To Promote Cooperative Research With The Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Preface

The California Institute of Technology and NASA have made funds available this fiscal year to support cooperative research on topics and in areas related to the interest and capabilities of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). Such research is to be conducted by university and college personnel using JPL facilities or working in close cooperation with JPL personnel.

This statement constitutes an invitation to faculty at Caltech and other institutions to submit proposals for research support from the President's Fund. Proposals for research to be initiated within Fiscal Year 2001 must be received on or before April 6, 2001 by 5:00pm PST.   Please note:   Electronic submissions only, no hard copies (see below).

Current members of the President's Fund committee are V. McKoy (Chair), G. Blake, M. Chahine, F. Culick, M. Okumura, A. Scherer, B. Wilson, and J. Zmuidzinas. Slightly under a million dollars are available for awards. All but about 10% of the funds will be awarded to proposals submitted by the April 6, 2001 deadline. The remaining small reserve will be set aside and used to support one or two outstanding proposals for which seed funds could really "make a difference." We plan to respond to these proposals and to make awards with minimum delay. Proposals requesting support from this reserve may be submitted any time prior to the next call for proposals by the President's Fund.

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Background

A Memorandum of Understanding executed in 1968 between NASA and Caltech provided for the establishment of the "...Caltech's President's Fund to initiate and support research and development at JPL by Caltech faculty and students, and the faculty and students of other institutions." The aim of the President's Fund is to provide relatively short-term "seed money" to start new and innovative endeavors. It cannot provide a sustained source of support for any single program, nor can it be a source of contingency funding. Caltech carries a special responsibility as a trustee of this fund for the university community.

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General Guidelines - President's Fund Grants

1. The research should be related to current or anticipated JPL-NASA objectives and of a quality performed at top-flight educational institutions.

2. Priority will be given to research characterized by strong mutual interest among individuals at JPL and a university, and should involve work at JPL by university faculty or students. In some instances, work at a university by JPL staff members may be appropriate. Participation by students in the research to be conducted at JPL is highly desirable.

3. Special efforts will be made to initiate substantial involvement by university personnel not already engaged in JPL-related activities. New efforts, not necessarily space-related, are welcomed as a means of broadening the overlap of interests between JPL staff and university personnel as a means of helping to enhance JPL's role and function as a national research facility.

4. The University Principal Investigator must be a full-time Faculty member of a university. The JPL Lead Investigator must be a regular full-time JPL employee.

5. Proposals for one year are preferred. A proposal for a two-year period may be considered, but the necessity for such a request must be convincingly documented.

6. Since the aim is to "seed" innovative research, we encourage proposals that reflect this aim, even to the exclusion of professional salaries, where possible.

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Summary of Proposal Process

JPL COORDINATION

It is essential that an understanding be established with specific JPL personnel well before the proposal is prepared in order that the proposal be an accurate presentation of a substantial joint effort. The nature of this collaborative effort must be detailed in the proposal. Specification of JPL staff, JPL equipment, and facilities involved in the work should be given. For parties not already familiar with JPL and its staff, aid in initiating exploratory contacts can be obtained through:

Dr. Moustafa T. Chahine     Phone: (818) 354-6057
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Mail Stop 180-904
4800 Oak Grove Drive
Pasadena, California 91109

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WHAT TO SUBMIT

Your proposal will be submitted as follows:

1. Electronic copy (via Web) at http://cpf.jpl.nasa.gov/submission/submit.html. Follow the template and fields on the website. We strongly recommend you submit early to allow for potential problems.
2. Your proposal must be cleared through the normal process required by your institution/division.
3. LATE SUBMISSIONS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED - NO EXCEPTIONS

NOTE:   All submissions MUST be readable in Microsoft Word 98 (i.e., all versions MS-WORD, RTF, some versions of Word Perfect, or Acrobat 3.0), no exceptions. The author is responsible for assuring the readability of the document. Unreadable documents will not be accepted.

Proposal format must include the following parts, in the order below:
Note: ALL of the items listed below must be sent electronically (see Item #7 below)

1. Cover Sheet (NOTE: wet signatures required)
2. Abstract (Please limit to one page)
3. Budget Sheet
4. Narrative
5. Investigators
6. Please attach a copy of the Abstract from any of your proposals which were supported by the Caltech President's Fund within the last five years.
7. In addition to submitting the electronic version of the proposal and cover sheet (via the submission page on this website), applicants and JPL collaborators must send a hard copy of their proposal Cover Sheet with wet signatures (original hard copy) directly to:
   
           Craig W. Schlue
           Jet Propulsion Laboratory
           Mail Stop T1703
           4800 Oak Grove Drive
           Pasadena, California 91109
   

The template (download Word or PDF versions here) for Items 1 through 3 is setup for your use. When preparing your Narrative (Item 4), please limit it to less than 10 pages and do not include attachments or extensive resumes and bibliographies. The Investigator section (Item 5) should summarize relevant information and publications.

Particular attention is called to the need for preparing the budget in two parts. The first part represents the cost of facilities and services to be obtained from and at JPL, and must be prepared by the JPL collaborator. Help in obtaining JPL cost information can be obtained from the Section Administrator in the cognizant section office at JPL. The second part of the budget, to be prepared by the Principal Investigator, should cover all other costs including salaries, staff benefits, and university overhead. Secretarial support, conference travel and organizational "assessments" not directly related to the proposed investigation should not be included and will not be funded. Similarly, we do not encourage the inclusion of professorial salary in such seed proposals.

The Principal investigator may suggest the date at which the grant should become effective.

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APPLICATION PROCEDURE

Outside Institutions
After clearing the proposal through the normal process required by your institution, and after obtaining the necessary JPL approvals (see below), applicants should submit their proposal via the web.

Approvals for the Proposal should include:
Principal Investigator, internal approval(s) required by the outside institution, JPL Lead Investigator, as well as cognizant JPL Section Manager and Division Manager.

Caltech
After clearing Caltech proposals through the cognizant Division Chair and the Sponsored Research Office, and after obtaining the necessary JPL approvals applicants should submit their proposal via the web.

Approvals should include:
Principal Investigator, Division Chair, Sponsored Research Office, JPL Lead Investigator, and cognizant JPL Section and Division Manager.

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION

Proposals for research to be funded during FY 2001 should be received on or before April 6, 2001, 5:00pm PST.   No submission will be accepted after the deadline.

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PROPOSAL EVALUATION

Ad Hoc Committee
An Ad Hoc Committee established at Caltech to aid the President's Office in the evaluation and processing of proposals is chaired by Dr. Vincent McKoy, Mail Code 127-72, Phone (626) 395-6545. General inquiries should be addressed to Craig Schlue, Mail Code T1703, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Phone (818) 354-8048.

Evaluation Criteria
In evaluating a proposal, the Committee asks: First, is it innovative and good science or engineering? Second, does it make possible the use of facilities, capabilities, apparatus, services, etc., not otherwise accessible for university faculty and students? Third, does the program increase scientific and engineering competence in basic research at JPL, either by improving the intellectual environment or attracting capable people to the laboratory?

Because the President's Fund does not provide continuing support for a period of successive grants, a major consideration for the Committee is "Will a grant of the size and duration offered be adequate to advance the work sufficiently that it either yields significant results or can command continuing financing from other sources?"

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ADMINISTRATION OF GRANT

Once the President of Caltech has approved a grant, further administration will be conducted through the Director of Sponsored Research at Caltech, Dr. Richard Seligman, Mail Code 201-15, Phone (626) 395-6073.

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REPORTING REQUIREMENTS (FOR FUNDED PROPOSALS)

A Final Report will be required by the Office of the President after the end of the grant period. It should include reprints and a list of publications resulting from the research supported by the grant, a summary of the contacts between the principal investigator and his associates at JPL, the extent to which students and research fellows were supported and involved with the work, and a description of follow-on support for the work initiated under the President's Fund. JPL contact, Craig Schlue, will notify you regarding the final report submission date and the guideline instructions. We would also like to receive reprints of work published subsequent to the Final Report.

Each investigator is requested to pursue his/her research plan so as to complete it within the 12-month period approved in the award. If, because of unusual circumstances, and extension of the period of performance without additional funds is required, the additional time will be limited to one extension period not to exceed one year.

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Application Cover Sheet

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Abstract

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Budget Sheet

Category	AT JPL	AT YOUR INSTITUTION
DIRECT COST	N/A	N/A
1. Salaries (itemize)
2. Labor Fringe Rates - Employee Benefits 49.1%		N/A
3. Equipment
4. Supplies and Expenses
5. Travel (only as a research cost)
6. Other (itemize)
7. Total Direct Costs
ALLOCATED DIRECT COSTS (ADC)
ADC	N/A	N/A
8. ADC at JPL consisting of:   a. Labor ADC $19.75/hr. b. Contracts ADC 2.54% c. Purchase Orders 10.69% d. General ADC 5.93%		N/A
9. Overhead - your institution	N/A
10. Individual Budget: (Direct Cost plus Overhead)
11. Combined Budget: (JPL Budget plus Institution Budget)	$

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This site was last updated:
January 29, 2001.

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