Slots: 1
Deadlines
Internal Deadline: Friday, November 15th, 2024, 5pm PT
LOI: Not required.
External Deadline: March 3, 2025
Recurring Deadlines: ; March 1, Every Other Year Thereafter
Award Information
Award Type: Continuing Grant
Estimated Number of Awards: 2 to 4
Anticipated Award Amount: $6,000,000
Who May Serve as PI: Principal Investigators should be someone at the IHE with the authority to implement the proposed FDSS program and select and hire the new faculty member. These may be, but are not limited to, a dean, provost, director of a university associated research institute, department chairperson, or a senior tenured faculty member.
Link to Award: https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2023/nsf23577/nsf23577.htm
Process for Limited Submissions
PIs must submit their application as a Limited Submission through the Research Initiatives and Infrastructure (RII) Application Portal: https://rii.usc.edu/oor-portal/. Use the template provided here: RII Limited Submission Applicant Template
Materials to submit include:
- (1) Two-Page Proposal Summary (0.5” margins; single-spaced; font type: Arial, Helvetica, or Georgia typeface; font size: 11 pt). Page limit includes references and illustrations. Pages that exceed the 2-page limit will be excluded from review. You must use the template linked above.
- (2) CV – (5 pages maximum)
Note: The portal requires information about the PIs in addition to department and contact information, including the 10-digit USC ID#, Gender, and Ethnicity. Please have this material prepared before beginning this application.
Purpose
Proposals submitted in response to this solicitation will have as their principal objective the creation and support of one tenure-track faculty position bearing research, teaching, service, and educational outreach responsibilities in geospace science at the submitting IHE. The FDSS faculty position may reside within one department or be shared among several departments at the IHE.
The proposal must clearly identify which NSF AGS Geospace program(s) the hire is relevant to and what research priorities of the program(s) will be addressed. NSF AGS Geospace programs/priorities include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Aeronomy: research on the mesosphere, thermosphere and ionosphere of the Earth, and the phenomena of ionization, recombination, chemical reaction, photo emission, and the transport of energy and momentum within and between these regions;
- Geospace Facilities: research areas that rely upon existing facilities or develop new instrumentation for geospace observations;
- Magnetospheric Physics: research on the magnetosphere, coupling of the magnetosphere with the solar wind, ionosphere, and atmosphere; development of ground-based observations and lab-based plasma physics;
- Solar-Terrestrial: development of U.S. ground-based solar observation, lab-based solar plasma physics, and instrumentation capabilities, including polarimetry techniques, and new modeling and theoretical research that connects to current or future NSF solar observatories;
- Space Weather Research: system-of-systems research on the physical processes in the integrated Sun-Earth system that underlie space weather and space climate, and characterizing space weather impacts on critical infrastructure and technological systems.
The proposal must not designate any candidate for the new FDSS faculty position, but should include a description of the desired skills, background, and training of the desired candidate. Candidates already in tenured or tenure track positions or those whose research interests are not or only marginally related to geospace science are not eligible for FDSS support.
The proposal must contain details of how an open and inclusive job search would be carried out. Consonant with the stated policies of the National Science Foundation, members of underrepresented and under-served communities should be strongly encouraged to apply.
The proposal must state how topics in geospace science will be integrated into the undergraduate and/or graduate courses offered by the department(s) supporting the FDSS hire.
The proposal must clearly state how the position will be integrated into the institution’s overall strategic plan and the measures taken to ensure the successful integration of the faculty position into the institution.
It must include specific objectives and milestones for the hiring, and for the research, curriculum development, and educational outreach activities. It must also include specific evaluation plans to gauge the overall efficacy of the hiring process and the development of geospace science at the institution.
Important aspects to emphasize in the project description are the following:
- Clear articulation of how the FDSS faculty position will be integrated into the IHE’s program of education, research, service, and outreach;
- Relevant NSF Geospace program research area(s) that will be addressed by the new faculty member;
- Plan for geospace science curriculum development;
- Potential for the faculty position to attract diverse students and train future scientists in geospace science;
- Plan for developing partnerships both within the university and with the broader geospace science community;
- Plan to support the success of the FDSS hire (including but not limited to reasonable teaching and service expectations, professional development in pedagogy, mentoring, assistance with proposal preparation, etc.);
- Metrics to ascertain the success of the FDSS hiring and related activities of the hire;
- Activities to foster participation by underrepresented and under-served groups in FDSS projects.
Principal Investigators should be someone at the IHE with the authority to implement the proposed FDSS program and select and hire the new faculty member. These may be, but are not limited to, a dean, provost, director of a university associated research institute, department chairperson, or a senior tenured faculty member.
NSF funding will support the academic year (9-month) salary, benefits, and training of the newly recruited tenure-track faculty for the duration of the award. For Track 2 (MSIs and ERIs), the FDSS grant may also support up to 2 months of summer salary for the first three years after hire.
To allow sufficient time for the FDSS hire to stand for tenure review or at least complete a pre-tenure review at or before the end of the award period, it is expected that the award duration will be 5 years. The maximum total award size will be $1,500,000 over this duration.
Collaborative proposals or subawards are not allowed.
Continuation of the FDSS award beyond the first year is contingent on the successful hiring of a new tenure-track faculty member who meets the intent of this solicitation. As soon as a specific candidate accepts the FDSS tenure-track offer from the IHE, NSF must be notified, including the qualifications of the candidate and their proposed research and teaching plans that address the stated objectives of this solicitation. The cognizant NSF Program Officer may request information about the candidate to confirm that the intent of this solicitation is being met. Such information may include but is not limited to:
- A description of the search including details of efforts undertaken to broaden participation;
- A curriculum vitae, including a publication list, for the FDSS hire;
- A statement of research interests and proposed educational outreach and teaching plans of the successful FDSS candidate.
When the FDSS hire formally joins the IHE, the institution must submit a formal request for the hire to be added to the grant award as a Co-Principal Investigator. It is expected that the majority of the first year’s budget costs, e.g., faculty salary and benefits, lab equipment (if needed), etc., will be associated with the new hire and will not be spent until that individual is in place. The FDSS award must be acknowledged by the FDSS hire in all their publications and presentations. See the special award conditions for more information.
Visit our Institutionally Limited Submission webpage for more updates and other announcements.