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Lack of essential observations from space is currently a major limiting factor in many areas of geospace and atmospheric research. Recent advances in sensor and spacecraft technologies make it feasible to obtain key measurements from low-cost, small satellite missions. A particularly promising aspect of this development is the prospect for obtaining multi-point observations in space that are critical for addressing many outstanding problems in space and atmospheric sciences. Space-based measurements from small satellites also have great potential to advance discovery and understanding in geospace and atmospheric sciences in many other ways. To take full advantage of these developments, NSF is soliciting research proposals centered on small satellite missions. The overarching goal of the program is to support the development, construction, launch, operation, and data analysis of small satellite science missions to advance geospace and atmospheric research. Equally important, it will provide essential opportunities to train the next generation of experimental space scientists and aerospace engineers.

The Geospace Section of the Division of Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences is pleased to offer awards for the creation of new tenure-track faculty positions within the intellectual disciplines which comprise the space sciences to ensure the health and vitality of solar and space sciences on university teaching faculties. The aim of these awards is to integrate research topics in solar and space physics into basic physics, astronomy, electrical engineering, geoscience, meteorology, computer science, and applied mathematics programs, and to develop space physics graduate programs capable of training the next generation of leaders in this field. Space Science is interdisciplinary in nature and the Faculty Development in the Space Sciences awardees will be expected to establish partnerships within the university community.  NSF funding will support the entire academic year salary and benefits of the newly recruited tenure-track faculty member for a duration of up to five years with a total award amount not to exceed $1,500,000.

The Geospace Section of the Division of Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences is pleased to offer awards for the creation of new tenure-track faculty positions within the intellectual disciplines which comprise the space sciences to ensure the health and vitality of solar and space sciences on university teaching faculties. The aim of these awards is to integrate research topics in solar and space physics into basic physics, astronomy, electrical engineering, geoscience, meteorology, computer science, and applied mathematics programs, and to develop space physics graduate programs capable of training the next generation of leaders in this field. Space Science is interdisciplinary in nature and the Faculty Development in the Space Sciences awardees will be expected to establish partnerships within the university community.NSF funding will support the entire academic year salary and benefits of the newly recruited tenure-track faculty member for a duration of up to five years with a total award amount not to exceed $1,500,000.

Lack of essential observations from space is currently a major limiting factor in many areas of geospace andatmospheric research. Recent advances in sensor and spacecraft technolo­gies make it feasible to obtain key measurements from low-cost, small satellite missions. A particularly promising aspect of this development is the prospect for obtaining multi-point observations in space that are critical for addressing many outstanding problems in space and atmosphericsciences. Space-based measurements from small satellites also have great potential to advance discovery and understanding in geospace and atmospheric sciences in many other ways. To take full advantage of these developments, NSF is soliciting research proposals centered on small satellite missions. The overarching goal of the program is to support the development, construction, launch, operation, and data analysis of small satellite science missions to advancegeospace and atmospheric research. Equally important, it will provide essential opportunities to train the next generation of experimental space scientists and aerospace engineers. To facilitate launch of the satellites as secondary payloads on existing missions, the focus of the program is on CubeSat-based satellites. Launch of the satellites will mainly be through the standardized CubeSat deployment system, the Poly Picosatellite Orbital Deployer (P-POD). Launch of the P-PODS will be as auxiliary payloads on DOD, NASA, or commercial launches. This will be arranged after selection and is not part of this solicitation. This solicitation covers proposals for science missions to include satellite development, construction, testing and operation as well as data distribution and scientific analysis.

In collaboration with the university science community, NCAR scientists focus on fundamental research aimed at improving our ability to predict meteorological, air quality and space weather hazards and increasing our understanding of the variability in and changes to the Earth's climate system at regional and global scales. These research themes are enabled by NCAR-operated facilities such as two highly modified aircraft (a C-130Q Hercules and a Gulfstream-V); a petascale supercomputing center in Cheyenne, Wyoming; and state-of-the-art community models, including the Community Earth System Model (CESM), the Weather Research and Forecasting Model (WRF) and the Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model (WACCM). Partnerships with researchers in complementary fields, such as hydrology, cryospheric science, oceanography, terrestrial biology, public health and social sciences, to name a few, broaden NCAR's activities beyond the traditional atmospheric and geospace sciences. Details about NCAR's research activities can be found on the website at ncar.ucar.edu and in NCAR's current strategic plan.

In collaboration with the university science community, NCAR scientists focus on fundamental research aimed at improving our ability to predict meteorological, air quality and space weather hazards and increasing our understanding of the variability in and changes to the Earth's climate system at regional and global scales. These research themes are enabled by NCAR-operated facilities such as two highly modified aircraft (a C-130Q Hercules and a Gulfstream-V); a petascale supercomputing center in Cheyenne, Wyoming; and state-of-the-art community models, including the Community Earth System Model (CESM), the Weather Research and Forecasting Model (WRF) and the Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model (WACCM). Partnerships with researchers in complementary fields, such as hydrology, cryospheric science, oceanography, terrestrial biology, public health and social sciences, to name a few, broaden NCAR's activities beyond the traditional atmospheric and geospace sciences. Details about NCAR's research activities can be found on the website at ncar.ucar.edu and in NCAR's current strategic plan.

The Division of Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences (AGS) awards Postdoctoral Research Fellowships (PRF) to highly qualified investigators within 3 years of obtaining their PhD to carry out an independent research program. The research plan of each Fellowship must address scientific questions within the scope of AGS disciplines.  The program supports researchers for a period of up to 2 years with Fellowships that can be taken to the institution or national facility of their choice. The program is intended to recognize beginning investigators of significant potential, and provide them with experience in research that will broaden perspectives, facilitate interdisciplinary interactions and help establish them in leadership positions within the Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences community. Because the Fellowships are offered only to postdoctoral scientists early in their careers, doctoral advisors are encouraged to discuss the availability of AGS Postdoctoral Research Fellowships with their graduate students early in their doctoral programs. Fellowships are awards to individuals, not institutions, and are administered by the Fellows.

The Geospace Section of the Division of Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences, to ensure the health and vitality of solar and space sciences on university teaching faculties, is pleased to offer awards for the creation of new tenure-track faculty positions within the intellectual disciplines which comprise the space sciences. The aim of these awards is to integrate research topics in solar and space physics into basic physics, astronomy, electrical engineering, geoscience, meteorology, computer science, and applied mathematics programs, and to develop space physics graduate programs capable of training the next generation of leaders in this field. Space Science is interdisciplinary in nature and the Faculty Development in the Space Sciences awardees will be expected to establish partnerships within the university community.

Geospace Environment Modeling (GEM) is a broad-based research program investigating the physics of the Earth's magnetosphere and the coupling of the magnetosphere to the atmosphere and to the solar wind. The goal of the GEM program is to make accurate predictions of the geospace environment by developing physical understanding of the large-scale organization and dynamics from observations, theory, and increasingly realistic models.

The Directorates for Engineering (Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental & Transport Systems), Geosciences (Division of Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences) and Mathematical and Physical Sciences (Divisions of Astronomical Sciences and Physics) of the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Office of Science/Office of Fusion Energy Sciences (SC/FES) of the Department of Energy (DOE) are continuing in FY2014 the joint Partnership in Basic Plasma Science and Engineering begun in FY1997 and continued in FY2000, FY2003, FY2006 and FY2009. As stated in the original solicitations (NSF 97-39, NSF 99-159, NSF 02-84, NSF 05-619, NSF 09-596), which are superseded by the present solicitation, the goal of the initiative is to enhance plasma research and education in this broad, multidisciplinary field by coordinating efforts and combining resources of the two agencies. The current solicitation also encourages submission of proposals to perform basic plasma experiments on the Large Aperture Plasma Device (LAPD) at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), a unique user facility designed to serve the needs of the broader plasma community.

The Directorates for Engineering (Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental & Transport Systems), Geosciences (Division of Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences) and Mathematical and Physical Sciences (Divisions of Astronomical Sciences and Physics) of the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Office of Science/Office of Fusion Energy Sciences (SC/FES) of the Department of Energy (DOE) are continuing in FY2014 the joint Partnership in Basic Plasma Science and Engineering begun in FY1997 and continued in FY2000, FY2003, FY2006 and FY2009. As stated in the original solicitations (NSF 97-39, NSF 99-159, NSF 02-84, NSF 05-619, NSF 09-596), which are superseded by the present solicitation, the goal of the initiative is to enhance plasma research and education in this broad, multidisciplinary field by coordinating efforts and combining resources of the two agencies. The current solicitation also encourages submission of proposals to perform basic plasma experiments on the Large Aperture Plasma Device (LAPD) at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), a unique user facility designed to serve the needs of the broader plasma community.

The Directorates for Engineering (Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental & Transport Systems), Geosciences (Division of Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences) and Mathematical and Physical Sciences (Divisions of Astronomical Sciences and Physics) of the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Office of Science/Office of Fusion Energy Sciences (SC/FES) of the Department of Energy (DOE) are continuing in FY2014 the joint Partnership in Basic Plasma Science and Engineering begun in FY1997 and continued in FY2000, FY2003, FY2006 and FY2009. As stated in the original solicitations (NSF 97-39, NSF 99-159, NSF 02-84, NSF 05-619, NSF 09-596), which are superseded by the present solicitation, the goal of the initiative is to enhance plasma research and education in this broad, multidisciplinary field by coordinating efforts and combining resources of the two agencies. The current solicitation also encourages submission of proposals to perform basic plasma experiments on the Large Aperture Plasma Device (LAPD) at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), a unique user facility designed to serve the needs of the broader plasma community.

The National Science Foundation is soliciting proposals for the management and operation of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). NCAR, an NSF Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC), is a center of excellence supporting the atmospheric, geospace and broader Earth sciences communities. NCAR operates world-class observational facilities and computing infrastructure, conducts extensive in-house research, maintains vigorous programs of education, outreach, and the promotion of diversity, and cultivates extensive national and international collaborations. NCAR also carries out research and development on behalf of other organizations, most commonly other U.S. Government agencies. This work, which can only be undertaken if it supports the NCAR mission, currently accounts for approximately 30% of NCAR's total funding.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Division of Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences (AGS) Lower Atmosphere Observing Facilities (LAOF) Program oversees a portfolio of multi-user national facilities that are sponsored by NSF for use by the geosciences research community. Program management resides within AGS in the NCAR and Facilities Section (NFS) which provides a single point for coordination of planning and resources.

The LAOF program enables geoscience research through the provision of specialized facilities, instrumentation, and field support services necessary to carry out the scientific field work associated with investigations of a wide range of geophysical phenomena. The program is actively involved in decisions about the acquisition, operation, maintenance, upgrading and replacement of these facilities based on input from the scientific community. LAOF funding supports both the planning for scientific field programs (e.g., experimental design, operational plans, logistical support) and the actual deployment of NSF-sponsored facilities.

The National Science Foundation supports four large incoherent-scatter radar facilities and the SuperDARN coherent scatter radar system. The incoherent-scatter radars are located along a longitudinal chain from Greenland to Peru. Each of the incoherent-scatter facilities is also equipped with powerful optical diagnostic instruments. The SuperDARN consists of a number of coherent-scatter HF radars in both the northern and southern hemispheres. The major goal of Geospace Facilities (GF) is to promote basic research on the structure and dynamics of the Earth's upper atmosphere. Research efforts utilizing these facilities have strong links to the Aeronomy Program and the Magnetospheric Physics Program.

Hazards SEES seeks research projects that will productively cross the boundaries of the atmospheric and geospace, earth, and ocean sciences; computer and information science (including cyberinfrastructure); engineering; mathematics and statistics; and social, economic, and behavioral sciences. Successful proposals will integrate across multiple disciplines to promote research that advances new paradigms that contribute to creating a society resilient to hazards.

The IUSE initiative provides a Foundation-wide framework of investments to support the agency's commitment to the highest caliber undergraduate STEM education. By improving the quality and effectiveness of undergraduate education in all STEM fields, IUSE investments enable NSF to lead national progress toward a diverse and innovative workforce and a STEM-literate public. Through the IUSE framework, NSF coordinates its investments in undergraduate programs and undergraduate STEM education to maximize impact, and to use shared metrics and appropriate program evaluation approaches. These investments are made across all directorates and address both STEM education in general and specific disciplinary needs. IUSE investments support a variety of activities including the inclusion of inquiry-based and active learning approaches in undergraduate STEM instruction, efforts to increase undergraduate STEM research experiences and courses, and research on the persistence and graduation of students in STEM programs. In addition, specific emerging cross-disciplinary needs include data science preparation for students in all majors, recruitment and retention of women and of students from underrepresented groups in STEM degree programs, incorporation of undergraduate research in STEM fields for STEM majors and non-majors, and re-envisioning of introductory courses in light of new research findings and theories.