The National Science Foundation is inviting grant applications for Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) in Engineering and Computer Science, which supports long-term collaborative partnerships between K-12 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) teachers, community college faculty, and the NSF university research community by involving the teachers in engineering and computer science research and helping them translate their research experiences and new knowledge into classroom activities. Partnerships with inner-city schools or other high-need schools are especially encouraged, as is participation by underrepresented minorities, women, and persons with disabilities.
This program features two mechanisms to support in-service and pre-service K-12 teachers and/or community college faculty: RET Supplements (to ongoing NSF Directorates for Engineering [ENG] and Computer and Information Science and Engineering [CISE] awards) and RET Site awards. RET Supplements may be included in proposals for new or renewed ENG or CISE grants or as supplements to ongoing NSF ENG- or CISE-funded projects. RET Sites are based on independent proposals from engineering or computer and information science departments, schools, or colleges to initiate and conduct research participation projects for a number of K-12 teachers and/or community college faculty…read more.
A total of $5.8 million annually is available for nine awards: RET Site awards offer up to $600,000 over three years, and RET Supplements offer up to $10,000 per teacher for one year.
The principal investigator of a RET Site proposal must have a faculty appointment within a College/Department of Engineering, Engineering Technology, or Computer and Information Science. This year NSF is accepting only 3 proposals from an institution (two proposals may have an engineering focus and one proposal may have a computer and/or information science focus). Therefore, I am asking interested applicants from Engineering, and ICS to submit a preliminary application to my office by Friday February 20, 2015 (electronic submission to or@research.uci.edu is preferred), with the following information:
- Brief proposal (up to three pages),
- Bio sketch (no more than two pages each) of the PI/Co-PIs, along with a list of other participating faculty
- Preliminary budget
- Support letter from the Dean
If necessary, an ad hoc committee will convene to review the internal applications. The selected PIs will be notified in time to develop a full proposal that meets NSF’s deadline of April 8, 2015.
Please note: RET Supplement applications are not part of the campus’ 3-proposal limit and do not need to be submitted to through this internal application process. Please consult the guidelines (link below) for more information on submitting a RET Supplement application.
For the complete NSF guidelines, including detailed information about the RET program, please refer to http://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?WT.z_pims_id=505170&ods_key=nsf15536. Questions about our internal campus review process may be directed to Greg Ruth at greg.ruth@uci.edu or x4-0372.
John C. Hemminger
Vice Chancellor for Research