Department of Energy

Office of Science Financial Assistance Program Notice DE-FG01-04ER04-04; Plasma Physics Junior Faculty Development Program

AGENCY: U.S. Department of Energy

ACTION: Notice inviting grant applications.

SUMMARY: The Office of Fusion Energy Sciences (OFES) of the Office of Science (SC), U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), hereby announces its interest in receiving grant applications for support under its Plasma Physics Junior Faculty Development Program. Applications should be from tenure-track faculty investigators who are currently involved in experimental or theoretical plasma physics research and should be submitted through a U.S. academic institution. The purpose of this program is to support the development of the individual research programs of exceptionally talented scientists and engineers early in their careers.

DATES: To permit timely consideration for awards in Fiscal Year 2004, formal applications in response to this notice must be received on or before December 9, 2003.

ADDRESSES: We require formal applications in response to this solicitation to be submitted electronically through DOE's Industry Interactive Procurement System (IIPS) at: http://e-center.doe.gov/. IIPS provides for the posting of solicitations and receipt of applications in a paperless environment via the Internet. In order to submit applications through IIPS, your business official will need to register at the IIPS website. It is suggested that this registration be completed several days prior to the date on which you plan to submit the formal application. The Office of Science will include attachments as part of this notice that provide the appropriate forms in PDF fillable format that are to be submitted through IIPS. IIPS offers the option of submitting multiple files—please limit submissions to only one file within the volume if possible, with a maximum of no more than four files. Color images should be submitted in IIPS as a separate file in PDF format and identified as such. These images should be kept to a minimum due to the limitations of reproducing them. They should be numbered and referred to in the body of the technical scientific application as Color image 1, Color image 2, etc. Questions regarding the operation of IIPS may be e-mailed to the IIPS Help Desk at: helpdesk@pr.doe.gov, or you may call the help desk at: (800) 683-0751. Further information on the use of IIPS by the Office of Science is available at: http://www.sc.doe.gov/production/grants/grants.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Darlene Markevich, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Fusion Energy Sciences, Research Division, SC-55/Germantown Building, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20585-1290. Telephone: (301) 903-4920. E-mail: Darlene.markevich@science.doe.gov

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Plasma Physics Junior Faculty Development Program was started in Fiscal Year 1997. A principal goal of this program is to identify exceptionally talented plasma faculty members early in their careers and assist and facilitate the development of their research programs. Eligibility for awards under this notice is, therefore, restricted to tenure-track regular academic faculty investigators who are conducting experimental or theoretical plasma physics research. Those Junior Faculty members presently holding career development awards will not be considered under this announcement.

Applications from Junior Faculty involved in any areas of plasma physics research, not only magnetic fusion, are welcomed and encouraged. Emphasis is to be placed on basic plasma science research. For applications to be considered for funding, certification of the status of the applicant as a tenure-track regular academic faculty member by the head of the applicant's academic department or other university/college certifying official will be required before the grant is awarded. Awards made under this program will help to maintain the vitality of university plasma physics research and assure continued excellence in the teaching of plasma physics and related disciplines.

It is anticipated that annual funding levels up to $150,000 per award may be made available for grants under this notice during Fiscal Year 2004, contingent upon the availability of appropriated funds. Funding for equipment above this level will be considered on a case-by-case basis. The number of awards during Fiscal Year 2004 will depend on the number of meritorious applications and the availability of appropriated funds. Multiple-year funding of grant awards is expected, with funding provided on an annual basis subject to availability of funds. The usual duration of these grants is three years and they will not be renewed under the Plasma Physics Junior Faculty Development Program after the project period is completed. It is anticipated that at the end of the grant period, grantees will submit new grant applications to continue their research to the Department of Energy or other Federal funding agencies. For the Office of Science, these applications should follow the usual application process.

Applications will be subjected to scientific merit review and will be evaluated against the following criteria, which are listed in descending order of importance as set forth in 10 CFR Part 605:

1. Scientific and/or technical merit of the project;
2. Appropriateness of the proposed method or approach;
3. Competency of applicant's personnel and adequacy of proposed resources; and
4. Reasonableness and appropriateness of the proposed budget.

An additional review criterion will address educational aspects of the proposed work including the involvement of graduate and undergraduate students. These aspects should be discussed in the application.

General information about development and submission of applications, eligibility, limitations, evaluations and selection processes, and other policies and procedures are contained in the Application Guide for the Office of Science Financial Assistance Program and 10 CFR Part 605, which is available on the World Wide Web at: http://www.sc.doe.gov/production/grants/grants.html. DOE is under no obligation to pay for any costs associated with the preparation or submission of applications if an award is not made.

The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance number for this program is 81.049, and the solicitation control number is ERFAP 10 CFR Part 605.

John Rodney Clark
Associate Director of Science
    for Resource Management

Published in the Federal Register October 6, 2003, Volume 68, Number 193, Pages 57677-57678.