NSF Science, Engineering and Education for Sustainability Fellows
CONTACTS
| Name | Dir/Div | Name | Dir/Div |
| Diana E. Anderson | BIO/DBI | Petros Drineas | CISE/CCF |
| Susan C. Kemnitzer | ENG/EEC | Larry Weber | GEO/OCE |
| Ben van der Pluijm | GEO/OAD | C. Susan Weiler | GEO/AGS |
| Charles D. Pibel | MPS/CHE | Fahmida N. Chowdhury | SBE/OAD |
| Jessica H. Robin | OD/OISE | ||
| General inquiries regarding this program should be made to seesfellows@nsf.gov NSF SEES FELLOWS ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS To be eligible, applicants must: - Be United States citizens or nationals, or permanent residents of the United States (by the application deadline). - Have received his or her doctorate within four years of the application deadline of the competition. Exceptions to this time-related restriction can be made for extenuating personal circumstances, such as a career interruption due to family responsibilities, but must be approved by a cognizant program officer prior to submission of the proposal. PIs who have not yet received their Ph.D. are eligible to apply, but must have received their Ph.D. by the start date of the award. - Propose research that is in the broadly defined area of sustainability sciences, beyond the applicant's current area of core expertise. An applicant may submit a proposal as an individual or through an institution but, before the grant is awarded, must affiliate with a US university, college, or non-profit, non-academic organization, which will administer the award. | |||
PROGRAM GUIDELINES
Solicitation 11-575
DUE DATES
Full Proposal Deadline Date: December 5, 2011
First Monday in December, Annually Thereafter
SYNOPSIS
Through SEES Fellows, NSF seeks to enable the discoveries needed to inform actions that lead to environmental, energy and societal sustainability while creating the necessary workforce to address these challenges. The program's emphasis is to facilitate investigations that cross traditional disciplinary boundaries and address issues of sustainability through a systems approach, building bridges between academic inquiry, economic growth, and societal needs. The Fellow's proposed investigation should be interdisciplinary and allow him/her to obtain research experience beyond his/her current core disciplinary expertise. Additionally, Fellows are required to develop a research partnership that would broaden the impact and/or scope of the proposed research activities. Such activities might include, but are not limited to, a connection with a NSF Research Coordination Network (RCN), center or facility; industry; a national laboratory; or a state, regional, or local resource management agency. Fellows are required to have two mentors, one for the proposed research at the host institution (the institution that will administer the award) and the other for the research partnership. The mentors can be from the same institution, but should not be from the same discipline.
The challenge of sustainability, maintaining and improving the quality of life for the nation within a healthy Earth system, is of global concern. The NSF SEES Fellows may strengthen connections and collaborations with the broader international science and engineering community by having an international research partnership.
Fellows are also expected to devote some time to a professional development activity such as, but not limited to, broadening participation of under-represented groups in sustainability science, an education activity, or a project that focuses on public engagement. Fellows may also include a plan for leading and teaching a course at the undergraduate or graduate level, provided it is supported financially by the institution where the teaching would take place. The teaching is limited to no more than one course per semester, and no more than two courses throughout the period of the award. This restriction is meant to provide the PI adequate time to engage in research collaborations and other professional development. In those cases where the PI proposes to teach, the teaching experience would be in addition to the professional development activity described in the proposal and awards could be made for a maximum of four years, with a maximum total SEES Fellow's salary of three years. The overall proposal should reflect the PI's own research interests and professional goals presented in relationship to overall impact on science, engineering and education for sustainability. Because there may be different expectations within different disciplinary fields and/or different partnering organizations, a wide range of research and professional activities may be appropriate for the NSF SEES Fellows program.
All awards will be for a maximum of four years, with a maximum total salary of three years. Fellows who encounter any life changing situation (e.g. birth or adoption of a child, death of family member) during the period of the award will be encouraged to discuss family friendly resolutions with the cognizant program officer.
