| Highlights |
- Webinar on NEON science data-policy interface. This is a reminder that a webinar on the NEON science data-policy interface will be held on Tuesday October 4 at 1pm Eastern. It is not too late to sign up for the webinar.
- Climate Science Day (CSD) on Capitol Hill 2012. Following on from the success of CSD 2011, NEON, Inc. would like to announce an opportunity for up to four individuals to engage in a training session on communicating with Congress. See below for more details.
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| New Directors on the NEON, Inc. Board |
The outcome of this year's election for the three member-elected Board seats was announced on 9/16/2011 at the Fourth Annual NEON, Inc. Membership meeting in Boulder, CO.
Hilary Swain (Archbold Biological Station) and Scott Ollinger (University of New Hampshire) were re-elected to serve their second three-year terms with 81.5% and 74.1% of the votes respectively. Susan Stafford (University of Minnesota) was elected to serve her first three-year term with 74.1% of the votes. All terms start January 1, 2012.
In addition, James P. Collins, former NSF Assistant Director for Biological Sciences, was elected a Director on the at-large group of Board Directors. |
| Interactive Concept Map: "Framework for Education Using Continental-Scale Data" |
A conceptual framework for education using continental-scale data has been released as an interactive concept map. This tool (http://goo.gl/1Oagw) is currently under development and comments and suggestions are welcomed.
The framework and interactive guide was developed by Tom Langen (Clarkson University), ESA, and NEON Inc. The interactive tool is designed to guide educators toward teaching opportunities and challenges using publically-available continental scale data and is based on input by faculty at a workshop organized by ESA in partnership with NEON Inc. in 2008 (http://goo.gl/tU0dk).
The purpose of the framework is to guide the user through the factors and considerations that go into designing a learning activity using continental-scale data. To access the interactive conceptual framework and give us feedback on the tool, please visit http://goo.gl/rqn3Z. |
| AIBS President Expresses Concern with Senate Funding for NSF |
The American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS: a NEON, Inc. Founding Member Institution) President Dr. James P. Collins (also Board Director on NEON, Inc.) expressed concern with the Senate proposed funding for NSF in a September 30, 2011 statement (http://goo.gl/Uu9dP).
The Senate proposes $6.8 billion for fiscal year 2011, a $65 million reduction from the 2010 spending level. As proposed by the Senate Committee on Appropriations, research programs central to fulfilling NSF's mission would be cut an additional $120.9 million in fiscal year 2012. The Senate panel would also cut $32 million from science education and human resources programs. Collectively, just over $160 million in support for research and education programs would be cut.
Collins encourages scientists to visit, call, or send a letter to their Senators to remind them of the importance of investing in science. "It is important that lawmakers understand that investing in scientific research and education is a commitment to the future just as was the case in the post-Sputnik era of the 1960s. As we look forward to a century that will increasingly demand the knowledge and skills of an educated public the future welfare of the country will depend on investments in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics that we make today," states Collins.
Scientists concerned about the changing tenor of support for scientific research and education can use the AIBS Legislative Action Center at http://capwiz.com/aibs/home/ to send a message to elected officials.
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| Climate Science Day on Capitol Hill 2012 |
Following on from the resounding success of Climate Science Day on Capitol Hill 2011, NEON, Inc. would like to announce an opportunity for up to four individuals to engage in a training session on communicating with Congress (January 31, 2012). This will be followed by a visit to Capitol Hill (February 1, 2012) to meet with your legislator and other Members of Congress in multi-disciplinary teams led by representatives from organizing institutions.
NEON, Inc. is looking for individuals to effectively communicate the impacts of large-scale environmental changes on natural resources and the complex interaction between climate and ecosystems. Limited travel assistance is available. Early career scientists are encouraged to apply.
This event DOES NOT subscribe to any particular policy course or action. As such, Federal employees may participate in this event. Applications are due by November 7, 2011. For more details, including reports from attendees about the learning experience they went through earlier this year, see http://goo.gl/S0JHL.
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| USGCRP Strategic Plan 2012-2021 |
On September 30, 2011, a Federal Register Notice announced the opening of the public comment period for the U.S. Global Change Research Program's (USGCRP) 2012-2021 Strategic Plan. Every ten years, in accordance with the Global Change Research Act of 1990, the USGCRP must produce a 10 year Strategic Plan. The public is invited to provide comments and feedback on the U.S. Global Change Research Program 2012-2021 Strategic Plan. The public comment period is open for 60 days and comments are due by November 29, 2011.
See http://strategicplancomments.globalchange.gov/ for details.
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| Events of Potential Interest to the NEON Community |
- Association for Ecosystem Research Centers (AERC). The AERC Symposium and Briefing will be held in Washington DC on October 19th (Wednesday), 2011. The Symposium is open to all AERC institution members and visitors, and will be held in the National Museum of the American Indian beginning at 12:00 P.M. (lunch will be provided). The research theme is "Benefits Of Ecosystems To Humans In The 21st Century". See http://goo.gl/hmC7X for details.
- Phenology 2012 Conference. A second interdisciplinary international conference on phenology will be held at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 10-13 September 2012. This conference aims to bring together experts from around the world in all sub-fields of phenology and related disciplines. The conference theme is "Future Climate and the Living Earth". See http://goo.gl/AcmvG for details.
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Solicitations of Potential Interest to the NEON Community
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Please click the respective links to check the original source of information. The abbreviated text below may not reflect amendments to the original announcements, and may not reflect the original intent of the solicitation. The "New" icons indicate recent new announcements (includes announcements for regular solicitations), and not necessarily new programs. These are primarily, though not limited to, NSF solicitations. Not all new announcements are included in the list below.  Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) - Excerpt: The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) provides Fellowships to individuals selected early in their graduate careers based on their demonstrated potential for significant achievements in science and engineering. Three years of support is provided by the program for graduate study that is in a field within NSF's mission and leads to a research-based master's or doctoral degree.
- Critical Dates: November 18, 2011
- Partnerships for Enhanced Engagement in Research (PEER)
- Excerpt: USAID and NSF are pleased to announce the launching of a new program called Partnerships for Enhanced Engagement in Research (PEER). This competitive grants program will allow scientists in developing countries to apply for funds to support research and capacity-building activities in partnership with their NSF-funded collaborators on topics of importance to USAID, like agricultural development, fisheries, plant genomics, ecology of infectious disease, natural/human system interactions, climate process and modeling, biodiversity, water, renewable energy, and others.
- Critical Dates: November 30, 2011
- Sustainability Research Networks Competition (SRN)
- Excerpt: The goal of the Sustainability Research Networks (SRN) competition is to support the development and coalescence of entities to advance collaborative research that addresses questions and challenges in sustainability science, engineering, and education. SRNs will link scientists, engineers, and educators, at existing institutions, centers, networks, and also develop new research efforts and collaborations. The Sustainability Research Networks competition outlined here is one part of the growing NSF investment in its Science, Engineering and Education for Sustainability (SEES) portfolio (www.nsf.gov/sees/). Challenges associated with broadly based SEES goals will be met by supporting fundamental science and engineering research and education needed to understand and overcome the barriers to sustainable human well being and to forge reasoned pathways to a sustainable future.
- Critical Dates: Preliminary proposal due: December 01, 2011. Full proposal du: April 1, 2012.
- NSF Science, Engineering and Education for Sustainability Fellows
- Excerpt: Through SEES Fellows, NSF seeks to enable the discoveries needed to inform actions that lead to environmental, energy and societal sustainability while creating the necessary workforce to address these challenges. The program's emphasis is to facilitate investigations that cross traditional disciplinary boundaries and address issues of sustainability through a systems approach, building bridges between academic inquiry, economic growth, and societal needs. The challenge of sustainability, maintaining and improving the quality of life for the nation within a healthy Earth system, is of global concern. The NSF SEES Fellows may strengthen connections and collaborations with the broader international science and engineering community by having an international research partnership.
- Critical Dates: December 5, 2011
- Ecology and Evolution of Infectious Diseases (EEID)
- Excerpt: The Ecology and Evolution of Infectious Diseases program supports research on the ecological, evolutionary, and socio-ecological principles and processes that regulate the transmission dynamics of infectious diseases. The program's focus is on the discovery of general principles and processes, and on the building and testing of models that elucidate these principles. The history of the EEID program has shown that the most competitive proposals are those that advance broad, conceptual knowledge that reaches beyond the specific system under study and that may be useful for understanding public, agricultural or ecosystem health, natural resource use and wildlife management, and/or economic development.
- Critical Dates: December 07, 2011
- Basic Research to Enable Agricultural Development (BREAD)
- Excerpt: The National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) are partnering to support a new research program to be administered by NSF. The objective of the BREAD Program is to support innovative basic scientific research designed to address key constraints to smallholder agriculture in the developing world. A significant distinction between BREAD and other NSF programs is that proposals to BREAD must make a clear and well-defined connection between the outcomes of the proposed basic research and its direct relevance and potential application to agriculture in the developing world. The BREAD Program takes the activities of the Plant Genome Research Program (PGRP) to the next level by supporting a broader range of scientific research and by enabling funding to be allocated to international collaborators through subawards.
- Critical Dates: November 22, 2011
- Geoinformatics (GI)
- Excerpt: The Division of Earth Sciences (EAR) will consider proposals for the development of cyberinfrastructure for the geosciences (Geoinformatics). EAR seeks the development and implementation of enabling information technology with impacts that extend beyond an individual investigator or small group of investigators and that facilitates the next generation of geosciences research. Proposals to this solicitation may seek support for community-driven development and implementation of databases; tools for data integration, interoperability, and visualization; software development and code hardening; and data-intensive/new computing methodologies that support the enhancement of geosciences research and education activities.
- Critical Dates: January 13, 2012
- Postdoctoral Research Fellowships in Biology (PRFB)
- Excerpt: The Directorate for Biological Sciences (BIO) awards Postdoctoral Research Fellowships in Biology to recent recipients of the doctoral degree for research and training in selected areas supported by BIO and with special goals for human resource development in biology. The fellowships encourage independence at an early stage of the research career to permit Fellows to pursue their research and training goals in the most appropriate research locations regardless of the availability of funding for the Fellows at that site. For FY 2012, these BIO programs are (1) Broadening Participation in Biology; (2) Intersections of Biology and Mathematical and Physical Sciences; and (3) National Plant Genome Initiative Postdoctoral Research Fellowships.
- Critical Dates: October 11, 2011.
- Advancing Digitization of Biological Collections (ADBC)
- Excerpt: This program seeks to enhance and expand the national resource of digital data documenting existing vouchered biological and paleontological collections and to advance scientific knowledge by improving access to digitized information (including images) residing in vouchered scientific collections across the United States. The information associated with various collections of organisms, such as geographic, paleogeographic and stratigraphic distribution, environmental habitat data, phenology, information about associated organisms, collector field notes, and tissues and molecular data extracted from the specimens, is a rich resource providing the baseline from which to further biodiversity research and provide critical information about existing gaps in our knowledge of life on earth.
- Critical Dates: October 31, 2011.
- Water Sustainability and Climate (WSC)
- Excerpt: The goal of the Water Sustainability and Climate (WSC) solicitation is to understand and predict the interactions between the water system and climate change, land use (including agriculture, managed forest and rangeland systems), the built environment, and ecosystem function and services through place-based research and integrative models. Studies of the water system using models and/or observations at specific sites singly or in combination that allow for spatial and temporal extrapolation to other regions, as well as integration across the different processes in that system are encouraged, especially to the extent that they advance the development of theoretical frameworks and predictive understanding. Proposals may establish new observational sites or utilize existing sites and facilities already supported by NSF (National Science Foundation) or other federal and state agencies (e.g. USGS (US Geological Survey), USEPA (US Environmental Protection Agency) , USDA/ARS/FS (US Department of Agriculture/Agricultural Research Station/Forest Service), NOAA(National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)).
- Critical Dates: Full proposals are due October 19, 2011.
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