NSF CAREER Proposal Writing Workshop Mark E Lewis

NSF CAREER Proposal Writing Workshop Mark E. Lewis November 13, 2004 1

Know your audience • Mostly senior faculty • Various backgrounds (not necessarily in your particular field) • Some will read closely…some may not • Knowing your work a priori helps 2

Take advantage of your resources • Use senior faculty in your department (do you have a mentor? ) • Talk to people at conferences…maybe even use them • Know your program officer • Talk to your advisor if possible 3

Technical Component • If you are not in the top 3 or 4, it is waste of time • Explain your objectives, maybe even list the tasks you want to complete • Be ambitious (it is a 5 year plan!) • Show that you have already had some success • This is not to come from your thesis 4

Education Component • Assume you are already in the top 3 -4 • You can set yourself apart with the education component • Everybody includes “introduce a new class” • Find where your passion is 5

Add-ons • Can you get cost sharing from your university? • Use the writing centers at your university • The feedback you get may be harsh…buck-up • It is not the end of the world if you do not get it 6

My Story • Original proposal considered different problems – same methodology • Discussed joint work with senior faculty • Had all the standard bells and whistles – class development, collabos with industry, some minority service stuff 7

The Result • • Disappointment! No clearly defined objective Dependent on others to pull me along Education plan was really nothing to write home about • Completely reasonable reviews 8

Second Career • Took one problem area from Career 1 and expanded • Nixed problems with senior faculty (although I did pursue one of them) • Took my work and expanded it considerably • Shortened course development and increased Minority service component 9

What’s the difference? • It is my CAREER, so senior faculty may be involved, but not significantly • Focusing on one problem area allowed for a more cohesive proposal • Used solo-authored paper to show (independent) potential • Minority service component set apart my education plan 10

Pre-preparation • Asked Senior faculty to read my proposal – including a former program director • Got help on the intro from writing center • Had a layperson read the intro • All had harsh feedback – all were very helpful 11

Results • I won, but more importantly… • A more precise plan was implemented – research plan for the next 5+ years • Minority service resulted in increase in number of doctoral students in IOE • PECASE positions my tenure case well 12

If you do not get the award • You have a nice start toward a solo grant • You might be able to peal away parts for interesting collabos • Most importantly, you have a cohesive career plan that can lead you toward P&T 13

Conclusions • Use all of the resources at your disposal – period. • Shameless plug: We’re hiring – send us your best! • Thanks! • Contact info: melewis@engin. umich. edu 14