Grants and Funding

Glenn Awards were initiated in 2007, to provide unsolicited funds to researchers investigating the biology of aging. The grants are to assist scientists where funding shortages threaten to impede scientific progress. Award recipients are selected from nominees provided by an anonymous scientific advisory committee. Applications are not accepted.

This letter is to call your attention to a new activity that will support research collaboration between US scientists and scientists in developing countries as part of ongoing or new Plant Genome Research Program awards. The Developing Country Collaborations in Plant Genome Research (DCC-PGR) is an addendum to the NSF Program Solicitation, NSF 04-510, Plant Genome Research Program (PGRP) (http://www.nsf.gov/pubsys/ods/getpub.cfm?nsf04510). The intent of DCC-PGR awards is to support collaborative research linking US researchers with partners from developing countries to solve problems of mutual interest in agriculture, energy and the environment, while placing US and international researchers at the center of a global network of scientific excellence. The long-term goal of these collaborative research efforts is a greater and sustained engagement with developing countries in plant biotechnology research. In order to realize the full potential of biotechnology for the developing world, the technology must target crops grown locally in the developing countries and the traits that are most relevant to the local farmers and consumers. At the same time, proposals should meet the broad goals of the PGRP described in the current Program Solicitation. Of special interest are those research projects that build on prior PGRP investments and that tackle problems specific to crops grown in the developing world. A request for supplemental funding should be made under an existing PGRP award. Support can also be requested within a proposal for a new or renewal PGRP award. Proposed collaborative activities are encouraged that focus on research problems important to developing countries and that include scientist-to-scientist interactions potentially leading to long-term partnerships among participating laboratories. The exchange of ideas and people should be reciprocal and should be built on equal partnerships among U.S. scientists and scientists of developing nations. Examples of activities to be supported would include, but not be limited to: joint research projects; and long-term (1 year) or short-term (1-3 months) exchange visits that are reciprocal exchanges of investigators and students between the US and developing countries. Collaborations should be developed that bring complementary sets of expertise to bear on problems of importance to the participants from developing countries, and that meet their identified needs.

Supports research to measure and model the concentration and distribution of gases and aerosols in the lower and middle atmosphere. Also supports research on the chemical reactions among atmospheric species; the sources and sinks of important trace gases and aerosols; the aqueous-phase atmospheric chemistry; the transport of gases and aerosols throughout the atmosphere; and the improved methods for measuring the concentrations of trace species and their fluxes into and out of the atmosphere.

The Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program supports active research participation by undergraduate students in any of the areas of research funded by the National Science Foundation. The NSF Division of Chemistry funds about 20-25 REU Sites a year (depending on the availability of funds) as part of the NSF-wide REU activity. Projects involve students in meaningful ways in ongoing research programs or in research projects specifically designed for the REU program. The REU program features two mechanisms for support of student research: (1) REU Sites are based on independent proposals to initiate and conduct projects that engage a number of students in research. REU Sites may be based in a single discipline or academic department, or on interdisciplinary or multi-department research opportunities with a coherent intellectual theme. Proposals with an international dimension are welcome. A partnership with the Department of Defense supports REU Sites in DoD-relevant research areas. (2) REU Supplements may be requested for ongoing NSF-funded research projects or may be included as a component of proposals for new or renewal NSF grants or cooperative agreements.Undergraduate student participants in either Sites or Supplements must be citizens or permanent residents of the United States or its possessions. Students may not apply to NSF to participate in REU activities. Students apply directly to REU Sites and should consult the directory of active REU Sites on the Web at http://www.nsf.gov/crssprgm/reu/reu_search.cfm.For more detailed information on the NSF-wide REU program, please see the REU program solicitation: NSF 07-569