—excerpted from The Chronicle of Higher Education, May 8, 2009

When President Obama dreams out loud of a future when solar panels are as "cheap as paint" and buildings produce their own energy, researchers like the physicist Yang Yang are dreaming right along with him. On a campus in a city annually recognized as the nation's most polluted, Mr. Yang and his students at UCLA are creating compound after compound and then testing their properties inside an airtight fabrication chamber. Their goal is a plastic substance that will generate usable quantities of electricity when hit by sunlight, and yet is thin and cheap enough to be hung on the outsides of homes. Mr. Yang believes it will completely change the way Americans think of solar panels.

Yang's lab is among hundreds at colleges that stand to benefit from a new federal commitment to find renewable and alternative sources of energy. The aim is to move the country and the world beyond fossil fuels that can damage economies, international relations, and the environment.

From a long-term economic standpoint, the researchers seeking federal money to pursue specific technologies are starting from even positions: the federal government's Energy Information Administration, looking ahead to new power plants built in 2016, is now estimating that most will show only small variability in the price of electricity that they generate, ranging from $105 per megawatt-hour for nuclear power to $116 for wind. The exception is solar, which, at the current pace of technological growth, is still expected to be more than twice as expensive.

College-based research has pointed to alternative energy in the past, yet projects have stalled in the face of societal preferences and policies. Hans Ziegler, who led NASA in developing solar power for spacecraft, predicted in 1954 that solar panels could be a leading source of commercial power generation. President Reagan, however, removed a solar water-heating system from the White House roof in the 1980s.

Before Mr. Obama signed the stimulus measure in February, much energy research relied on companies, and the money was scarce. The U.S. is spending $400-billion a year to import oil, so a few billion dollars should not be considered a major expense.

Colleges can help the effort with more than just their expertise in physical sciences. Research into behavioral studies could help policy makers understand how to encourage people to start using alternative technologies. Oil-producing countries appear to understand behavioral science, as oil prices decline when the U.S. begins studying alternative energy and then rise when the efforts stop.

For their research efforts to have meaning, colleges also need to do more to translate their work into commercial products. A growing number of colleges have established intellectual-property offices and incubator facilities to market and develop their research innovations.

—excerpted from Report on Research Compliance, June 4, 2009

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration Office of Education, in cooperation with NASA's Science Mission Directorate, is accepting proposals in response to the NASA Cooperative Agreement Notice (CAN): "Global Climate Change Education: Research Experiences, Teaching & Learning". The Global Climate Change Education (GCCE) project is designed to improve the quality of global climate change and Earth system science education at the elementary, secondary, and undergraduate levels, and through lifelong learning. Each funded proposal is expected to take advantage of NASA's unique contributions in climate science to enhance learners' academic experiences and/or to improve educators' abilities to engage and stimulate their students.

STS considers proposals that examine historical, philosophical, and sociological questions that arise in connection with science, engineering, and technology, and their respective interactions with society. STS has four components: (1) Ethics and Values in Science, Engineering and Technology (EVS); (2) History and Philosophy of Science, Engineering and Technology (HPS); (3) Social Studies of Science, Engineering and Technology (SSS), and (4) Studies of Policy, Science, Engineering and Technology (SPS).

The components overlap, but are distinguished by the different scientific and scholarly orientations they take to the subject matter, as well as by different focuses within the subject area. STS encourages the submission of hybrid proposals that strive to integrate research involving two or more of these core areas.

STS provides the following modes of support: (1) Scholars Awards, (2) Standard Research Grants and Grants for Collaborative Research, (3) Postdoctoral Fellowships, (4) Professional Development Fellowships, (5) Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grants, (6) Small Grants for Training and Research, (7) Conference and Workshop Awards, and (8) Other Funding Opportunities.

The purpose of this solicitation is to support applied research that can lead to better understanding of the links between water infrastructure and public health protection, as well as tangible, innovative solutions that spring from that understanding. All applications must address the following items in order to be considered for funding:

1. The approach that will be used to evaluate the success of the project.
2. Identification of specific drinking water quality or health benefits to the public that is likely to be realized from successful completion of the project.
3. A description of how the results and outputs of the project could be adopted to improve water infrastructure sustainability.
4. A description of how water infrastructure sustainability and economic viability are addressed by the project.

The early career projects will support new, creative investigators with outstanding promise at the assistant professor or equivalent level. The purpose of the early career project is to fund research by the early career PI. Senior researchers may collaborate in a supporting role for early career projects. Early career applications should not propose significant resources for senior researchers and may not list senior researchers as co-PIs.

This Funding Opportunity Announcement is supported by funds provided to the NIH under the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA).

The purpose of this pilot program (BRDG-SPAN) is to accelerate the transition of research innovations and technologies toward the development of products or services that will improve human health, help advance the mission of NIH and its Institutes and Centers (ICs), and create significant value and economic stimulus. The BRDG-SPAN pilot is intended to help address the funding gap, often called the "Valley of Death," between innovative promising research and development (R&D) and transitioning those innovations to the market, by contributing to the critical funding needed by applicants to carry out later stage research activities and to pursue the next appropriate milestone(s) necessary to move a product/technology along a promising commercialization pathway. This program also aims to foster partnerships among a variety of research and development (R&D) collaborators.

The BRDG-SPAN pilot program encourages projects representing, for example, the following: (1) a novel, "first in class" therapy; (2) a material improvement over existing technologies; (3) a potential substantial reduction in cost over existing technologies/products; (4) a U.S. alternative to foreign suppliers; (5) a product for unmet, underaddressed medical needs (e.g., technologies to produce solid medication dosage forms for children, and therapeutic devices appropriate for children in terms of size and functionality), and (6) a significant and demonstrable potential U.S. and/or global market. Note that this list is not meant to be exhaustive.

This funding opportunity announcement is intended to provide support for either new investigators in cancer-related behavioral research, or investigators who want to refocus their research interests toward behavioral research in cancer control. The program is designed to facilitate the growth of a nationwide cohort of scientists with research experience in behavioral cancer control and design of public health interventions. Preliminary data for the proposed projects are not required. Overarching goals are to: (1) encourage new investigators to enter the field of behavioral research in cancer control and initiate their long-term career development aimed at becoming independent investigators in the field, and (2) support research on transfer of behavioral science knowledge into cancer control practice.

Since 1990, the McCormick Foundation Conference Series has fostered collaboration between the McCormick Foundation and other organizations to address issues consistent with the foundation's mission to advance the ideals of a free, democratic society by investing in our children, communities, and country. The foundation partners with local, national, and international experts to convene top-quality conferences on a range of topics.

The Conference Series was conceived to bring together people of diverse backgrounds and perspectives to examine critical issues, reach new levels of understanding, and develop long-term solutions. The goal of these conferences is to create lasting policy impact by facilitating balanced and challenging discussions of issues critical to our communities and our nation.

The level of funding for a conference will vary depending on the nature of the event, location, number of attendees, and similar factors. However, conference support will not likely exceed $150,000 (including travel, lodging and meals, venue costs, administrative fees and post-conference report or other product).

The purpose of the MRF Research Grant Program is to support promising medical research that will further the goal of developing an effective treatment and possible cure for malignant melanoma, while encouraging scientists and clinicians to join in this mission. The foundation funds both junior and senior researchers. In both grant programs, emphasis will be placed on projects that explore innovative approaches to understanding melanoma and its treatment. Both basic and clinical research projects will be considered.

Junior awards (Career Development Grant) will be given to investigators who are beginning a research career emphasizing melanoma-related projects and have not yet established strong federal funding. Applicants must hold a Ph.D. or M.D. degree or equivalent; have a title equivalent to assistant professor or at least four years of postdoctoral experience; show evidence of strong departmental or institutional support and commitment and generally be within 10 years of their advanced degree or specialty qualifications; and have not previously received any major (e.g., R01) grant support or hold a tenured position. These grants provide up to $50,000 per year for two years.

Senior awards (Established Investigator Grant) will be given to established melanoma researchers, or senior researchers working in closely related fields who wish to move into melanoma research. Applicants must hold a Ph.D. or M.D. degree or equivalent; have a title equivalent to associate professor (for no fewer than five years) or higher; and show evidence of strong departmental or institutional support and commitment. These grants provide up to $100,000 per year for two years.

The Law and Social Science Program at the National Science Foundation supports social scientific studies of law and law-like systems of rules, institutions, processes, and behaviors. These can include, but are not limited to, research designed to enhance the scientific understanding of the impact of law; human behavior and interactions as these relate to law; the dynamics of legal decision making; and the nature, sources, and consequences of variations and changes in legal institutions.

The primary consideration is that the research shows promise of advancing a scientific understanding of law and legal process. Within this framework, the program has an "open window" for diverse theoretical perspectives, methods and contexts for study. For example, research on social control, crime causation, violence, victimization, legal and social change, patterns of discretion, procedural justice, compliance and deterrence, and regulatory enforcement are among the many areas that have recently received program support. In addition to standard proposals, planning grant proposals, travel support requests to lay the foundation for research, and proposals for improving doctoral dissertation research are welcome.