nsf Faculty Early Career Development Program Bill Schultz IPA ME UM PD FD/CBET/ENG/NSF CBET Career Counselor (734) Skype: wwschultz

 Stress novel aspects of your approach  Differentiate work from others, PhD mentor  Emphasize testable hypothesis  Support your ideas with references & preliminary results  Describe possible applications  Are comprehensive, possibly with collaborator Successful Proposals

 Is much more important than you think!  Often only way reviewers pick proposals  Concise, not cute!  Don’t get a Proxmire “Golden Fleece” Award!  Long and Short of it! Short: “CAREER:” Long: 35 words w/2 “:” & 6 “,”s  More typos than you would imagine… Title

 Most important section (initial impressions, particularly for panel reviews, used for reviewer selection)  Contains goals and scope, brief 1 pg description of method, hypotheses and expected results, technical merit, and broader impacts  Clear, concise, accurate, exciting  Published abstracts are taken from summary  Conventions vary by field – seek samples  Special offer: me yours for comment Project Summary

 Intellectual merit Importance in advancing field understanding Creativity and novelty of approach Qualifications of investigators Completeness of research plan Access to resources  Broader impacts Promotion of teaching and training Inclusion of underrepresented minorities Enhancement of infrastructure & partnerships Dissemination of results Benefits to society Award Criteria

 Check currently funded programs (Fastlane)  Where’s your (and former advisor’s) community? Where do you publish? What professional meetings do you go to?  Find a fit Contact program director Prepare a one-page abstract Specify appropriate program(s) on cover sheet Finding an Appropriate Program

Average CTS PI Annual Budget $80,000/yr

 Departmental letter must: Include standard three-sentence endorsement Describe departmental/institutional support Verify self-certified PI eligibility information  Only one letter support letter, others are collaboration letters!  REMINDER: Annual reports should include a letter from the department chair restating endorsement and support of CAREER PI CAREER: Departmental Letter

 Do some  CAREER Panels most impressed with existing activities with something new  Ensure chair is aware of your plans  IRB approval probably necessary  Focus on an area you enjoy Learning styles, technical communications, experiential learning, multidisciplinary design, K-12 outreach, …  Publish in ASEE, Wikis, Conferences, … Advice on SoTL (Scholarship of Teaching & Learning)

 Are reading 8-10 proposals (including the last three on the airplane)  Often the most distinguished and motivated (They know your advisor better than they know you. They want to see you leave the nest …but not stray too far. They are a bit conservative)  Are more general than most – all CAREERS in a single program are usually placed in one panel  Spend more time on non-competitive proposals  Rank competitive proposals (for PECASE) Your Audience: The CAREER Panel

 Ask colleague about monitor’s style, etc.  / phone Prepare questions in advance... Listen! Be professional, but be yourself  Personal visit By appointment During related activity (panel, workshop) Show presentation slides on laptop  White paper / pre-proposal  Meet at workshops, conferences  Invite for campus seminar  Volunteer to be panel reviewer For CBET:  Have a good home page! Contact your Program Officer

Photo helps

 Ask colleagues for their proposals and reviews  Ask a colleague to review your proposal  Suggest reviewers for your proposal  Get help with ‘boiler plate’ Current and pending, Facilities, … IP Agreement (rare for CAREER) IRB approval (post award OK)  Don’t promise too much  Submit early Proposal Tips

 Proposals should be hypothesis-driven  Broader impacts, fonts, etc. are taken seriously  Need modeling/experiment connection  Make life easier for panelists (they are not journal reviewers) The Most Important Things I’ve Learned from Panelists

 Write for a VERY wide audience  Well written  Mix in… A good part mystery A tad autobiographical Healthy amounts of history and reference book A good journalistic style Two parts coffee table book A smidgeon of science fiction Tell a Good Story!

 Nano  Info  Bio  Eco  Socio  Econo  Complexo  Transfo The “O” Words (What’s hot and what’s not)

 Is there a CAREER FAQ page?  Should I accept Assoc Prof w/o tenure?  Is it true that $400k is the min AND max award size?  How many AY or SM are permissible?  Is there double jeopardy in submitting to more than one program?  Should I wait for more preliminary results before submitting?  Are you sure??  Are there other questions I should be asking? FAQ