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News and updates

NEH Grants Available for Development of Undergrad Course

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Through September 15, the National Endowment for the Humanities invites applications for grants of up to $25,000 to support the development of an undergraduate course on an “enduring question.”  This course will encourage undergraduates and educators to grapple with a fundamental question addressed by the humanities and to join together in a sustained program of reading in order to encounter influential thinkers over the centuries and into the present day.  Up to four faculty members in any discipline may develop the course, but each co-director must teach it separately. 

More information here.

DOD’s Minerva Initiative Calls for New Round of White Papers and Funding Proposals

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University consortia and individual investigators are encouraged to submit white papers and full funding proposals to the Minerva Initiative, the Department of Defense’s competitive, university-based social science basic research program.  Because of a delay in release of the funding solicitation, program managers have extended the deadline for white paper submissions to Friday, September 16, 2011, and the deadline for full proposals to Tuesday, November 22, 2011. 

The Minerva Initiative was created in 2008 under the leadership of former Defense Secretary Robert Gates as a means to improve our fundamental understanding of the social, cultural, behavioral, and political forces that shape regions of the world of strategic importance to the U.S.  Secretary Gates announced the Initiative at the April 2008 meeting of the AAU presidents and chancellors in Washington, DC. 

The Minerva Initiative is inviting white papers and full proposals for basic research in the following seven areas:

(1)    Strategic Impact of Religious and Cultural Changes
(2)    Terrorism and Terrorist Ideologies
(3)    Science, Technology and Military Transformations in China and Developing States
(4)    National Security Implications of Energy and Environmental Stress
(5)    New Theories of Cross-Domain Deterrence
(6)    Regime and Social Dynamics in Failed, Failing, and Fragile Authoritarian States
(7)    New Approaches to Understanding Dimensions of National Security, Conflict, and Cooperation

DOE Announces $120 Million to Support Development of Innovative Manufacturing Processes

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As part of the Advanced Manufacturing Partnership launched last month by President Obama, the Department of Energy is offering an investment of up to $120 million over three years to develop transformational manufacturing technologies and innovative materials. The Advanced Manufacturing Partnership is a national effort bringing together industry, universities, and the federal government to invest in emerging technologies that will create high-quality manufacturing jobs and enhance US competitiveness.

The selected projects will emphasize new processes and materials that are revolutionary in their design or impact and that are capable of being commercialized within the next five to seven years. By boosting investment in near-term technology development, the Department is supporting projects that might otherwise take far longer to contribute to U.S. industrial competitiveness. DOE expects to fund 35 to 50 cost-shared projects under the initiative.

Projects associated with innovations in the earlier stages of development, such as applied research projects or those that establish a proof of concept, will be eligible for awards up to $1 million. These projects must be completed within two years. Projects associated with innovations further along in their development, such as laboratory testing or verification of a prototype system, will be eligible for awards up to $9 million.

Applicants must submit a Letter of Intent by September 1, 2011 in order to be eligible to submit a Full Application by October 5, 2011

 For more information, see the funding opportunity announcement and the DOE press release.

Debt and Appropriations Update

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Debt Negotiations Continue:  Congressional leaders will meet with President Obama at the White House again today as both sides show no sign of softening their positions.  Obama has increased the pressure on Congressional leaders to reach a deal in the coming weeks by stating that he would not agree to any short-term measures.  The President emphasized that he was willing to compromise, saying that both Republicans and Democrats should do the same to strike a deal now.  Prospects for a comprehensive $4 trillion deficit reduction package fell apart over the weekend with Republicans saying they would not accept any tax increases, while Democrats continue to hold out against cutting entitlements.  At yesterday’s White House meeting, leaders focused on about $1.7 billion in spending cuts that had been identified in the earlier talks led by Vice President Biden. 

House Appropriations Schedule Slows Down:  With a crucial House Appropriations subcommittee markup delayed this week, plans to move all 12 spending bills out of committee before August recess may be in jeopardy.  House appropriators have scrapped a subcommittee markup of the FY12 Transportation-HUD spending bill set for Thursday.  The committee says the delay is due to scheduling issues, but the cancellation is likely tied to the ongoing deficit reduction negotiations.  The Transportation-HUD measure is slated for some of the largest cuts (13.9 percent) as part of an effort to cut $30 billion in overall FY12 spending.  GOP leaders, however, may want some room to maneuver as negotiations continue over a deficit reduction deal.  The deficit agreement is certain to mandate domestic cuts over the next decade and Republicans may not want to lock in FY12 spending plans until they know the extent of those reductions.  By the end of the week, the panel is expected to have approved nine of its 12 spending bills.  Markups of the Legislative Branch and Commerce-Justice-Science spending bills are set for Wednesday.  The three remaining bills — Transportation-HUD, State-Foreign Operations, and Labor-HHS-ED — account for the bulk of the spending cuts sought by Republicans and those have not yet moved through their subcommittees, and likely won’t until after the August recess period.

NSF & USAID Launch PEER

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The National Science Foundation(NSF) and the United States Agency for International Development(USAID) launched a new collaborative program called PEER (Partnership for Enhanced Engagement and Research) last week. PEER is a new international, interagency joint initiative which will address environmental challenges that affect both the United States and the developing world by reinforcing existing relationships and creating new connections. It will unite NSF’s competitively-awarded scientific investments in U.S. institutions with similarly awarded USAID funding to solve global challenges.

More information can be found here.