| Highlights |
- Have a happy and safe Thanksgiving!
- Climate Science Day (CSD) on Capitol Hill 2013. Following on from the success of CSD 2011 and 2012, NEON, Inc. would like to announce an opportunity for up to four individuals to engage in a training session on communicating with Congress. Applications are due 2013-01-07. See below for more details.
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| Changes to the NEON, Inc. Board of Directors |
Incoming Board Directors.
Amy Ward (University of Alabama) and Jim Gosz (University of Idaho) have been elected and re-elected (respectively) to a three-year term on the Board of Directors starting January 2013. We would like to thank everybody who submitted names for the election slate, as well as individuals who were contacted by the Board's governance committee as they weaved together an election slate representative of our community. In particular, we would like to thank Jim Gosz, Bryan Pijanowski, Crystal Schaaf, and Amy Ward for their willingness to invest their time to represent the community's needs.
Outgoing Board Directors.
Jim MacMahon (Utah State University), who is currently Chair of the NEON, Inc. Board, will be stepping down at the end of 2012 as Board Director and Board Chair due to term limits. Jim was a member of the Senior Management Team on the initial NSF NEON planning award in 2004, and subsequently transitioned to the Board in February 2006. Jim deftly lead the Board and organization through challenging periods in NEON, Inc.'s short history. The Board recognized Jim's contribution with an award at the membership meeting reception on 2012-10-16, and will be setting up a scholarship fund in his name. The other outgoing Directors at the end of 2012 include Dan Childers (Arizona State University) and Jeff Goldman (UCLA). David Douglas, a member of the At-Large Group of Directors (who are elected by the Directors then in office), was re-elected to a second three-year term starting January 2013.
Incoming Board Chair.
The Board elected Jim Collins (Arizona State University) (At-Large group of Directors) as the incoming Chair of the Board starting January 2013. Jim was formerly Assistant Director of the NSF Biological Sciences Directorate and oversaw the passage of NEON through a series of challenging reviews mandated by the NSF Major Research Equipment and Facilities Construction (MREFC) methodology for large infrastructure projects. Jim brings with him a deep understanding of the delicate balance between the current needs of the community, the leadership needed to advance the sciences, and the challenges posed by a period of financial austerity and public accountability. |
| In Recognition of Significant Contributions |
At the reception for the 5th Annual Membership Meeting on 2012-10-16, the Board of Directors presented Bruce Hayden (University of Virginia) with an award recognizing his tireless shepherding of the NEON concept through many uncertainties during its seminal years. Bruce first proposed the NEON concept 15 years ago as a visiting Director of NSF's Division of Environmental Biology. He continued to work closely with the NSF leadership on NEON over the years, and was the PI of the initial NSF planning grant that saw the creation of the NEON Project Office in Washington DC in 2004. That planning grant lead to the incorporation of the NEON, Inc. organization. Thank you, Bruce!
The Board also recognized the contributions made by David Schimel (Jet Propulsion Laboratory) who was up till recently Chief Science Officer of the Corporation. As Chief Executive Officer of NEON, Inc., Dave is credited with providing the intellectual leadership for the NEON design as we know it today. In particular, he advocated strongly for the provision of derived data products that would enable the community to address pressing science questions. Dave oversaw the rapid growth of the Corporation from a handful of employees to more than 150 employees. We wish Dave the best as he launches into another strata of large-scale science at JPL! |
| Climate Science Day on Capitol Hill 2013 |
Following on from the resounding success of Climate Science Day on Capitol Hill 2011 and 2012, NEON, Inc. would like to announce an opportunity for up to four individuals from member institutions to engage in a training session on communicating with Congress in February 2013. The event starts with a training session (Tuesday 2013-02-26), followed by a visit to Capitol Hill (Wednesday 2013-02-27) to meet with your legislators 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 2013-01-07, please see the CSD 2013 website for details. The website also includes links to articles and blog entries about part participants' experiences. |
| 2013 ESA Graduate Student Policy Award |
The Ecological Society of America (ESA) invites applications for its 2013 Graduate Student Policy Award (GSPA). Offered each year, this award gives graduate students hands-on science policy experience including interacting with congressional decision-makers, federal agency officials, and others engaged in science and public policy.
The GSPA is given to up to three applicants. Winners participate in the annual Congressional Visits Day, a two-day event that in 2013 will be held either the week of March 18 or the week of April 8-exact dates TBD.
For more details, see the GSPA announcement. Applications are due 2013-01-23. |
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.  Major Research Instrumentation Program (MRI) Instrument Acquisition or Development - Excerpt: The Major Research Instrumentation Program (MRI) serves to increase access to shared scientific and engineering instruments for research and research training in our Nation's institutions of higher education, and not-for-profit museums, science centers and scientific/engineering research organizations. To accomplish the program's goals, the MRI program assists with the acquisition or development of a shared research instrument that is, in general, too costly and/or not appropriate for support through other NSF programs. The instrument is expected to be operational for regular research use by the end of the award period.
- Critical Dates: See NSF website
- EPSCoR Research Infrastructure Improvement Program: Track-2 (RII Track-2)
- Excerpt: Research Infrastructure Improvement Program: Track-2 (RII Track-2) awards provide funds in the range of $1.5 to 2.0 million per year for up to 3 years to consortia of EPSCoR jurisdictions. Examples of RII Track-2 activities that are consistent with NSF EPSCoR program objectives include developing multi-jurisdictional, interdisciplinary teams to address "national challenge" questions in science and engineering fields and providing solutions of benefit to society; Creating, supporting, and maintaining regional shared instrumentation or cyberinfrastructure and facilities to support users from diverse institutions, organizations, and sectors.
- Critical Dates: 2013-01-30
- Climate Change Education Partnership Alliance Office (CCEPA Office)
- Excerpt: The Climate Change Education Partnership (CCEP) program is a major interdisciplinary research and development effort designed to promote deeper understanding of and engagement with climate science and the impacts of climate change on natural and human systems. This solicitation requests proposals for the creation of the Climate Change Partnership Alliance Office (CCEPA Office).
- Critical Dates: See NSF website; Letter of intent required.
- 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 influence the transmission dynamics of infectious diseases. The central theme of submitted projects must be quantitative or computational understanding of pathogen transmission dynamics. The intent is discovery of principles of infectious disease transmission and on testing mathematical or computational models that elucidate infectious disease systems.
- Critical Dates: 2012-12-05
- Critical Zone Observatories
- Excerpt: NSF seeks proposals to establish a networked set of Critical Zone Observatories (CZOs) that will address pressing interdisciplinary scientific questions concerning geological, physical, chemical, and biological processes and their couplings that govern critical zone system dynamics. An overarching goal of the critical zone observatory network, which will be comprised of US-based sites (50 states plus territories), is to offer scalable and transferable information that could enhance the scale and scope of the knowledge building and societal benefits that will accrue beyond where the specific CZOs are located.
- Critical Dates: 2013-02-05
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Key Dates in 2012
| | 12/3 - 12/7: AGU Annual Meeting (San Francisco, CA) |
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