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Dear NSF CHE Community,
Happy New Year! We hope that you had a joyful holiday season.
I am thrilled to officially come on board with the U.S. National Science Foundation Division of Chemistry (NSF CHE). As announced in the November edition of the CHE-Comm, I join as its new division director. My first day was January 13. We have additional staffing changes this month, including the retirement of longtime program director Kelsey Cook. Please see the "Staff updates" section for more details.
We want to highlight the release of the Federal Sustainable Chemistry Strategic Plan published by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Several members of the CHE staff were involved in the formulation of this plan, along with colleagues from across the federal government. We invite you to read the plan, as well as view a recording of the rollout event.
The monthly CHE office hours will kick off in February, starting with the Chemical Theory, Models, and Computational Methods program. We also want to remind the community that the no-deadline pilot is ongoing. Principal investigators are welcome to submit proposals to the three participating programs anytime. See the "Announcements and funding opportunities" section for more details.
Best,
Judith Burstyn
Deputy Division Director
NSF Division of Chemistry
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The Federal Sustainable Chemistry Strategic Plan is now available.
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In December, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy published the Federal Sustainable Chemistry Strategic Plan. The plan identifies federal agency activities that could advance the transition toward a more sustainable chemical future.
The plan was developed by a team of subject matter experts from across the federal government, including several colleagues at the U.S. National Science Foundation, and incorporates feedback from stakeholders.
A video recording of the rollout event is now available.
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 Top (L to R): Judith Burstyn, Catherine Costello, P. Shing Ho. Bottom (L to R): Kelsey Cook, Sarah Wengryniuk.
The division is excited to welcome three members to the team.
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Judith Burstyn joins CHE as division director from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where she is a professor of chemistry.
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Catherine Costello joins CHE as a program director from Boston University, where she is a William Fairfield Distinguished Professor. Cathy will serve in the Chemical Measurement and Imaging and Major Research Instrumentation programs.
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P. Shing Ho joins the division as a program director for the Chemistry of Life Processes program. He is a professor at Colorado State University.
We said goodbye to two staff members this month.
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Kelsey Cook retired on Dec. 28, 2024, after 19 years of federal service, mostly as a CHE program director (PD). He most recently served as the program lead in the Chemical Measurements and Imaging program and the science advisor for CHE. Kelsey was also the lead PD in managing the first CHE mid-scale facility, the National Extreme Ultrafast Science attosecond hard UV laser spectroscopy facility at The Ohio State University. During his years with NSF, he has also served on numerous important working groups, as well as held several critical detail positions, including serving as the acting section head (Senior Executive Service level position) for the NSF International Science and Engineering Section, the staff associate of the Office of the Assistant Director for the Directorate of Mathematics and Physical Sciences, and the senior policy analyst at White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Prior to NSF, Kelsey had a distinguished academic career at the University of Illinois and the University of Tennessee and served as one of the founding associate editors of the Journal of the American Society for Mass Spectrometry. We congratulate Kelsey on his exceptional service to the chemistry community and wish him a happy retirement!
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Sarah Wengryniuk served as a program director and, later, the program lead in the Chemical Synthesis program. She is now moving to the National Institute of General Medical Sciences at the National Institutes of Health as a program director. Have an exciting new adventure, Sarah!
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Division of Chemistry: Disciplinary Research Programs: No Deadline Pilot (CHE-DRP:NDP)
Three CHE programs are currently accepting proposals under a no-deadline pilot: Chemistry of Life Processes, Chemical Structure and Dynamics, and Chemical Theory, Models, and Computational Methods.
Proposal deadline: Proposals can be submitted anytime.
Dear Colleague Letter: NSF ANR Chemistry Lead Agency Opportunity on Sustainable Chemistry: Catalysis with Earth-Abundant Elements
The NSF and the French National Research Agency have signed a memorandum of understanding on research cooperation. This opportunity encourages U.S.-French collaborative research proposals to develop sustainable catalysts and catalytic strategies using Earth-abundant elements, focusing on organometallic catalysis, organocatalysis and photocatalysis.
Expression of interest: Due 90 calendar days in advance of the submission of the full proposal to NSF.
NSF full proposal deadline: June 2, 2025.
Designing Materials to Revolutionize and Engineer our Future (DMREF)
DMREF supports materials design and development by integrating experiments, computation and data-driven methods while fostering interdisciplinary collaboration and training the next generation of the materials research and development workforce.
Proposal submission window: Jan. 21, 2025, to Feb. 4, 2025. Due by 5 p.m. submitting organization's local time.
Dear Colleague Letter: National AI Research Resource (NAIRR) Pilot seeks datasets to facilitate AI education and researcher skill development
The NAIRR pilot, led by NSF in collaboration with 12 other agencies, seeks datasets that will enable a broader set of researchers and educators, particularly newcomers to artificial intelligence, to join the AI research and education community. This Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) seeks to identify datasets that could be used by researchers and educators to facilitate the development of AI skills in the classroom, at a workshop or in other educational environments to further develop the nation's AI workforce. Please see DCL for more information.
Submission deadline: Feb. 7, 2025.
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NSF Chemical Theory, Models, and Computational Methods (NSF CTMC) Office Hour
Join to learn more about the NSF CTMC program's portfolio and funding opportunities and to get answers to your questions about the program.
When: Friday, Feb. 14 at 3 p.m. EST.
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CHE has awarded four projects in collaboration with the French Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR) under a joint agreement to promote opportunities for closer scientific partnership between the two countries. Under this agreement, ANR and NSF jointly identify thematic research areas to address critical scientific challenges and leverage research talents in both countries. In its first round of competition, the research focus is on Sustainable Chemistry: Catalysis with Earth-Abundant Elements.
The following projects are jointly funded by two agencies in this first year of collaboration:
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Opinions, findings or recommendations of NSF awardees or their institutions do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. National Science Foundation. |
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CHE People
Broadening Participation in Chemistry
- Anne-Marie Schmoltner
- Samy El-Shall
- Pumtiwitt McCarthy
Centers for Chemical Innovation
- Katharine Covert
- Greg Collins
- Colby Foss
Chemical Catalysis
- Kenneth Moloy
- Laura Anderson
- Gregory Dudley
- Tong Ren
- Sen Zhang
Chemical Measurement and Imaging
- José Almirall
- Greg Collins
- Catherine Costello
Chemical Mechanisms, Function and Properties
- Tingyu Li
- Gregory Dudley
- Richard Johnson
Chemical Structure and Dynamics
- John Papanikolas
- Samy El-Shall
- Ryan Jorn
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Chemical Synthesis
- George Richter-Addo
- Laura Anderson
- John Jewett
Chemical Theory, Models, and Computational Methods
Chemistry of Life Processes
- P. Shing Ho
- John Jewett
- Pumtiwitt McCarthy
Chemistry Research Experiences for Undergraduates Sites
- Tomislav Pintauer
- Margaret Capooci
Environmental Chemical Sciences
- Anne-Marie Schmoltner
- Margaret Capooci
- Tingyu Li
Macromolecular, Supramolecular, and Nanochemistry
- Suk-Wah Tam-Chang
- Stephen Boyes
- Colby Foss
- Tomislav Pintauer
- Sen Zhang
Major Research Instrumentation
- Tanya Whitmer
- Catherine Costello
- Michael Greenlief
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