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Dear Colleague:

 

The target date for proposal submissions to most programs in the Division of Physics is the last Wednesday in September each year. Thus, for proposals competing for FY 2007 (which begins October 1, 2006) funds, the target date is September 27, 2006 (except as noted below). For FY 2008 funding, the target date will be September 26, 2007. Consult a calendar for future years.

 

For FY 2007, the Division will entertain submissions in the following areas:

• Atomic Molecular and Optical Physics
• Biological Physics (Target Date is July 31, 2006)
• Education and Interdisciplinary Research
• Elementary Particle Physics
• Gravitational Physics and LIGO
• NSF/DOE Partnership in Basic Plasma Science and Engineering (Target Date is December 13, 2006)
• Nuclear Physics
• Nuclear and Particle Astrophysics (Including R&D for Underground Laboratory)
• Physics at the Information Frontier
• Theoretical Physics

All proposals should be received at the Foundation by the close of business on the target date.  No proposal should be submitted after the target date without having previously received acknowledgement for the late submission from the cognizant Program Director.   Delays in submissions may prohibit inclusion of the proposal within the mail and panel reviews for the program as a whole, and review of late proposals may have to be postponed until the following fiscal year in order to assure an impartial review.  We also ask that you not submit proposals any earlier than one month before the appropriate target date, unless previously approved by the cognizant Program Director.  Proposers are encouraged to browse the NSF Award Search at http://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/tab.do?dispatch=4 to ascertain the type of research supported in these programs, or to call the cognizant Program Director if they are uncertain about which program is appropriate for their proposal.  

 

Foundation-wide program solicitations, such as the Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) or Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) programs, have specified target or deadline dates contained in their program announcements or solicitations.  Proposals submitted to the Division of Physics as part of these programs must be submitted by the target dates or deadlines given in the program announcement or solicitation.  Demonstrably multidisciplinary proposals sent to the Division of Physics, which are likely to be jointly reviewed with other programs within the Foundation, may be impacted by different target or deadline dates for the different programs involved. If you are contemplating submitting such a proposal, you should contact the cognizant Program Director in the Division of Physics before submission.

 

Proposals submitted in response to this Dear Colleague letter are required to be prepared and submitted in accordance with the general guidelines contained in the NSF Grant Proposal Guide (GPG) or the NSF Grants.gov Application Guide. The complete text of both documents is available electronically on the NSF Website at http://www.nsf.gov/bfa/dias/policy. Proposers who anticipate difficulty in meeting the 15-page limit on the length of the Project Description must request and receive a deviation in advance of proposal submission. (GPG, Chapter II, Section A, Conformance with Instructions for Proposal Preparation, contains information about deviations from instructions provided in the GPG.) It is advisable to contact the cognizant Program Director in the Division of Physics before requesting a deviation.

 

There are two general merit review criteria approved by the National Science Board (NSB) and listed in the GPG: the intellectual merit of the proposed activity, and the broader impacts resulting from the proposed activity. All proposals must separately address both of the merit review criteria in the Project Summary and should describe the broader impacts as an integral part of the narrative in the Project Description. Generally, even the most fundamental research has educational and/or potential long-range impact on another field, on technology, or on society in some way. Examples illustrating activities likely to demonstrate broader impacts are available electronically on the NSF Website at http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2002/nsf022/bicexamples.pdf. The Division of Physics emphasizes the importance of thinking about and communicating these connections. Please note that this is not a shift in the priorities or strategic vision of the Division. It is rather a call for greater effort in expressing the broader context of our work.

 

 

Joseph L. Dehmer
Director
Division of Physics

 

NSF 06-030 (Replaces NSF 05-036)
OMB No. 3145-0058
CFDA No. 47.049 P.T. 34; K.W. 1010000