New International Polar Year Solicitation Released
National Science Foundation
Full Proposal Deadline: 16 March 2007
Full Proposal Deadline for "Humans in the Polar Regions" (subtopic of
Human and Biotic Systems in Polar Regions): 14 September 2007
For more information, please go to:
http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=501036&org=OPP&from=home
The National Science Foundation has released an IPY solicitation, which
is posted online at:
http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=501036&org=OPP&from=home
The International Polar Year 2007-2008 (IPY) will extend from March 2007
through March 2009. IPY is envisioned as an intense scientific campaign
to explore new frontiers in polar science, improve our understanding of
the critical role of the polar regions in global processes, and educate
the public about the polar regions. Projects are expected to be
interdisciplinary in scope; involve a pulse of activity during the IPY
period; leave a legacy of infrastructure and data; expand international
cooperation; engage the public in polar discovery; and help attract the
next generation of scientists and engineers. To accomplish these goals,
this special solicitation for IPY proposals will support specific
research and education activities within the following emphasis areas:
Understanding Environmental Change in Polar Regions:
This area will support research that advances the understanding of the
physical, geological, chemical, human, and biological drivers of
environmental change at the poles, their relationship to the climate
system, their impact on ecosystems, and their linkages to global
processes.
Human and Biotic Systems in Polar Regions:
This area will provide opportunities for scientists to address
fundamental questions about social, behavioral, and/or natural systems
that will increase our understanding of how humans and other organisms
function in the extreme environments of the polar regions.
Education and Outreach:
This area will support standalone education proposals that specifically
invigorate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)
education in the context of the IPY, including: formal science education
projects at the K-12, undergraduate, or graduate level; informal science
education projects for the broader public; and coordination and
communication for IPY education projects.
Proposed research activities must be integrally related to one or more
of these emphasis areas and adhere to the guidance of the National
Research Council's report "A Vision for the International Polar Year
2007-2008" (2005), including where appropriate, specific significant
linkages to international activities. These emphasis areas are intended
to advance the frontiers of knowledge and build on the momentum achieved
by NSF IPY investments and activities that are currently underway in
response to an NSF IPY solicitation published in early 2006.
As was required for the 2006 IPY Solicitation, all proposals must
address the project's relevance to the IPY in a separate statement in
the Project Summary, and as an integral part of the Project Description.
Proposals that fail to address IPY relevance in both sections of the
proposal will be returned without review.
Proposals for IPY projects that are not related to the topics described
in this solicitation should be submitted to other announcements of
opportunity at NSF. These other announcements are also listed on an IPY
web page maintained by NSF's Office of Polar Programs
(http://www.nsf.gov/od/opp/ipy/ipyinfo.jsp). These IPY proposals should
meet the goals and priorities of the relevant program.