September 29 & 30, 2008 

 

 

TENTATIVE AGENDA (as of 9/16/08)

 

7:30-8:00 a.m.            Registration & continental breakfast

                                               

8:00-8:30 a.m.            Welcome and Introduction to EPSCoR in Maine:  (Conference Rooms 1 &2)

-          Dr. Michael Eckardt, UMaine Vice President for Research & Maine NSF EPSCoR Project Director

-          Miles Theeman, Chair, Maine Innovation Economy Advisory Board

-          Vicki Nemeth, UMaine Director of Research Administration & EPSCoR

 

8:30-9:00 a.m.            NSF EPSCoR:  program overview and update

-          Dr. Henry Blount, Director, NSF EPSCoR

 

9:00-10:00 a.m.          NSF Directorate Presentations:  program directors from NSF will provide overviews and updates on programs and funding opportunities in their areas.

                                                Directorate for Education & Human Resources (EHR):

-          Carol Van Hartesveldt, Program Director, IGERT

-          Elizabeth Vanderputten, Program Director, CAREER

Directorate for Social, Behavioral & Economic Sciences:

-          Robert O’Connor, Program Director, Social & Economic Sciences (SES)

10:00-10:15 a.m.        Break

                                   

10:15-11:15 a.m.        NSF Directorate Presentations continue:

                                                Office of International Science & Engineering (OISE):

-          Mark Suskin, Deputy Director (Acting)

Directorate for Engineering (ENG):

-          Eduardo Misawa, Program Director, Division of Civil, Mechanical, and Manufacturing Innovation (CMMI), and Co-Chair Cyber-enabled Discovery and Innovation (CDI)

Directorate for Engineering (ENG):

-          John Regalbuto, Program Director, Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems (CBET)

 

Agenda for September 29^th continued:

 

 

11:15-noon                 SBIR/STTR Presentations:

-          Rathindra DasGupta, Program Director, NSF Directorate for Engineering, NSF SBIR/STTR

-          Larry James, Program Director, DOE SBIR/STTR

                                               

noon-1:00 p.m.           Lunch, networking, and viewing exhibits (Conference Rooms 1 & 2)

                                               

1:00- 2:00 p.m.           NSF Directorate Presentations continue:

Directorate for Mathematical & Physical Sciences (MPS):

-          Uma Venkateswaran, Program Director, Division of Materials Research (DMR)

Directorate for Geosciences (GEO):

-          Richard Cuenca, Program Director, Earth Sciences (EAR)

Directorate for Biological Sciences (BIO):

-          Peter H. McCartney, Program Director, Division of Biological Infrastructure (DBI)

 

2:00-2:15 p.m.            Break

 

BREAKOUT SESSIONS: 

Participants can select any of the following break-out sessions to attend:

 

2:15-3:15 p.m.            A) Federal agency “round-table” discussions:  (Conference Room 1) each federal agency program director will be available to meet with conference participants during this time to answer questions and provide feedback on research project ideas.  Participants can move from table to table during this time in order to talk with as many program directors as they wish.  Program directors will also be available during the second break-out session.

 

B) Maine’s NSF EPSCoR Research Infrastructure Improvement (RII) Projects:  (Conference Room 2) learn more about the state’s current Forest Bioproducts Research Initiative (FBRI) and the anticipated Center for Sustainability Solutions (CSS) RII grant projects.  Includes updates on research, educational outreach, collaboration opportunities, and impact for the state.

- Dr. Hemant Pendse, Managing Director, Forest Bioproducts Research Initiative

- David Hart, Director, Senator G. J. Mitchell Center for Environmental &

        Watershed Research, UMaine (CSS) 

 

C)  Technology Transfer in Maine:  (Conference Room 3) issues in commercializing R&D, business incubation, economic development, and Maine’s MTAF competition.

- Jake Ward, UMaine Assistant Vice President for Research, Economic

         Development, and Governmental Relations

                                                - Catherine Renault, Director, Maine Office of Innovation

 

 

 

 

 

 

Agenda for September 29^th continued:

 

D) Tours of University of Maine research labs and centers:  (meet at conference registration desk)  learn more about UMaine’s research and facilities by touring key sites such as the Advanced Engineered Wood Composites Center (AEWC), the Laboratory for Surface Science & Technology (LASST), the Pulp & Paper Process Development Center & Forest Bioproducts Research Initiative labs, or the Advanced Manufacturing Center (AMC).

 

3:15-4:15 p.m.            E) Federal agency “round-table” discussions continue:  (Conference Room 1) see above description

 

F) Maine’s STEM Education Initiative:  (Conference Room 2) integrated educational outreach is a required element of many funding opportunities.  Learn about Maine’s new initiative to bring STEM education partners together for a more effective approach to training our future workforce, and about a comprehensive statewide STEM website that is being developed.

- Anita Bernhardt, Science & Technology Specialist & Regional Representative,

            Maine Department of Education

- Susie Valaitis, Vice President, Institute for Broadening Participation

- Liv Detrick, Web Designer, Institute for Broadening Participation

- Bette Manchester, Director, Maine International Center for Digital Learning

 

G) Maine’s Cyberinfrastructure Plan:  (Conference Room 3) learn about the state’s plan for cyberinfrastructure improvements that will enhance researchers capabilities and

competitiveness.  This is an opportunity to provide input on Maine’s R&D    cyber needs.

                                                - Mike Eckardt, UMaine Vice President for Research & Maine NSF EPSCoR

Project Director

- Jeff Letourneau, Assoc. Dir. Of Commun. & Network Services, UMaine System

                                                - Bruce Segee, Professor, UMaine Dept. of Electrical & Computer Engineering

                                   

H) Meeting of grants & contracts representatives from Maine educational & R&D institutions:  (meet at conference registration desk) Representatives will explore how to expand opportunities to work together more as a state, which could include future technical assistance workshops, sharing of best practices, identifying expertise at each institution, fostering research collaborations between institutions, etc.

                                                Moderator:  Mike Hastings, Executive Director, UMaine ORSP

 

4:30-6:00 p.m.            Reception, Poster session, and Networking Opportunities (All conference rooms) researchers or students participating in the conference are invited to bring a poster that showcases their current research.  This event is designed to allow for networking opportunities that can lead to future potential collaborations.  A cash bar will be available and hearty appetizers will be served.

 

 

 

This workshop has received outstanding reviews from participants in the other EPSCoR states where it has been held, and we are grateful for the opportunity to be able to offer it as a tool for our researchers to help increase their competitiveness.  Registration is open to anyone who has an interest in grant-writing.

 

Participants in this workshop will be asked to:

1)      Do a mini-review of 5 real NSF proposals prior to the workshop. The Maine EPSCoR office will distribute these proposals to registered participants starting at the beginning of September.  The proposals will be anonymous, and will only include the summary page and technical description components of several proposals that were rejected and several that were funded.  (Special technical expertise is not required.)

2)      The mini-review that will be done for each proposal will be one page or less, and consist of addressing NSF’s criteria for Intellectual Merit and Broader Impacts, summary comments, and a rating.

3)      You will be required to submit your mini-reviews by e-mail to the Maine EPSCoR office no later than Thursday, September 25, 20008.  Only participants who submit these reviews will be eligible to be part of the workshop on Tuesday.

4)      The Maine EPSCoR office will collate the reviews for each proposal and distribute them on Tuesday for use in the mock panels.

5)      Participants will be pre-assigned to a small group “mock panel,” and NSF Program Directors will work with each panel to simulate a real panel review session.

6)      The results from each panel will be discussed in a group session, providing participants with an in-depth experience that will help them make their proposals as competitive as possible.

 

AGENDA

 

7:30-8:00 a.m.            Check-in and Continental Breakfast (Conference Room 1)

 

8:00-10:00 a.m.          Proposal-writing:  insights about what it really takes to write a winning NSF proposal.

Dr. George Hazelrigg, Program Director, NSF Directorate for Engineering (ENG), Civil, Mechanical & Manufacturing Innovation (CMMI)

 

10:00-10:15 a.m.        Break

 

10:15-10:30                Mock panel briefing:  mock panels will be formed and procedures for a typical proposal panel meeting will be described

 

10:30-noon                 Mock panel review simulation:  NSF Program Directors will lead groups through a simulated review process based on the proposals that had been assigned.

 

Noon-12:30 p.m.        Lunch served while panels continue working

 

12:30-1:30 p.m.          Mock panel reviews continue 

 

1:30-2 p.m.                 Reporting and wrap-up:  panels report their rankings on all proposals, with follow-up discussions with NSF personnel and all participants on the lessons learned.

 

This activity is supported by the National Science Foundation under award #0554545

 

Workshop participants can also participate in the following event that is being held in conjunction with the state EPSCoR conference on Tuesday, September 30, 2008.

 

4:00-7:00 p.m.            Maine Technology Institute Mixer, Wells Conference Center, Orono 

 

If your travel schedule permits, we cordially invite you to attend the Maine Technology Institute (MTI) MIXER. This event is a great opportunity to meet and mingle with over 250 of the state’s entrepreneurs who are growing technology companies in industries such as biotechnology, information technology, environmental technology, composite materials, aquaculture, forestry and agriculture.  You will also have an opportunity to see first-hand more than 45 technologies exhibited by MTI-funded companies stimulating Maine’s economy through their research and development efforts to bring new technologies to the market. 

Since 1999, MTI has used seed grants, development awards and cluster enhancement programs to foster the state’s innovation economy.   Over 824 projects for funding totaling more than $32 million and matched by over $53 million have been funded.  MTI companies have seen employment grow by 11%, MTI funded companies pay higher wages than average Maine businesses and MTI clients purchase materials and services from other Maine companies.  MTI has also been providing SBIR/STTR assistance to Maine entrepreneurs since 1999. In that time over 56 Maine small businesses have combined for more than160 awards representing $32.8 million in SBIR/STTR R&D funding in Maine. 

 

For more information & to register see:

www.mainetechnology.org