The National Science Foundation (NSF)’s Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) is seeking panelists for the 2016 competition, including postdoctoral researchers.

Subject: GRFP: Invitation to register as a potential panelist for FY16 service

Dear Postdoctoral Researcher:

On behalf of the National Science Foundation (NSF)’s Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP), we invite you to register as a potential NSF GRFP panelist for the 2016 program. The program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students who are pursuing research-based masters and doctoral degrees in science and engineering at accredited US institutions. The GRFP panels differ from other NSF panels in that the individual submissions consist of two statements (one 3-page and one 2-page) and support materials (transcripts and 3 reference letters) similar to those submitted in graduate school applications. 

 

Serving as a GRFP panelist is an excellent opportunity to apply your research and career expertise to help identify future leaders in the fields of science and engineering, and gain valuable perspective to share with faculty and students at your own institution. In addition, NSF will provide you with formal recognition of your service as an NSF panelist. NOTE: If you have a student who is submitting an application for the 2016 GRFP program or you know you will be writing a letter of recommendation for an applicant in your discipline, we request that you do not register in the GRFP Panelist system for 2016 due to the conflict of interest. If you register now and subsequently write a letter, please let us know so we can remove your name from the list of potential panelists.

 

Below are details of the 2016 panels:

  • The 2016 reviews and panels will be conducted online with no travel requirements. 
  • Panelists will convene for an orientation session webinar in November. Panelists will be able to select from several orientation sessions.
  • Panelists will be assigned approximately 30 applications in December to read and review. The window for reviewing applications will be approximately 4 weeks, beginning in early December. 
  • Panelists will enter their reviews and scores online.
  • In January 2016, panels will convene online using WebEx for two virtual panel sessions scheduled on two different days (either Monday and Thursday or Tuesday and Friday) to discuss the applicant pool and make recommendations to NSF.

Panelists will receive a flat rate payment of $200 per day for each full four hour virtual panel session attended. Panelists who are Federal employees, citizens of foreign countries who are not permanent residents, and special visa holders are not entitled to the flat rate payment.

 

If you would like to be considered as a panelist for the 2016 GRFP panels, please visit http://www.nsfgrfp.org/panelists/registration to register in the panelist system.  If you have not served as a panelist for GRFP in the past, you may create a new profile by clicking the “Create New Account” link. If you have registered as a GRFP panelist in the past, you may update your profile by logging in using your email address and password. Once logged in, please upload a PDF copy of either your CV or your NSF BioSketch. 

 

Creating a panelist profile does not commit you to serving as a GRFP panelist.  Based on anticipated needs, NSF will send formal invitations to potential registered panelists in our database in late September. Further information can be found here: http://www.nsfgrfp.org/panelists/volunteer_to_assist

 

NSF seeks GRFP panels composed of researchers and educators from a wide range of institutions, geographic locations, and disciplinary and interdisciplinary backgrounds. The opportunity to review GRFP applications is described in the following Dear Colleague Letter (NSF 14-107): http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2014/nsf14107/nsf14107.pdf.  Please feel free to share this with your colleagues, including faculty, postdoctoral researchers and other STEM professionals.

 

We thank you in advance for your time and service. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Evelyna Khachatryan at panelists@nsfgrfp.org or (866) 673-4737, GRFP Operations Center.

 

Sincerely,

 

Evelyna Khachatryan

Program Manager – Evaluation

Graduate Research Fellowship Program

American Society for Engineering Education

e.khachatryan@asee.org

(202) 331-3541

 

On behalf of,

 

Gisele Muller-Parker and Joerg Schlatterer, Program Directors

National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program