NEWS FLASH!

NSF Announces New Program to Support Extended-Stay International Research and Education Visits by Early-Career Researchers

March 23, 2006

The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), based in Arlington, Virginia, U.S.A., has announced a new program to support international travel by young researchers for medium-duration visits to foreign research and education institutions.

This new funding opportunity is being implemented by the programs in the NSF Directorate for Engineering, to provide supplemental funding to current awardees to support international travel by early-career researchers in the United States to enable them to gain international research experience and perspective, and to enable closer research interaction between U.S. institutions and their foreign counterparts.

Early-career researchers are defined here as undergraduates and graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and early-career faculty members. The National Science Foundation (NSF), through the Divisions in the Directorate for Engineering and the Office of International Science and Engineering, announces the International Research and Education in Engineering (IREE) initiative. NSF will entertain proposals for supplemental funding for existing awardees aimed at providing early-career researchers in engineering with international experience in research and education. With a view towards enhancing and broadening engineering research and education activities in current engineering awards through closer linkages between awardees and their foreign counterparts, IREE will support visits by U.S. early-career researchers to collaborating institutions and laboratories outside of the United States. The visits must be related to the objectives of ongoing work in current projects, augmented by evidence of engagement with the cultural activities in the countries visited. The duration of each visit must be between 3 – 6 months.

Supplement requests are due by 5 p.m. submitter’s local time on June 8, 2006.

Eligible applicants are limited to current awardees of all of the programs in the Divisions of the Directorate for Engineering, including:

• Engineering Education and Centers
• Electrical and Communications Systems
• Bioengineering and Environmental Systems
• Chemical and Transport Systems
• Civil and Mechanical Systems
• Design and Manufacturing Innovation

To be eligible, the expiration dates, including no-cost extension of current awards, must fall on or after September 1, 2007. The maximum funding duration is one (1) year.

Full details on allowable costs along with instructions for proposal preparation are contained in the attached “Dear Colleague Letter” which has been posted on the NSF website at: http://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=nsf06026.

The IREE Working Group that is responsible for developing and managing this initiative is comprised of the following individuals:

Win Aung, Division of Engineering Education and Centers, Directorate for Engineering.

Gary Gabriele, Division of Engineering Education and Centers, Directorate for Engineering.

Jeanne Hudson, Office of International Science and Engineering.

Marshall Lih, Division of Bioengineering and Environmental Systems, Directorate for Engineering.

Eduardo A. Misawa, Division of Civil and Mechanical Systems, Directorate for Engineering.

Mary Lynn Realff, Division of Design and Manufacturing Innovations, Directorate for Engineering.

Judy Raper, Division of Chemical and Transport Systems, Directorate for Engineering.

Kevin Tomsovic, Division of Electrical and Communications Systems, Directorate for Engineering.