AGENCY: National Science Foundation (NSF)/Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS)/Division of Mathematical Sciences (DMS)

PROGRAM: University-Industry Cooperative Research Programs in the Mathematical Sciences

OBJECTIVES: This program provides funding to: (1) strengthen the links between industry and academia by creating conduits for the exchange of researchers, to forge partnerships between universities and industries; (2) establish a mechanism for exchange of mathematical scientists between academia and industry at different stages of their careers and for substantial periods of time; (3) identify and encourage new avenues of research in the mathematical sciences involving relevance to technological and societal issues and to provide new perspectives and solutions to industrial research problems; (4) encourage knowledge transfer as well as technology transfer; and (5) impact the academic culture and the higher education enterprise by enriching the experience and expertise of teaching faculty and the breadth of their offerings. These projects will serve to (a) broaden the academic experiences of students so that they better grasp the challenges of the future and be better prepared to meet these challenges; (b) increase awareness of universities of the opportunities and needs of the workplace, and (c) provide a more complete experience and perspective for students aspiring to enter the industrial workforce.

The program provides support through the following funding mechanisms:

University-Industry Postdoctoral Research Fellowships -- The University-Industry Postdoctoral Research Fellowships provide opportunities for recent doctoral recipients to broaden their knowledge, experience, and perspectives by exposing them to industrial environments and for industry to interact with talented researchers who are beginning their careers. This activity encourages interaction between the academic and industrial sectors by enabling postdoctoral researchers to spend approximately half their time engaged in research in an industrial setting and half in a university environment.

University-Industry Senior Research Fellowships -- These fellowships will provide partial sabbatical support for university faculty to conduct research in an industrial environment and for industrial mathematical scientists to contribute to the higher education enterprise. This program will provide opportunities for faculty members to broaden their experience, knowledge, expertise, and research perspectives in industrial environments, and participate in industrial research activities and projects, and for industrial researchers to experience and participate in the full range of university research environments, particularly including interaction with and exposure to students.

Industry-Based Graduate Research Assistantships -- This research opportunity will permit graduate students to move freely between university and industrial settings and to provide a conduit for strong university/industry interactions.

Industry-Based Graduate Cooperative Fellowships -- This opportunity will permit graduate students to be exposed to full-time industrial research experiences. In contrast to the industry-based graduate assistantships described above, industry-based graduate cooperative fellows will work full-time as an intern in an industrial setting for a fixed period of up to one year. The research conducted during this period would not necessarily be the basis for a thesis or dissertation.

ELIGIBILITY RESTRICTIONS:
University-Industry Postdoctoral Research Fellowships -- Normally, a university principal investigator will serve as scientific mentor for a postdoctoral fellow with an identified industrial sponsor, although, in special circumstances, an industrial scientist may serve as scientific mentor with an academic sponsor. In either case, postdoctoral fellows should not be listed as principal or co-principal investigators. To be eligible for this support, the postdoctoral fellow must: (1) be a citizen, national, or lawfully admitted permanent resident alien of the United States as of January 1 of the year of the award; (2) be eligible to be appointed as a research associate or assistant professor at the institution submitting the proposal; (3) by the start of the fellowship award, have earned a Ph.D. in one of the mathematical sciences supported by the Division of Mathematical Sciences or have had research training and experience equivalent to that represented by such a Ph.D.; (4) have held the Ph.D. for no more than seven years as of January 1 of the year of the award; (5) not hold a tenured position at any academic institution as of the date of the award; and (6) have not previously held any NSF postdoctoral fellowship.

University-Industry Senior Research Fellowships -- To be eligible for this sabbatical research support, the faculty members or industrial scientists must: (1) be citizens, nationals, or lawfully admitted permanent resident aliens of the United States as of January 1 of the year of the award; (2) if a faculty member, hold a tenured position at the academic institution submitting the proposal; (3) by the start of fellowship tenure, have earned a Ph.D. in one of the mathematical sciences supported by the Division of Mathematical Sciences or have had research training and experience equivalent to that represented by such a Ph.D.; and (4) make a commitment to return to the home institution (for both university and industrial scientists) for a minimum of one year following the fellowship tenure, should an award be made.

Industry-Based Graduate Research Assistantships and Cooperative Fellowships -- To be eligible for support, the students must be citizens, nationals, or lawfully admitted permanent resident aliens as of the date of the award.

DEADLINE:
B.U. Internal Deadline: April 28, 2008
Application Deadline: June 2, 2008

FUNDING INFORMATION:
University-Industry Postdoctoral Research Fellowships -- Normally, the award from the NSF will total $71,000 and the required contribution of the industrial sponsor will total $40,000, for a 24 month award period. The contribution of the industrial sponsor cannot come from federal funds. The combined funding of $111,000 includes: (a) a stipend plus fringe benefit allowance for the postdoctoral fellow of $96,000 for the 24 month award period ($40,000 per year for the stipend and an allowance of $8,000 per year for fringe benefits); (b) an allowance of $4,500 for the award period to the sponsoring academic institution, in lieu of indirect costs, as partial reimbursement for expenses incurred in support of the research; (c) a $4,500 research allowance for the award period for the postdoctoral fellow that may be used for travel, publication costs, and other research-related expenses; and (d) a $6,000 allowance for the award period for the faculty mentor for research expenses related to the same industrial partnership (this allowance may be used for release time when consistent with institutional policies).

University-Industry Senior Research Fellowships -- Senior fellowship awards will normally be for a twelve month period. Awards of shorter or longer (up to a maximum of two years) duration will also be considered, but the rationale for such terms must be fully justified. The fellowship activity must be initiated within 10 months of the award start date and the award start date will be no later than September 15 of the year after which the award is made. Typically, awards will be based on the following the equivalent of a six-month full-time salary up to a maximum of $50,000 (up to $60,000 including fringe benefits) for a one year award, a research allowance of $10,000, and an institutional allowance, in lieu of indirect costs, of $10,000. The awardee institution must cost share salary over and above the NSF funded six month salary amount.

Industry-Based Graduate Research Assistantships and Cooperative Fellowships -- NSF will provide 50% (with an upper limit of $20,000 per student per year) of the total support for each student for up to one year. The awardee institution must cost share any student support over and above the NSF-funded support. Requests for summer cooperative fellowships are also invited. Modest allowances may be requested for student travel costs. The university faculty member involved in the joint supervision of such students may request a faculty research allowance in an amount up to $6,000, provided that this individual is playing a significant role in the university-industry interaction; this request must be fully justified. For both assistantships and cooperative fellowships, the Principal Investigator will normally be the supervisor of the student.

AGENCY CONTACT:
Lloyd Douglas, Program Officer
Division of Mathematical Sciences
Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences
National Science Foundation
4201 Wilson Boulevard Room 1025
Arlington, VA 22230
Telephone 703.292.4862
Email: ldouglas@nsf.gov
Web: http://www.nsf.gov/pubsys/ods/getpub.cfm?nsf05504

REMARKS: An internal deadline has been established to coordinate institutional cost-sharing commitments for this program. Principal Investigators (PIs) interested in submitting a proposal should forward a memorandum to their Associate Dean by April 28, 2008. In the memorandum, (1) briefly describe the proposed project, (2) list key participating faculty, (3) itemize all cost-sharing commitments being requested from the University, within the context of a fully developed project budget, and (4) cite any program features which should make it particularly competitive for NSF funding. The memorandum should be countersigned by the relevant department chair/center director to indicate endorsement of the project. After the Dean's assessment, if a commitment of Provost funds is required, the memorandum will be forwarded to Associate Provost Joan Kirkendall for review and then to the Office of the Provost for authorization. PIs will be advised of authorized institutional cost-sharing commitments in time to complete the project budget and process their proposal for final review. PIs are encouraged to consult with the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) for assistance with the preparation of the project budget.

Complete program guidelines and application material (NSF 05-504 and NSF GPG 04-23) may be obtained from the web site listed above or from the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP). Please distribute this notice to any faculty or staff members who might be interested in the information. For more information, please contact the OSP at X3-4365 or ospinfo@bu.edu, or visit the OSP web site at http://www.bu.edu/osp.