Research NewsletterIssue: ORN-2021-41

NSF Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) Proposal submission

Internal Competition

Grant Program: NSF Major Research Instrumentation Program: (MRI)

Agency: National Science Foundation NSF 18-513

RFP Website: https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2018/nsf18513/nsf18513.htm

Brief Description: The Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) Program serves to increase access to multi-user scientific and engineering instrumentation for research and research training in our Nation's institutions of higher education and not-for-profit scientific/engineering research organizations. An MRI award supports the acquisition or development of a multi-user research instrument that is, in general, too costly and/or not appropriate for support through other NSF programs.

MRI provides support to acquire critical research instrumentation without which advances in fundamental science and engineering research may not otherwise occur. MRI also provides support to develop next-generation research instruments that open new opportunities to advance the frontiers in science and engineering research. Additionally, an MRI award is expected to enhance research training of students who will become the next generation of instrument users, designers and builders.

An MRI proposal may request up to $4 million for either acquisition or development of a research instrument. Beginning with the FY 2018 competition, each performing organization may submit in revised “Tracks” as defined below, with no more than two submissions in Track 1 and no more than one submission in Track 2.

• Track 1: Track 1 MRI proposals are those that request funds from NSF greater than or equal to $100,0001 and less than $1,000,000.

• Track 2: Track 2 MRI proposals are those that request funds from NSF greater than or equal to $1,000,000 up to and including $4,000,000.

Consistent with the America COMPETES Act of 2007 (Public Law 110-69), cost sharing of precisely 30% of the total project cost is required for Ph.D.-granting institutions of higher education and for non-degree-granting organizations. Non-Ph.D.-granting institutions of higher education are exempt from the cost-sharing requirement and cannot include it. National Science Board policy prohibits voluntary committed cost sharing.

Please see the solicitation text for organizational definitions used by the MRI program.

The MRI Program especially seeks broad representation of PIs in its award portfolio, including women, underrepresented minorities and persons with disabilities. Since demographic diversity may be greater among early-career researchers the MRI program also encourages proposals with early-career PIs and proposals that benefit early-career researchers.

Awards Range: $100,000-$4 million; Anticipated Funding Amount: $75,000,000

Letter of Intent: Not Required

Submission Deadline: January 01, 2022 - January 19, 2022

Limit on Number of Proposals per Organization:

Three (3) as described below. Potential PIs are advised to contact their institutional office of research regarding processes used to select proposals for submission.

The MRI program requires that an MRI-eligible organization may, as a performing organization, submit or be included as a significantly funded [3] subawardee in no more than three MRI proposals. Beginning with this competition, each performing organization is now limited to a maximum of three proposals in revised “Tracks” as defined below, with no more than two submissions in Track 1 and no more than one submission in Track 2. Any MRI proposal may request support for either the acquisition or development of a research instrument. Within their submission limit, NSF strongly encourages organizations to submit proposals for innovative development projects.

Award Type: Any MRI proposal may request support for either the acquisition or development of a research instrument.

• Track 1: Track 1 MRI proposals are those that request funds from NSF greater than or equal to $100,0001 and less than $1,000,000.
• Track 2: Track 2 MRI proposals are those that request funds from NSF greater than or equal to $1,000,000 up to and including $4,000,000.

Note: The 30% cost-sharing requirement applies to only the portion of the total project cost budgeted to non-exempt organizations, including those participating through subawards. Please review the RFP for additional information.

Internal Competition Deadline to College Dean’s Office: November 5, 2021:  Please submit up to 5 pages pre-proposal white paper to your respective Dean by November 5, 2021 in the following format. College level reviews will be conducted by Deans to forward recommendations for up to 2 proposals to the Office of Research and Development by November 10, 2021. The final selection will be announced by November 15, 2021.  The following format for the pre-proposal is suggested which is consistent with actual proposal guidelines and review criterion:

1. Cover Sheet (not counted in the page limit):

• Title of the project proposal
• Track Type: I or II
• PI name and affiliation and contact information
• Co-PIs name and affiliation
• Additional users or any consortium information, if applicable
• Date submitted to College Dean

2. Project Summary

Each proposal must contain a summary of the proposed project not more than one page in length. The Project Summary consists of an overview, a statement on the intellectual merit of the proposed activity, and a statement on the broader impacts of the proposed activity.

Proposal Description covering the subsections (a)-(e) as posted on the previous RFP on https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2018/nsf18513/nsf18513.htm  with the section:

• a1. Instrument Location and Type

a2. ONLY REQUIRED FOR DEVELOPMENT PROPOSALS: Justification for submission as a Development proposal

• Research Activities to be Enabled
• Description of the Research Instrumentation and Needs
• Broader Impacts (Including Impact on Research and Training Infrastructure)
• Management Plan

4. Preliminary Budget and Budget Justification; and Required Cost-Sharing

5. Brief biographical sketch of PI with a brief description of current and previous accomplishments.

For pre-proposal review, the NSF MRI proposal review criterion may be used to help faculty receive some feedback on their proposals that may be helpful for their final or future proposal submissions. The merit review criterion as posted on the RFP is:

• Intellectual Merit: The Intellectual Merit criterion encompasses the potential to advance knowledge; and
• Broader Impacts: The Broader Impacts criterion encompasses the potential to benefit society and contribute to the achievement of specific, desired societal outcomes

Instrument Acquisition Proposals.

• The extent to which the instrument is used for multi-user, shared-use research and/or research training.
• Whether the management plan demonstrates sufficient commitment and technical expertise for effective scheduling and usage of the instrument.
• The organization's commitment to ensuring successful operations and maintenance over the expected lifetime of the instrument.
• Whether the research to be enabled is compelling and justifies the instrument request.
• Whether the budget request is appropriate and well justified.
• if student involvement is in the form of direct support for operations and maintenance of the instrument, reviewers will be asked to evaluate the involvement in terms of both instrument needs and the training of the next generation of instrumentalists.
• For instrument acquisition proposals of $1 million or above, the potential impact of the instrument on the research community of interest at the regional or national level, if appropriate.

Instrument Development Proposals:

• The appropriateness of submission as a development proposal.
• The need for development of a new instrument. Will the proposed instrument enable enhanced performance over existing instruments, or new types of measurement or information gathering? Is there a strong need for the new instrument in the larger user community to advance new frontiers of research?
• The adequacy of the project’s management plan. Does the plan have a realistic schedule that is described in sufficient detail to be assessed? Are mechanisms described to mitigate and deal with potential risks?
• The availability of appropriate technical expertise to design and construct the instrument. If direct support for student involvement in development efforts is requested, reviewers will be asked to evaluate the involvement in terms of both project needs and training the next generation of instrumentalists.
• The appropriateness of the cost of the new technology.

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Save the Dates

Office of Research Events: Fall 2021

Event: NJIT NSF CAREER Award Panel Discussion

When:  November 4, 2021; 2.00 PM to 4.00 PM

Where: Ballroom B, Student Campus Center

Brief Description: All faculty interested in NSF CAREER award submission are invited to 2021 NJIT NSF CAREER Award Panel Discussion event. The event will highlight the requirements for NSF CAREER award. NJIT faculty who have recently received the prestigious NSF CAREER award will share their experience and discuss the best practices on successful proposal preparation. The detailed agenda will be announced shortly.

Event: National Academy of Inventors (NAI) – NJIT Chapter Workshop: Sustainable Societies and Climate Change

When:  November 15, 2021; 10.00 AM to 1.00 PM (Lunch at 12.00 PM followed by the Faculty Research Showcase)

Where: Ballroom A&B, Student Campus Center

Brief Description: The Sustainable Societies and Climate Change workshop is sponsored by the Office of Research and National Academy of Inventors (NAI) – NJIT Chapter as a part of the workshop series on “Innovations to Sustainable Solutions” focused on NJIT Research Grand Challenges: Healthcare Innovations, Sustainable Communities, and Next-Generation Computing and Cyberinfrastructure. The workshop will feature a Distinguished keynote address, panel discussions and round-table discussions with faculty and multidisciplinary stakeholders from academia, industry, businesses, and government. All faculty, students and researchers are invited to attend. More details about the program agenda will be announced shortly.

Event:  Faculty Research Showcase

When:  November 15, 2021, from 12.00 PM to 3.00 PM (with Lunch at 12.00 PM)

Where: Ballroom A&B, Student Campus Center

Brief Description: The Faculty Research Showcase will introduce new faculty who joined NJIT in AY22 with individual 3-minutes ppt podium presentations. The showcase will also feature podium ppt presentations by FY22 Faculty Seed Grant (FSG) recipients. The showcase will be held in the in-person mode at the campus but will also be streamed live via WebEx for additional remote audience. The showcase will provide a unique opportunity to learn about research expertise of our new faculty towards developing future research collaborations. Through Faculty Seed Grant (FSG) presentations, you will know more about some of the recent multidisciplinary basic, applied, and translational research initiatives of high potential impact. All faculty, students and researchers are invited to attend. The detailed program agenda will be announced shortly.

NSF: CISE Community Research Infrastructure (CCRI); Biodiversity on a Changing Planet (BoCP); Principles and Practice of Scalable Systems (PPoSS); Research and Mentoring for Postbaccalaureates in Biological Sciences (RaMP); Human Networks and Data Science (HNDS); NSF Major Research Instrumentation Program: (MRI); Macrosystems Biology and NEON-Enabled Science (MSB-NES); Launching Early-Career Academic Pathways in the Mathematical and Physical Sciences (LEAPS-MPS); National Artificial Intelligence (AI) Research Institutes Accelerating Research; Mathematical and Physical Sciences Ascending Postdoctoral Research Fellowships (MPS-Ascend); Building Research Capacity of New Faculty in Biology (BRC-BIO)

NIH: Neuromodulation/Neurostimulation Device Development for Mental Health Applications (R21); Virtual Consortium for Translational/Transdisciplinary Environmental Research (ViCTER) (R01): Research on Biopsychosocial Factors of Social Connectedness and Isolation on Health, Wellbeing, Illness, and Recovery (R01); SPARC Human Open Research Neural Engineering Technologies (HORNET) Initiative (U41)

Department of Defense/US Army/DARPA/ONR: Integrated Microgrids; National Oceanographic Partnership Program (NOPP) 2022 Broad Agency Announcement; Environmental Literacy Program: Increasing community resilience to extreme weather & climate change; Long Range Broad Agency Announcement for Navy and Marine Corps Science and Technology; MEDICAL COUNTERMEASURE SYSTEMS (MCS) BAA; Defense Sciences Office Office-wide; Research Interests of the Air Force Office of Scientific Research

Department of Transportation: DDETFP Transportation Fellowship Program;

Department of Agriculture: Solid Waste Management Grant Program; Centers of Excellence at 1890 Institutions

Department of Labor: Workforce System Technical Assistance Collaborative

Department of Commerce/EDA:  Competition for a Cooperative Institute to Support Water Resources; Environmental Literacy Program; FY2021 to FY2023 NOAA Broad Agency Announcement (BAA)

EPA: Development of Innovative Approaches to Assess the Toxicity of Chemical Mixtures; FY22 GUIDELINES FOR BROWNFIELD ASSESSMENT GRANTS; FY22 GUIDELINES FOR BROWNFIELD CLEANUP

Department of Energy: Environmental System Science (ESS); Atmospheric System Research (ASR); UNIVERSITY-BASED CYBERSECURITY CENTERS; Early Career Research Program

NASA: Strategic Astrophysics Technology; ROSES 2021: Terrestrial Ecology; Heliophysics Living with a Star Infrastructure; ROSES 2021

National Endowment of Humanities: Digital Humanities Advancement Grants

Private Foundations: New Jersey Health Foundation: Innovation Grants

Navy to Prototype Fish-Inspired, Autonomous Robots with ‘Self-Healing’ Parts:  U.S. Navy officials are developing next-generation autonomous underwater robots that generate virtually no radiated noise while navigating the ocean. To make the actuators—or components that move and help control the overall systems—they are drawing inspiration from the biology of creatures that inhabit waters where those futuristic vehicles will operate. According to the statement of work for a combined synopsis and solicitation released Friday, members of the Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division in Newport, Rhode Island, intend to use “Hydraulically Amplified Self-Healing Electrostatic (HASEL) solid-state, soft actuators that mimic the form and function of biomechanical structures in large, high-performance pelagic fishes.” More information is posted on the NextGov website.

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GSA Needs Users to Test SAM.gov Ahead of DUNS Transition: The federal government is getting ready to institute a new data format for identifying organizations doing business with agencies and just released a new help resource for the transition and a call for superusers to test the system that will manage it all. The final transition from the Data Universal Numbering System, or D-U-N-S, to the new Unique Entity ID is set for April 4, 2022. The cutover will be the culmination of nearly four years of preparation by entities across government and the private sector and the end of a system that dominated the federal space for nearly 60 years. Since it was established by Dun & Bradstreet in 1962 and later codified in the Federal Acquisition Regulation in 1998, a Data Universal Numbering System, or D-U-N-S, number has been issued to every organization doing business with the government, functioning as a sort of Social Security number for contractors, grantees, universities, research centers, incubators, charities and others.

GSA, which administers the program, opened the contract to new vendors for the first time in 2018 and awarded the new contract in March 2019 to Ernst & Young, which will administer the new Unique Entity ID and manage the transition from Dun & Bradstreet. The transition was originally planned for December 2020. However, after hearing from the community, GSA opted to extend the deadline to April 2022 in order to begin issuing UEI numbers during the transition, enabling agencies to test systems using both numbers ahead of the final cutover. UEI numbers are now being issued through SAM.gov. But before the big switch happens in April, GSA wants to make sure the system for issuing and managing the IDs functions as intended—and in a way that works for users. More information is posted on the NextGov website.

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Supply Chain Crisis Office Within Commerce Department: Bipartisan legislation introduced in the House Wednesday this week would create a Supply Chain Resiliency and Crisis Office within the Commerce Department to address shortages of critical goods and services, industrial equipment and certain manufacturing technologies. According to Rep. Tom Malinowski, D-N.J., the Building Resilient Supply Chains Act, the bill would solidify U.S. supply chains and spur domestic manufacturing. The legislation would authorize up to $45 billion for the newly-created office to issue grants or loans to support expanded domestic manufacturing. Other sponsors for the bipartisan legislation include Lisa Blunt Rochester, D-Del., and Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill. According to the legislation, the new Commerce office results in part from President Joe Biden’s American Jobs Plan and Executive Order 14017 in February. A subsequent review by multiple agencies of critical products, including semiconductors, rare minerals and high-capacity batteries underscored the need for such an office. More information is posted on the NextGov website.

Question:       Can I generate budgets for multiple years from the Year-1 budget in Streamlyne?

Answer:         Yes! You only need to input the Year-1 budget and then click on the “generate all periods” button. Stremalyne will create budget sheets for the remaining periods. You can then go to “summary” under the budget tab to review budget sheets for all periods. You can also change specific budget items that you allocated in Year-1 but you do not want to continue them in the following periods.

More FAQs on Streamlyne: Please visit http://www.njit.edu/research/streamlyne/