This program is designed to promote interdisciplinary research among junior faculty, and is directly applicable to the social sciences. Indeed, the announcement appears to exclude engineering proposals from consideration for this round, although it encourages interdisciplinary approaches.
The full solicitation is at http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2013/nsf13595/nsf13595.htm
Synopsis of Program:
Through the SEES Fellows Program, NSF seeks to advance science, engineering, and education to inform the societal actions needed for environmental and economic sustainability and human well-being 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 must be interdisciplinary and allow him/her to obtain research experiences beyond his/her current core disciplinary expertise. Fellows are required to develop a research partnership(s) that will advance and broaden the impact/scope of the proposed research, and present a plan for their own professional development in the area of sustainability science and engineering. Proposals with a primary focus on topics covered by the Directorate for Engineering (ENG) are considered "out of scope" for this revised solicitation; however, proposals may include such topics as a secondary (or tertiary) focus.
