NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Student Fellowships
Discover Denali and the Murie Science and Learning Center Fellowship Programs
The National Park Service and the Murie Science and Learning Center (MSLC) are seeking applicants for two research fellowships that are available to individuals wishing to conduct research in Denali National Park and Preserve and other arctic and subarctic Alaska national parks. The deadline for both fellowship applications is February 15, 2012. The fieldwork of fellowship recipients must be arranged before September 1, 2012.
The Discover Denali and the MSLC Fellowship Programs are designed to assist graduate students, but may be appropriate for college and university faculty, state and federal agency scientists, undergraduate students, and private-sector researchers. Proposals for research that will help managers make decisions about critical resource issues are particularly encouraged. If an applicant wants to be considered for both funding sources, only one application is needed; however, only one fellowship may be received per applicant. More than one fellow is expected to be selected for each program. Any previous fellow may reapply, but is not assured of additional funding. Applications for 2012 fellowships will be considered for funding requests up to $8000, to be used over one or two years. An information guide about either of the fellowships, which includes specifics on how to apply and other information helpful to the application process, may be downloaded from the website.
MS Opportunity: Nutrient Flow Through Coral Reef Food Webs (University of Hawaii at Hilo)
Job description: Candidates will assist with various duties to support the research effort on a large NSF-EPSCoR funded research project. The duties include, but are not limited to: 1) conducting field experiments/assays, 2) collecting water and biotic samples at Kiholo Bay and Kaloko-Honokohau National Historic Park, 3) assisting in the maintenance of water quality buoys and other field endeavors, 4) analyzing samples from monitoring and experiments, 5) ordering basic materials, 6) assist with training of students (primarily undergraduate) for compliance of basic safety and field/laboratory scientific methods/procedures, 7) library research regarding scientific projects, 8) entering, summarizing and analyzing scientific data, 9) report and manuscript writing, and 10) perform other duties as assigned. Contact: Dr. Steven Colbert for more information
National Park Service Climate Change Opportunities
The George Melendez Wright Climate Change Youth Initiative gives unique opportunities to undergraduate and graduate students to work on projects related to climate change in National Parks. There are two programs within this Initiative: a paid, 20-week internship and a one-year, $20,000 fellowship. Applications for the fellowship will be accepted in November and for the internship in March. See the National Park Service Climate Change website for more information.
Faculty Positions
Indiana University
Indiana University is recruiting for five (and possibly more) vacancies related to parks, recreation, public lands management, and tourism, including three vacancies at the Eppley Institute for Parks and Public Lands, starting this month. The positions are listed, or will be listed shortly, on the IU Academic Vacancies web site.
Call for Proposals
Energy Technology Funding Call
The Department of Defense (DoD), through the Environmental Security Technology Certification Program (ESTCP), supports the demonstration of technologies that address priority DoD installation energy requirements. The demonstrations are intended to generate supporting cost and performance data needed for validation of the technology. The goal is to accelerate the deployment of innovative energy technologies and to enable promising technologies to receive end user acceptance and be fielded and commercialized more rapidly.
The Environmental Security Technology Certification Program (ESTCP) is seeking proposals for demonstrations of energy technologies on DoD installations as candidates for funding in Fiscal Year (FY) 2013. The solicitation requests pre-proposals via Calls for Proposals to DoD organizations and Federal (Non-DoD) organizations and via a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for Private Sector organizations.
ESTCP requests pre-proposals for the following topics:
(1) Smart Secure Integrated Installation Energy Management;
(2) Cost Effective On-Site Distributed Generation;
(3) Advanced Component Technologies to Improve Building Energy Efficiency;
(4) Advanced Building Energy Management and Control;
(5) Tools and Processes for Decision-making Associated with Energy Use and Management; and
(6) (DOD ONLY) Advanced Water Management and Controls for DoD Buildings.
The due date for all pre-proposals is Thursday, March 29, 2012. More information about the solicitation, including instructions and deadlines, is available on the SERDP and ESTCP web site.
WEBINAR for the ESTCP INSTALLATION ENERGY SOLICITATION – February 16: ESTCP Director Dr. Jeffrey Marqusee will conduct an online seminar "ESTCP Installation Energy Funding Opportunities" on February 16, 2012, from 1:00-2:00 p.m. Eastern Time. This "how to play" briefing will offer valuable information for those interested in new ESTCP funding opportunities related to energy topics. During the online seminar, participants may ask questions about the funding process, the current ESTCP solicitation, and the proposal submission process. Pre-registration for this webinar is required.
Funding Available for Research and Development Proposals
The Department of Defense's (DoD) Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP) is seeking to fund environmental research and development proposals. SERDP is DoD's environmental science and technology program, planned and executed in partnership with the Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency, with participation by numerous other Federal and non-Federal organizations. The Program invests across the broad spectrum of basic and applied research, as well as advanced development. The development and application of innovative environmental technologies will reduce the costs, environmental risks, and time required to resolve environmental problems while, at the same time, enhancing and sustaining military readiness.
Proposals responding to focused Statements of Need (SON) in the following areas are requested:
Environmental Restoration — Research and technologies for the characterization, risk assessment, remediation, and management of contaminants in soil, sediments, and water.
Munitions Response — Technologies for the detection, classification, and remediation of military munitions on U.S. lands and waters.
Resource Conservation and Climate Change — Research that advances DoD's management of its natural and cultural resources and improves understanding of climate change impacts.
Weapons Systems and Platforms — Research and technologies to reduce, control, and understand the sources of waste and emissions in the manufacturing, maintenance, and use of weapons systems and platforms.
Proposals responding to the Fiscal Year (FY) 2013 SONs will be selected through a competitive process. Separate solicitations are available to Federal and non-Federal proposers. The SONs and detailed instructions are available on the SERDP web site.
The Core SERDP Solicitation provides funding in varying amounts for multi-year projects. New this year, Federal organizations will submit pre-proposals online directly to SERDP. Core Solicitation pre-proposals from the Federal and non-Federal sectors are due Thursday, January 5, 2012.
SERDP also will be funding environmental research and development through the SERDP Exploratory Development (SEED) Solicitation. The SEED Solicitation is designed to provide a limited amount of funding (not to exceed $150,000) for projects up to approximately one year in duration to investigate innovative approaches that entail high technical risk or require supporting data to provide proof of concept. This year, SERDP is requesting SEED proposals for the Munitions Response program area. SEED proposals from the Federal and non-Federal sectors are due Thursday, March 8, 2012.
