George E. Brown, Jr. Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation Operations  (NEES Ops)

PROGRAM GUIDELINES

A revised version of the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG), NSF 09-1, was issued on October 1, 2008 and is effective for proposals submitted on or after January 5, 2009. Please be advised that the guidelines contained in NSF 09-1 apply to proposals submitted in response to this funding opportunity.  Proposers who opt to submit prior to January 5^th, 2009, must also follow the guidelines contained in NSF 09-1.

One of the most significant changes to the PAPPG is implementation of the mentoring provisions of the America COMPETES Act.  Each proposal that requests funding to support postdoctoral researchers must include, as a separate section within the 15-page project description, a description of the mentoring activities that will be provided for such individuals.  Proposals that do not include a separate section on mentoring activities within the Project Description will be returned without review (see the PAPP Guide Part I: Grant Proposal Guide Chapter II.C.2.d for further information).

DUE DATES

SYNOPSIS

The Division of Civil, Mechanical and Manufacturing Innovation (CMMI) in the Directorate for Engineering (ENG) of the National Science Foundation (NSF) is soliciting proposals for network-wide leadership, management, operations, and maintenance of the George E. Brown, Jr. Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation (NEES) from October 1, 2009 through September 30, 2014.  NEES is a NSF-supported shared resource of experimental facilities and cyberinfrastructure for research and education to advance knowledge discovery and innovation to reduce losses from earthquakes.  The NEES experimental infrastructure comprises a network of 15 earthquake engineering equipment sites, located at universities across the United States, available for testing on-site, in the field, or through telepresence.  The NEES equipment sites include shake tables, geotechnical centrifuges, a tsunami wave basin, unique large-scale testing laboratories, and mobile and permanently installed field equipment.  The NEES cyberinfrastructure connects the equipment sites, via Internet2, and provides data curation and a curated central data repository; telepresence; simulation, computational, data visualization, and collaborative tools; hybrid (coupled computational and physical) simulation and multi-site hybrid simulation capabilities; user support services; middleware; and a cybersecurity framework.

A single award will be made for NEES operations, as a cooperative agreement, for a duration of five years from October 1, 2009 to September 30, 2014.  The awardee will use this NSF support to provide governance, a network-wide management headquarters, and subawards to the equipment sites and cyberinfrastructure, education, outreach, and other partner organizations based on the awardee's strategic plan, policies and procedures, annual goals and priorities, and the terms and conditions of the cooperative agreement.  The NEES equipment sites are not being competed as part of this solicitation and no new equipment sites will be added to NEES as a result of this competition.  Cyberinfrastructure operations and education and outreach activities are being competed as part of the award to be made under this solicitation and proposers should address these in their proposal submission.  The awardee itself will not conduct research under this cooperative agreement; NSF separately funds researchers and educators to use NEES.

Informational Meetings and Additional Web-based Information

NSF welcomes proposals from eligible organizations stated in Section IV, "Eligibility Information," of this solicitation and will facilitate the development of proposals through posting a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) and a draft of the cooperative agreement for the award to be made under this solicitation, an NSF Town Hall Meeting, and informational facility visit(s).  All information about these activities will be posted electronically at the NSF web site http://www.nsf.gov/div/index.jsp?div=CMMI as it becomes available.  NSF will hold a Town Hall Meeting about this program solicitation on August 8, 2008, at the National Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA 22230.  The Town Hall Meeting will be an opportunity for potential proposers to acquire information relevant to the development of a proposal and the review process.  More information about this meeting will be available at http://www.nsf.gov/div/index.jsp?div=CMMI.  Proposers interested in attending this meeting should send an email to Joy Pauschke (jpauschk@nsf.gov) by August 5, 2008, with their name, organizational affiliation, and contact information.  In addition, NSF staff will facilitate informational facility visits to one or more of the NEES equipment sites.  Proposers interested in visiting a NEES equipment site must contact Joy Pauschke (jpauschk@nsf.gov) by August 15, 2008.  The informational facility visits will be public meetings, scheduled based upon requests, and announced in advance on the NSF web site http://www.nsf.gov/div/index.jsp?div=CMMI.  Proposers are responsible for their own expenses to attend these meetings and facility visits.

RELATED PUBLICATIONS

Draft Cooperative Agreement for the Recompetition of NEES Operations (NSF 08-074)

RELATED URLS

Frequently Asked Questions for NSF 08-574 Program Solicitation: NEES Operations FY 2010-2014

Draft Cooperative Agreement for NEES Operations

NEES Operations Town Hall Meeting Webcast

Town Hall Meeting Agenda

Events