Presentation Slides & Proposal Panel Review

Due: Wednesday September 27th, 2017 and Monday

October 2nd, 2017

This homework is split into two parts, with two different deadlines.
Part 1) Due Wednesday, September 27th
You need to prepare a 6-8 minute technical presentation that you will be presenting on
the week of October 2nd. The content is up to you; however, it is highly recommended
you present something related to your research. Keep in mind the presentation time is
short, and you do not have to present every possible detail. If you have only just started
your research, you can present on a technical paper you have read and what you have
taken from it (experiment design, simulation parameters, etc.) or some background and
your expected research direction. Your assignment is to submit (via email:
fieldstd@umkc.edu) your slides in PowerPoint or PDF format. The slides should
represent the final version you will be using for your presentation the following week.

Part 2) Due Monday, October 2nd

You will be reviewing a full NSF proposal following the guidelines below. We will
discuss the reviews during the class as a review panel to decide the fate of the proposal.
Bring your reviews printed out.

NSF focuses on two primary aspects when reviewing a proposal:

Intellectual Merit: The Intellectual Merit criterion encompasses the potential to
advance knowledge; and
Broader Impacts: The Broader Impacts criterion encompasses the potential to
benefit society and contribute to the achievement of specific, desired societal
outcomes.
More details for IM and BI:
Intellectual merit advances knowledge and understanding within its own field or across
different fields, qualifications of the proposer (quality of prior work), well conceived and
organized, suggests and explores creative, original, or potentially transformative
concepts.
Broader impacts advance discovery and understanding while promoting teaching,
training, and learning, broaden the participation of underrepresented groups, enhance the
infrastructure for research and education, disseminate the results broadly, and provide
potential benefits to society.
When reviewing, there are five elements that must be considered for both criteria.
1. What is the potential for the proposed activity to:
a. Advance knowledge and understanding within its own field or across
different fields (Intellectual Merit); and
b. Benefit society or advance desired societal outcomes (Broader Impacts)?
2. To what extent do the proposed activities suggest and explore creative, original,
or potentially transformative concepts?
3. Is the plan for carrying out the proposed activities well-reasoned, well-organized,
and based on a sound rationale? Does the plan incorporate a mechanism to assess
success?
4. How well qualified is the individual, team, or organization to conduct the
proposed activities?
5. Are there adequate resources available to the PI (either at the home organization
or through collaborations) to carry out the proposed activities?

In conducting your proposal review, follow the instructions below.

Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the proposal with respect to intellectual merit.

Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the proposal with respect to broader impacts.
Summary statement
Final rating:
Excellent: Outstanding proposal in all respects; deserves highest priority for
support
Very Good: High quality proposal in nearly all respects; should be supported if at
all possible.
Good: A quality proposal, worthy of support.
Fair: Proposal lacking in one or more critical aspects; key issues need to be
addressed.
Poor: Proposal has serious deficiencies.