RECIPIENTS: PLEASE FEEL FREE TO SHARE THIS OPPORTUNITY WITH YOUR 
COLLEAGUES

ANNOUNCEMENT

The National Science Foundation’s Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) 
Program will be accepting proposals in January 2010. Specific details can be 
found at the following website: 
http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2009/nsf09502/nsf09502.htm#awd_info 

The MRI Program serves to increase access to shared scientific and 
engineering instruments for research and research training in our Nation's 
institutions of higher education, museums and science centers, and non-profit 
organizations. This program especially seeks to improve the quality and expand 
the scope of research and research training in science and engineering, by 
providing shared instrumentation that fosters the integration of research and 
education in research-intensive learning environments.  Development and 
acquisition of research instrumentation for shared inter- and/or intra-
organization use is encouraged, as are development efforts that leverage the 
strengths of private sector partners as appropriate for the goals of the MRI 
Program. 

To accomplish these goals, the MRI program assists with the acquisition or 
development of shared research instrumentation that is, in general, too costly 
and/or not appropriate for support through other NSF programs.  For the 
purposes of the MRI Program, proposals must be for either acquisition or 
development of instruments The MRI program now accepts proposals for the 
acquisition of a single instrument costing up to $4 million.  For proposals 
requesting $2 million or less, investigators may seek support for instrument 
development or for acquisition of a single instrument, a large system of 
instruments, or multiple instruments that share a common or specific research 
focus. Instruments that are being developed are expected to be operational 
for regular research use by the end of the award period. 

Note #1: This is a limited submission opportunity which means that an 
institution may submit a maximum of three proposals, one of which must be for 
equipment development. (This limitation includes consortium partnerships  
where NU is a subcontractor.) Consequently, there will be an internal 
competition to determine which proposals will represent NU. 

Note #2: There is mandatory 30% cost sharing involved in this proposal. You 
should consult with your department chair and school dean to ascertain 
whether they will support your proposal with matching funds. It is expected 
that the PI will obtain 15% of the cost sharing through such sources (including 
university institutes and centers) and the other 15% through the Office for 
Research. For the latter, please contact Philip Hockberger, Director of Core 
Facilities ([log in to unmask]) for assistance or advice.

IMPORTANT DATES
•	October 15, 2009 – approval of ORD to submit an Internal Proposal
•	November 1, 2009 – deadline for submission of Internal Proposals 
(5:00 p.m.)
•	November 16, 2009 - Meeting of the Internal Review Committee to 
evaluate internal proposals
•	November 20, 2009 - Notification of PIs whose internal proposals 
were approved for full submission to NSF
•	January 28, 2010 - deadline for full submission proposals to NSF

Faculty interested in submitting an Internal Proposal should contact Alden 
Chang in ORD at [log in to unmask] by October 15, 2009, to 
ensure that there is no duplication of proposals and that cost sharing has 
been approved.  Once approved, Internal Proposals must be uploaded via 
Depot by November 1, 2009, by 5:00 PM following the instructions that appear 
below.  Faculty preparing an application are also strongly encouraged to 
contact Philip Hockberger, Director of Core Facilities (p-
[log in to unmask]), for guidance.

Notification regarding the outcome of Northwestern’s internal review will be 
provided to the PIs no later than November 20, 2009. The National Science 
Foundation deadline for a full proposal is January 28, 2010.


INTERNAL PROPOSALS
Internal Proposals uploaded to Depot for review by the Internal Review 
Committee must contain the following materials, combined into a single PDF 
document:

1. NSF-formatted biosketches of all key personnel (two pages max per 
biosketch)

2. A four page summary narrative which includes the following elements:
   a. A title. The title must include the words “Equipment Acquisition: XXXX” 
or “Equipment Development: XXXX” where XXXX is a descriptive title of your 
project.
   b. A description of the equipment and need justification. 
   c. A list of faculty who will be involved in the submission and the estimated 
number of researchers who will benefit from the use of the equipment 
   d. A description of project and management plans, including plans for the 
maintenance, operation, and technical support of instrumentation; a plan for 
attracting new users; any other requirements as outlined in the NSF guidelines 
for the MRI Program (e.g., how the instrument will impact interdisciplinary 
science, research in the private sector and/or other academic institutions, risk 
factors involved and how they will be addressed).
   e. A summary of your proposal as outlined in the program solicitation 
(http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2009/nsf09502/nsf09502.htm#awd_info). The 
summary MUST address the "Intellectual Merit" and "Broader Impact" of the 
proposal.

3. A summary budget, with an indication of expected sources of the required 
30% cost sharing. If the budget exceeds $2M, then the sources of cost 
sharing must be documented with letters from the relevant partners (chair, 
dean, institute director). This can be satisfied with an email string of the 
commitments.

Internal Proposal files should be named ”LastName_FirstInitial_NSF_MRI.pdf," 
replacing "LastName" with the nominee's last name and "FirstInitial" with the 
nominee's first initial. Please follow the instructions below to upload the file to 
Depot:


UPLOAD INSTRUCTIONS
1. Click on the Depot ticket 
https://depot.northwestern.edu/xythoswfs/webui/_xy-6588542_1-t_gYRs6lXf  
to access the "FY09-NSF-MRI" Depot folder.

2. Click the Upload button.

3. Click the Browse button and navigate to your file on your hard drive or 
network.

4. Click the Open button in the file selection dialog.

5. Click the OK button in Depot. (Note: You will get a tiny confirmation 
message upon upload. If you do not see it, you may contact Alden Chang for 
a verbal or written confirmation)

Please note that uploads to Depot are time stamped. In the case of multiple 
uploads by the same PI, the latest one will be the one considered by the 
Limited Submissions Committee.


CONTACT INFORMATION
•	Alden Chang, ORD Research Administrator, alden-
[log in to unmask], 847-467-0043
•	Philip Hockberger, OR Director of Core Facilities, p-
[log in to unmask], 847-467-1509 or 312-503-5625
•	Randy Phelps, NSF Staff Associate, [log in to unmask], 703-292-8040
`

PROGRAM
The full program announcement is available at 
http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2009/nsf09502/nsf09502.htm#awd_info


SUPPORT PROVIDED
Proposals submitted in response to this program solicitation will be competing 
for about $115 million in Fiscal Year 2009; up to $20 million of these funds will 
be available for "mid-scale" instrument acquisition, pending availability of 
funds. 

The maximum request is $4 million for acquisition proposals or $2 million for 
development proposals. Acquisition proposals over $2 million must be for single 
instruments only. The minimum request is $100,000; proposals requesting less 
than that will be considered only from non-Ph.D. granting institutions of higher 
education or from the disciplines of mathematical science or social, behavioral, 
and economic science at any eligible organization.

Applicants may request an award period up to three years for acquisition 
proposals and up to five years for development proposals. The anticipated 
earliest starting date is August 1st after submission.