NSF Opportunities for International Collaboration

Richard H. Nader, Ph.D.Office of International Science and Engineering

National Science Foundation

National Science FoundationNational Science Foundation

Inspector General

National Science Board

Director Deputy Director

Computer & Information

Science&

Engineering

Engineering GeosciencesMathematical & Physical

Sciences

Social, Behavioral

& Economic Sciences

Education & Human Resources

Budget, Finance &

Award Management

Information Resource

Managemen

t

Biological Sciences

Office of International Science and Engineering

(OISE)

Office of Cyberinfrastruct

ure

Office of Polar Programs

NSF in a Nutshell• Independent USG Agency

• Funds basic research & education

• Uses peer-review in selecting proposals to fund

• Low overhead; highly automated grant management processes

• Discipline-based structure complemented by Cross-disciplinary mechanisms

• Bottom-up and proposal driven

• Use of Rotators/IPAs

• National Science Board

NSF Funding

Each year NSF receives about 41,000 proposals and makes about 10,000 new awards (23% funding rate)

The average annual research grant is 3 years at $140,000/year.

3.4% NSF share of total annual Federal spending for research and development **Operates no labs

50% NSF share of Federal funding for non- medical basic research and education at

academic institutions (universities)

39

45

49

50

63

86

77

0 20 40 60 80 100

Physical sciences

Engineering

Social Sciences

Environmental sciences

Biology

Mathematics

Computer Science

NSF Support as a Percentage of Total Federal Support of Academic

Basic Research

Percentage

(excluding NIH*)

*National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Proposal Review Criteria Intellectual Merit

Potential to advance knowledge within and across fields

Qualifications of investigators

Creativity and originality

Conceptualization and organization

Access to resources

Proposal Review Criteria Broader Impacts

Promoting of teaching, training and learning

Participation of underrepresented groups

Enhancement of infrastructure for research and education

Dissemination of results

Benefits to society

International collaboration!!!– http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/gpg/broaderimpacts.pdf

Key Documents

• FY 2007 NSF Budget Request– http://www.nsf.gov/about/budget/fy2007

• Grant Proposal Guide (NSF 04-23)– http://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=GPG

• Science and Engineering Indicators– http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind06/

• When in doubt –

– http://www.nsf.gov/

NSF International Objectives…

NSF international funding is a MEANS for:

Advancing FRONTIER RESEARCH

Providing ACCESS to sites, facilities, people, ideas

Addressing GLOBAL AND REGIONAL problems

Preparing a GLOBALLY ENGAGED U.S. S&E workforce

[NSF does NOT have a foreign affairs or foreign assistance mission]

NSF Opens Beijing OfficeMay 24, 2006

Office of International Scienceand Engineering (OISE)

Key elements for OISE funding:

Collaborative

Catalytic

Junior researchers & students

OISE Support for International Activities

New proposals to Office of International Science and Engineering

Supplements to existing NSF grants

Part of new proposals to NSF disciplinary programs

Proposals to OISE

Planning Visits & Workshops Partnerships for International

Research and Education (PIRE) Postdocs, Graduate and

Undergraduate Students

http://www.nsf.gov/oise/

Planning Visits

Li Wei, Wolong Panda Club (bottom right)

Workshops

Beijing Spallation Neutron Source (2011)

THE PARTNERSHIP FOR INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH AND EDUCATIONELECTRON CHEMISTRY AND CATALYSIS AT INTERFACES

电子化学和表面催化领域研究 -- 国际研究和教育合作团队

Source: PIRE

Partnerships for International Research and Education

East Asia and Pacific Summer East Asia and Pacific Summer Institutes for U.S. Graduate Students Institutes for U.S. Graduate Students

(EAPSI)(EAPSI)Become an internationally experienced researcher. Spend eight

weeks conducting research and experiencing life in:

Australia, China, Japan, Korea, New Zealand or Taiwan

2005 China Summer Institutes

Credit: Ms. GU Min, China Science and Technology Exchange Center (CSTEC)

Word Slide

• ???

Undergraduate and Graduate Student Research

Credit: GU Min, China Science and Technology Exchange Center (CSTEC) (left)

Global Challenges

Credit: Steve Amstrup, USFWS (left); Jeanne Cato, NSF (top); Mike Cameron, NMML (right)

www.nsf.govwww.nsf.gov/oise/oise

Rnader@nsf.govRnader@nsf.gov

www.nsf.govwww.nsf.gov/oise/oise

Rnader@nsf.govRnader@nsf.gov