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LIMITED OPPORTUNITY FOR SUPPLEMENTS TO DEVELOP
RESEARCH EXPERIENCES FOR UNDERGRADUATES (REU)
SITES IN EAST ASIA

The Division of International Programs has set aside a small amount of funds from its remaining FY 2000 budget to encourage current REU site grant recipients to explore opportunities for developing REU sites in East Asia. Up to ten supplements for up to $10,000 each will be made available for travel to East Asia to discuss plans with potential foreign counterparts and to investigate the environment for accommodating REU students. The deadline for submission of these supplementary requests is June 15, 2000. The funds may be used for visits that would take place either in the current fiscal year or beyond.

The U.S. science and engineering (S&E) workforce is competing in a context that demands new and different skills and competencies, particularly those that provide maximum flexibility in meeting the current and future needs of employers that have a global reach. In this changed world, we need to educate our engineers and scientists beyond their technical expertise and prepare them for what is to come. The best technical training must be combined with an understanding of how that expertise fits into the larger societal environment, into our overriding national goals, and into the goals of other nations.

East Asia presents clear challenges and opportunities for developing an approach to enhancing the competence of our S&E workforce. It is a region of strategic importance to the United States, with a strong cadre of scientific talent, a rapidly evolving technological base, and the potential to provide significant new markets for U.S. technological products. The scientific, educational and technological strengths of the region present the U.S. with a rich array of potential partners, customers, and competitors.

In this context, the NSF Division of International Programs is providing programmatic opportunities with a focus on East Asia, that allow creative approaches to ensuring our S&E graduates are competent operating in a global environment.

We are offering Principal Investigators of active REU site awards supplemental support for developmental visits to the countries in East Asia in which they would like to establish collaborations. This support is intended to allow the PIs to plan projects with their foreign counterparts,

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as well as to investigate the environment for accommodating REU participants in the future. The Division of International Programs anticipates that there will be funding opportunities available for future collaborative projects as well.

Funding of up to $10,000 to support planning visits will be made available on the basis of requests for supplements. Requests for supplements are to be in letter format not to exceed three single-spaced pages. In addition, they should include the standard NSF cover page (NSF Form 1207) and budget page (NSF Form 1030, a budget justification, institutional authorization, and supporting letters from potential foreign hosts. These supplements are solely to support travel costs and thus, NSF will not reimburse indirect costs per NSF Grant Policy Manual (GPM) 632.2.a.. The original REU award number must be given. As a supplement to that award, it must also meet REU guidelines, which limit participation to U.S. citizens or permanent residents.

NSF is particularly interested in increasing the participation in research of women, underrepresented minorities, and persons with disabilities. REU project directors will be encouraged to involve students who are members of these groups.

Proposals should include the following information:

Requests for supplements should be directed to Alexander De Angelis, Division of International Programs, National Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Rm. 935, Arlington, VA 22230, (FAX: 703-306-0476; E-mail adeangel@nsf.gov) not later than 6/15/00.

Supplement proposals will be reviewed internally by NSF program staff. The following general review criteria will be applied to all REU supplements:

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For further information about this opportunity, please contact Alexander De Angelis, Division of International Programs, National Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Rm. 935, Arlington, VA 22230, (FAX: 703-306-0476; E-mail adeangel@nsf.gov).

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ABOUT THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION

The National Science Foundation (NSF) funds research and education in most fields of science and engineering. Awardees are wholly responsible for conducting their project activities and preparing the results for publication. Thus, the Foundation does not assume responsibility for such findings or their interpretation.

NSF welcomes proposals from all qualified scientists, engineers and educators. The Foundation strongly encourages women, minorities and persons with disabilities to compete fully in its programs. In accordance with Federal statutes, regulations and NSF policies, no person on grounds of race, color, age, sex, national origin or disability shall be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving financial assistance from NSF (unless otherwise specified in the eligibility requirements for a particular program).

Facilitation Awards for Scientists and Engineers with Disabilities (FASED) provide funding for special assistance or equipment to enable persons with disabilities (investigators and other staff, including student research assistants) to work on NSF-supported projects. See the program announcement/solicitation or contact the program coordinator at (703) 306-1636.

The National Science Foundation has Telephonic Device for the Deaf (TDD) and Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) capabilities that enable individuals with hearing impairments to communicate with the Foundation about NSF programs, employment or general information. TDD may be accessed at (703) 306-0090, FIRS at 1-800-877-8339.

The National Science Foundation is committed to making all of the information we publish easy to understand. If you have a suggestion about how to improve the clarity of this document or other NSF-published materials, please contact us at plainlanguage@nsf.gov..

PRIVACY ACT AND PUBLIC BURDEN STATEMENTS

The information requested on proposal forms and project reports is solicited under the authority of the National Science Foundation Act of 1950, as amended. The information on proposal forms will be used in connection with the selection of qualified proposals; project reports submitted by awardees will be used for program evaluation and reporting within the Executive Branch and to Congress. The information requested may be disclosed to qualified reviewers and staff assistants as part of the proposal review process; to applicant institutions/grantees to provide or obtain data regarding the proposal review process, award decisions, or the administration of awards; to government contractors, experts, volunteers and researchers and educators as necessary to complete assigned work; to other government agencies needing information as part of the review process or in order to coordinate programs; and to another Federal agency, court or party in a court or Federal administrative proceeding if the government is a party. Information about Principal Investigators may be added to the Reviewer file and used to select potential candidates to serve as peer reviewers or advisory committee members. See

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Systems of Records, NSF-50, "Principal Investigator/Proposal File and Associated Records," 63 Federal Register 267 (January 5, 1998), and NSF-51, "Reviewer/Proposal File and Associated Records," 63 Federal Register 268 (January 5, 1998). Submission of the information is voluntary. Failure to provide full and complete information, however, may reduce the possibility of receiving an award.

Pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.5(b), an agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to an information collection unless it displays a valid OMB control number. The OMB control number for this collection is 3145-0058. Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 120 hours per response, including the time for reviewing instructions. Send comments regarding this burden estimate and any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to: Suzanne Plimpton, Reports Clearance Officer, Information Dissemination Branch, Division of Administrative Services, National Science Foundation, Arlington, VA 22230, or to Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs of OMB, Attention: Desk Officer for National Science Foundation (3145-0058), 725 - 17th Street, N.W. Room 10235, Washington, D.C. 20503.

Catalog for Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) No.: 47.075 – Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences
OMB control number: 3145-0058.
NSF 00-98 (Electronic Dissemination Only)