Moments ago, the National Science Foundation (NSF) wrapped up an informational webinar about its new multi-disciplinary Smart Health and Wellbeing (SHB) program. Expanding on a solicitation first issued in spring 2011 by the Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE), the new program spans NSF’s CISE, Engineering (ENG), and Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences (SBE) directorates — and calls for interdisciplinary proposals that address “fundamental technical and scientific issues that would support much needed transformation of healthcare from reactive and hospital-centered to preventive, proactive, evidence-based, person-centered and focused on wellbeing rather than disease.” In today’s webinar, NSF officials highlighted the goals and driving principles underlying the FY 2012 SHB solicitation, in the context of the two […]

Following an extensive review by a task force to determine if the merit review criteria used by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to evaluate all proposals remain appropriate, the National Science Board (NSB) yesterday released its report — National Science Foundation’s Merit Review Criteria: Review and Revisions — recommending that NSF “better define the two criteria for the benefit of the science community.” According to the press release announcing the report: The NSB task force was put in place in February 2010, with a charge to examine the two merit review criteria and their effectiveness in achieving the goals for NSF research support of science, engineering and education. Based on the task force’s […]