New Funding Opportunity for EPSCoR States - DEPSCoR: Defense Established Programs to Stimulate Competitive Research

The Defense Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (DEPSCoR) is a pilot program that aims to:

1. Increase the number of researchers capable of performing Science and Engineering (S&E) research responsive to the needs of the Department of Defense (DoD); 
2. Improve the capabilities of institutes of higher education (IHEs) in eligible EPSCoR states and territories to develop, plan, and execute science and engineering (S&E) research that is relevant to the mission of the DoD and competitive under the peer-review systems used for awarding Federal research assistance; and 
3. Increase the probability of long-term growth in the competitively awarded financial assistance that IHE in eligible states/territories receive from the Federal Government for S&E research. The program is sponsored and managed by the Basic Research Office, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (OUSD [R&E]), awarded by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) and administered through the Office of Naval Research (ONR).

Approximately $3.6 million in total funding will be made available for this program to fund approximately six (6) awards of up to $600,000 (total cost) each. Each award will be funded up to $200,000 (total cost) per year for three (3) years in the form of a grant. Subjected to funding availability. 

Eligibility

   This program aims to create basic research collaborations between a pair of researchers, namely:

1. Applicant (Principal investigator, Mentee), a non-previously DoD-funded, full-time faculty member with the skills, knowledge, and resources necessary to conduct the proposed research as the principal investigator and 
2. Collaborator (co-Principal Investigator, Mentor), an investigator who was previously funded by DoD within the last seven years. Though this is a collaboration between Applicant and Collaborator, Applicant’s Institution of Higher Education (IHE) will submit the proposal. 
3. Applicant and Collaborator, both must hold a tenured or tenure-track position with your IHE, or your proposal must include a letter from your IHE stating that you will be considered for a tenured or tenure-track position if you currently hold a short- term appointment.

Application Criteria:

• Proposed research should describe cutting-edge efforts on basic scientific problems. White papers deemed to be applied research, as opposed to basic research, will not advance to the proposal stage of the competition.
• You should show strength in as many of the evaluation and selection areas as practicable to demonstrate maximum competitiveness

Registration and submission Deadlines:

• Applicants must register with Sam.gov by no later than 11:59 PM EST on October 18, 2019
• White Paper and Supporting Documents must be submitted by no later than 11:59 PM EST on October 25, 2019

For more information go to https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/search-grants.html/ and search for DEPSCoR

For General Inquiries and Questions, contact: 
Ms. Lisa Pizarro
Grants Officer
Email: Lisa.Pizarro.1@us.af.mil


The program objectives for DEPSCoR are described in the program statue:
  Pub. L. 115–91, div. A, title II, §219[e][3], Dec. 12, 2017, 131 Stat. 1331 

Registration is open for the 2019 EPSCoR National Conference in Columbia South Carolina October 27-30, 2019

NSF EPSCoR National Conference organizers have opened registration for the 26th NSF EPSCoR Conference to be held in Columbia, SC, from October 27-30, 2019.

To register, go to:  https://nsfepscor2019.org/register/

The theme of the conference is Science and partnerships across disciplinary boundaries. Undergraduate and graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, RII Track-2 PIs, RII Track-4 PIs, and others engaged in EPSCoR projects are invited to give a poster presentation related to this theme. One RII Track-1 PI from each jurisdiction is invited to submit an abstract to present a three-minute lightning talk. A few RII Track-2 PIs will also be selected from the submitted abstracts to present a lightning talk. 

There is no limit on the number of poster presentations that may be submitted from each jurisdiction, but presenters are limited to one presentation each.

Submit your abstract at:  https://nsfepscor2019.org/abstracts.  

Important Dates for 26th NSF EPSCoR National Conference
         

• June 1             Early Registration opens
• July 1             Call for Abstracts
• July 16             Regular Registration begins
• September 20     Final day to register
• October 27     Welcome Reception
• October 28-29     26th NSF EPSCoR National Conference
• October 30     PD/PA/EOD meeting

Conference Contacts

Overview: Dr. Prakash Nagarkatti, prakash@mailbox.sc.edu

Program: Dr. Lauren Clark, ClarkLL@mailbox.sc.edu

HERS students prepare to present research at UCAR

2019 HERS Post It Poster session. 
Photo provided by Katrina McClure

    At the beginning of the 2019 Haskell Environmental Research Studies (HERS) Program, students were asked to select a research topic. Some students selected topics that were of particular interest to their tribal communities and others chose topics of personal interest. Topics included both the social and environmental sciences. During, the first weeks of the program, students worked with mentors in classrooms and laboratories at Haskell Indian Nations University, The University of Kansas, and in the field to study climate change and to develop an independent research project.
     On June 21, 2019, the students presented their research at the HERS 'Post It' Poster Session held at Haskell Indian Nations University. This session was designed to allow HERS students to display their posters and practice presenting their research to invited guests. The guests, in turn, provided constructive feedback and suggestions on "post its" they attached to the interns' posters. Faculty from Haskell Indian Nations University and the Kansas NSF EPSCoR RII Track-1 Award OIA-1656006 Microbiomes of Aquatic, Plant and Soil Systems (MAPS) project were invited to attend.

HERS students revising their work with Dr. Brian Lagotte

     Following the poster session practice, students continued to work with Assistant Teaching Professor, Brian Lagotte of the Center for Global and International Studies at the University of Kansas, to revise their written research reports. Students will use the feedback they received at the Post-it Poster Session and from their work with Dr. Lagotte in their final draft of their research papers and posters. The HERS students will present their research project and poster while visiting the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) in Boulder CO next week (July 8-12, 2019). While at UCAR, the HERS students will also participate in special programming planned specifically for them. After they complete their summer HERS internship, the students will have additional opportunities to present their work at other professional meetings, workshops, and symposia around the country, such as the Society for Advancing Chicanos & Native Americans in Science (SACNAS), American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) and the 2020 MAPS Symposium.

The HERS Institute is an 8-week paid summer internship program for undergraduate or recent graduate students held in June and July. The institute's underlying mission is to provide an opportunity for students to work with faculty from Native American colleges who are conducting long-term and short-term research relating to key problems on American Indian lands with the intent to disseminate the information through programs and various forms of media to American Indian peoples. The program is also dedicated to preparing tribal college students for science and technical careers and/or graduate school experiences. 

Workforce Development, Education and Outreach funding for the HERS program is provided by the Kansas NSF EPSCoR RII Track-1 Award OIA-1656006 titled: Microbiomes of Aquatic, Plant, and Soil Systems across Kansas. The award's workforce development and educational objectives are designed to enhance STEM education in Kansas by supporting activities that will lead to an expanded STEM workforce or prepare a new generation for STEM careers in the areas of aquatic, plant and soil microbiome environments and ecological systems.