Office of Special Programs  

PROGRAM GUIDELINES

Apply to PD 04-7222 in FastLane. (standard Grant Proposal Guidelines) apply.)

As announced on May 21st, proposers must prepare and submit proposals to the National Science Foundation (NSF) using the NSF FastLane system at http://www.fastlane.nsf.gov/. This approach is being taken to support efficient Grants.gov operations during this busy workload period and in response to OMB direction guidance issued March 9, 2009. NSF will continue to post information about available funding opportunities to Grants.gov FIND and will continue to collaborate with institutions who have invested in system-to-system submission functionality as their preferred proposal submission method. NSF remains committed to the long-standing goal of streamlined grants processing and plans to provide a web services interface for those institutions that want to use their existing grants management systems to directly submit proposals to NSF.

Please be advised that the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) includes revised guidelines to implement the mentoring provisions of the America COMPETES Act (ACA) (Pub. L. No. 110-69, Aug. 9, 2007.) As specified in the ACA, each proposal that requests funding to support postdoctoral researchers must include a description of the mentoring activities that will be provided for such individuals. Proposals that do not comply with this requirement will be returned without review (see the PAPP Guide Part I: Grant Proposal Guide Chapter II for further information about the implementation of this new requirement).

SYNOPSIS

DMR's Office of Special Programs (OSP) coordinates and supports crosscutting activities in DMR and in conjunction with NSF-wide programs, including enhanced international collaborations in materials research and education. OSP activities are often co-funded with other NSF units, such as the Office of International Science and Engineering  and the MPS Office for Multidisciplinary Activities. Examples of OSP activities include:

•International Materials Institutes (IMI)

            The IMIs advance fundamental materials research by coordinating international research and education projects. Their long-term goal is the creation of a worldwide network in materials research and the development of a generation of scientists and engineers with international leadership capabilities.

•Opportunities for International Cooperation in Materials Research

            DMR supports international collaborative research and education projects in partnership with funding organizations in Europe and the Americas.  Collaborative activities in partnership with funding agencies in Asia and in Africa are being developed.

•Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Sites and Research Experiences for Teachers

RELATED URLS

Materials World Network: Cooperative Activity in Materials Research between US Investigators and their Counterparts Abroad (MWN)

REU Sites

Map of DMR supported REU Sites

International Materials Institutes Awards

Abstracts of Recent Awards Made Through This Program

Discoveries