WINTER 2012
Message from the Director For many, this time of year is great for taking a deep breath, reflecting on the past year, and looking to the future. That is also true for EPSCoR in Idaho. In August, a team of EPSCoR RII project leaders joined me for a Reverse Site Visit Peter Goodwin, (RSV) at the National Science Foundation. This review is required for all NSF EPSCoR RII Project Director projects. It’s an opportunity to summarize our recent activities and accomplishments and to describe plans for the final two years of the current award for Water Resources in a Changing Climate. The panel, made up of nearly 15 experts in all aspects of RII programs, from within the NSF and external to it, provided very constructive feedback. It has challenged us to think big. Our leadership team, with representatives from all three of Idaho’s public universities, has been working on strategies to follow their advice. Priorities include: data sharing, diversity, collaborations with agencies, and refinement of research niche areas. These strategies are also being discussed with our external Project Advisory Board (PAB), an independent group of experts who visit Idaho each year to review the RII progress and provide us with their guidance. The PAB meeting, which took place this December, 2011, is also another step in our work to update Innovation for Idaho, our strategic plan for the EPSCoR RII Track 1 program. Additional strategic planning meetings will be scheduled early in 2012 to gather additional input from across the State. At the same time, and in keeping with the plan, a statewide Cyberinfrastructure (CI)-specific strategic planning process is underway to help build on the Memorandum of Understanding for CI cooperation that was signed earlier this year by Boise State University, Idaho State University, and the University of Idaho. After many months of organization and preparation, the National NSF EPSCoR Conference was also held in late October in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. More than 400 people attended the event, far exceeding our original expectations. In fact, thanks to the hard work of the EPSCoR Community, the Conference Organizing Committee, the invited speakers, and the Idaho
EPSCoR staff, the conference itself received an overwhelming positive response. Many of the presentations, as well as video coverage of keynote talks, are available at the conference website: nsfepscor2011.org. This conference was a great opportunity for the EPSCoR Community, but it also showcased some of the amazing resources we have in Idaho. Prior to the Conference, Idaho launched what we believe may be the first award of its kind in the Nation – the Jean’ne M. Shreeve NSF EPSCoR Research Excellence Award. This award was established by the Idaho EPSCoR Committee with support from all of Idaho’s public Universities to honor Dr. Shreeve. Dr. Shreeve received the inaugural award on October 23, 2011, with colleagues from Idaho and around the nation attending the event. Future recipients will be selected from Idaho faculty and recognized for their significant contributions to the research community within Idaho and the world and furthering the ideals of EPSCoR. While many other activities are highlighted in our Newsletters, I want to specifically mention Idaho’s effort to develop a competitive proposal for the next round of the RII competition in Fall 2012. New RII awards are likely to be for five years and $20 million. Planning for the development of that project is well underway. The competition will be intense, as we expect a majority of the proposals to be declined on first continued on page 2
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