Synopsis of Program:

The National Science Foundation (NSF) seeks to develop and nurture a national innovation ecosystem that builds

upon fundamental research to guide the output of scientific discoveries closer to the development of technologies,

products and processes that benefit society.

In order to jumpstart a national innovation ecosystem, NSF is establishing the NSF Innovation Corps (NSF ICorps).

The NSF I-Corps' purpose is to identify NSF-funded researchers who will receive additional support - in

the form of mentoring and funding - to accelerate innovation that can attract subsequent third-party funding.

The purpose of the NSF I-Corps grant is to give the project team access to resources to help determine the

readiness to transition technology developed by previously-funded or currently-funded NSF projects. The outcome

of the I-Corps projects will be threefold: 1) a clear go/no go decision regarding viability of products and services, 2)

should the decision be to move the effort forward, a transition plan to do so, and 3) a technology demonstration for

potential partners.

http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2011/nsf11560/nsf11560.pdf

I-CORPS WEBINARS

A webinar will be held on the first Tuesday of every month at 2PM, Eastern Time, to answer questions about I-Corps. The webinars will provide updated information about the I-Corps Mentor Network, the curriculum, and other aspects of I-Corps.

1. Access the audio portion of the webinar by phone
   888-889-0497 (for callers inside the U.S.) OR
   
   210-839-8288 (for callers outside the U.S.)
   
   Participant passcode: 8376156
   
   You may download the slides in advance -- download the slides (PDF).
2. Access the visual portion of the webinar at https://www.livemeeting.com/cc/mmancusa/join?id=9P5SC3&role=attend&pw=p5f%28M%2CX%24r, or:
   
   
   
• Copy this address and paste it into your web browser: https://www.livemeeting.com/cc/mmancusa/join
• Choose whether to install Office Live Meeting or to use the web-based version, Live Meeting Web Access.
• Note: the web-based version works for both PC and Mac users.
• Copy and paste the following information:
• Meeting ID: 9P5SC3
• Entry Code: p5f(M,X$r
• Location: https://www.livemeeting.com/cc/mmancusa

Dear Colleagues:

The three major publications from the second phase of AAAS's NSF-funded Law & Diversity Project are now available online.

Beyond Federal Law: Trends and Principles Associated with State Laws Banning the Consideration of Race, Ethnicity, and Sex Among Public Education Institutions: http://php.aaas.org/programs/centers/capacity/documents/BeyondFedLaw.pdf

The Smart Grid for Institutions of Higher Education and the Students They Serve: http://php.aaas.org/programs/centers/capacity/documents/SmartGrid.pdf

i3 Grant Reviewers Needed

The Investing in Innovation (i3) competition is one of the U.S. Department of Education’s signature initiatives.  The i3 program currently supports 72 grantees across the country, and the Department has just announced a new competition for i3 applicants (please see http://www2.ed.gov/programs/innovation/index.html for more information on the newly announced i3 grant competition).

Selecting the winning i3 applicants is integral to the overall success of the program, and we are hopeful that you might be able to lend your time and expertise to this endeavor.  All i3 grantees are selected through a rigorous peer review process.  The Department is currently seeking reviewers with expertise in one or more of the following Absolute Priorities, or in education evaluation, for the recently announced 2012 i3 competition:

1.      Supporting Effective Teachers and Principals

2.      Promoting Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education

3.      Improving Parent and Family Engagement (this is a new priority for the i3 competition this year)

4.      Implementing Standards and Assessments

5.      Turning Around Low-Performing Schools

6.      Improving Achievement in Rural LEA’s

OR

        Education Research and Evaluation

Please note that while it is essential that you have subject-matter expertise in at least one of the aforementioned Absolute Priorities, it is not necessary to have expertise in multiple areas listed above.

In addition, the Department is seeking reviewers with experience in:

1. Innovation
2. Growth and Scaling Programs/Organizations
3. Strategic Planning
4. Grant Making and/or Oversight

Selected reviewers will receive a stipend and will work remotely on a part-time basis. Reviewers must be available for at least one of the following time periods:

• Approximately late April to late May (not full-time); and/or
• Approximately mid-June to late July (not full-time); and/or
• Approximately mid-August to mid-September (not full-time).

To apply to be an i3 peer reviewer, please follow the instructions at http://www2.ed.gov/programs/innovation/index.html.  You will be asked to register and submit your resume.  When the system prompts you for your areas of specialization, please ensure you select at least one of the i3 Absolute Priorities: teacher/principal effectiveness, STEM education, standards/assessments, parent/family engagement, school turnarounds and/or rural achievement.

Please share this invitation with anyone who may be interested in being peer reviewer for i3.  Having a diverse, experienced and knowledgeable pool of peer reviewers is critical to the i3 competition and the Department’s overall efforts to enhance the implementation of leading practices that produce meaningful results for our neediest students, and we strongly encourage all interested peer reviewers to apply.  The deadline for applying to be a peer reviewer is Wednesday, March 21, 2012.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at i3peerreview@ed.gov

A research study supported by the UNC-Charlotte ADVANCE Faculty Affairs Office was recently published inChange: The Magazine of Higher Learning. The article entitled “Removing the Barriers to Full Professor: A Mentoring Program for Associate Professors” was authored by Dr. Kimberly Buch, Associate Professor in Psychology, and leader of the ADVANCE Mid-Career Mentoring Initiative; Dr. Yvette Huet, Director of the ADVANCE Faculty Affairs Office and Interim Chair of Kinesiology; Dr. Audrey Rorrer, Research Associate in the College of Computing and Informatics and former Lead Evaluator, ADVANCE Faulty Affairs Office; and Lynn Roberson, Director of Communications in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and former Project Director, ADVANCE Faculty Affairs Office

The article describes the results of a campus-wide assessment at UNC-Charlotte that identified career-development needs of associate professors at the Institution, and the response of the Institution to those needs. The results of the survey highlighted the unique career challenges facing associate professors, and mirrored previous findings of gender differences in perceptions about the processes and expectations regarding promotion to full professor. A high percentage of respondents, regardless of gender, indicated that it would be beneficial to their careeradvancement to have a mentor. The survey findings informed the development and implementation of a mid-career mentoring initiative by the ADVANCE Faculty Affairs Office. The goal of the program was to engage associate professors in proactive, intentional career planning in a supportive environment. A second survey was performed two years after the initial needs assessment to evaluate the effectiveness of the mentoring initiative. Results indicated that it was effective in changing previously identified faculty perceptions of the barriers to promotion, and that faculty members benefitted from participating in the program.  However, the authors acknowledge that while mentoringis an important component of career development for mid-level faculty, it is not a “cure-all”, but should be part of a comprehensive institutional-wide effort to facilitate the promotion of associate professors to the rank of full professor.

The study described in the article was supported under NSF ADVANCE Institutional Transformation Award 0548401 to UNC-Charlotte Provost Joan F. Lorden.

To cite this article: Kimberly Buch, Yvette Huet, Audrey Rorrer & Lynn Roberson (2011): Removing the Barriers to Full Professor: A Mentoring Program for Associate Professors, Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning, 43:6, 38-45

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00091383.2011.618081

In January 2012, changes will occur as part of the transition from FastLane to Research.gov. Please note that these changes will impact financial users at all NSF awardee institutions.

·         Revised NSF policy requires that grantees prepare and submit FFRs through Research.gov beginning with reports that are due on February 1, 2012. For further information, review Article 9 of the NSF Agency Specific Requirements to the Research Terms & Conditions posted at www.nsf.gov/pubs/policydocs/rtc/nsf_212.pdf.

·         Beginning in January, financial users will only be able to access financial functions by going directly to Research.gov and using current FastLane login credentials to login. A financial user who tries to access financial functions through FastLane will be transferred directly to Research.gov to login

·         The changes being implemented in January only impact financial users. Access to other services on FastLane and Research.gov remain the same

·         The FFR/financial function transition is another major step in the transition of FastLane to Research.gov

·         The FFR/financial function transition is the first of three major transitions that will occur in the next 12 months, including the transition to Award Cash Management Service and the Research Performance Progress Report  in January 2013

For More Information (do NOT reply to this email)

·         For further information on the new FFR requirement, review Article 9 of the NSF Agency Specific Requirements  to the Research Terms & Conditions posted at www.nsf.gov/pubs/policydocs/rtc/nsf_212.pdf

·         Clicking on Research.gov’s  “Help” service gives users access to directions for accessing financial  functions and preparing and submitting FFRs

·         For additional assistance, contact the Research.gov Help Desk, 7 AM - 9 PM Eastern Time, Monday through Friday (except for federal holidays).  Users can contact the Research.gov Help Desk by calling 1.800.381.1532 or by emailing rgov@nsf.gov 

The University of Michigan will host our annual Engineering Graduate Symposium on Friday, November 11, 2011, www.engin.umich.edu/gradsymposium.  Travel grants are available for prospective engineering Ph.D. students (flights/mileage, hotels, local transportation, meals).   More than 250 graduate engineering students will present posters on their current research projects.  Prospective graduate students are encouraged to attend to learn more about our departments, faculty, graduate student research, admissions, funding and life at the University of Michigan.  Please assist our effort by forwarding this email to prospective graduate engineering students affiliated with your national organization or particular institution.

A short online application process is involved for travel grant consideration.  Junior level students will have the highest level of priority; although seniors are welcome to apply.  Applicants must reside within the United States.  Students should be within 1-2 years of attending graduate school and have a strong interest in research.  Those who are invited to attend this fall program will have all their expenses paid.  Full details can be found on the website.  Students should submit their completed applications by late September:

·         Travel grant application, http://www.engin.umich.edu/academics/gradprograms/gradsymposium/travelgrants.html

·         Electronic unofficial transcripts

·         Resume

·         One faculty letter of recommendation

Feel free to contact me directly with any questions. 

Sincerely,

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Over the past year, the National Science Board’s (NSB) Task Force on Merit Review did a careful review of the National Science Foundation's two merit review criteria (Intellectual Merit and Broader Impacts).  The Task Force recently proposed maintaining the two criteria, but revising the text to clarify the intent of the criteria and how they are to be used during the review process.

The NSF and NSB are now interested in getting feedback on the revised criteria and the underlying principles upon which they are based, and have issued a joint Dear Colleague Letter (http://www.nsf.gov/nsb/publications/2011/06_mrtf.jsp) requesting input from the external community.  You are invited to send your comments to meritreview@nsf.gov; comments are no longer accepted on line; please note that all comments should be submitted by July 14. 

From the Dear Colleague Letter (11-42): 

The two draft revised criteria, and the principles upon which they are based, are below. Comments are being collected through July 14—we invite you to send comments to meritreview@nsf.gov. 

Merit Review Principles and Criteria
The identification and description of the merit review criteria are firmly grounded in the following principles:

1.      All NSF projects should be of the highest intellectual merit with the potential to advance the frontiers of knowledge.

2.      Collectively, NSF projects should help to advance a broad set of important national goals, including:

o       Increased economic competitiveness of the United States.

o       Development of a globally competitive STEM workforce.

o       Increased participation of women, persons with disabilities, and underrepresented minorities in STEM.

o       Increased partnerships between academia and industry.

o       Improved pre-K–12 STEM education and teacher development.

o       Improved undergraduate STEM education.

o       Increased public scientific literacy and public engagement with science and technology.

o       Increased national security.

o       Enhanced infrastructure for research and education, including facilities, instrumentation, networks and partnerships.

3.      Broader impacts may be achieved through the research itself, through activities that are directly related to specific research projects, or through activities that are supported by the project but ancillary to the research. All are valuable approaches for advancing important national goals.

4.      Ongoing application of these criteria should be subject to appropriate assessment developed using reasonable metrics over a period of time.

Intellectual merit of the proposed activity

The goal of this review criterion is to assess the degree to which the proposed activities will advance the frontiers of knowledge. Elements to consider in the review are:

1.      What role does the proposed activity play in advancing knowledge and understanding within its own field or across different fields?

2.      To what extent does the proposed activity suggest and explore creative, original, or potentially transformative concepts?

3.      How well conceived and organized is the proposed activity?

4.      How well qualified is the individual or team to conduct the proposed research?

5.      Is there sufficient access to resources?

Broader impacts of the proposed activity

The purpose of this review criterion is to ensure the consideration of how the proposed project advances a national goal(s). Elements to consider in the review are:

1.      Which national goal (or goals) is (or are) addressed in this proposal? Has the PI presented a compelling description of how the project or the PI will advance that goal(s)?

2.      Is there a well-reasoned plan for the proposed activities, including, if appropriate, department-level or institutional engagement?

3.      Is the rationale for choosing the approach well-justified? Have any innovations been incorporated?

4.      How well qualified is the individual, team, or institution to carry out the proposed broader impacts activities?

5.      Are there adequate resources available to the PI or institution to carry out the proposed activities?

Hello AGEP and SBE-AGEP grantees,

A detailed agenda for the AGEP specific sessions at the upcoming HRD JAM 2011 meeting June 6-8, 2011 is attached to this email and is included below. Please note the optional AGEP sessions on Monday June 6^th before the welcoming dinner, if you are arriving early to the meeting we encourage you to participate.  Please refer to the main JAM website for information on the plenary and other concurrent sessions as well as for hotel and registration information.