Call for Pre-Proposals: NSF Research Traineeship Program (NRT)

April 6, 2023 Announcements

Program: Research Traineeship Program NSF 21-536

UMaine Pre-proposal Deadline: May 16, 2023

Submission Limits: UMaine may submit only two proposals. An individual may serve as lead principal investigator (PI) or Co-PI on only one proposal submitted to the NRT program. Through the pre-proposal process, the University will select two applicants.

Submission: To submit a pre-proposal please visit the Infoready grant portal and follow submission instructions.
The application will include the following:

  • NSF biosketches for PI and named Co-PIs
  • NSF current and pending
  • Letter of support from department chair
  • Project description (3 page maximum) that must address the following topics:
    • Intellectual merit
    • Broader impacts
    • Integration of research and education
    • Convergence
    • Professional development for trainees
    • Evaluation plan

Review: In accordance with UMaine’s Limited Competitions policy, the Office of Research Development will oversee the University’s selection process, which will include an expert panel review of submitted pre-proposals.
Notification: Pre-proposal applicants will be notified of the review panel’s decision as quickly as possible. Please note that no letter of intent to NSF is required for this proposal.

NRT Program Information
The NRT Program accepts proposals in any interdisciplinary or convergent research theme of national importance, and encourages specific priority research areas that change periodically. All interdisciplinary or convergent research themes should align with NSF or other national STEM research priority areas and have high potential to develop novel, innovative practices in graduate education. Proposers should describe the importance of the NRT project’s thematic focus to the nation and the particular need to train students for a variety of careers in that thematic area.

While new specific priority areas have not been announced for this competition, in recent solicitations, proposals have been encouraged in the research areas of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Quantum Information Science and Engineering (QISE), and the six research areas in NSF’s 10 Big Ideas:

  • Harnessing the Data Revolution (HDR),
  • The Future of Work at the Human-Technology Frontier (FW-HTF),
  • Navigating the New Arctic (NNA),
  • Windows on the Universe: The Era of Multi-Messenger Astrophysics (WoU),
  • The Quantum Leap: Leading the Next Quantum Revolution (QL), and
  • Understanding the Rules of Life: Predicting Phenotype (URoL).

Proposals that align with one of these designated priority areas should contain a title to reflect that alignment, as described in the program solicitation (e.g., NRT-AI: title, NRT-HDR: title, NRT-QL: title).

There are two tracks in the program but UMaine is only eligible for Track 1. Track 1 proposals may request a total budget (up to five years in duration) up to $3 million for projects with a focus on STEM graduate students in research-based PhD and/or master’s degree programs.

NSF Full Proposal Deadline: September 6, 2023
Solicitation Site: https://beta.nsf.gov/funding/opportunities/national-science-foundation-research-traineeship