NSF Faculty Development in the Space Sciences Solicitation

Please see the full solicitation for complete information about the funding opportunity. Below is a summary assembled by the Research & Innovation Office (RIO).

Program Summary 

The Geospace Section of the Division of Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences is pleased to offer awards for the creation of new tenure-track faculty positions within the intellectual disciplines which comprise the space sciences to ensure the health and vitality of solar and space sciences on university teaching faculties. The aim of these awards is to integrate research topics in solar and space physics into basic physics, astronomy, electrical engineering, geoscience, meteorology, computer science, and applied mathematics programs, and to develop space physics graduate programs capable of training the next generation of leaders in this field. Space Science is interdisciplinary in nature and the Faculty Development in the Space Sciences awardees will be expected to establish partnerships within the university community.

Proposals submitted in response to this program solicitation will have as their principal objective the creation and support of a single tenure-track faculty position, bearing teaching, educational outreach, and research responsibilities. The faculty position may reside within one department or be shared between several departments. In either case, the proposal must clearly state how topics in space physics will be integrated into the undergraduate and/or graduate courses offered by the department(s), and it should describe how the new faculty position will be utilized to support and sustain space physics education.

The proposal must make clear how the position will be integrated into the institution's overall strategic plan. It needs to set specific goals and milestones to gauge the overall efficacy of the integration and educational outreach. A specific evaluation plan shall be presented in the proposal. It will be critical for the institution to state in full the measures it will take to ensure the successful integration of the faculty position.

Deadlines

CU Internal Deadline: 11:59pm MST April 3, 2019

Sponsor Application Deadline: 5:00pm MST May 24, 2019

Internal Application Requirements (all in PDF format)

  • Project Summary (2-3 pages): Please address the following: relevance of the proposed desired skills, background and training of the candidate to space science; clear articulation of how the faculty position will be integrated into the university program of education, outreach and research; plan for space physics curriculum development; potential for the faculty position to attract capable students and train future scientists in space physics; plan for developing partnerships both within the university and the space sciences community; metrics developed to ascertain the success of the program; pro-active activities to foster participation by women and underrepresented groups.
  • PI Description (up to 1 page): Please include name, title, affiliation(s) of PI. Please explain why this person is appropriate PI and role at the institution to lead this effort.
  • Budget Overview (up to 1 page): A basic budget outlining project costs is sufficient; detailed OCG budgets are not required.

To access the online application, visit: https://colorado.secure-platform.com/a/solicitations/home/6331

Eligibility

Principal Investigators should be someone at the university with the authority to implement the proposed program and select and hire the new faculty member. These may be, but are not limited to, a Dean, a Provost, a Director of a university associated research institute, a Department Chairperson, or a senior tenured faculty member.

Limited Submission Guidelines

Institutions may submit only one proposal in response to this solicitation.

Award Information

NSF funding will support the entire academic year salary and benefits of the newly recruited tenure-track faculty member for a duration of up to five years with a total award amount not to exceed $1,500,000.

Estimated Number of Awards: 3-4