[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 80 (Tuesday, April 28, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19203-19205]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-9650]
[[Page 19203]]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Institute of Standards and Technology
[Docket Number: 090401620-9621-01]
Professional Research Experience Program (PREP); Availability of
Funds
AGENCY: National Institute of Standards and Technology, Commerce.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
announces that the Professional Research Experience Program (PREP) is
soliciting applications for financial assistance from accredited
colleges and universities to enable those institutions to provide
laboratory experiences and financial assistance to undergraduate and
graduate students and post-doctoral associates at the NIST, Boulder
Laboratories in Boulder, Colorado.
DATES: All applications, paper and electronic, must be received no
later than 5 p.m. Mountain Daylight Time (MDT) on May 28, 2009.
Applications received after this deadline will not be reviewed or
considered.
Important: All applicants, both electronic and paper, should be
aware that adequate time must be factored into applicants' schedules
for delivery of the proposal. Electronic applicants are advised that
volume on Grants.gov is currently extremely heavy, and if Grants.gov
is unable to accept proposals electronically in a timely fashion,
applicants are encouraged to exercise their option to submit
proposals in paper format. Paper applicants should allow adequate
time to ensure a paper proposal will be received on time, taking
into account that guaranteed overnight carriers are not always able
to fulfill their guarantees.
ADDRESSES: Proposals may be submitted to PREP as follows:
For electronic submission--Electronic proposals may be uploaded to
http://www.grants.gov.
For paper submission--Send to Ms. Rosemary O'Connor, Administrative
Coordinator for PREP, National Institute of Standards and Technology,
Division 104.01, 325 Broadway, Boulder, CO 80305-3328.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For complete information about this
program and instructions for applying by paper or electronically, read
the Federal Funding Opportunity Notice (FFO) at http://www.grants.gov.
A paper copy of the FFO may be obtained by calling (301) 975-5718.
Program questions should be addressed to Ms. Rosemary O'Connor,
Administrative Coordinator for PREP, National Institute of Standards
and Technology, Division 104.01, 325 Broadway, Boulder, CO 80305-3328,
Tel: (303) 497-5238, E-mail: [email protected]. The
PREP Web site is: http://www.boulder.nist.gov/bdprepo.htm. All grants
related administration questions concerning this program should be
directed to Hope Snowden, NIST Grants and Agreements Management
Division at (301) 975-6002 or hope [email protected], or for assistance
with using Grants.gov, contact [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Name and Number: Measurement
and Engineering Research and Standards--11.609.
Program Description: The National Institute of Standards and
Technology (NIST) announces that the Professional Research Experience
Program (PREP) is soliciting applications for financial assistance from
accredited colleges and universities to enable those institutions to
provide laboratory experiences and financial assistance to
undergraduate and graduate students and post-doctoral associates at the
NIST, Boulder Laboratories in Boulder, Colorado. In Boulder, NIST
carries out programs in five laboratories--Electronics and Electrical
Laboratory (EEEL), Chemical Science and Technology Laboratory (CSTL),
Physics Laboratory (PL), Materials Science and Engineering Laboratory
(MSEL), and the Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO). Please
see the Federal Funding Opportunity for further details.
The objectives of the PREP are to encourage the growth and progress
of science and engineering in the United States by providing research
opportunities for students and post-doctoral associates, enabling them
to collaborate with internationally known NIST scientists, exposing
them to cutting-edge research. The PREP will promote students' pursuit
of degrees in science and engineering, and post-doctoral associates'
professional development in science and engineering. The NIST PREP
Coordinator and NIST scientists will coordinate with appropriate
department chairs, outreach coordinators, and directors of multi-
disciplinary academic organizations to identify students and programs
that would benefit from the PREP experience. Applicants must be able to
ensure the availability of students for on site collaborative research
experiences at the NIST Laboratories in Boulder, Colorado, concurrent
with their university studies. Any participating student must also be
enrolled in an academic program acceptable to both the sponsoring
institution and NIST.
Funding Availability: NIST anticipates awarding one or more
cooperative agreements to eligible institution(s). In FY 2004, seven
cooperative agreements were awarded to four institutions. Since their
inception on August 1, 2004, these awards have provided approximately
$12.884 million in PREP fellowship support to 170 individuals. For the
most recent year of the PREP, FY 2008, NIST supported 114 PREP
fellowships (some students received more than one fellowship) totaling
approximately $2.805 million.
Funding for the PREP will be provided as fellows are identified by
the successful applicant and approved by NIST. Fellowship support from
NIST under the PREP is contingent upon the availability of NIST program
funds, NIST program objectives, and the discretion of NIST advisors.
Statutory Authority: The authority for the PREP is 15 U.S.C.
278g-1, which authorizes NIST to fund ``awards of research
fellowships and other forms of financial assistance to students at
institutions of higher learning within the United States who show
promise as present or future contributors to the mission of the
Institute, and to United States citizens for research and technical
activities on Institute programs.''
Eligibility: Eligible applicants are accredited institutions of
higher education in the United States and its territories that offer
undergraduate and graduate degrees in physics, chemistry, mathematics,
computer science, or engineering. Undergraduate and graduate students
who receive fellowships under the PREP must show evidence of a 3.0 or
higher grade point average in a curriculum acceptable to the sponsoring
educational institution and NIST and must be enrolled full-time at a
sponsoring institution. Post-doctoral associates must be affiliated
with a sponsoring institution of higher education.
Review and Selection Process: Screening of Applications: All PREP
proposals must be submitted to the NIST PREP Administrative
Coordinator. Each proposal is examined for completeness and
responsiveness to the scope of the stated objectives of the PREP as
described above. Substantially incomplete or non-responsive proposals
will not be reviewed for technical merit nor considered for funding,
and the applicant will be notified. The NIST PREP Administrative
Coordinator will retain one copy of each non-responsive application for
three years for record-keeping purposes. The remaining copies will be
destroyed.
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Each complete and responsive PREP application packet will be
reviewed by at least three independent, objective NIST scientists, all
of whom are Federal employees, who are knowledgeable in the subject
matter of this announcement and its objectives and who are able to
conduct a review based on the Evaluation Criteria for the PREP as
described in this notice.
The merit review ratings shall provide a rank order to a Selecting
Official for final funding recommendations. The Selecting Official will
be the Director of the NIST Laboratories in Boulder, Colorado. A
Federal Program Officer may first make recommendations to the Selecting
Official, applying the selection factors below. The Selecting Official
shall award in the rank order unless the proposal is justified to be
selected out of rank order. Justification for award order different
from the rank order shall be based upon one or more of the following
factors:
1. Availability of funds.
2. Ability to ensure that undergraduate and graduate students are
available for on-site collaborative research experiences at the NIST
Boulder, CO, laboratories concurrent with their full-time University
studies.
3. Ability to ensure post-doctoral associates are available for
full time on-site collaborative research experiences at the NIST
Boulder, CO, laboratories.
4. Applicant's prior award performance.
The final selection of institutions and award of cooperative
agreements will be made by the NIST Grants Officer in Gaithersburg,
Maryland, based on compliance with application requirements as
published in this notice, compliance with applicable legal and
regulatory requirements, and whether the recommended applicants appear
to be responsible. Unsatisfactory performance on any previous Federal
award may result in an application not being considered for funding.
Applicants may be asked to modify objectives, work plans, or budgets,
and provide supplemental information required by the agency prior to
award. The decision of the Grants Officer is final. Applicants should
allow up to 90 days processing time.
Evaluation Criteria: The applications will be evaluated and scored
on the basis of the following evaluation criteria:
(A) Soundness of the applicant's academic program, proposed project
objectives, and appropriateness of proposed student work assignments in
light of ongoing research at NIST/Boulder and the students' academic
programs. (30 points)
(B) Experience in providing students pursuing degrees in physics,
chemistry, mathematics, computer science, or engineering with work
experiences in laboratories or other settings consistent with
furthering the students' education. (30 points)
(C) Adequacy and reasonableness of plans for administering the
project and coordinating with the NIST PREP Administrative Coordinator
in Boulder. (20 points)
(D) Costs of the proposed project budget (proposed fellowships and
other proposed costs) in light of the activities proposed and the
objectives of the sponsoring institution and NIST. Voluntary cost
sharing may include, but is not limited to, cash contributions for
direct costs, contributions of indirect costs, or in-kind
contributions. While cost sharing is not required, any cost share
contribution will be taken into consideration in reviewing the
competitiveness of the proposed project budget. (20 points).
The Department of Commerce Pre-Award Notification Requirements for
Grants and Cooperative Agreements: The Department of Commerce Pre-Award
Notification Requirements for Grants and Cooperative Agreements
contained in 73 FR 7696 (February 11, 2008) apply to this notice. On
the form SF-424, the applicant's 9-digit Dun and Bradstreet Data
Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number must be entered in item 8.c.
Organizational DUNS. The DUNS number provided MUST be the DUNS number
for the entity within the applying institution that will be responsible
for drawing down funds from the Automated Standard Application for
Payment System (ASAP). Institutions that provide incorrect DUNS numbers
may experience significant delays in receiving funds.
Collaborations with NIST Employees: Collaboration with NIST is
presumed in PREP. If any applicant proposes any activities involving
specific NIST employees, the statement of work should include a
statement of this intention, a description of the collaboration, and
prominently identify the NIST employee(s) involved. Any collaboration
by a NIST employee must be approved by appropriate NIST management and
is at the sole discretion of NIST. Prior to beginning the merit review
process, NIST will verify the approval of the proposed collaboration.
Any unapproved collaboration will be stricken from the proposal prior
to the merit review.
Use of NIST Intellectual Property: If the applicant anticipates
using any NIST-owned intellectual property to carry out the work
proposed, the applicant should identify such intellectual property.
This information will be used to ensure that no NIST employee involved
in the development of the intellectual property will participate in the
review process for that competition. In addition, if the applicant
intends to use NIST-owned intellectual property, the applicant must
comply with all statutes and regulations governing the licensing of
Federal government patents and inventions, described at 35 U.S.C. 200-
212, 37 CFR part 401, 15 CFR 14.36, and in Section B.21 of the
Department of Commerce Pre-Award Notification Requirements, 73 FR 7696
(February 11, 2008). Questions about these requirements may be directed
to the Chief Counsel for NIST, 301-975-2803.
Any use of NIST-owned intellectual property by a proposer is at the
sole discretion of NIST and will be negotiated on a case-by-case basis
if a project is deemed meritorious. The applicant should indicate
within the statement of work whether it already has a license to use
such intellectual property or whether it intends to seek one.
If any inventions made in whole or in part by a NIST employee arise
in the course of an award made pursuant to this notice, the United
States government may retain its ownership rights in any such
invention. Disposition of NIST's retained rights in such inventions
will be determined solely by NIST, and may include, but is not limited
to, the grant of a license(s) to parties other than the applicant to
practice such invention, or placing NIST's retained rights into the
public domain.
Research Projects Involving Human Subjects, Human Tissue, Data or
Recordings Involving Human Subjects: Any proposal that includes
research involving human subjects, human tissue, data or recordings
involving human subjects must meet the requirements of the Common Rule
for the Protection of Human Subjects, codified for the Department of
Commerce at 15 CFR part 27. In addition, any proposal that includes
research on these topics must be in compliance with any statutory
requirements imposed upon the Department of Health and Human Services
(DHHS) and other federal agencies regarding these topics, all
regulatory policies and guidance adopted by DHHS, the Food and Drug
Administration, and other Federal agencies on these topics, and all
Presidential statements of policy on these topics.
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NIST will accept the submission of proposals containing research
activities involving human subjects. The human subjects research
activities in a proposal will require approval by Institutional Review
Boards (IRBs) possessing a current registration filed with DHHS and to
be performed by institutions possessing a current, valid Federal-wide
Assurance (FWA) from DHHS that is linked to the cognizant IRB. In
addition, NIST as an institution requires that IRB approval
documentation go through a NIST administrative review; therefore,
research activities involving human subjects are not authorized to
start within an award until approval for the activity is issued in
writing from the NIST Grants Officer. NIST will not issue a single
project assurance (SPA) for any IRB reviewing any human subjects
protocol proposed to NIST.
President Obama has issued Exec. Order No. 13,505, 74 FR 10667
(March 9, 2009), revoking previous executive orders and Presidential
statements regarding the use of human embryonic stem cells in research.
NIST will follow any guidance issued by the National Institutes of
Health (NIH) pursuant to the executive order and will develop its own
procedures based on the NIH guidance before funding research using
human embryonic stem cells. NIST will follow any additional polices or
guidance issued by the current Administration on this topic.
Research Projects Involving Vertebrate Animals: Any proposal that
includes research involving vertebrate animals must be in compliance
with the National Research Council's ``Guide for the Care and Use of
Laboratory Animals'' which can be obtained from National Academy Press,
2101 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20055. In addition, such
proposals must meet the requirements of the Animal Welfare Act (7
U.S.C. 2131 et seq.), 9 CFR parts 1, 2, and 3, and if appropriate, 21
CFR part 58. These regulations do not apply to proposed research using
pre-existing images of animals or to research plans that do not include
live animals that are being cared for, euthanized, or used by the
project participants to accomplish research goals, teaching, or
testing. These regulations also do not apply to obtaining animal
materials from commercial processors of animal products or to animal
cell lines or tissues from tissue banks.
Reporting Requirements: Reporting requirements are described in the
Department of Commerce Financial Assistance Standard Terms and
Conditions dated March, 2008, found on the Internet at: http://oamweb.osec.doc.gov/docs/GRANTS/DOC%20STCsMAR08Rev.pdf.
The references in Sections A.01 and B.01 of the Department of
Commerce Financial Assistance Standard Terms and Conditions, dated
March, 2008, to ``Federal Financial Report (SF-269)'' and ``SF-269''
are hereby replaced with ``Federal Financial Report (SF-425)'' and
``SF-425,'' respectively, as required by the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) (73 FR 61175, October 15, 2008). As authorized under 15
CFR 14.52 and 24.41, the OMB approved SF-425 shall be used in the place
of the SF-269 and SF-272 under the uniform administrative requirements
and elsewhere under awards in this program where such forms are
referenced.
Limitation of Liability: NIST anticipates making awards for the
program listed in this notice. In no event will NIST or the Department
of Commerce be responsible for proposal preparation cost if these
programs(s) fail to receive funding or are cancelled because of other
agency priorities. Publication of this announcement does not obligate
NIST or the Department of Commerce to award any specific project or to
obligate any available funds.
Executive Order 12866: This funding notice was determined to be not
significant for purposes of Executive Order 12866.
Executive Order 13132 (Federalism): It has been determined that
this notice does not contain policies with federalism implications as
that term is defined in Executive Order 13132.
Executive Order 12372: Applications under this program are not
subject to Executive Order 12372, ``Intergovernmental Review of Federal
Programs.''
Paperwork Reduction Act: The standard forms in the application kit
involve a collection of information subject to the Paperwork Reduction
Act. The use of Standard Forms 424, 424A, 424B, SF-LLL, and CD-346 has
been approved by OMB under the respective Control Numbers 0348-0043,
0348-0044, 0348-0040, 0348-0046, and 0605-0001.
Administrative Procedure Act/Regulatory Flexibility Act: Notice and
comment are not required under the Administrative Procedure Act (5
U.S.C. 553) or any other law, for rules relating to public property,
loans, grants, benefits or contracts (5 U.S.C. 553(a)). Because notice
and comment are not required under 5 U.S.C. 553, or any other law, for
rules relating to public property, loans, grants, benefits or contracts
(5 U.S.C. 553(a)), a Regulatory Flexibility Analysis is not required
and has not been prepared for this notice, 5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.
Dated: April 21, 2009.
Patrick Gallagher,
Deputy Director, NIST.
[FR Doc. E9-9650 Filed 4-27-09; 8:45 am]
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