1. 2015/2016 PSIEE Seed Grant Information Session October 21, 2015

2. PSIEE themes

3. 2015/2016 Seed grant priority topics  Health and the Environment  Water Energy Nexus  Climate Change  Future of the Electric Grid  Data Communities  Data-Knowledge-Impact

4. Preferred activities for funding  Development of new interdisciplinary research teams to position them for substantial external funding success  Novel and collaborative research in theme areas, especially high-risk proof of concept projects  New collaborations between junior and senior faculty for research development and mentorship

5. Goals of the Seed Grant  Foster basic and applied research focused on strategic themes  Seed grants are intended to foster:  Development of new research teams to position them for substantial external funding success  Collaborative interdisciplinary research in theme areas, especially high-risk proof of concept  New collaborations between junior and senior faculty for research development and mentorship  Particular consideration given to proposals addressing priorities of:  Health and the Environment  Water Energy Nexus  Climate Change  Future of the Electric Grid  Data Communities  Data-Knowledge-Impact  Excellent proposals in any of the themes will be considered

6. Seed Grant eligibility  All faculty members holding an appointment of half- time or more  Tenured  Tenure track  Fixed Term  New investigators will be given preference

7. Funding availability  Approximately $400,000 is available through this solicitation  Funding levels  $25,000 – innovative partnerships of investigators from multiple colleges and/or campuses  $10,000 -two or more faculty from the same college (University Park) or Commonwealth Campus  $5,000 – single investigator proposals  Award period: April 1, 2016 through June 30, 2017

8. Allowable expenses  Graduate and undergraduate student support  Instrumentation fees and sample analysis to collect preliminary data  Equipment and supplies, and participant payments  Travel associated with the conduct or reporting of seed grant research  Hosting a research planning meeting for an interdisciplinary team  Planning and hosting conferences and symposia  Funding for data conversion technology and wages to support data conversion

9. Unallowable expenses  Summer or supplemental salary support for faculty  Postdoc salary  Travel support to attend conferences  **Please note: single college funding, even with several departments, is not allowed at the $25,000 level.

10. Key dates  Nov. 18, 2015 : Pre-proposals due no later than 5:00 pm  Dec. 9, 2015 : PIs notified of pre-proposal results; full proposals requested  Jan. 27, 2016 : Full proposals due no later than 5:00 pm  First week of March 2016 : Seed Grant funding decisions announced

11. Review criteria PSIEE 2015/2016 Seed Grant Evaluations - PRE-PROPOSAL Relevance to strategic prioritiesCreativity and Innovation Significance of Goals and Results Soundness of Research Plan Evidence of new or expanding collaborations Multi-investigator proposals 3 Highly relevant 3 Highly creative and innovative 2 Highly significant; could revolutionize the field 2 Well thought out and detailed research plan 5 Includes Senior and Junior faculty mentorship opportunity with collaborations across 2 or more colleges or campuses 2 Moderately relevant2 Moderately innovative 1 Positive and incremental advance 1 Research plan included, but more detail needed 3 Complementary interdisciplinary team across 2 or more colleges or campuses 1 Slightly relevant 1 Sound but standard approach 0 Some but limited potential for impact 0 Limited research plan 0 Team members have similar expertise and from same college/campus 0 Not relevant 0 Approach seems like unlikely to work Summary Evaluation: “Request Full Proposal”or “Do not pursue this year”

12. Contact information  Questions regarding the proposal process should be submitted to: psiee@psu.edupsiee@psu.edu