This document has been archived. Title: Dear Colleague Letter: Cooperative Activity with Department of Energy Programs for Education and Human Resource Development Date: 01/14/10 Dear Colleague Letter: Cooperative Activity with Department of Energy Programs for Education and Human Resource Development Office of the Assistant Director for Education and Human Resources Dear Colleague: The National Science Foundation (NSF) and Department of Energy (DoE) are collaborating to promote the development of human resources in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Towards this end, current Principal Investigators (PIs) of awards managed by any one of the following NSF programs are invited to seek supplemental support from NSF for their participating students and faculty who are accepted as participants in one of four DoE initiatives: Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internships (SULI), Faculty-Student Teams (FaST), Community College Institutes (CCI),and Pre-Service Teacher (PST) Internships. The initiatives are intended to support the provision of hands-on research opportunities in DoE national laboratories during the summer. Advanced Technological Education (ATE) Centers of Research Excellence in Science and Technology (CREST) Federal Cyber Service: Scholarship for Service (SFS) Historically Black Colleges and Universities Undergraduate Program (HBCU-UP) Interdisciplinary Training for Undergraduates in Biological and Mathematical Sciences (UBM) Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) Math and Science Partnerships (MSP) NSF Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM) Research on Disabilities Education (RDE) Research on Gender in Science and Engineering (GSE) Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program Tribal Colleges and Universities Program (TCUP) NSF will support this activity during FY 2010 (and FY 2011 and FY 2012, depending on the availability of funds).The four DoE initiatives are: Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internships (SULI), Faculty and Student Teams (FaST), Community College Institutes (CCI), and Pre-Service Teacher (PST) Internships. Current PIs in any of the above listed NSF programs are invited to encourage appropriate students and faculty to apply to DoE for these opportunities and, if DoE approves their applications, to then request supplemental funding from NSF to support their participation. (Please note: specific instructions for applying to DoE and for requesting supplemental funding from NSF are in the attachment.) A description of the opportunities is attached. SULI and CCI are designed for college students who could benefit from working in an advanced scientific research environment, FaST includes faculty and student teams in that opportunity, and PST internships target students who are preparing to become teachers of science, mathematics, and technology at elementary and secondary schools. Undergraduate students (two-year and four-year schools) may apply to DoE to participate in SULI or PST internships. Students enrolled in community colleges may participate in CCI or SULI, and, if they are pre-service teachers, PST. Faculty and student teams may participate in FaST. The amounts for the NSF supplements for this cooperative activity are $4,750 for each student (allocated as ten weekly stipends of $425, and up to $500 for travel), and up to 2/9 academic year salary (up to $12,500) for faculty. NSF will support students and faculty, pending the availability of funds. Up to $1,000 in additional participant support may be requested as reasonable accommodation for unusual/extraordinary travel expenses incurred by persons with disabilities. This additional request must be included and justified in the submitted budget. DoE indicates that it provides reasonable accommodation at its research facilities. Applications are reviewed by DoE beginning February 1. If DoE accepts the applicants, you may forward a formal request for supplemental funding to NSF. This supplement request should be submitted as soon as possible but not later than 5 pm (submitter's local time), March 8, 2010 (March 7, 2011, and March 5, 2012). We hope that you will give serious consideration to encouraging appropriate students and faculty to apply for the DoE initiatives and subsequently applying to NSF for a supplement to support the participants. As always, we cannot guarantee that a supplement request will be granted, but we will strive to fund as many as possible. Sincerely, Joan Ferrini-Mundy Assistant Director (Acting) Education and Human Resources Attachment: Opportunities for NSF/EHR Grantee Participation in Programs of the Department of Energy Office of Science OPPORTUNITIES FOR NSF/EHR GRANTEE PARTICIPATION IN PROGRAMS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY OFFICE OF SCIENCE Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internships (SULI) target undergraduate students who have not had an opportunity to work in an advanced scientific research environment, especially students belonging to groups underrepresented in fields of science, mathematics, engineering, and technology. The SULI program incorporates both an individually mentored research component and a set of enrichment activities, which include lectures, classroom activities, career guidance and planning, and field trips. Additional information is available on the Web at [1]http://www.scied.science.doe.gov/scied/erulf/about.html . Grantees of participating NSF/EHR STEM programs may request supplements to support the participation of undergraduate students in the SULI program. NSF provides stipend and travel support of $4,750 per student. Faculty and Student Teams (FaST) provides opportunities for college professors and students to participate in a 10-week highly interactive and stimulating immersion experience in a research environment in a DoE laboratory. This program encourages a sustainable professional relationship between the faculty and laboratory investigators. Workshops and training minimize the "culture shock" of working in a national laboratory setting. Additional information is available on the Web at [2]http://www.scied.science.doe.gov/scied/fast/about.html . Grantees of participating NSF/EHR STEM programs supporting undergraduate students may request supplements to support the participation of faculty-student teams in the FaST initiative. NSF provides up to 2/9 academic year salary (up to $12,500) per faculty member for up to thirteen college faculty members (nationwide). Each faculty member who is selected to participate will select up to three undergraduate students to join the research team; NSF provides stipend and travel support of $4,750 per student. Community College Institutes (CCI) places students from community colleges in paid internships in Science and Engineering and Technology. Because of the comprehensive nature of this program many of the participants have felt it has had an enormous influence on their careers. Students work with scientists or engineers on projects related to the laboratories' research programs. They also attend career planning and numerous training/informational sessions. Additional information is available on the Web at [3]http://www.scied.science.doe.gov/scied/CCI/about.html . Grantees of participating NSF/EHR STEM programs supporting community/two-year college students may request supplements to support the participation of undergraduate students in the CCI program. NSF provides stipend and travel support of $4,750 per student. Pre-Service Teacher (PST) Internships target students who are preparing to become teachers of science, mathematics, and technology at elementary and secondary schools. In addition to the research component found in the SULI program, the students are guided by a resident Master Teacher to learn how to transfer their newfound scientific research expertise to the classroom. This culminates in each student writing an educational module based on his or her research, which incorporates science standards and benchmarks. Additional information is available on the Web at [4]http://www.scied.science.doe.gov/scied/PST/about.htm . Grantees of participating NSF/EHR STEM programs supporting students in pre-service STEM teacher education may request supplements to support the participation students in the PST Internships program. NSF provides stipend and travel support of $4,750 per student. For participants in all four initiatives, DoE provides support for housing, laboratory safety training, local travel, and other program costs. During FY 2010 (and FY 2011 and FY 2012, respectively, pending availability of funds), grantees of participating NSF programs may encourage students and faculty members to apply to participate in the DoE initiatives (SULI, FaST, CCI, or PST Internships). Once a DoE applicant has accepted an offer from a DoE lab, e-mail will be sent by DoE to notify the PI. The PI may then request supplemental funding from NSF. APPLYING TO DoE Applications are reviewed by DoE beginning February 1. SULI: NSF Principal Investigators (PIs) are asked to identify students who have the potential to benefit significantly from the research participation offered by the SULI program. These students should complete the SULI application on the DoE Office of Science Web site at [5]http://www.scied.science.doe.gov/scied/erulf/about.html . This form has a check box where students should indicate that they are affiliated with one of the participating NSF programs (including the grant award number, the PI's name, and the PI's e-mail address). Once a DoE applicant has accepted an offer from a DoE lab, e-mail will be sent by DoE to notify the PI. The PI may then request supplemental funding from NSF. FaST: NSF Principal Investigators (PIs) are asked to identify faculty members associated with one of the participating NSF/EHR grant programs to apply to the FaST Program. Faculty from colleges and universities with limited prior research capabilities and those institutions serving populations underrepresented in the fields of science, engineering and technology are encouraged to take advantage of the FaST opportunity to prepare students for careers in science, engineering, computer science, and technology and for their own professional development. Faculty should complete the FaST on-line application on the DOE website. Faculty should review the DoE FaST project descriptions and identify opportunities for which they are qualified, interested, and willing to make a commitment. Faculty applicants may contact laboratory Science Education directors for additional information on the project prior to submitting the application. Faculty members should select the project of interest to them and complete the application. Faculty will list the students who will participate on the team. Once the faculty application has been submitted the students will receive an email to complete a student application. The students still receive an e-mail with a link to create an account and access the student application. Once they've created an account the system associates them with their faculty by the faculty identification number. When the student logs into the application they now see: The FaST student application process has changed. FaST student applicants are now required to complete a full application including providing recommendations. Students who are attending a Community College should complete the [6]Community College Institute of Science and Technology (CCI) application . Students who are attending a Four-Year College/University should complete the [7] Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internships (SULI) application . For questions related to the new process, please contact [8]sc.helpwithapplication@science.doe.gov . When the student begins completing the CCI or SULI application their name is added to the Faculty's user profile so the student's name is displayed on the Faculty's status page. When a FaST team has been selected by a DoE laboratory and the team has accepted the offer, the NSF PI will be notified by DoE by e-mail. The PI may then request an NSF supplement via FastLane. CCI: NSF Principal Investigators (PIs) are asked to identify two-year college students who have the potential to benefit significantly from the research participation offered by the CCI program. These students should complete the CCI application on the DoE Office of Science Web site at [9]http://www.scied.science.doe.gov/scied/CCI/about.html . This form has a check box where students should indicate that they are affiliated with one of the participating NSF programs (including the grant award number, the PI's name, and the PI's e-mail address). Once a DoE applicant has accepted an offer from a DoE lab, e-mail will be sent by DoE to notify the PI. The PI may then request supplemental funding from NSF. PST Internships: Grantees of participating NSF/EHR STEM programs supporting students in pre-service STEM teacher education are asked to identify students who have the potential to benefit significantly from the research participation offered by the PST Internships program. These students should complete the PST Internships application on the DoE Office of Science Web site at [10]http://www.scied.science.doe.gov/PST/about.html . Once a DoE applicant has accepted an offer from a DoE lab, e-mail will be sent by DoE to notify the PI. The PI may then request supplemental funding from NSF. REQUESTING SUPPLEMENTAL FUNDING FROM NSF After DoE notifies the NSF PI that the DoE application has been approved, the PI may then submit a request for supplemental funding to NSF. TThis request should conform to the procedure outlined in NSF's Award and Administration Guide, Chapter 1, section E.4 (see http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/policydocs/papp/aag_1.jsp#IE4). NSF's FastLane system should be used to prepare and submit these requests for supplemental funding ( [12]https://www.fastlane.nsf.gov/fastlane.jsp ). The requests should be submitted as soon as notification of application acceptance by DoE is received, but must be submitted not later than 5 pm (submitter's local time), March 8, 2010 (March 7, 2011, and March 5, 2012). To request the supplement, the PI should use the FastLane Proposals, Awards & Status function. The Supplemental Funding Request may be accessed via the Award and Reporting Functions. In the Supplemental Funding Request, the PI should complete: Justification For Supplement: a brief (one-page) statement justifying participation in the relevant DoE initiative (e.g., alignment of the planned research with the overall program goals). Note that decisions will be based on the evaluation of submittals through use of the standard NSB Merit Review Criteria, and will take into account the quality of the proposed work and its expected benefits to the students and faculty participating. The summary should be written in the third person and include a statement of objectives and methods to be employed. It must clearly address in separate statements (within the one-page summary): + the intellectual merit of the proposed activity; and + the broader impacts resulting from the proposed activity. Supplementary Docs: a copy of the notification from DoE that the students and/or faculty have been accepted. Budgets (Including Justification): a budget for travel and stipend. On the budget page, stipends and travel support should be entered on Line F (Participant Support). Indirect costs are not allowed on participant support costs, and there is no administrative allowance in lieu of indirect costs. The amounts for the NSF supplements for this cooperative activity are $4,750 for each student (allocated as ten weekly stipends of $425, and up to $500 for travel), and up to 2/9 academic year salary (up to $12,500) for faculty. Up to $1,000 in additional participant support may be requested as reasonable accommodation for unusual/extraordinary travel expenses incurred by persons with disabilities. This additional request must be included and justified in the submitted budget. DoE indicates that it provides reasonable accommodation at its research facilities. FastLane Contact(s): FastLane Help Desk, telephone: 1-800-673-6188, e-mail: [13]fastlane@nsf.gov . The PI must also send notification to NSF/EHR [14]DOE-EHR@nsf.gov that the FastLane request has been submitted. The notification should include the PI's name, the grant to be supplemented by the seven-digit number, and the cognizant NSF Program Officer for the award. Also, the PI must submit an annual project report to the cognizant Program Officer at least 90 days before the end of the current budget period, including information on supplement-based project participants (individual and organizational), activities and findings, publications, and other specific products and contributions. References 1. http://www.scied.science.doe.gov/scied/erulf/about.html 2. http://www.scied.science.doe.gov/scied/fast/about.html 3. http://www.scied.science.doe.gov/scied/CCI/about.html 4. http://www.scied.science.doe.gov/scied/PST/about.htm 5. http://www.scied.science.doe.gov/scied/erulf/about.html 6. https://applicationlink.labworks.org/home.nsf/CCI+user+login?openagent 7. https://applicationlink.labworks.org/home.nsf/suli+user+login?openagent 8. mailto:sc.helpwithapplication@science.doe.gov 9. http://www.scied.science.doe.gov/scied/CCI/about.html 10. http://www.scied.science.doe.gov/scied/PST/about.htm 11. http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2002/nsf02151/gpm2.jsp#260 12. https://www.fastlane.nsf.gov/fastlane.jsp 13. mailto:fastlane@nsf.gov 14. mailto:DOE-EHR@nsf.gov