The Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR) plays a central role in the continuing success and development of the faculty’s research, scholarship, and creative endeavors through its leadership and support services in Research Administration and Research Development. A critical mechanism for cultivating research activities that are both innovative and impactful is to ensure access to state-of-art equipment and instrumentation. To this end, the OVPR will be conducting an internal screening process in support of the Major Instrumentation Program (MRI) sponsored by the National Science Foundation.
The Major Research Instrumentation Program (MRI) 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. The program provides organizations with opportunities to acquire major instrumentation that supports the research and research training goals of the organization and that may be used by other researchers regionally or nationally.
The MRI program assists with the acquisition or development of a shared research instrument that is, in general, too costly and/or not appropriate for support through other NSF programs. The program does not fund research projects or provide ongoing support for operating or maintaining facilities or centers.
The instrument acquired or developed is expected to be operational for regular research use by the end of the award period. For the purposes of the MRI program, a proposal must be for either acquisition (Track 1) or development (Track 2) of a single, well-integrated instrument. The MRI program does not support the acquisition or development of a suite of instruments to outfit research laboratories/facilities or to conduct independent research activities simultaneously.
Limited Submission
Because a limited number of applications can be submitted for this program, an internal screening process is required. If you are considering submitting an application for the program listed below, an on-line Notification of Intent to Submit must be completed by the requested Intent to Submit Deadline.
When submitting pre-proposals for the internal screening process, be sure to check the Guidelines for updates. Pre-proposals not adhering to these guidelines and instructions will be returned.
Program Requirements
Limit: Three proposals; at least one must be for instrument development
Intent to Submit Deadline: 11/07/2014
Internal Screening Deadline: 11/28/2014
Sponsor Deadline: 1/22/2015
Additional Instructions: Proposals require a 30% cost-share commitment. As part of the internal screening process, applicants must indicate how the cost-share will be accomplished and should include commitments from respective PIs, department heads, and/or deans. In addition, a listing of the PIs and Co-PIs external funding (funded, pending, and closed) must be included.
For more information, contact: Larisa Zagorski at Larisa.Zagorski@uconn.edu