Thoughts on preparing an NSF CAREER proposal

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Thoughts on preparing an NSF CAREER proposal

• 2007 NSF CAREER Proposal Writing Workshop
• Maria C. YangDepartment of Industrial Systems
  EngineeringUniversity of Southern California

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Overview

• Things to do before writing
• Writing the proposal itself
• Final thoughts

• My background
• BS MIT, ME
• MS Stanford, ME
• PhD Stanford, ME
• Industry 3 years
• Instructorship Caltech ME
• Asst Prof USC ISE
• 2005 CAREER Workshop attendee
• 2006 NSF CAREER Award

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Before writing

• Doing the homework

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Learn about the NSF

• Decide on right program
• Many programs may be relevant
• Tricky for interdisciplinary work
• Search recent award abstracts
• Topics investigators close to you
• What programs do they submit to?
• Attend NSF CAREER workshop if possible

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Not a regular proposal

• Dont just modify an old unsolicited
• Plan for your overall faculty career
• Key is to show your professional vision
• Where do you see your research, teaching, service
  in 5, 10, 20 years?
• Contributions to the field, papers, students,
  types of classes, professional service
• Question-answering process influence writing
• Helpful for career planning, not just proposal

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Read other CAREER proposals

• Sources
• CAREER Workshop mock panel review
• Colleagues
• Read both successful and not
• Unsuccessful ones make clear what to avoid

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Get advice

• Talk to experienced individuals in your field
• Faculty colleagues, former advisors, mentors
• Increase the breadth of vision
• Ask them if theyd be willing read
• University-sponsored forums
• USC Deans office reading service

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Note for resubmissions

• If you have submitted a CAREER proposal before
  without success
• Take cold, hard look at old proposal
• Take review panel advice to heart
• Rewrite from scratch
• Ideas further developed
• New, interesting work

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Writing the proposal itself

• Be concise

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Proposal writing

• Start early
• Crisp, concise research statement
• Convince panel of your vision
• Leave time for industry collaboration and letters
  of support
• Program for broader impacts
• Getting feedback from others

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One sentence summary of proposal

• Sounds simple, but time consuming
• Reviewers understand immediately
• Shows you know what you are talking about
• Reviewer fatigue
• First sentence of Project Summary
• Why is your work basic research (vs.
  development)? (Hazelriggs law)
• Why is your work compelling?
• Broad and inspiring
• Narrow I want to incrementally improve x using
  technology y.
• Broad My interest is in determining the limits
  of x in the domain of y to fundamentally reframe
  our understanding of z

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First 2-3 pages of proposal

• Make it accessible to technical layman
• Only some panelists understand work in great
  depth
• But every reviewer should appreciate larger goals
• Scientific American test
• Colleagues in other fields, husband/wife/partner,
  best friend, parents
• If they grasp first few pages, the review panel
  will, too

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Establish collaborations w/ industry

• (If applicable)
• Shows wider applications of work
• Start year early
• Establish how you might work together
• Bonus Preliminary results
• Letters show substance in partnerships
• Commitment to collaboration
• Testbed for research
• Funding

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Leave time for review by others

• Outside perspectives help breadth
• Allot a few weeks
• Everyone is busy
• Senior people are even busier
• Need time to incorporate feedback
• Remind reviewers gently if they dont respond

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Broader Impacts

• Show how your work accessible to world
• Opportunity to differentiate your proposal
• New graduate class
• Other forums/populations?
• Dont need to teach kindergarteners quantum
• What is appealing about work to lay public?
• What forums do you have available to you?
• Start early to establish collaborations
• USC outreach example

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Final thoughts

• Think positive

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15 pg summary of your career plan

• Chair/Dean asks you what you want to do over next
  several years
• Answer should be a CAREER proposal
• Project appropriate amount of confidence
• Too much - not believable
• Not enough - reviewers wont take you seriously
• Signals to others that you are willing to invest
  yourself