiveness InitiativeNSF Implications • NSF funding derived from the ACI initiative is expected to support: • More than 500 additional research grants in 2007 • Provide opportunities for upward of 6,400 additional scientists, engineers, students, post-doctoral fellow, and technicians to contribute to the innovation enterprise.

5. ENG Budget HistoryDollars in Millions

6. Investments ENG NSF Other includes: direct costs (subcontracts, materials and supplies, consultant services), permanent equipment, travel, other personnel, etc.

7. Research CollaborationsPercent of Single PI vs. Multiple Investigator Awards

8. ENG and NSF Funding RatesResearch Grants Proposals and Awards Funding Rate Percent

9. ENG Reorganization • ENG is in the final stages of a comprehensive reorganization. • Consolidating 5 disciplinary divisions into 3. • Creating 3 crosscutting units to facilitate multidisciplinary research. • A major new element will be the Office of Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation (EFRI). • EFRI will fund research opportunities that are difficult to fund with current mechanisms. • Interdisciplinary opportunities with high potential payoff leading to new research directions. • Areas that result in a leadership position and/or significant progress on a recognized national need or grand challenge.

10. Directorate for EngineeringCurrent Office of the Assistant Director Deputy Assistant Director Senior Advisor Nanotechnology Bioengineering and Environmental Systems BES Civil and Mechanical Systems CMS Electrical andCommunications Systems ECS Office of Industrial Innovation OII (SBIR/STTR) Chemical andTransport Systems CTS Design and Manufacturing Innovation DMI Engineering Education and Centers EEC

11. Directorate for EngineeringFY 2007 Assistant Director Deputy Assistant Director Program Director/Diversity and Outreach (OAD) Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation (EFRI) Senior Advisor Nanotechnology Engineering Education and Centers (EEC) Civil, Mechanical, and Manufacturing Innovation (CMMI) Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, And Transport Systems (CBET) Electrical, Communications and Cyber Systems (ECCS) Industrial Innovation and Partnerships (IIP)

12. FY07 ENG Key Dates • ENG Division unsolicited proposal windows • CBET • August 15, 2006 through September 15, 2006 • February 1, 2007 through March 1, 2007 • CMMI • September 1, 2006 through October 1, 2006 • January 15, 2007 through February 15, 2007 • ECCS • September 7, 2006 through October 7, 2006 • January 7, 2007 through February 7, 2007

13. EFRI FY07 Solicitation • Interdisciplinary teams of 3 or more investigators, 4 years in duration, and up to $500 per year • Pre-proposals due Fall ‘06 and full proposals in Spring ’07 • Topics • Auto-reconfigurable Engineered Systems Enabled by Cyberinfrastructure – central idea is to develop autonomously reconfigurable engineered systems that remain robust in the face of unexpected high-consequence natural or intentional failure events • Cellular and Bimolecular Engineering – key idea is to establish an experimental and computational understanding of the interactive effects of mechanical, electrical, chemical and biological factors that impact molecular, cellular, and interfacial behavior

14. NSF FY 2007: Key Investments • NSF-wide Research in Sensors • $20.0 million request to support leading edge, frontier research on sensors and related topics • NSF-wide, interagency effort, led by ENG • Advance fundamental knowledge in sensors and other technologies, focusing on prediction and detection of explosive materials and related threats

15. ENG ThemesComplex Engineered and Natural Systems • Area considers unifying principles that enable modeling, prediction, and control of emergent behavior in complex systems ranging from critical infrastructure to the intersection of the life sciences and bioengineering. • Includes critical infrastructure systems, such as the power grid, communications infrastructure, and health care; and bioengineering systems, such as molecular biomachines and biomimetic devices, the brain-computer interface, and new biophotonics imaging methods.

16. ENG ThemesEnergy and the Environment • Environmentally and economically sustainable energy is among the most pressing concerns for this nation and the world. • A new ENG program on Energy for Sustainability will be initiated in FY 2007. • ENG’s investments directly impact national research goals: • Use of hydrogen, nuclear, and solar energy through basic research in materials; and • Research critical to nanotechnology, biotechnology, alternative energy, and the hydrogen economy through essential infrastructure.

17. ENG ThemesInnovation • What are the basic theories of innovation? Can innovation be taught? What are the elements that need to be integrated into engineering education to drive the nation’s innovation engine? • Innovation is a principal objective of engineering research and pervasive in ENG investments. ENG is uniquely able to integrate research, education, and innovation through existing programs: • SBIR/STTR • GOALI • I/UCRC, and • PFI.

18. ENG ThemesManufacturing Frontiers • Multiscale manufacturing considers research ranging from fundamental metrology through atomic-scale control of raw materials. • Innovation through manufacturing – especially nanomanufacturing – will ensure U.S. competitiveness. • ENG’s investments in manufacturing frontiers impact the following national research goals: • World-class capability in nanofabrication and nanomanufacturing; and • Improved sensor and detection capabilities resulting in world-leading automation and control technologies.

19. ENG ThemesNanotechnology • NSF is the lead institution in this nation’s efforts to develop nanotechnology from a nascent field to a truly path-breaking innovation. • Capabilities in nanotechnology are leading to active and complex nanosystems; and the integration with biology, neurology, energy, and water resources. • Fundamental new directions include the need to move into the 3rd dimension, and into time resolutions of chemical reactions.

20. Key Documents • Directorate for Engineering • www.nsf.gov/eng/general/reorg/ • www.nsf.gov/dir/index.jsp?org=ENG • Grant Proposal Guide • www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=GPG • Science and Engineering Indicators • www.nsf.gov/statistics/ • When in Doubt • www.nsf.gov • Other documents • www.whitehouse.gov/stateoftheunion/2006/aci/ • www.nae.edu

21. Thank You

22. Funding RatesFemale – Minority – All Categories Funding Rate Percent

23. Funding RatesMinority – All Categories Funding Rate Percent

24. Career Planning • General Comments • Teaching Career • Research Career • Professional Career • Proposals

25. Quick Starters Seek social support / advice Exemplary teachers positive attitude toward students less time preparing for class More time on scholarly work Complain less Unsuccessful Confused about expectations Feel socially isolated Scholarly work only verbal priority, low actual time Defensive teachers lecture only content focus avoid bad evaluations Faculty Characteristics(Boice 1991, not limited to engineering faculty, extremes)

26. Research and Teaching • Must be multidimensional - research , teaching, and professional activities • Teaching • A key element in any university • Significant portion of your effort and time is dedicated to teaching • Have a plan for your teaching career • Easy part of all the activities of a faculty member • Due to its regular and structured nature, it must be balanced with all the other activities • Think of teaching as a recruiting tool for future graduate students

27. Research and Teaching • Research • Direct your vision at the international research community, not the local university • Must interact with community at all levels • Have a plan for your research career, and it usually involves a number of different areas simultaneously • Take advantage of your unique opportunities – scholarly, local, regional • Must be a significant portion of your effort • Must dedicate regular time to your scholarship • Professional Career • Includes local, national and international activities • Have a plan for your professional activities

28. Successful Proposals • Stress the novel aspects of your approach • Differentiate your work from that done by others • Respond to all aspects of the program description • Support your ideas with references/preliminary results • Describe applications that could result from the research • Show where the research might lead • Include figures and graphs to facilitate understanding – convince the reader of the importance and impact of the work

29. Finding an Appropriate Program • Check list of currently funded programs • Use FastLane • Read titles and abstracts on the Website • Find a fit • Contact program director • Prepare a one-page abstract • Specify appropriate program on cover sheet • Consider initiatives and special programs • NSF initiative • NSE initiative

30. NSF Merit Review Criteria • Intellectual merit • Importance in advancing understanding in a field • Creativity and novelty of approach • Qualifications of investigators • Completeness of research plan • Access to resources • Broader impacts (see http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2002/nsf022/bicexamples.pdf) • Promotion of teaching and training • Inclusion of underrepresented minorities • Enhancement of infrastructure and partnerships • Dissemination of results • Benefits to society

31. Project Summary • Most important section (initial impressions, often used for reviewer selection) • Contains goals and scope of study, significance, brief description of methods, hypotheses and expected results • Clear, concise, accurate, exciting • Particularly important with panel reviews • Conventions vary by field – seek samples

32. Think Like a Reviewer • Make the reviewer want to read on • Eliminate typographical errors • Eliminate erroneous references • Do not exceed page length guidelines • Do not use too small font • Don’t be overly dramatic

33. Additional Comments • When your are writing, WRITE! • Ask a colleague to review your proposal • Respected researchers in your field will read your proposal – make a good impression • Get help with ‘boilerplate’ • Respect intellectual property, give appropriate credit • Don’t promise too much • Volunteer to serve as review • Federal fiscal year begins October 1