Vice President for Research & Economic Development
Proposal Services & Faculty Support
May Funding Focus Newsletter #2
What is a Limited Submission?
A limited submission solicitation (RFA, RFP, etc.) places a cap on the number of proposals that Auburn may submit to a sponsor. Auburn coordinates limited submissions by sending out a notification via this newsletter and creating competitions in the Auburn University Competition Space (also known as InfoReady).To apply to any limited submission posted in this newsletter, click on the link below and search for your competition listed on the page. Please refer to the Limited Submission Procedures page for a list of requirements.
Limited Submission Announcements

Revolutionizing Engineering Departments (hereinafter referred to as RED) is designed to build upon previous efforts in engineering education research. Specifically, previous and ongoing evaluations of the NSF Engineering Education and Centers Division program and its predecessors, as well as those related programs in the Directorate of Education and Human Resources, have shown that prior investments have significantly improved the first year of engineering students’ experiences, incorporating engineering material, active learning approaches, design instruction, and a broad introduction to professional skills and a sense of professional practice – giving students an idea of what it means to become an engineer. Similarly, the senior year has seen notable change through capstone design experiences, which ask students to synthesize the technical knowledge, skills, and abilities they have gained with professional capacities, using reflective judgment to make decisions and communicate these effectively. However, this ideal of the senior year has not yet been fully realized, because many of the competencies required in capstone design, or required of professional engineers, are only partially introduced in the first year and not carried forward with significant emphasis through the sophomore and junior years.

The Directorates for Engineering (ENG) and Education and Human Resources (EHR) are funding projects as part of the RED program, in alignment with the Improving Undergraduate STEM Education (IUSE) framework and Professional Formation of Engineers (PFE) initiative. These projects are designing revolutionary new approaches to engineering education, ranging from changing the canon of engineering to fundamentally altering the way courses are structured to creating new departmental structures and educational collaborations with industry. A common thread across these projects is a focus on organizational and cultural change within the departments, involving students, faculty, staff, and industry in rethinking what it means to provide an engineering program.

In order to continue to catalyze revolutionary approaches, while expanding the reach of those that have proved efficacious in particular contexts, the RED program supports three tracks:
  • RED Innovation: RED Innovation projects will develop new, revolutionary approaches and change strategies that enable the transformation of undergraduate engineering education.
  • RED Adaptation and Implementation (RED A&I): RED Adaptation and Implementation projects will adapt and implement evidence-based organizational change strategies and actions to the local context, which helps propagate this transformation of undergraduate engineering education.
  • RED Two-Year: RED Two-Year projects will develop radically new approaches among multiple two-year institutions to expand the path to engineering and engineering technology education. (*Note: the lead PI must be at a 2-year institution and collaborate with one or more 4-year institutions.)

Institutional Limit: 2 Proposals (2 RED Innovation or 1 RED A&I and 1 RED 2-year)
Internal Deadline: June 3, 2022 4:45 pm
Important Updates

June 6 at 2:00 pm ET - June 10 at 4:00 pm ET

The conference is designed to give new faculty, researchers, and administrators key insights into a wide range of current issues at NSF. NSF program officers will provide up-to-date information about specific funding opportunities and answer attendee questions.

Highlights include:
  • New programs and initiatives
  • NSF Directorate sessions
  • Future directions and strategies for national science policy
  • Proposal preparation and the merit review process
  • Award management topics
  • Conflict of interest policies

For those who cannot attend the live conference, all conference sessions will be available on-demand shortly after the event.

Auburn University can nominate two applicants for NEH Summer Stipends (summer 2023). Dr. Scott Phillips is head of the five-person committee that selects our nominees. Last year we had several competitive applicants, and we hope to have another successful cycle. 
 
Summer Stipends carry an award of $6,000 for scholarly projects including books, articles, digital materials, translations, editions and other scholarly resources.
 
Applicants should read the NEH guidelines carefully and submit an electronic copy of a polished draft of the NEH application form to the Auburn NEH Committee by the deadline:  June 22, 2022 at 5:00 p.m. The official form is available on the NEH Summer Stipends website .
 
The application is composed of
  • The cover sheet
  • 3-page narrative
  • 1-page work plan
  • 1 page bibliography (which should demonstrate preparation for the project)
  • 2-page resume (in editing the full resume, proof of competence for the project should be a priority)
  • Appendices if relevant
 
Applications should be submitted to Dr. Scott Phillips at phillm2@auburn.edu. who will be collecting them and coordinating with the committee this summer. The committee will make its selections after that and will work with the selected nominees to refine their proposals. The NEH deadline is September 21, 2022. NEH accepts applications only from those nominated by their university or organization.
Hanover Research Queue Proposal Review Availability

Slots available after August 22nd

In order to provide resources for faculty and staff, Auburn University has partnered with Hanover Research for a number of grant development solutions including: Pre-proposal Support; Proposal Development; and Capacity Building. Their full-service grant development solutions are available to set goals, build strategies to achieve key grant-seeking objectives, and develop grant proposals that are well-planned, researched, and written. For information regarding Hanover’s core capabilities and project time lines, click here. If you are interested in a slot in the queue, please e-mail Tony Ventimiglia ( ventiaf@auburn.edu ).
NSF: CAREER Grant Development Training Opportunity

Hanover Research has developed a new Grants Learning Center (GLC) on-demand grant development training portal that offers faculty enrollees the unique opportunity to receive targeted training in the form of self-paced, interactive modules with step-by-step guidance and templates for prospective applicants to develop compelling proposals. The first GLC course is dedicated to the National Science Foundation’s Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER). A proposal export feature offers faculty the opportunity to consolidate draft responses into a working draft for further offline development. Auburn faculty interested in signing up for this training should contact Christine Cline at clc0165@auburn.edu for registration information.
Hanover Research Funding Calendars

Hanover Research has put together several specialized funding calendars that include federal funders, foundations, descriptions of the programs and the associated deadlines.


Auburn subscribes to several training modules via the CITI Program website that may be of interest to researchers and research administrators. Each module is self-paced and can be finished in one or multiple sessions. Click on the link above to read descriptions.
  • Essentials of Grant Proposal Development
  • Essentials of Research Administration

Auburn maintains an annual subscription to this monthly newsletter published by Academic Research Funding Strategies, LLC. Access is available only for Auburn University faculty, staff and students with a valid user ID.
Federal Agency Coronavirus Resource Hubs
Funding Opportunities

ARPA-E's Electric Vehicles for American Low-carbon Living (EVs4ALL) program will focus on advancing next-generation battery technologies that have the potential to significantly improve affordability, convenience, reliability, and safety of EVs compared to those available today, to directly address the following key market needs:
  • Approximately 37% of Americans live in residences without garages or carports and therefore do not have access to the convenience of charging at home. Thus, EV batteries capable of safe, rapid charging are necessary to appeal to this market.9
  • Many Americans live in northern states10 where EV battery performance can be experienced as unsatisfactory at low temperatures, due to reductions in capacity and power. Consequently, EV batteries that are more resilient at low temperatures are critical to motivate greater adoption in colder climates.
  • The median U.S. household income is approximately $70,00011 and although a subset of used EV models may be available to purchase for less than $20,000, 12 their maximum range (miles) may be perceived as unacceptably low. Since two thirds of Americans purchase used vehicles rather than new, 13 more durable (“longer-lasting”) EV batteries are required to stimulate and assure the used EV market.

Concept Papers Due: June 16, 2022 9:30 am ET

The H6 program seeks to develop ultra-small, low power, fieldable clocks that can maintain microsecond timing precision for a week over an operating range of -40 to 85 °C. Proposed research should investigate innovative approaches that enable revolutionary advances in science, devices, or systems. Specifically excluded is research that primarily results in evolutionary improvements to the existing state of practice. DARPA is interested in any technology that could attain this H6 goal. Potential approaches could include, but are not limited to:
  • Compound mechanical clocks
  • Sub-THz molecular clocks

Abstract Due: June 16, 2022 4:00 pm ET
Full Proposals Due: August 8, 2022 4:00 pm ET

With this joint solicitation, the NSF and the U.S Department of Commerce (DOC) National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) call for proposals for research to advance fundamental understanding of disaster resilience in support of improved, science-based planning, policy, decisions, design, codes, and standards.

Mandatory Letter of Intent Due: June 20, 2022 5:00 pm
Full Proposal Due: August 19, 2022 5:00 pm

The CCTS Biostatistics Epidemiology and Research Design (BERD) and Informatics Initiatives seek applications proposing the development of novel statistical and computational approaches and related methodologic innovations that bridge the gap between data and clinical application. Full-time faculty, especially early career scholars, from any of the CCTS Partner Network institutions may apply. 

Proposals Due: June 27, 2022 5:00 pm

This R34 FOA solicits applications that offer a limited scope of aims and an approach that will establish feasibility, validity, or other technically qualifying results that, if successful, would support, enable, and/or lay the groundwork for a potential, subsequent Targeted BRAIN Circuits Projects - TargetedBCP R01, as described in the companion FOA (RFA-NS-22-026). Applications should be adventurous, exploratory research projects that use innovative, methodologically-integrated approaches to understand how circuit activity gives rise to mental experience and behavior.

Proposals Due: July 1, 2022 5:00 pm

The Drug Data Research Center to Combat the Opioid Crisis (DDRC) will support an accredited institution of higher learning to expand an existing statewide drug data repository into a regional drug data research center (“regional data center”) that will promote the collection, analysis, research, and dissemination of information to help combat the surge in fatal and nonfatal overdoses from opioids, stimulants, and other substances. This regional data center will serve as both a model and technical advisor to translate this model to other regions in the United States. Core data required, but not limited to, from each participating state to expand to a regional data center will be: overdose deaths, prescription drug monitoring program data, drug-related emergency medical services (EMS) encounters, drug-related emergency department visits, and drug arrests.

Proposals Due: July 12, 2022 8:59 pm ET
Reserve the Corner today for collaborative meetings, proposal development or to learn more about AU research resources.
The flights on the AU shuttle connect faculty to other researchers or agencies to further their research goals.
Auburn University PI Handbook, agency guides and more to help you write a successful proposal.
Subscription-based service that Auburn University provides faculty to find funding opportunities pertinent to their research. 
Proposal Services & Faculty Support
844-5929 / clc0165@auburn.edu