The National Science Foundation CAREER proposal deadline dates have been announced. This competition results in a large number of proposals from Illinois Tech faculty. For this reason, proposals not submitted to the Office of Sponsored Research and Programs (OSRP) by the internal deadlines risk not being submitted to the NSF. If you are planning to apply for a NSF CAREER proposal, let OSRP know via the 2016 NSF CAREER Proposal Questionnaire no later than Friday, June 10, 2016. The questionnaire also lists internal deadlines for OSRP.

2016 NSF Full Proposal Deadlines:

• Wednesday, July 20, 2016: BIO, CISE, EHR
• Thursday, July 21, 2016: ENG
• Friday, July 22, 2016: GEO, MPS, SBE

Eligibility Guidelines

By the July deadline the applicant must:

• Hold a doctoral degree by the deadline date in a field supported by NSF
• Be untenured until October 1 following the deadline
• Have not previously received a CAREER award (prior or concurrent federal support for other types of awards or for non-duplicative research does not preclude eligibility)

Additional Eligibility Info

• A principal investigator may submit only one CAREER proposal per annual competition
• A principal investigator may not participate in more than three CAREER competitions
• Proposals that are not reviewed (i.e., are withdrawn before review or are returned without review) do not count toward the three-competition limit

And

By October 1, 2016 following the deadline for submission of CAREER proposals:

• Proposers should be employed in a tenure-track (or tenure-track-equivalent) position as an assistant professor (or equivalent title) at an accredited institution located in the United States, its territories, or possessions, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, that awards degrees in a field supported by NSF

Tenure-Track Equivalency

For a position to be considered a tenure-track-equivalent position, it must meet all of the following requirements:

• The employing department or organization does not offer tenure-track positions to any new hires
• The employee is engaged in research in an area of science or engineering supported by NSF
• The employee has a continuing appointment that is expected to last the five years of the grant
• The appointment has substantial educational responsibilities
• The proposed project relates to the employee’s career goals and job responsibilities, as well as to the goals of the department or organization
• Principal investigators that are associate professors or in equivalent appointments, with or without tenure, are not eligible for the CAREER program

Guidelines can be found here.