Group items tagged

The Division of Environmental Biology (DEB) Core Tracksupports research and training on evolutionary and ecological processes acting at the level of populations, species, communities, and ecosystems. DEB encourages research that elucidates fundamental principles that identify and explain the unity and diversity of life and its interactions with the environment over space and time. Research may incorporate field, laboratory, or collection-based approaches; observational or manipulative studies; synthesis activities; phylogenetic discovery projects; or theoretical approaches involving analytical, statistical, or computational modeling. Proposals should be submitted to the core clusters (Ecosystem Sciences, Evolutionary Processes, Population and Community Ecology, and Systematics and Biodiversity Sciences). DEB also encourages interdisciplinary proposals that cross conceptual boundaries and integrate over levels of biological organization or across multiple spatial and temporal scales.Research addressing ecology and ecosystem science in the marine biome should be directed to the Biological Oceanography Program in the Division of Ocean Sciences; research addressing evolution and systematics in the marine biome should be directed to the Evolutionary Processes or Systematics and Biodiversity Science programs in DEB. All DEB programs also encourage proposals that leverage NSF-supported data networks, databases, centers, and other forms of scientific infrastructure, including but not limited to the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON), Environmental Data Initiative (EDI), and Integrated Digitized Biocollections (iDigBio). The Rules of Life Track supports integrative proposals that span population, species, community and ecosystem scales normally funded by DEB, to organismal, cellular and molecular scales typically funded by other divisions in the Biological Sciences.

All of comparative biology depends on knowledge of the evolutionary relationships (phylogeny) of living and extinct organisms. In addition, understanding biodiversity and how it changes over time is only possible when Earth's diversity is organized into a phylogenetic framework. The goals of the Genealogy of Life (GoLife) program are to resolve the phylogenetic history of life and to integrate this genealogical architecture with underlying organismal data. The ultimate vision of this program is an open access, universal Genealogy of Life that will provide the comparative framework necessary for testing questions in systematics, evolutionary biology, ecology, and other fields. A further strategic integration of this genealogy of life with data layers from genomic, phenotypic, spatial, ecological and temporal data will produce a grand synthesis of biodiversity and evolutionary sciences. The resulting knowledge infrastructure will enable synthetic research on biological dynamics throughout the history of life on Earth, within current ecosystems, and for predictive modeling of the future evolution of life.Projects submitted to this program should emphasize increased efficiency in contributing to a complete Genealogy of Life and integration of various types of organismal data with phylogenies.This program also seeks to broadly train next generation, integrative phylogenetic biologists, creating the human resource infrastructure and workforce needed to tackle emerging research questions in comparative biology. Projects should train students for diverse careers by exposing them to the multidisciplinary areas of research within the proposal.

The Melinda Gray Ardia Environmental Foundation was founded in 1996 to continue the work of Melinda Gray Ardia, a biologist, environmental activist, and a middle school science teacher in Newark, New York, who died in an automobile accident that year. The foundation's mission is to integrate field activities and classroom teaching and incorporate basic ecological principles and problem solving. The foundation's grant program is designed to empower and encourage students to become involved in solving environmental and social problems; promote thoughtful and appropriate analysis and understanding of the natural world; and train students as informed decision makers through the emphasis and application of basic ecological principles.

The goal of this Federal Funding Opportunity (FFO) is to support the education of K-12 students and the public so they are knowledgeable of the ways in which their community can become more resilient to extreme weather events and/or other environmental hazards, and become involved in achieving that resilience. Many U.S. communities are increasingly contending with issues related to preventing, withstanding, and recovering from disruptions caused by extreme weather and other environmental hazards (U.S. Department of Commerce FY2014-FY2018 Strategic Plan). These hazards include but are not limited to severe storms, tornadoes, hurricanes, flooding, heavy precipitation events, persistent drought, heat waves, increased global temperatures, acidification of the ocean, and sea level rise (Weather-ready Nation: NOAA's National Weather Service Strategic Plan 2011; Melillo et al., 2014). These extreme weather and climate events put stress on infrastructure, ecological systems, and the humans that live in the impacted places. U.S. communities can become more resilient to such events by exploring the hazards they face, assessing their specific vulnerabilities and risks, considering options, prioritizing and planning, and finally taking action (U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit). This process is typically performed by scientists and municipal planners, but in order for resilience to occur, other members of a community must have some understanding of the hazards they face and how to mitigate them, both at the individual and the community level.

The Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program supports active research participation by undergraduate students in any of the areas of research funded by the National Science Foundation. REU projects involve students in meaningful ways in ongoing research programs or in research projects specifically designed for the REU program. This solicitation features two mechanisms for support of student research: (1) REU Sites are based on independent proposals to initiate and conduct projects that engage a number of students in research. REU Sites may be based in a single discipline or academic department or may offer interdisciplinary or multi-department research opportunities with a coherent intellectual theme. Proposals with an international dimension are welcome. (2) REU Supplements may be included as a component of proposals for new or renewal NSF grants or cooperative agreements or may be requested for ongoing NSF-funded research projects.

The purpose of this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is to encourage institutions with expertise and innovative strategies for developing research and mentoring opportunities for undergraduate students from backgrounds underrepresented in biomedical research to submit applications for 6 month planning grants for the NIH Building Infrastructure Leading to Diversity (BUILD) initiative. The BUILD initiative aims to increase the diversity of the NIH-funded workforce by supporting collaborative programs that include novel approaches for enhancing undergraduate education, training, and mentorship, as well as infrastructure support and faculty development to facilitate those approaches. BUILD planning grants are intended to help institutions develop the necessary partnerships and infrastructure needed to be competitive for the BUILD initiative.

The purpose of the Initiative for Maximizing Student Development (IMSD) Program is to develop the pool of a diverse group of highly trained undergraduate and graduate students who go on to research careers and will be available to participate in NIH-funded research. The program provides institutional grants to research-intensive institutions that propose well-integrated developmental activities designed to increase students' academic preparation and skills that are critical to the completion of the Ph.D. degree in biomedical and behavioral sciences.

The Presidential Awards for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring (PAESMEM) is a Presidential award established by the White House in 1995. The purpose of the award is to recognize U.S. citizens or permanent residents and U.S. organizations that have demonstrated excellence in mentoring individuals from groups that are underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and workforce. Groups that are underrepresented in STEM include women, people with disabilities, underrepresented racial and ethnic minorities, as well as individuals from low socio-economic backgrounds and some geographic regions such as urban and rural areas. The PAESMEM program is administered by the National Science Foundation (NSF) on behalf of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). Nominations, including self-nominations, are invited for Individual and Organizational PAESMEM awards. Individuals and organizations in all public and private sectors are eligible including industry, academia, primary and secondary education, military and government, non-profit organizations, and foundations. Nominations are encouraged from all geographical regions in the U.S., its territories or possessions, particularly jurisdictions designated by Congress under NSF's Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR).

The Ethics Education in Science and Engineering (EESE) program funds research and educational projects that improve ethics education in all fields of science and engineering that NSF supports, with priority consideration given to interdisciplinary, inter-institutional, and international contexts.  Although the primary focus is on improving ethics education for graduate students in NSF-funded fields, the proposed programs may benefit advanced undergraduates as well.

Selected recipients have a demonstrated interest and the capacity to work cooperatively with the USFWS to develop and administer projects focused on providing employment, educational, and public-service opportunities for U.S. citizens, legal residents, and veterans between 18 and 35 years. Projects are developed based on needs identified by USFWS offices at the national, regional and local levels that will lead to the development of project scopes of work in consultation with the youth-serving organizations selected as program partners under Notice of Funding Opportunity F16AS00108. Funds under this award are to be used to place a Digital Media Ranger Intern and an Urban Wildlife Conservation Program Intern at FWS Headquarters, NWRS Visitor Services. An Urban Wildlife Conservation Program Intern (Intern) will be physically located at FWS Headquarters (40 hours per week for 52 weeks). The Intern will provide research assistance and gather recommendations on potential and existing partnerships. The Intern will travel to one or two urban wildlife refuges to work alongside field staff and partners directly connecting with communities. The Intern will provide technical assistance on websites, webinars and other media. A Digital Media Ranger (DMR Intern) Intern will be physically located at FWS headquarters (40 hours per week for 52 weeks. The DMR Intern will plan, create and deliver social media and youth engagement campaigns on multiple platforms; coordinate with other digital media rangers on collecting, cataloging the media produced on our over 560 wildlife refuges, and the DMR Intern will participate in migrating media to a new digital asset management system. The DMR Intern will travel to one or more national wildlife refuges to work alongside other digital media rangers, or assist with projects.

Duties are mainly assisting with field data collection and related data management for the Networksâ¿¿ vegetation and water quality monitoring programs. Other duties may include assisting with early detection of invasive plants, and with monitoring air quality, freshwater mussels and cave resources.

Determination of Delta Smelt spawning behavior and microhabitat. Laboratory experiments will be performed to investigate the spawning behavior and microhabitat of Delta Smelt (Hypomesus transpacificus).