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This web page provides information about the Office of Advanced Scientific Computing Research 2009 Applied Mathematics Program solicitation for Mathematics for Complex, Distributed, Interconnected Systems.
Link to the laboratory announcement: LAB 09-23
Full Proposal Due Date: Friday, June 12, 2009, 8 PM Eastern Time
For general information on DOE Office of Science funding opportunities, including information for preparing and submitting applications, see the Grants and Contracts Web Site.
For questions not answered below, contact Alexandra Landsberg, Applied Mathematics Program, Telephone: (301) 903-8507, Fax: (301) 903-7774 or E-mail Address: landsberg@ascr.doe.gov
FAQ: FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Note: These will continually evolve as new questions are asked or new information becomes available. Please tune in occasionally for updates.
Q. What start date should I use on my proposal?
A. Use September 1, 2009. This is based on an optimistic estimate of how long it will take to make funding decisions and get awards in place. Actual start dates may differ if necessary or appropriate at the time awards are made.
Q. Proposals are being asked for in multiple formats; Searchable FWP system, CD and hard copies. Which is considered the official submission?
A. The lead PI will submit a full proposal, which follows the announcement guidelines including all biographies (lead PI and all co-PIs), and all budgets (lead laboratory and all funded collaborations) via three mechanisms:
- Searchable FWP system (official submission) by June 12, 2009 8PM Eastern Time
- CD and hard copies are to be mailed to Teresa Beachley (see http://www.science.doe.gov/grants/LAB09_23.html)
- E-mail PDF file of full proposal to appliedmath@ascr.doe.gov. Only the Lead PI needs to do this for each project. The program managers will use this version to facilitate the review process. Full proposals are due to this e-mail account by June 12, 2009 8PM Eastern Time
Co-PIs, at other national laboratories, will submit the exact same technical portions of the proposal, their biographies, and their budget via two mechanisms:
Q. Will I receive an acknowledgement of the complete proposal PDF file that I email to appliedmath@ascr.doe.gov?
A. Not at the time you send it. PLEASE DO NOT SEND YOUR PROPOSAL MORE THAN ONCE when you fail to receive an acknowledgement. We will send acknowledgements of each proposal received by email to the lead PI on Tuesday, June 16, 2009. If you are the lead PI and do not receive an acknowledgement on that date, please contact Alexandra Landsberg, Landsberg@ascr.doe.gov.
Q. Are you serious about the 15-page limit for the project narrative? Even for collaborative proposals involving several laboratories?
A. Yes to both questions. Note, however, that this limit applies only to the project narrative. Pages for the bibliography, bio sketches, current/pending support, etc. do not count toward the 15-page limit.
Q. How will the proposals be reviewed?
A. The proposals will be peer-reviewed in mid-to-late July.
Q. If I find a mistake in the proposal that I submitted, can I submit a corrected version?
A. If the corrections are minor (typos, wordsmithing, etc.), don’t bother. If they are substantial (changes in the budget, etc.),resubmit the proposal for each laboratory through Searchable FWP, indicating that the resubmission is a revised proposal; then email a PDF file of the complete revised proposal to the following email address: appliedmath@ascr.doe.gov. Please indicate CORRECTED VERSION in the subject. Important: Do not send a corrected PDF file unless you have successfully submitted the corrected proposal(s). The information in the PDF file, which we will use for the review, must match that in the submitted proposal(s) in every respect.
Q. The overall program budget is $3.5M a year for three years. Do you have any expectation for individual project budget sizes?
Does ASCR encourage small or large teams for this call?
A. Research projects and research teams of all sizes are encouraged.
Q. Universities are not allowed to be leads here. Is university participation via subcontract a plus or neutral for this call?
A. The national labs should assemble appropriate teams to address the research challenges outlined in the solicitation.
Q. Are industry or other partnerships allowed?
A. Yes, however, all non DOE-laboratory partnerships will be achieved via subcontract.
Q. The solicitation mentions the electric grid and the SCADA system. How well will proposals dealing with SCADA systems and the electric grid be received?
A. The cyber related-systems, electric grid and SCADA systems are examples of complex, distributed, interconnected systems. The emphasis of this announcement is for proposals for basic research in mathematical models, methods and tools for the modeling, simulation and analysis of complex, distributed, interconnected systems, such as but not limited to cyber security.
Q. This is an Applied Mathematics solicitation, but it calls for modeling and simulation. What is acceptable as far as the mix of math and modeling/simulation?
A. This call seeks innovative research for complex, distributed, interconnected systems. Modeling and simulation may be a central aspect of a basic research proposal.
Q. Would it be appropriate to include more 'outreach oriented' activities in the proposals, or to prepare an umbrella proposal dealing with outreach? For instance - support for workshops on specific topics of interest to the call, techfests displaying outcomes of the effort, multilab/grass roots community Town Hall meeting activities?
A. The focus of the proposal should be on basic research. All awardees will be expected to participate in outreach activities. Discussion of workshops and other outreach activities may be beneficial, but is not required.
Q. The solicitation is within the Applied Math Research program, but the references cite cyber security. Will a strong case need to be made for the importance of the cyber security impact areas, or should the bulk of the proposal be spent highlighting the mathematical advances?
A. The proposal should focus on novel mathematics addressing the research challenges for complex, distributed systems. The references provide a strong case for the importance of cyber security and do not need to be repeated.
Q. Would application of advanced mathematics in a novel way to cyber security problems be competitive, even if new math is not required?
A. Application of advanced mathematics to complex, interconnected systems is not the focus of this call; however, if the case is made that this approach or methodology is particularly innovative, then the research proposal will be competitive.
Q. The following quote from the Program Announcement appears to require that the proposals include a long-term collaborative strategy to develop a Center or Institute. Is this the intent? How heavily will performance against this requirement be weighed? Can a technically excellent proposal that ignores this requirement be successful?
Collaboration and Communication
Proposals should identify potential collaborations or other interactions that will facilitate the exchange of ideas and dissemination of information among researchers in industry, universities, and/or other laboratories. Synergistic collaborations with researchers at universities and in industry will be achieved through subcontracts.
All awardees will be required to submit a management plan on how their team will interact with other awardees and the greater research community. The goal is to enhance collaborations among researchers and to build community support for the long-term sustainment of this effort. Long-term research may be achieved through an integrated center addressing mathematics, computer science, networking, and hardware research challenges associated with complex, distributed, interconnected systems
A. A technically excellent proposal that does not address this in their proposal may still be awarded. Collaborations and communication may be addressed post-award through the management plan.
Q. What is the relationship between the Program Announcement and activities in ARPA-E?
A. The solicitation is solely sponsored by the Office of Advanced Scientific Computing Research (ASCR).
Q. Some of research may tend toward graph theory and real-time data ingestion, both of which are often times more associated with Computer Science than Mathematics. Are such topics as these appropriate for this RFP?
A. Novel graph theoretical approaches and real-time data ingestion are germane to this solicitation and as such are considered appropriate for this solicitation.
Q. Will DOE publish anonymous, real datasets for prototype analysis, or should the team pursue their own access?
A. Each team is responsible for obtaining relevant data / datasets.
Page Last Updated - May 19, 2009
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