Call for Participation: 2017 Aspiring CPS PIs Workshop

2017 Aspiring CPS PIs Workshop

Call for Participation

On August 3-4, 2017, the second NSF-sponsored workshop designed for researchers who aspire to participate in NSF's Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) program for one and a half days. The workshop is by invitation only, and is open to people with research interests in cyber-physical systems who have not previously been funded by NSF as part of the CPS Program. The goal of the workshop is to help aspiring PIs understand what the NSF (and importantly, the panels convened by NSF) will expect to see in a successful CPS proposal.

The workshop will be held at the old NSF headquarters located at 4201 Wilson, Boulevard, Arlington, VA, and is scheduled such that participants will be able to arrange meetings with CPS-related program directors in the DC area to coincide with their participation in the workshop.

The agenda for the workshop will include:

• An opening presentation laying out the NSF goals for the CPS program.
• A panel discussion with representatives from the other Federal agencies participating in the CPS solicitation, regarding their mission-specific goals for the CPS Program.
• A panel discussion by program directors of other related NSF programs, clarifying differences between those programs and CPS, with a view to targeting proposals to the best fitting program.
• A panel discussion by current CPS PIs, on what it takes to organize a successful CPS project and write a successful proposal.
• A panel discussion on common mistakes to avoid in CPS proposals.
• Scheduled opportunities for one-on-one meetings between aspiring PIs and NSF PDs.

Participants will be asked to submit questions for the presenters in advance of the meeting (see below), and a limited opportunity for extemporaneous questions will be provided in each session.

Participation is by invitation only. To apply to participate, you should visit https://cps-vo.org/group/aspiring-pimtg-17/application by June 16, 2017 and submit the following:

• One or two paragraphs describing your specific CPS-related research ideas and why you want to participate in the event
• Your 2-page NSF-style Biographical Sketch
• One or more suggested questions you would like to see answered at the workshop.

Limited funds will be available to offset some travel expenses for invited participants.

Preference for invitation, and for travel funding among those invited, will be given to early career faculty and researchers who have submitted NSF CPS proposals in past years but have not been funded. Other factors that may be taken into consideration include the reasons given for wanting to participate, the quality of the questions submitted, and achieving diversity across participants, institutions, and research areas.

Limited refreshments, including continental breakfasts and break refreshments on both days, and a sandwich lunch the first day, will be provided. There is no registration fee for invited participants who are not Government employees.

Schedule:

• Friday, June 16, 2017: Deadline for submission of applications to the meeting website (see links above).
• Friday, June 30, 2017: Notification of invitation and level of support.
• Thursday, August 3-Friday, August 4, 2017: Workshop meeting

Please address questions and comments to Ted Baker, who is the organizer of the event, at baker@cs.fsu.edu, and please feel free to distribute this message to appropriate colleagues.