Research News:

NSF is Seeking Reviewers for the NSF Engines Program

The U.S. National Science Foundation’s Regional Innovation Engines (NSF Engines) program is seeking reviewers to serve on virtual merit review panels in September and October. Reviewers selected for the panels will evaluate proposals submitted in response to the NSF Regional Innovation Engines solicitation NSF 24-565. 

Here are some key points to keep in mind when considering serving on a virtual merit review panel for preliminary proposals: 

• Each reviewer will read 8-9 proposals; each proposal is a 10-page narrative with some additional documents that provide a fuller picture of the team's proposed NSF Engine.  
• Each reviewer will receive their assigned proposals approximately two weeks prior to the panel and will be required to upload written reviews of 1-2 pages formatted to a template to an online panel system at least 3 days in advance of the panel date. 
• Reviewers serve for two days—the first day typically runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET and the second day runs from about 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. ET (but can run a little longer). 
• Reviewers are expected to be present throughout and should clear their calendars for both days until 5 p.m. ET (if they accept an invitation to serve). 
• Reviewers will need to work about 2-3 hours between day 1 and day 2; this work will need to be done in the evening if the panel is on consecutive days. 
• Reviewers receive $200 per day for their service. 
• Not all volunteers will be invited to review. The NSF Engines program will be evaluating the expert domains and skills needed based on submitted proposals before reaching out to potential reviewers.  

Sign up to be a reviewer

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QED-C Student Training and Poster Competition
Are your undergrad and grad students looking to get noticed by the quantum industry? QED-C is organizing a student program around the QED-C Annual Meeting on October 30th at UW in Seattle. This is your students’ chance to present their research, better understand the state of the art and trends in quantum technologies, network with industry leaders, and compete for prizes (with separate undergrad and grad student categories). Don't miss this unique opportunity for your students to showcase their work and advance their careers. 

When: The QED-C workforce committee is organizing this event; students who apply and are accepted will be invited to:

• Friday, Oct. 25 (virtual): Learn to present their research to broad audiences more effectively during a virtual seminar
• Wednesday, Oct. 30 (9:10 am to 1:45 pm at UW in Seattle): Attend keynotes; Present during the student poster session and compete for prizes; Network with an assigned ambassador and over lunch; and participate in an interactive panel discussion on quantum career pathways.

Deadline: Applications due September 20, 2024
Apply to the QED-C Student Training and Poster Competition

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Climate Change Seed Grant Program
The Office of the President, the Office of the Provost, the Office of the Executive Vice President of Health Sciences, and the Office of the Vice President for Research invite applications for a seed grant program to fund collaborative efforts between climate change researchers at Stony Brook University seeking to apply to externally funded research and training initiatives.
What Does it Fund: This seed grant program is a direct result of the Climate Change Tiger Teams initiative and will award proposals in the following areas of interest: Climate and Environmental Medicine; Community and Ecosystem Resilience; Green Technologies; Human Behavior and Decision-Making Related to Climate Change Mitigation; The Economic and Policy Challenges of Climate Change; and The Warming Oceans, Modeling the Climate, and the Effects of Climate Change. 
Applicant Requirements: To serve as Principal Investigator, an individual must have a current full-time faculty appointment at Stony Brook University. Please review the eligibility criteria carefully to determine whether you need a letter from your Department Chair. 
Award: The program will fund up to five multidisciplinary teams that commit to submitting proposals for medium/large scale grants in the following categories: multi-PI grants, center grants, instrumentation grants, and training grants. Proposals should be multi-investigator and multidisciplinary with collaborations across disciplines and academic departments as well as Stony Brook schools/colleges. Awarded projects will receive up to $100,000 for a maximum award period of two years.
Deadline: Full proposals due October 1, 2024, via the Climate Change Seed Grant Program Application Portal in InfoReady.
Review the Climate Change Seed Grant Program Request for Applications.

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2025 Discovery Prize
The 2025 Discovery Prize competition, sponsored by the Stony Brook Foundation, is now open! 
What Does it Fund: The Discovery Prize will be awarded to a scholar in the STEM disciplines whose research project embraces risk and innovation—two cornerstones of scientific advancement. The proposed work must be basic scientific research that is discovery-driven and creates new knowledge. Research that is primarily translational in nature (i.e., seeks to apply existing knowledge) or that has been funded in the past is not eligible. The Discovery Prize is designed to encourage high-risk, high-reward projects.
Applicant Requirements: In keeping with the goal of supporting early-career faculty, eligibility is open to all faculty members who, at the time of application, have a tenure-track or non-tenure-track assistant professor level–appointment, or are no more than five years beyond tenure and promotion at the associate professor level. While the proposed research project may emerge from a single discipline or may be interdisciplinary, involving multiple SBU faculty members, the principal investigator must fit this previously outlined criteria.
Award: $200,000 prize
Deadline: Applications must be submitted via the Discovery Prize portal in Infoready by 11:59 pm EST on October 7, 2024. 
Please direct questions to the Office of Proposal Development at OPD_OVPR@stonybrook.edu.
Review the Discovery Prize Call for Proposals and submission instructions

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AI Innovation Institute Seed Fund Program
The Artificial Intelligence Innovation Institute (AI^3) is a new university-wide initiative to advance the use of AI in research, teaching and service. To inaugurate the institute, AI^3, with administrative support from the Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR), invites applications to a seed grant program for collaborative projects in artificial intelligence, along three distinct tracks:

• Collaborative Research in AI
• Technical Support for Discipline-Centric Research
• Seed Grants for AI Education and Service

Applicant Requirements: To serve as Principal Investigator on either of the two research tracks (Collaborative Research in AI or Technical Support for Discipline-Centric Research), an individual must have a current full-time faculty appointment at Stony Brook University. Any full time Stony Brook employees with a Director title or a salary classification of MC3 or above are eligible to serve as PI on proposals submitted to the AI Education and Service track. Please review the eligibility criteria carefully to determine whether you need a letter of support. 
Award: The program will fund projects for up to a one-year period, depending on the availability of funds. AI^3 anticipates making at least six awards on this call. Award amounts vary per track. 
Deadline: Full proposals due October 15, 2024, via the AI Innovation Institute Seed Fund Program Portal in InfoReady.
Review the AI Innovation Institute Seed Fund Program Request for Applications.