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Title: Research in Support of the National Space Weather 
       Program
Date: 11/14/06


 November 7, 2006

 REFERENCE: NSF 07-520
 (http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2007/nsf07520/nsf07520.htm)

 PROPOSAL DEADLINE: January 16, 2007


 Dear Colleague:

 This letter is to inform you of the status of the NSF program
 solicitation for Research in Support of the National Space Weather
 Program (NSF 07-520) for 2007.  In 2006, NSF formed a partnership
 with NASA to promote large, collaborative research in space weather
 modeling.  Since the majority of the 2006 NSF funding went to
 modeling work, the emphasis in 2007 will be on data analysis and
 modeling of past space weather events rather than on the
 development of new space weather models.  Topics of particular
 interest are:

    * CME (Coronal Mass Ejection) initiation and transport
         o Evolution of solar active regions and CME precursors
         o Magnetic field evolution and dynamics in Interplanetary
           CMEs
         o CME "cannibalism"
    * Acceleration and transport of Solar Energetic Particles (SEPs)
         o Variability of SEP spectra and composition at high
           energies
         o SEP creation mechanisms
         o SEPs and heliospheric shock physics and wave particle
           interactions in the heliosphere
    * Interaction of CMEs and CIRs (Corotating Interaction Regions)
      with the magnetopause
         o disturbances in magnetopause location and shape
         o explosive particle energization, transport and
           precipitation in the plasma sheet
         o injection of plasma into the magnetosphere
         o generation of large waves and currents on the
           magnetopause and in the magnetotail current sheet
    * Magnetic storms
         o source and loss processes of energetic particles in the
           radiation belts and the ring current
         o large magnetic perturbations on the ground - including
           over and under-shielding phenomena
         o density variations in the ionosphere, thermosphere and
           magnetosphere
         o Subauroral Polarizations Streams (SAPS)

 For 2007, NSF welcomes individual Principal Investigator proposals,
 but it also welcomes collaborative research involving multiple PIs
 and institutions.  In particular, NSF is cooperating with the
 Russian Foundation for Basic Research (RFBR) under the terms of the
 Memorandum of Understanding on Basic Scientific Research
 Cooperation Between the National Science Foundation of the United
 States of America and the Russian Foundation for Basic Research.
 Standard NSF review processes will be used to evaluate all the
 proposals submitted to the 2007 space weather competition,
 including those involving collaborations with scientists in Russia.

 Collaborative research with scientists in Russian to be performed
 under the MOU between NSF and the RFBR requires that proposals be
 submitted to both NSF (proposal submitted by the American PI(s) and
 institutions) and to the RFBR (proposal submitted by the Russian
 investigator(s)).  The proposal submitted to NSF must include a
 letter from the Russian PI(s) confirming that a companion proposal
 has been or will be submitted to the RFBR.  Under the terms of the
 MOU, Russian scientists who compete successfully for an award will
 receive funding from the RFBR and successful American applicants
 will receive funding from the NSF.  For an award to be made for a
 proposal, both the agencies must agree on the level of funding to
 be provided from the agencies.  Program Officers from both agencies
 will cooperate in selecting reviewers for the collaborative
 proposals and making the final selection of  the proposals to be
 awarded.

 For further information on the goals of the NSF/RFBR goals in space
 weather research please contact:

 Dr. Kile Baker (kbaker@nsf.gov)
 GEO/ATM
 National Science Foundation.


 Russian Scientists who wish to have additional information about
 the NSF/RFBR cooperative agreement should contact:

 Dr. Vladimir Konnov (konnov@rfbr.ru)
 Dept. of International Relations
 Russian Foundation for Basic Research


 For general information about NSF’s program solicitation for
 space weather research please refer to NSF 07-520
 (http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2007/nsf07520/nsf07520.htm) or contact the
 cognizant NSF program officers:

 Dr. Kile Baker (kbaker@nsf.gov)
 Dr. Paul Bellaire (pbellair@nsf.gov)
 Dr. Robert Kerr (rkerr@nsf.gov)
 Dr. Therese Moretto (tjorgens@nsf.gov)
 Dr. Robert Robinson (rmrobins@nsf.gov).