Sponsor: The National Science Foundation (NSF)
Program Name: Partnerships for Innovation (PFI)
Sponsor Deadline (PFI): 08-30-2006

Helpful Information:

Award Criteria

1) stimulate the transformation of knowledge created by the research and education enterprise into innovations that create new wealth, build strong local, regional and national economies and improve the national well-being;

Sponsor: The National Science Foundation (NSF)
Program Name: NSF - Partnerships for Innovation (PFI)
                      Solicitation
Internal Competition will be held.  Download Pre-Proposal Form
Internal Competition Deadline:  06-23-2006 (due by 5 p.m. submitter's local time)

06-06-26

LIMITATIONS

The University may not participate in any more than two proposals.  This limitation allows UTA to be the Lead on one proposal

Special Instructions:

• PER NSF: COST SHARING IS NO LONGER REQUIRED FOR THIS PROGRAM AND WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED OR CONSIDERED IN FUNDING DECISIONS.  Please see the policy memo from NSF for further information or contact your Grant & Contract Specialist.
• The Principal investigator must be a dean or higher
•  Proposals must be submitted as a single submission proposal.  Please see our NSF Dual/ Multiple Institution Proposals page for additional information on submission of a multi-institution proposal.
•  Please review the program solicitation carefully as there are several deviations from standard NSF General Proposal Guide requirements
• <!--[endif]-->The budget is limited to $600,000 over two to three years.
•  Please contact your Grant & Contract Specialist if you have any questions or wish to apply to this program

Sponsor: The National Science Foundation (NSF)
Program Name: Partnerships for International Research and Education (PIRE)
Internal Competition will be held.  Download Pre-Proposal Form
Internal Competition Deadline:  09-11-2006 (due by 5 p.m. submitter's local time)

Submit an electronic copy of a one page summary to your respective Dean by the Internal Deadline Date

LIMITATIONS
Individuals may participate as PI or CO PI on 3 preproposals

Limit on Number of Preliminary Proposals: Three (3) preliminary proposals per eligible institution. Institutions should develop an internal mechanism for selecting preliminary proposals to be submitted to NSF.

Announcements of those chosen to go forward should be made by September 15th.

Forwarded Proposals

1. ERIANS: Education and Research in Information Assurance for Networks of Sensors,
   Sajal K. Das, CSE (PI), Director, Center for Research in Wireless Mobility and Networking (CReWMaN),
   Yonghe Liu, CSE (Co-PI), Coordinator, Security and Sensor Networks (SSN) Lab under CReWMaN,
   Mathew Wright, Asst Prof., CSE
2. Nanoparticle Self-lighting Photodynamic Therapy for nasopharyngeal carcinoma,
   Wei Chen, Assistant Professor, Nano-Bio-Physics Program, Physics Department
3. Multivalency in chiral molecular recognition,
   Kevin A. Schug (recommend budget change (increase) to include one or more additional students to be supported -- foreign students at UTArlington --per year)

Sponsor: The National Science Foundation (NSF)
Program Name: Active Nanostructures and Nanosystems (ANN)
                      Solicitation
Internal Competition will be held.  Download Pre-Proposal Form
Internal Competition Deadline:  10-15-2006 (due by 5 p.m. submitter's local time)

LIMITATIONS

• Nanoscale Interdisciplinary Research Teams (NIRT) - No more than three proposals on which UTA is the lead organization.
• Deadline: NIRT - Wednesday, November 15, 2006
• At least three PIs and co-PIs, all with funded time committed in the budget must be listed on the cover page or on the budget page of the proposal.
• Special Instructions: Multi Institution proposals must be submitted as one administrative package (also referred to as single submission)

• Nanoscale Exploratory Research (NER) - No more than two (2) proposals on which UTA is the lead organization. An exception is made for one additional NER proposal that may be submitted in 'Societal and Educational Issues Associated with Long-term Research Science and Engineering Advances' (see Research and Education Themes in Section II of the proposal solicitation). At least one NER proposal submitted by an organization must have a P.I. or co-P.I. at the level of assistant professor or equivalent.
• Deadline: NER - Wednesday, November 15, 2006
• Special Instructions: Multi Institution proposals must be submitted as one administrative package (also referred to as single submission)

Special Instructions:
Please contact your Grant & Contract Specialists

This limited submission program will require a Pre-proposal review by the Deans of the College of Engineering & College of Science. Please complete the NSF ANN Pre-proposal form and forward to your Deans Office no later than October 15, 2006.

Forwarded Proposals

NER (2+1 bonus):

• Zhou/Tao -- Regular proposal
• Meletis -- Regular proposal
• Bonus: unclaimed

NIRT (3 max):
None yet.

Sponsor: The National Science Foundation (NSF)
Program Name: Major Research Instrumentation Program (MRI)
                      Solicitation
Internal Competition will be held.  Download Pre-Proposal Form
Internal Competition Deadline:  12-01-2006 (due by 5 p.m. submitter's local time)

All pre-proposals should be submitted to grantadministrator@uta.edu by the deadline stated above.

LIMITATIONS

Limit on Number of Proposals per Organization: Three
All the following conditions must be met or proposal(s) will be returned without review:

1. An organization may submit or be included as a partner or subawardee in no more than three proposals.
2. If an organization submits or is included as a partner or subawardee in three proposals, at least one of the three proposals must be for instrument development.
3. New requirements stipulate that if a proposal includes a subaward, the PI must include a letter from the sponsored research office at the subawardee institution noting that this counts towards the subawardee's three-proposal limit. Also, new language states that if the institution exceeds its limit due to the subaward, the proposal with the subaward will be returned without review.

Special Instructions:

1. Collaborative Proposals: All collaborative proposals submitted as separate submissions from multiple organizations must be submitted via the NSF FastLane system.
2. The project title should convey the primary purpose of the proposal, e.g., "MRI: Acquisition of ____" or "MRI: Development of ____," and should specify if the proposal is being submitted by a consortium.
3. Letters of support or endorsement, RUI Impact Statements and RUI Eligibility Statements are not allowed. Proposals containing any of these documents may be returned without review.
4. For either acquisition or development proposals the following costs are not eligible: (i) instrument maintenance and operation, (ii) direct and indirect costs associated with research projects to be conducted using the requested instrumentation (including researchers' salary and students' stipends) for use of the instrument after it is purchased or developed, (iii) publication costs, and (iv) conference travel.

Forwarded Proposals

Sponsor: The National Science Foundation (NSF)
Program Name: Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT)
                      Solicitation
Internal Competition will be held.  Download Pre-Proposal Form
Internal Competition Deadline:  04-10-2007 (due by 5 p.m. submitter's local time)

Preliminary Proposal Due Date(s) (required): April 05, 2007
Full Proposal Deadline(s) (due by 5 p.m. proposer's local time): October 05, 2007 (BY INVITATION ONLY)

LIMITATIONS

Limit on Number of Preliminary and Full Proposals per Organization:
There is a limit of four (4) preliminary proposals that may be submitted by an institution either as a single institution or as a lead institution in a multi-institution preliminary proposal.

There is a limit of three (3) full proposals that may be submitted (By Invitation Only based on the outcome of the preliminary proposal competition) by an institution either as a single institution or lead institution in a multi-institution full proposal. A multi-institutional proposal is defined as one that has at least one co-PI at a different academic institution than that of the PI, a subaward to a different academic institution than that of the PI, or both.

One may participate as PI or co-PI in only one proposal submission. That restriction applies to preliminary proposals as well as full proposals. A PI or co-PI on one proposal may serve as non-senior personnel on other proposals.

Proposals submitted to the IGERT program must be integrative, research-based, graduate education and training activities in emerging areas of science and engineering. The IGERT project should be organized around an interdisciplinary theme involving a diverse group of faculty members and other investigators with appropriate expertise in research and teaching. The interdisciplinary theme provides a framework for integrating research and education and for promoting collaborative efforts within and across departments and institutions. Students should gain the breadth of skills, strengths, and understanding to work in an interdisciplinary environment while being well grounded with depth of knowledge in a major field.

Special Instructions:

1. Project Summary (less than 1 page)
2. Project Description:
   1. List of Participants: Include departmental and institution/organization affiliation of all faculty members and other senior personnel expected to have an important role in the project.
   2. Vision, Goals, and Thematic Basis: Describe the vision, goals, and anticipated impact of the proposed IGERT project.
   3. Major Research Efforts: Describe the major research efforts, their cutting-edge aspects, and how they are interwoven and integrated to form the thematic basis for the interdisciplinary project.
   4. Education and Training: Describe the graduate education and training mechanisms that are central to the IGERT project, the logic and evidence to support them, and how they are to be integrated with the research and across the disciplines. Novel aspects should be emphasized to enable assessment of their innovation and potential impact.
   5. Management, Assessment and Institutional Commitment: Describe the strategies for management of the IGERT project and for assessment using external expertise of the project's effectiveness in its impact on students, faculty, and institution.
   6. Other Resources and Connections: Describe anticipated resource commitments to the IGERT project by other participating organizations, such as industry, government, non-U.S. institutions, and private foundations. Describe the nature and extent of connections with existing NSF multidisciplinary and industry-related programs.
   7. Recent Traineeship Experience and Results from Prior NSF Support (if applicable): Describe prior experience with and outcomes of any related graduate traineeship project, including IGERT projects, during the past five years.
3. References Cited: Cite references relevant to both the scientific and educational plans.
4. Biographical Sketches: A maximum of 20 biographical sketches may be included. Additional individuals may be included in the List of Participants, Section(C).1. Prepare the standard 2-page biographical sketches in accordance with the Grant Proposal Guide.

Helpful Information:

Budgetary Information

• Cost Sharing Requirements: Cost Sharing is not required by NSF
• Indirect Cost (F&A) Limitations: Partial reimbursement of indirect costs not to exceed 8% of total direct costs, excluding equipment and cost-of-education allowances, but not excluding participant support.

Letters of Intent: Not Applicable

Notes

• All preliminary proposals submitted in response to this solicitation must be submitted via the NSF FastLane system. IGERT does not accept collaborative proposals as separate submissions from multiple organizations
• No budget is required for preliminary proposals; however, please enter $2 in the Requested Amount box on the FastLane cover sheet
• Please contact you specialist for further information

4 pre-proposals, 3 full proposals (by invitation only)

Forwarded Proposals

• Program in Security Engineering
  Ishfaq Ahmad (PI)
  Co-PIs:
  Frank Lu
  Matthew Wright
  Jared Kenworthy
  Alex del Carmen
• Nano Neuro Devices and Sensors
  R. E. Billo (PI)
  K. Behbehani
  Z. Celik-Butler
  Y B Peng
  P. Antich
• Holistic Energy Science & Engineering
  Krishnan Rajeshwar, Chemistry & Biochemistry
  Victoria Chen, IMSE
  Phil Cohen, Graduate School
  Wei-Jen Lee, EE
  Meng Tao, EE
• Autonomic Living Spaces
  M. Kumar (CSE)
  S. Chakravarthy (CSE)
  H. Che (CSE)
  S. Das (CSE)
  Y. Liu (CSE)
  F. Makedon (CSE)
  R. Walker (CSE)
  G. Zaruba (CSE)
  L. Hoyos (CEE)
  A. Puppala (CEE)
  H. Stephanou (ARRI)
  M. Jin (MSE)
  E. Meletis (MSE)
  S. Priya, (MSE)

Sponsor: The National Science Foundation (NSF)
Program Name: Major Research Instrumentation Program (MRI)
                      Solicitation
Internal Competition will be held.  Download Pre-Proposal Form
Internal Competition Deadline:  11-26-2007 (due by 5 p.m. submitter's local time)

Full Proposal - 01/24/08

Letter of Intent Deadline. Required only for acquisition requests between $2 million and $4 million. See full text of this solicitation for details.

LIMITATIONS

Limit on Number of Proposals per Organization: Three

1. An organization may submit or be included as a partner or subawardee in no more than three proposals.
2. If an organization submits or is included as a partner or subawardee in three proposals, at least one of the three proposals must be for instrument development.
3. If a proposal includes a subaward, the PI must include a letter from the sponsored research office at the subawardee institution noting that this counts towards the subawardee's three-proposal limit.  Also, new language states that if the institution exceeds its limit due to the subaward, the proposal with the subaward will be returned without review.

Helpful Information:

COST SHARING
Institutions are required to provide 30 percent cost sharing from non-federal government sources. No exceptions will be made.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

1. The maximum request is $4 million for acquisition proposals or $2 million for development proposals. Acquisition proposals for over $2 million must be for single instruments only. The minimum request is $100,000.  There is no minimum in the disciplines of mathematical, social, behavioral, or economic science. 
2. Proposers may request an award period of up to three years for acquisition proposals and up to five years for development proposals.
3. Earliest possible starting date is August 1, 2008.
4. Collaborative Proposals: All collaborative proposals submitted as separate submissions from multiple organizations must be submitted via the NSF FastLane system.
5. The project title should convey the primary purpose of the proposal, e.g., "MRI: Acquisition of ____" or "MRI: Development of ____," and should specify if the proposal is being submitted by a consortium.
6. Letters of support or endorsement, RUI Impact Statements and RUI Eligibility Statements are not allowed.  Proposals containing any of these documents may be returned without review. 

ELIGIBLE PROJECT COSTS:

For instrument acquisition proposals, eligible project costs are limited to instrument purchase, installation, commissioning, and calibration, and the direct and indirect costs of operation, maintenance, and other appropriate technical support during the award period.  Salary support, including fringe benefits and indirect costs, is allowed for personnel involved in the operation and maintenance.

For instrument development proposals, eligible project costs are limited to parts and materials needed for the construction of the instrument and commissioning costs, as well as the direct and indirect costs associated with support of personnel engaged strictly in the instrument development effort.  Requests for personnel support must include a description of the responsibilities of the project co-workers and explain why a given position is necessary for the completion of the design and construction of the new instrument. Sufficient detail should be given to allow reviewers to analyze the cost of the new technology.  Support for research to be conducted using the instrument after development, operation and maintenance, publication costs, and conference travel are not allowed.

Sponsor: The University of Texas System Board of Regents
Program Name: Texas Ignition Fund - Cycle I (TIF-CycleI)
Internal Competition will be held.  Download Pre-Proposal Form
Internal Competition Deadline:  02-13-2008 (due by 5 p.m. submitter's local time)

LIMITATIONS

Limit of Five Proposals per institution for the first 6 months (3 funding cycles one every two months). 
Each proposal will be internally reviewed and either chosen to go forward, delayed review for the next funding cycle or not chosen for submission. 

See cost restrictions below.

ELIGIBLE PROJECT COSTS:
Requests will be considered for amounts up to $50K. System institutions should make good faith efforts to contribute to the costs for intellectual property protection of the technology, depending upon the resources available. Patent costs may be funded only in an extreme need-based determination. Grant funds should be used to advance the commercial development of a discovery or invention. No indirect costs are allowed.  

Thus, funds may be spent for the following:  

Special Instructions:
a. The stated purpose of the project must be Proof of Concept leading to a commercial application. Preference will be given to proposals with potential to result in formation of a new startup company. Proposals to simply advance research of an idea will not be funded.

b. Regional business and capital community contact(s) must be documented (institutions, industry partners, successful entrepreneurs, angel and venture investors). For example, a letter(s) confirming that contact has been made and awareness of the project is established could satisfy this requirement.

c. All TIF proposals will be treated as Non-confidential and should be submitted in the form of the TIF Grant Application provided with these instructions, not to exceed seven (7) pages in total length including the background information and the front page application form. Please provide documentation of business and community contacts separately.

d. Expenditures of TIF grant funds must be for eligible costs as outlined below. A detailed line item budget is not required; however, applicants must estimate and describe expected costs.

e. Proposed milestones must be measurable and timely for performance assessment.

PURPOSE:
The TIF is a $2.0 million grant program, designed to stimulate commercialization by providing very early stage grants for the development and maturation of research discoveries into marketable intellectual property, in particular to help bridge the gap between discovery and invention.

Sponsor: The National Science Foundation (NSF)
Program Name: Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) Program (IGERT)
Internal Competition will be held.  Download Pre-Proposal Form
Internal Competition Deadline:  02-29-2008 (due by 5 p.m. submitter's local time)

LIMITATIONS

Limit on Number of Proposals per Organization: Traineeship: · Four preliminary proposals may be submitted by an institution either as a single institution or a lead institution in a multi-institution preliminary proposal. · Three full proposals may be submitted (By invitation only based on the outcome of the preliminary proposal competition). Resource Center: · One proposal per submitting institution

Sponsor: The University of Texas System Board of Regents
Program Name: Texas Ignition Fund - Cycle II (TIF-CycleII)
Internal Competition will be held.  Download Pre-Proposal Form
Internal Competition Deadline:  05-01-2008 (due by 5 p.m. submitter's local time)

Completed applications should be submitted to GCS via email grantadministrator@uta.edu and should be cc’ed to the Dean of the academic unit.

LIMITATIONS

Limit of Five Proposals per institution for the first 6 months (3 funding cycles one every two months). 
Each proposal will be internally reviewed and either chosen to go forward, delayed review for the next funding cycle or not chosen for submission. 

See cost restrictions below.

ELIGIBLE PROJECT COSTS:
Requests will be considered for amounts up to $50K. System institutions should make good faith efforts to contribute to the costs for intellectual property protection of the technology, depending upon the resources available. Patent costs may be funded only in an extreme need-based determination. Grant funds should be used to advance the commercial development of a discovery or invention. No indirect costs are allowed.  

Thus, funds may be spent for the following:  

Special Instructions:
a. The stated purpose of the project must be Proof of Concept leading to a commercial application. Preference will be given to proposals with potential to result in formation of a new startup company. Proposals to simply advance research of an idea will not be funded.

b. Regional business and capital community contact(s) must be documented (institutions, industry partners, successful entrepreneurs, angel and venture investors). For example, a letter(s) confirming that contact has been made and awareness of the project is established could satisfy this requirement.

c. All TIF proposals will be treated as Non-confidential and should be submitted in the form of the TIF Grant Application provided with these instructions, not to exceed seven (7) pages in total length including the background information and the front page application form. Please provide documentation of business and community contacts separately.

d. Expenditures of TIF grant funds must be for eligible costs as outlined below. A detailed line item budget is not required; however, applicants must estimate and describe expected costs.

e. Proposed milestones must be measurable and timely for performance assessment.

PURPOSE:
The TIF is a $2.0 million grant program, designed to stimulate commercialization by providing very early stage grants for the development and maturation of research discoveries into marketable intellectual property, in particular to help bridge the gap between discovery and invention.

Sponsor: The National Science Foundation (NSF)
Program Name: Chemistry Research Instrumentation & Facilities: Departmental Multi User Instrumentation  (CRIF:MU)
                      Solicitation
Internal Competition will be held.  Download Pre-Proposal Form
Internal Competition Deadline:  06-02-2008 (due by 5 p.m. submitter's local time)

LIMITATIONS
Two per institution. If two are submitted, at least one must involve cyberinfrastructure.
The principal investigator must be the chemistry department chairperson or equivalent. Other investigators may be affiliated with U.S. academic institutions, non-profit research organizations, industry, government laboratories, or international institutions. No CRIF:MU award funds may go directly to industry, government laboratories or international institutions.

Helpful Information:
PURPOSE:

The Departmental Multi-User Instrumentation component of CRIF (CRIF:MU) provides funds to universities, colleges, and consortia thereof for the purchase of multi-user instruments. The maximum request is $500,000 for instrumentation. Additional funds may be requested for personnel who are needed to support cyber-enhanced projects.

ELIGIBLE PROJECT COSTS:

Approximately $6 million per fiscal year will fund approximately 20 awards as standard or continuing grants depending upon the quality of proposals and the availability of funds. Awards will have a three-year duration and are non-renewable. Award size is limited to $500,000 plus personnel costs for cyber-enabled projects.

An Internal Competition will be held for this solicitation. This completed application should be submitted to GCS via email grantadministrator@uta.edu and should be copied to the Dean of the academic unit.

Sponsor: The National Science Foundation (NSF)
Program Name: International Materials Institutes (IMI)
                      Solicitation
Internal Competition will be held.  Download Pre-Proposal Form
Internal Competition Deadline:  06-06-2008 (due by 5 p.m. submitter's local time)

LIMITATIONS
Limit of One Proposals per institution.
An organization may not be the lead organization in more than one proposal. An individual may be the Principal Investigator in only one proposal.

Helpful Information:
PURPOSE:
To advance materials research by coordinating international projects involving condensed matter and materials physics; solid state and materials chemistry; and the design, synthesis, and characterization of materials to meet global and regional needs. A critically important aspect of an IMI is its potential impact on advancing materials research on an international scale and developing an internationally competitive generation of materials researchers, and this distinguishes an IMI from other materials research centers that NSF supports.

ELIGIBLE PROJECT COSTS:
NSF anticipates total funding between $4,000,000 and $5,000,000 in FY 2009, contingent upon availability of funds. NSF support for each IMI is expected to range from $600,000 to $1,200,000 per year. Awards will be made for an initial period of up to five years. Funding for the fifth year will be contingent upon the outcome of a comprehensive review during the fourth year. The number of awards will depend on the availability of funds and the quality of proposals received. The anticipated date of awards is February 4, 2009.

An Internal Competition will be held for this solicitation. This completed application should be submitted to GCS via email grantadministrator@uta.edu and should be copied to the Dean of the academic unit.

Sponsor: Department of Energy  (DOE)
Program Name: Energy Frontier Research Center (EFRC)
Internal Competition will be held.  Download Pre-Proposal Form
Internal Competition Deadline:  06-10-2008 (due by 5 p.m. submitter's local time)

LIMITATIONS
A specific entity may not submit more than three applications as the prime applicant.
However, there is no limitation on the number of applications in which a specific entity participates as a teammember/subcontractor.

Helpful Information:
PURPOSE:

Office of Basic Energy Sciences is seeking applications for the establishment of Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRCs). EFRCs will bring together the skills and talents of multiple investigators to enable fundamental research of a scope and complexity that would not be possible with the standard individual investigator or small group research project. As such, the EFRCs will strengthen and complement the existing portfolio of the single Principal Investigator and small group research projects currently supported within BES core research areas

ELIGIBLE PROJECT COSTS:

Approximately $100,000,000.00 annually, or $500,000,000.00 for the five-year project period, is expected to be available for new awards issued under this announcement. Up to approximately $25,000,000.00 is expected to be available for a five-year project period for each of the new awards issued under this announcement. The actual level of funding, if any, depends on the appropriations for this program.

An Internal Competition will be held for this solicitation. This completed application should be submitted to GCS via email grantadministrator@uta.edu and should be copied to the Dean of the academic unit.

Sponsor: The National Science Foundation (NSF)
Program Name: NSF Industry/University Cooperative Research Centers (I/UCRC) Program (I/UCRC)
                      Solicitation
Internal Competition will be held.  Download Pre-Proposal Form
Internal Competition Deadline:  06-20-2008 (due by 5 p.m. submitter's local time)

LIMITATIONS

Organization Limit:
Proposals may only be submitted by the following:
Only U.S. academic institutions with graduate research programs may apply. Please see Section IV. Eligibility Information for details on organizational eligibility information including:
- research and graduate program requirements, and
- letter of intent, planning grant, and full center proposal requirements.

PI Limit:
The center director must be the PI and come from the lead institution. A PI must be a tenured faculty member (or equivalent) at an institution eligible to submit an I/UCRC proposal.

Limit on Number of Proposals per Organization:
Each institution is limited to a maximum of two single institution I/UCRC awards. Institutions which currently have two single institution awards are not eligible to submit another single institution proposal. There is no limit on the number of proposals that may be submitted when collaborating with another institution. It is permissible for an institution to have two single institution center awards and also submit a proposal to be a site in a multi-institutional center.

Special Instructions:
Additional Eligibility Info:
A Letter of Intent must be approved by the NSF Program Director before the institution may submit a planning grant proposal. Institutions must have been awarded a planning grant before they are eligible to submit a full center proposal.

ELIGIBLE PROJECT COSTS:

Planning Grant
$10,000 per institution for a planning grant award with an 18 month duration.
Center Awards - continuing or standard grant.
The annual combined CISE and ENG I/UCRC program budget is approximately $6,000,000 to $8,000,000 million pending the availability of funds.

Centers may be based at a single institution but are generally multi-institutional. The initial I/UCRC award to a center has a potential duration of five years. NSF support is intended to augment the support the center receives from industry and other sponsors. The I/UCRC program uses the following funding formulas.

Helpful Information:
PURPOSE:
The Industry/University Cooperative Research Centers (I/UCRCs) program develops long-term partnerships among industry, academe, and government. The centers are catalyzed by a small investment from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and are primarily supported by industry center members, with NSF taking a supporting role in their development and evolution. Each center is established to conduct research that is of interest to both the industry and the center. An I/UCRC contributes to the Nation's research infrastructure base and enhances the intellectual capacity of the engineering and science workforce through the integration of research and education.

An Internal Competition will be held for this solicitation. This completed application should be submitted to GCS via email grantadministrator@uta.edu and should be copied to the Dean of the academic unit.

Sponsor: The National Science Foundation (NSF)
Program Name: Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Talent Expansion Program - Type 1A Expansion Program (STEP) Type 1A Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Talent Expansion Program (STEP) Type 1A Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathe (STEP)
                      Solicitation
Internal Competition will be held.  Download Pre-Proposal Form
Internal Competition Deadline:  08-06-2008 (due by 5 p.m. submitter's local time)

LIMITATIONS

An institution that awards baccalaureate degrees is allowed to submit only one Type 1 proposal, or to be part of only one consortium submitting a Type 1 proposal.

Special Instructions:

PLEASE NOTE: The institution is coordinating an institutional wide proposal and interested faculty should discuss their ideas/proposal with their respective dean prior to preparing an internal application.

Please try to include responses to the following statements for the internal competition:

1. A summary of the increases expected during the five-year grant period in the number of students who are United States citizens or permanent residents obtaining STEM degrees at institutions with baccalaureate degree programs;
2. A description of prior efforts to increase interest in STEM and results of those efforts;
3. A statement of the overall vision that underlies the institution's management and implementation plan to increase the numbers of students graduating in STEM areas;
4. An outline of strategies to be used during the grant period to increase the number of students graduating in STEM fields;
5. An explanation of why the proposed activities are not expected to cause decreases in the enrollments in other STEM fields, should the project activities focus on only a subset of STEM fields; and
6. A statement of which of the proposed activities, if successful, would be expected to be institutionalized by the end of the grant period, and of which of the proposed activities, if successful, would require further sources of support in order to be continued.
7. Collaborating entities and their roles.

Helpful Information:
PURPOSE:   The Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Talent Expansion Program (STEP) seeks to increase the number of students (U.S. citizens or permanent residents) receiving associate or baccalaureate degrees in established or emerging fields within science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Type 1 proposals are solicited that provide for full implementation efforts at academic institutions.

All Type 1 Proposals
Program activities under the STEP Type 1 competition should be efforts aimed at adapting and implementing best practices that will lead to an increase in the number of students (United States citizens or permanent residents) obtaining STEM degrees at institutions with baccalaureate degree programs; or completing associate degrees in STEM fields or completing credits toward transfer to a baccalaureate degree program in STEM fields at community colleges. The goal of the project must be to increase the total graduation numbers of such students at the institution(s), and all STEP proposals must include specific numerical targets for these increases. If a project focuses efforts on only a subset of STEM fields, increases in those fields must not be at the expense of degrees in other STEM fields. Projects may focus on the retention and/or recruitment of undergraduate students into STEM fields. Outreach efforts are appropriate only if the efforts can be expected to result in additional STEM majors and graduates at the submitting institution(s) within the grant period.

All Type 1 projects are considered to be institutional efforts.

Type 1A

A Type 1A proposal is submitted by an institution that has not previously been the lead institution on a STEP Type 1 award.

An Internal Competition will be held for this solicitation.
PLEASE NOTE: The institution is coordinating an institutional wide proposal and interested faculty should discuss their ideas/proposal with their respective dean prior to preparing an internal application.
Completed applications should be submitted to GCS via email grantadministrator@uta.edu and should be copied to the Dean of the academic unit.

Sponsor: The University of Texas System Board of Regents
Program Name: Texas Ignition Fund - Cycle III (TIF-CycleIII)
Internal Competition will be held.  Download Pre-Proposal Form
Internal Competition Deadline:  08-11-2008 (due by 5 p.m. submitter's local time)

Completed applications should be submitted to GCS via email grantadministrator@uta.edu and should be cc’ed to the Dean of the academic unit.

LIMITATIONS

Limit of Five Awards per institution for the first 6 months (UT Arlington has already received four awards one additional award is available for this round).
Each proposal will be internally reviewed and either chosen to go forward, delayed review for the next funding cycle or not chosen for submission. 

Special Instructions:
a. The stated purpose of the project must be Proof of Concept leading to a commercial application. Preference will be given to proposals with potential to result in formation of a new startup company. Proposals to simply advance research of an idea will not be funded.

b. Regional business and capital community contact(s) must be documented (institutions, industry partners, successful entrepreneurs, angel and venture investors). For example, a letter(s) confirming that contact has been made and awareness of the project is established could satisfy this requirement.

c. All TIF proposals will be treated as Non-confidential and should be submitted in the form of the TIF Grant Application provided with these instructions, not to exceed seven (7) pages in total length including the background information and the front page application form. Please provide documentation of business and community contacts separately.

d. Expenditures of TIF grant funds must be for eligible costs as outlined below. A detailed line item budget is not required; however, applicants must estimate and describe expected costs.

e. Proposed milestones must be measurable and timely for performance assessment.

PURPOSE:
The TIF is a $2.0 million grant program, designed to stimulate commercialization by providing very early stage grants for the development and maturation of research discoveries into marketable intellectual property, in particular to help bridge the gap between discovery and invention.