CISE Encourages Research Experiences for Veterans Through REU Supplements

The NSF Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) invites its grantees to submit requests for supplemental funding for research experiences for veterans. Active CISE grantees interested in pursuing this opportunity are encouraged to submit their supplemental funding requests by April 30, 2013, per the guidelines specified below.

Proposed CISE supplements responsive to this DCL will specifically afford U.S. veterans an opportunity to engage in meaningful research experiences, as recommended by the report of an NSF-funded workshop on "Veterans' Education for Engineering and Science" published in April 2009: "NSF and other federal science and engineering agencies should create an education/career development program focused on getting veterans into science and technology careers. NSF and the other federal agencies have long experience sponsoring education research and activities. The cost to expand and enrich such programs is a small fraction of the cost of the post-9/11 Veterans educational benefit. Yet by expanding it, the community could engage a significant number of veterans with the potential to pursue careers in fields of engineering, science and technology."

In particular, such CISE supplements will provide students and teachers who are veterans with opportunities to participate with active CISE grantees to conduct relevant research in order to gain a deeper understanding of computing. The participation of veterans from groups underrepresented in computing - underrepresented minorities, women, and persons with disabilities - is strongly encouraged.

For full or part-time undergraduate students at U.S. universities/colleges or community colleges who are veterans, or for K-12 STEM teachers who are veterans, CISE will follow the guidelines of the current Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) supplemental funding program [see program solicitation NSF 13-542, "Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU): Sites and Supplements," https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2013/nsf13542/nsf13542.htm. As such, for single investigator projects, these supplemental funding requests should typically be for no more than two students for one year. Research teams funded through multi-investigator projects may request support for a larger number of students, commensurate with the size and nature of their projects.

As a guide for budget development, CISE recommends supplemental support of about $8,000 per student per year for REU supplements; this guideline is neither a floor not a ceiling.  As described in the latest REU solicitation, indirect costs (F&A) are not allowed on Participant Support Costs on REU Supplement budgets.

In the event that requests for supplemental support exceed funds available in CISE, requests will be considered in the order in which they are received. Other factors influencing the funding decision include the status of the project and the number of requests submitted by any one principal investigator across all of her/his CISE grants.

Investigators are encouraged to refer to the REU solicitation referenced above - and the corresponding CISE DCL https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2013/nsf13068/nsf13068.jsp - for detailed information concerning submission requirements. A grantee with questions may also contact his/her cognizant CISE program officer.