**REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE OF VISITORS**

**FY 2002**

**BIOENGINEERING AND ENVIRONMENTAL SYSTEMS DIVISION**

**ENGINEERING DIRECTORATE**

Submitted to

**Dr Esin Gulari**

**Acting Assistant Director for Engineering**

**National Science Foundation**

Submitted by

**The Committee of Visitors:**

Dr. Costel D. Denson (Chair)

University of Delaware

Mr. Henry E. Riggs (Vice Chair)

Keck Graduate Institution of Applied Life Sciences

Dr. Robin L. Autenrieth

Texas A&M University

Dr. Rena Bizios

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Dr. Stephen W. Drew

Princeton University

Dr. Babajide Familoni

University of Memphis

Dr. Kimberly A. Gray

Northwestern University

Dr. Susan Margulies

University of Pennsylvania

Dr. Antonio R. Moreira

University of Maryland Baltimore County

Dr. Richard E. Swaja

National Institutes of Health

###### OVERVIEW

The Committee of Visitors (COV) met on 20, 21, 22 March 2002 to review
programs in the Bioengineering and Environmental Systems Division in the
Engineering Directorate. This Division consists of three clusters:
Biochemical Engineering and Biotechnology; Biomedical Engineering and
Research to Aid Persons with Disabilities; and, Environmental
Engineering and Technology. All three clusters were reviewed.

In the course of its review the COV read and evaluated one hundred (100)
jackets- files containing proposal actions- from FY 2001. These were
randomly selected by Committee members from a pool of four hundred (400)
jackets which had been pre-selected by the staff. A total of two
thousand (2000) jackets covering the last three years were available
upon request. The Committee did in fact request, and receive, additional
jackets to review when questions arose. Oral presentations were also
made by the Division Director and the Program Directors. This
information, along with the files, served to provide a complete mosaic
for the Committee to consider in its deliberations.

The Committee's responses in this report follow the prescribed template
for FY 2002 COV Reviews. Parts A.1, A.2, A.3, and A.4 deal with the
***integrity and efficiency of the Division's processes and
management**.* Part B deals with ***outputs and outcomes of NSF
investments***. Specifically, Part B.1 deals with the ***people goal**,*
Part B.2 with the ***idea goal**,* and Part B.3 with the ***tools
goal**.*

Parts B.4, B.5, and B.6 provide summary comments on program areas in
need of improvement, summary comments on program performance in meeting
program specific objectives and goals, and summary comments for
improving the COV review process.

The COV found that the programs in the Division were meeting stated
goals and objectives, and doing it extremely well. This is particularly
noteworthy in view of the wide range of programs in the Division's
portfolio, constrained resources at the Agency level, and the fact that
the Division receives less than one per cent of the NSF budget.

The COV commends the Division on the very significant improvement it has
made in processing proposals within six months of receipt. In FY 2000
the percentage of proposals processed within six months was 39 percent;
in FY 2001 this percentage increased to 72 percent, when the goal was 70
percent.

A.1 Questions about the quality and effectiveness of the program's use
of merit review procedures. Provide comments in the space below the
question. Discuss areas of concern in the space below the table.

+---------------------------------------------------------+------------+
| **QUALITY AND EFFECTIVENESS OF MERIT REVIEW             | **YES, NO, |
| PROCEDURES**                                            | or**       |
|                                                         |            |
|                                                         | **DATA NOT |
|                                                         | A          |
|                                                         | VAILABLE** |
+---------------------------------------------------------+------------+
| Is the review mechanism appropriate? (panels, ad hoc    | **YES**    |
| reviews, site visits)                                   |            |
|                                                         |            |
| Comments: The existing mechanisms of review are         |            |
| adequate. Appropriate types of review have been matched |            |
| satisfactorily with the needs of various NSF programs.  |            |
+---------------------------------------------------------+------------+
| Is the review process efficient and effective?          | **YES**    |
|                                                         |            |
| Comments: A commendable and successful effort has been  |            |
| made to identify and use reviewers who are experts in   |            |
| the area(s) of the proposed research.                   |            |
|                                                         |            |
| See Comment #1 below.                                   |            |
+---------------------------------------------------------+------------+
| Is the time to decision appropriate?                    | **YES**    |
|                                                         |            |
| Comments: BES has done an outstanding job in achieving  |            |
| a record performance of timely review of proposals      |            |
| (specifically, 72% of proposals were processed within   |            |
| six months of receipt in fiscal year 2001; this result  |            |
| reflected a 33% increase over fiscal year 2000).        |            |
| Undoubtedly, improved administrative effectiveness,     |            |
| full-staff status at NSF, and implementation of modern  |            |
| electronic means of communication and conducting        |            |
| business (that is, proposal submission and review) have |            |
| had a positive impact. NSF is commended on this issue.  |            |
+---------------------------------------------------------+------------+
| Is the documentation for recommendations complete?      | **YES**    |
|                                                         |            |
| Comments: Record keeping is meticulous, well organized  |            |
| and complete.                                           |            |
|                                                         |            |
| See Comment #2 below.                                   |            |
+---------------------------------------------------------+------------+
| Are reviews consistent with priorities and criteria     | **YES**    |
| stated in the program's solicitations, announcements,   |            |
| and guidelines?                                         |            |
|                                                         |            |
| Comments: These issues were consistently and            |            |
| satisfactorily addressed in certain programs such as    |            |
| the CAREER Awards. This was not the case for other      |            |
| programs. For this reason it should be clearly and      |            |
| consistently required that **all written reviews        |            |
| address both the intellectual merit and the broader     |            |
| impacts of the proposed activities.**                   |            |
|                                                         |            |
| See Comment #3 below.                                   |            |
+---------------------------------------------------------+------------+

**Discuss issues identified** by the COV concerning the quality and
effectiveness of the program's use of merit review procedures:

\(1\) The COV encourages NSF to continue exploring and/or using various
appropriate processes in order to achieve the most effective and
efficient review of proposals.

\(2\) The review panels should be instructed to strive in putting
together a summary statement that reflects the discussion that took
place during the meeting of the panel. This requirement is especially
important in the cases when the final conclusions and/or recommendations
are different than the original ones made in the written statements of
individual reviewers.

\(3\) The COV noticed that some written reviews did not address the
broader impact aspects of the proposed research projects. Since the COV
feels very strongly about the importance of this issue, a recommendation
was made to revise the current proposal- rating policy to include one
evaluation for scientific merit and another for broader impact; thus,
each reviewer would report **[two]{.underline}** ratings.

A.2 Questions concerning the implementation of the NSF Merit Review
Criteria (intellectual merit and broader impacts) by reviewers and
program officers. Provide comments in the space below the question.
Discuss issues or concerns in the space below the table. (Provide
fraction of total reviews for each question)

  -------------------------------------------------------- --------------
  **IMPLEMENTATION OF NSF MERIT REVIEW CRITERIA**          **% REVIEWS**

  What percentage of *reviews* address the [intellectual   350/363=96%
  merit]{.underline} criterion?                            

  What percentage of *reviews* address the [broader        279/363=77%
  impacts]{.underline} criterion?                          

  What percentage of *review analyses* (Form 7's) comment  71/97=73%
  on aspects of the [intellectual merit]{.underline}       
  criterion?                                               

  What percentage of *review analyses* (Form 7's) comment  50/97=52%
  on aspects of the [broader impacts]{.underline}          
  criterion?                                               
  -------------------------------------------------------- --------------

**Discuss any concerns** the COV has identified with respect to NSF's
merit review system.

The COV spent a significant amount of time discussing the NSF merit
review system and addressing some concerns on the use of the two
criteria. The COV felt that both criteria are important and ought to be
utilized in the review process; funded proposals must have intellectual
merit and they should be expected to have a broad impact as a
consequence of carrying out the research program. Regarding the second
criterion, the COV recommends that the description statement for this
criterion be better focused and the meaning of impact be clearly
established.

The COV also recommends that each proposal should receive two scores,
one for each criterion. Guidelines should be developed for how to weigh
the two scores and reviewers should address both criteria as they
evaluate the proposals.

A.3 Questions concerning the selection of reviewers. Provide comments in
the space below the question. Discuss areas of concern in the space
below the table.

+-------------------------------------------------------+--------------+
| Selection of Reviewers                                | YES, NO      |
|                                                       |              |
|                                                       | or DATA NOT  |
|                                                       | AVAILABLE    |
+-------------------------------------------------------+--------------+
| Did the program make use of an adequate number of     | YES          |
| reviewers for a balanced review?                      |              |
|                                                       |              |
| Comments: In our review, there were always 3 reviews, |              |
| often 4, sometimes 5,6,7, sometimes 8.                |              |
+-------------------------------------------------------+--------------+
| Did the program make use of reviewers having          | YES          |
| appropriate expertise and/or qualifications?          |              |
|                                                       |              |
| Comments: Usually, a couple of reviewers clearly      |              |
| provided detailed comments; of those that were less   |              |
| detailed this may have been due to lack of experience |              |
| on part of the reviewer (the COV thought it good to   |              |
| provide this opportunity to young people). Overall,   |              |
| the diversity of expertise on panel brought richness  |              |
| to the review process.                                |              |
+-------------------------------------------------------+--------------+
| Did the program make appropriate use of reviewers to  | YES          |
| reflect balance among characteristics such as         |              |
| geography, type of institution, and underrepresented  |              |
| groups?                                               |              |
|                                                       |              |
| Comments: It is extremely important to pay attention  |              |
| to this issue. It takes constant vigilance. We felt   |              |
| very good about the balance that we observed among    |              |
| reviewers. Although most reviewers came from the      |              |
| academic sector, when it was appropriate, there were  |              |
| representatives from industry and other government    |              |
| agency. Comments were made that it is difficult to    |              |
| always know when an individual is from an             |              |
| underrepresented group. We noted a dearth of Hispanic |              |
| reviewers.                                            |              |
+-------------------------------------------------------+--------------+
| Did the program recognize and resolve conflicts of    | YES          |
| interest when appropriate?                            |              |
|                                                       |              |
| Comments: There was ample evidence that conflicts of  |              |
| interest did not occur often, and when they did they  |              |
| were successfully resolved. The underlying mechanisms |              |
| to avoid conflicts are in place and compliance is     |              |
| evident.                                              |              |
+-------------------------------------------------------+--------------+
| Did the program provide adequate documentation to     | YES          |
| justify actions taken?                                |              |
|                                                       |              |
| Comments: Attention to conflicts appears to be        |              |
| exercised at every level of the reviewer selection    |              |
| process, so that most conflicts are avoided. When     |              |
| they occur, they are dealt with effectively.          |              |
+-------------------------------------------------------+--------------+

**Discuss any concerns** identified that are relevant to selection of
reviewers in the space below.

Everyone on the COV felt strongly that there must be diversity on the
panels. Diversity includes age, experience, ethnicity, geography,
institution, and gender. There was discussion as to how to increase
representation from these various sectors. One committee member
suggested that NSF go to various professional societies such as the
Society of Women Engineering, or Society of Hispanic Engineering, etc.
Also, the suggestion was made to track students receiving NSF funding
(REU, IGERT, NSF fellows, etc), so to include among panels people at
early points in their careers. We felt that it was extremely helpful to
be included in the review process at an early stage of one's career so
to improve research success. This is particularly important for people
from underrepresented groups which may face more hurdles along the
career path.

A.4 Questions concerning the resulting portfolio of awards under review.
Provide comments in the space below the question. Discuss areas of
concern in the space below the table.

+------------------------------------------------------+---------------+
| **RESULTING PORTFOLIO OF AWARDS**                    | **A           |
|                                                      | PPROPRIATE,** |
|                                                      |               |
|                                                      | **NOT         |
|                                                      | A             |
|                                                      | PPROPRIATE,** |
|                                                      |               |
|                                                      | **or DATA NOT |
|                                                      | AVAILABLE**   |
+------------------------------------------------------+---------------+
| Overall quality of the research and/or education     | ###           |
| projects supported by the program.                   | # APPROPRIATE |
|                                                      |               |
| Comments: The quality of research and education      |               |
| projects across the Division were deemed to be high  |               |
| and meritorious. Combined high quality in both       |               |
| research and education are components of successful  |               |
| proposals.                                           |               |
+------------------------------------------------------+---------------+
| Are awards appropriate in size and duration for the  | **YES**       |
| scope of the projects?                               |               |
|                                                      |               |
| Comments: The Program Directors' use of exploratory  |               |
| awards is a flexibility that allows deserving        |               |
| concepts to be more fully developed. It is a         |               |
| catalyst to and protection of high risk/high yield.  |               |
+------------------------------------------------------+---------------+
| Does the program portfolio have an appropriate       | ### YES       |
| balance of:                                          |               |
|                                                      |               |
| -   High Risk Proposals                              |               |
|                                                      |               |
| Comments: Nearly all of the proposals have majority  |               |
| focus on goals and issues that extend well beyond    |               |
| the current scientific horizon. High risk investment |               |
| is evident even for well defined areas such as the   |               |
| regulation of transcription and translation in       |               |
| defining phenotype (QSB) the proposals aim to define |               |
| molecular-level mechanisms by integrating cutting    |               |
| edge mathematics, experimental methodology and       |               |
| strategy, and modeling.                              |               |
+------------------------------------------------------+---------------+
| -   Multidisciplinary Proposals                      | **YES**       |
|                                                      |               |
| Comments: The majority of awards in the portfolio of |               |
| the Division are multidisciplinary; a balance that   |               |
| is deemed fully appropriate.                         |               |
+------------------------------------------------------+---------------+
| -   Innovative Proposals                             | **YES**       |
|                                                      |               |
| Comments: Successful proposals in cluster            |               |
| solicitations are uniformly innovative. Variable     |               |
| degrees of innovation are observed in the            |               |
| unsolicited proposals.                               |               |
+------------------------------------------------------+---------------+
| Of those awards reviewed by the committee, what      | Percentage    |
| percentage of projects address the integration of    |               |
| research and education?                              | **37/48 =     |
|                                                      | 77%**         |
+------------------------------------------------------+---------------+

**Discuss any concerns** identified that are relevant to the quality of
the projects or the balance of the portfolio in the space below.

> The COV recognizes that the evaluation of research proposals is
> influenced by the records of accomplishment of Principal
> Investigators. Proposals should be evaluated based upon the scientific
> merit of the proposed research plan; PI performance record should be
> used as a secondary factor to modulate enthusiasm.

Reviewers of the CAREER proposals were occasionally inconsistent in
identifying the quality attributes of the educational components of the
proposals

**B.1.a COV Questions for PEOPLE Goal**

[NSF OUTCOME GOAL for PEOPLE]{.underline}: Developing "a diverse,
internationally competitive and globally engaged workforce of
scientists, engineers, and well-prepared citizens."

Consider each of the seven indicators for the PEOPLE goal. Has the
activity supported projects that demonstrate significant achievement for
the PEOPLE outcome goal indicators? To justify your answer, provide
NSF-supported examples for each of the relevant indicators that apply to
the activity and explain why they are relevant or important for this
outcome in the space following the table. If projects do not demonstrate
significant achievement, comment on steps that the program should take
to improve. Please do not discuss if the indicator is not relevant to
the activity.

The BES activity has supported projects that demonstrate significant
achievement for the people outcome goal indicators given in the table
below.

+--------------------------------------------------+-------------------+
| **PEOPLE GOAL INDICATORS**                       | **PROGRAM         |
|                                                  | ACHIEVEMENT**     |
|                                                  |                   |
|                                                  | **(select one)**  |
|                                                  |                   |
|                                                  | **SIGNIFICANT,    |
|                                                  | or**              |
|                                                  |                   |
|                                                  | **NOT             |
|                                                  | SIGNIFICANT, or** |
|                                                  |                   |
|                                                  | **DOES NOT APPLY, |
|                                                  | or**              |
|                                                  |                   |
|                                                  | **DATA NOT        |
|                                                  | AVAILABLE**       |
+--------------------------------------------------+-------------------+
| Development of well-prepared scientists,         | **SIGNIFICANT**   |
| engineers or educators whose participation in    |                   |
| NSF activities provides them with the capability |                   |
| to explore frontiers and challenges of the       |                   |
| future;                                          |                   |
|                                                  |                   |
| Comments: **NSF/BES has provided these           |                   |
| investigators with the capability to explore     |                   |
| frontiers and challenges of the future.**        |                   |
|                                                  |                   |
| **Example 1:** **[Robert S.                      |                   |
| Langer]{.underline}**, Professor at MIT and      |                   |
| member of NAE, IOM and NAS, is one of the        |                   |
| best-recognized prodigies in tissue engineering  |                   |
| and drug delivery and the BES Division has       |                   |
| supported his earlier research (BES- 9202311,    |                   |
| 9525913, 9904368). He has used various types of  |                   |
| copolymers as matrices for the growth of         |                   |
| tissues. This FDA approved technology has been   |                   |
| used to cultivate human skin for treatment of    |                   |
| diabetic skin ulcerations by the Advanced Tissue |                   |
| Sciences, La Jolla, CA. Another area of his      |                   |
| research program involves the use of polymers to |                   |
| deliver drugs. This has lead to another FDA      |                   |
| approved new treatment for a brain cancer called |                   |
| glioblastoma multiforme. The treatment utilizes  |                   |
| a biodegradable polymer wafer implanted at the   |                   |
| time of surgery to slowly deliver a highly toxic |                   |
| drug directly to the tumor site. This technology |                   |
| is licensed to Guilford Pharmaceuticals,         |                   |
| Baltimore, MD, for the manufacture of the        |                   |
| GLAIDEL Wafer for the release of the cancer      |                   |
| chemotherapeutic drug carmustine. The most       |                   |
| recent NSF award to him (BES-9904368), entitled  |                   |
| Utility of Patterned Electrical Stimulation for  |                   |
| Controlling Cell Behavior, was a Small Grant for |                   |
| Exploratory Research (SGER) and a good example   |                   |
| of high risk-innovative research.                |                   |
|                                                  |                   |
| **Example 2:** **[Frances Arnold]{.underline}**, |                   |
| Professor at California Institute of Technology  |                   |
| and member of NAE, has received a number of      |                   |
| awards from the BES Division (BES-8957118,       |                   |
| 9416915, 9901495, 9981770, and 0118565),         |                   |
| supporting her work in biochemical and genetic   |                   |
| engineering. She has made outstanding            |                   |
| contributions at the life science/engineering    |                   |
| interface. Her research thrusts have been to     |                   |
| change amino acid sequence in proteins to aid in |                   |
| their purification without loss of function      |                   |
| using metal ion ligand chromatography) and to    |                   |
| achieve modified or new protein function. Her    |                   |
| early interest in biopolymer-ligand interactions |                   |
| has led to research on protein separation and    |                   |
| the role of metal ion protein interactions in    |                   |
| controlling refolding and conformational changes |                   |
| of these biopolymers.                            |                   |
+--------------------------------------------------+-------------------+

+--------------------------------------------------+-------------------+
| **PEOPLE GOAL INDICATORS**                       | **PROGRAM         |
|                                                  | ACHIEVEMENT**     |
|                                                  |                   |
|                                                  | **(select one)**  |
|                                                  |                   |
|                                                  | **SIGNIFICANT,    |
|                                                  | or**              |
|                                                  |                   |
|                                                  | **NOT             |
|                                                  | SIGNIFICANT, or** |
|                                                  |                   |
|                                                  | **DOES NOT APPLY, |
|                                                  | or**              |
|                                                  |                   |
|                                                  | **DATA NOT        |
|                                                  | AVAILABLE**       |
+--------------------------------------------------+-------------------+
| Improved science and mathematics performance for | **SIGNIFICANT**   |
| U.S. K-12 students involved in NSF activities;   |                   |
|                                                  |                   |
| Comments: **A few selected examples of BES       |                   |
| CAREER program grantees who have improved        |                   |
| science and mathematics performance for US K-12  |                   |
| students follow. Many other BES grantees are     |                   |
| doing excellent work with the high school        |                   |
| students in science and mathematics to motivate  |                   |
| them.**                                          |                   |
|                                                  |                   |
| Examples include:                                |                   |
|                                                  |                   |
| a\) **[Gary Huber]{.underline}** at UC San Diego |                   |
| (BES-0094010) is involved with teaching the      |                   |
| under-privileged neighborhoods students of San   |                   |
| Diego and other students at a charter school on  |                   |
| campus. He plans to develop teaching module      |                   |
| software for high school students and use it in  |                   |
| the high school classrooms for demonstrations    |                   |
| and simple computer experiments.                 |                   |
|                                                  |                   |
| b\) **[Konstantinos                              |                   |
| Konstantopoulos]{.underline}** at the Johns      |                   |
| Hopkins University (BES-0093524) plans to        |                   |
| promote exposure of Bioengineering to            |                   |
| high-school students by developing an outreach   |                   |
| program. The strategy involves the educational   |                   |
| enrichment of regional high-school teachers and  |                   |
| the development of an internet-based module      |                   |
| using animation and audio/video clips on         |                   |
| selected topics of Cellular Engineering in an    |                   |
| effort to introduce this material as a section   |                   |
| in an advanced science course.                   |                   |
|                                                  |                   |
| c[) **Linda Weavers**]{.underline} at the Ohio   |                   |
| State University (BES-0093783) is conducting     |                   |
| hands-on workshops for high school students. Her |                   |
| research is focused on Elucidation of Reaction   |                   |
| Mechanisms and Evaluation of Photo-activated     |                   |
| Periodate as an Advanced Oxidation Technology.   |                   |
|                                                  |                   |
| d\) **[Jeanne VanBriessen]{.underline}** at      |                   |
| Carnegie Mellon University (BES-0092463), is     |                   |
| involving high school teachers in her            |                   |
| laboratory. Her research is focused on Metals    |                   |
| and Intermediates in Biodegradation of           |                   |
| Ethylenediaminetetraacetate (EDTA).              |                   |
+--------------------------------------------------+-------------------+

+--------------------------------------------------+-------------------+
| **PEOPLE GOAL INDICATORS**                       | **PROGRAM         |
|                                                  | ACHIEVEMENT**     |
|                                                  |                   |
|                                                  | **(select one)**  |
|                                                  |                   |
|                                                  | **SIGNIFICANT,    |
|                                                  | or**              |
|                                                  |                   |
|                                                  | **NOT             |
|                                                  | SIGNIFICANT, or** |
|                                                  |                   |
|                                                  | **DOES NOT APPLY, |
|                                                  | or**              |
|                                                  |                   |
|                                                  | **DATA NOT        |
|                                                  | AVAILABLE**       |
+--------------------------------------------------+-------------------+
| Professional development of the SMET             | **SIGNIFICANT**   |
| instructional workforce involved in NSF          |                   |
| activities;                                      |                   |
|                                                  |                   |
| Comments:                                        |                   |
|                                                  |                   |
| Primarily the Division of Undergraduate          |                   |
| Education (DUE) of Directorate of Education and  |                   |
| Human Resources manages the SMET program.        |                   |
| However, BES has supported several PIs every     |                   |
| year through Research Experiences for Teachers   |                   |
| (RET) program. Examples are:                     |                   |
|                                                  |                   |
| a\) **[Julia M. Ross]{.underline}**, Professor   |                   |
| at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, |                   |
| is working on Receptor Mediated Bacterial        |                   |
| Adhesion to Extracellular Matrix with a support  |                   |
| from BES (9702985, 0118264). The research        |                   |
| portion this proposal is directed toward an      |                   |
| understanding of the cell adhesion process       |                   |
| between bacterial cells and collagen             |                   |
| extracellular matrices. The ultimate goal is to  |                   |
| better understand the bacterial disease          |                   |
| initiation process. The educational plan centers |                   |
| around increasing the participation of women in  |                   |
| the engineering profession and teaching.         |                   |
|                                                  |                   |
| b\) **[Todd D. Giorgio]{.underline}**, Professor |                   |
| at the Vanderbilt University, is working on Gene |                   |
| Delivery: Bioengineering Characterization by     |                   |
| Flow Cytometer with a support from BES (9902697, |                   |
| 0114711). His proposed research involves         |                   |
| studying the fundamental problem of gene         |                   |
| delivery. The PI has collaborative agreement     |                   |
| with Valentis, Inc. for practical training for   |                   |
| students and future generation teachers in the   |                   |
| field of biomedical engineering.                 |                   |
|                                                  |                   |
| c\) **[Stephanie T. Lopina]{.underline}**,       |                   |
| Professor at the Akron University, is working on |                   |
| Poly(ethylene oxide) Star Molecules for Targeted |                   |
| Drug Delivery with a support from BES (9984840,  |                   |
| 0125195). Her proposed research is to develop a  |                   |
| targeted drug delivery system, which would       |                   |
| transport bioactive compounds directly to the    |                   |
| desired site of administration, thereby reducing |                   |
| side effects and increasing patient compliance.  |                   |
| The PI's intent is to completely integrate       |                   |
| research activities with educational activities  |                   |
| by including graduate students, undergraduates,  |                   |
| high school students and high school teachers in |                   |
| the research group.                              |                   |
|                                                  |                   |
| d\) [William Ball]{.underline}, Professor at the |                   |
| John Hopkins University, is working on Sorption  |                   |
| of Organic Contaminants from water by            |                   |
| Environmental Solids: Additivity of              |                   |
| Contributions in Heterogeneous Systems with a    |                   |
| support from BES (9910174, 0112634). His         |                   |
| research objective is to obtain an improved      |                   |
| understanding of how organic contaminants of     |                   |
| surface and groundwater are absorbed and         |                   |
| adsorbed on substances such as charcoal, shale   |                   |
| and sand. His research program is integrated     |                   |
| with training program for future teachers.       |                   |
+--------------------------------------------------+-------------------+

+--------------------------------------------------+-------------------+
| **PEOPLE GOAL INDICATORS**                       | **PROGRAM         |
|                                                  | ACHIEVEMENT**     |
|                                                  |                   |
|                                                  | **(select one)**  |
|                                                  |                   |
|                                                  | **SIGNIFICANT,    |
|                                                  | or**              |
|                                                  |                   |
|                                                  | **NOT             |
|                                                  | SIGNIFICANT, or** |
|                                                  |                   |
|                                                  | **DOES NOT APPLY, |
|                                                  | or**              |
|                                                  |                   |
|                                                  | **DATA NOT        |
|                                                  | AVAILABLE**       |
+--------------------------------------------------+-------------------+
| Contributions to development of a diverse        | **SIGNIFICANT**   |
| workforce through participation of               |                   |
| underrepresented groups (women, underrepresented |                   |
| minorities, persons with disabilities) in NSF    |                   |
| activities;                                      |                   |
|                                                  |                   |
| Comments:                                        |                   |
|                                                  |                   |
| **BES actively seeks out participation of        |                   |
| underrepresented groups among PIs requested for  |                   |
| NSF funding and contributes to the development   |                   |
| of a diverse workforce through participation of  |                   |
| underrepresented groups.**                       |                   |
|                                                  |                   |
| Examples are:                                    |                   |
|                                                  |                   |
| a\) **[Garrick E Louis]{.underline}**, Professor |                   |
| at the University of Virginia Main Campus, has   |                   |
| been working on a research project, Integrated   |                   |
| Municipal Sanitation Systems. His research has   |                   |
| been supported by BES funding (BES-9984318,      |                   |
| 0122807, 0114096). His research project goals    |                   |
| are to: (1) make the performance of municipal    |                   |
| sanitation services accountable to their         |                   |
| stakeholders and (2) assure the capacity to      |                   |
| satisfy demand for sanitation services over the  |                   |
| long term in cities of both developed and        |                   |
| developing countries. He was one of the PECASE   |                   |
| awardees.                                        |                   |
|                                                  |                   |
| b\) **[Andre Palmer]{.underline}**, Professor at |                   |
| the Notre Dame University, is working on a       |                   |
| research project Engineering Artificial Cells.   |                   |
| His research has been supported by BES funding   |                   |
| (BES-0092502). His research goal is to establish |                   |
| a biomedical engineering research and training   |                   |
| program dedicated towards the development of     |                   |
| *novel artificial cells* as drug/protein/gene    |                   |
| delivery systems. He will also train             |                   |
| underrepresented African-American Undergraduate  |                   |
| students with this award.                        |                   |
+--------------------------------------------------+-------------------+

+--------------------------------------------------+-------------------+
| **PEOPLE GOAL INDICATORS**                       | **PROGRAM         |
|                                                  | ACHIEVEMENT**     |
|                                                  |                   |
|                                                  | **(select one)**  |
|                                                  |                   |
|                                                  | **SIGNIFICANT,    |
|                                                  | or**              |
|                                                  |                   |
|                                                  | **NOT             |
|                                                  | SIGNIFICANT, or** |
|                                                  |                   |
|                                                  | **DOES NOT APPLY, |
|                                                  | or**              |
|                                                  |                   |
|                                                  | **DATA NOT        |
|                                                  | AVAILABLE**       |
+--------------------------------------------------+-------------------+
| Participation of NSF scientists and engineers in | **SIGNIFICANT**   |
| international studies, collaborations, or        |                   |
| partnerships;                                    |                   |
|                                                  |                   |
| Comments:                                        |                   |
|                                                  |                   |
| **Many BES awardees have participated in various |                   |
| international meetings and continue to have      |                   |
| collaborative research with overseas colleagues  |                   |
| in order to keep abreast of scientific advances  |                   |
| and to maintain good working relationships with  |                   |
| them**. Some examples include: **[Jay            |                   |
| Keasling]{.underline}** at UC Berkeley           |                   |
| (9906405), **[Alexander Klibanov]{.underline}**  |                   |
| at MIT (0094715), **[Wei-Shou Hu]{.underline}**  |                   |
| at Minnesota (9941045), **[Michael               |                   |
| Betenbaugh]{.underline}** at Johns Hopkins       |                   |
| (0001967), **[Jonathan Dordick]{.underline}** at |                   |
| RPI (0118820), **[Gregory                        |                   |
| Stephanolpoulos]{.underline}** at MIT (9985421), |                   |
| **[Martin Yarmush]{.underline}** at Harvard      |                   |
| (9910186), **[James Swartz]{.underline}** at     |                   |
| Stanford (0132535) **[Bernhard                   |                   |
| Palsson]{.underline}** at UC San Diego           |                   |
| (0120363), and **[David Wu]{.underline}** at     |                   |
| Rochester (9631670).                             |                   |
|                                                  |                   |
| NSF staff who have participated in international |                   |
| studies include:                                 |                   |
|                                                  |                   |
| **[Fred Heineken]{.underline}** (PD/BEB/BES) has |                   |
| participated in WTEC (World Technology Division  |                   |
| of the International Technology Research         |                   |
| Institute) studies on Tissue Engineering that    |                   |
| was sponsored by NSF under NSF Cooperative       |                   |
| Agreement (ENG-9707092). Their study involved a  |                   |
| comparative review of tissue engineering         |                   |
| research and development activities in the       |                   |
| United States, Japan, and Western Europe. It     |                   |
| covers biomaterials, cells, biomolecules,        |                   |
| non-medical applications, engineering design,    |                   |
| informatics, and legal and regulatory issues     |                   |
| associated with tissue engineering research and  |                   |
| applications. The panel's conclusions are based  |                   |
| on a literature review, a U.S. review workshop   |                   |
| held at NIH in June of 2000, and a series of     |                   |
| site visits to leading tissue engineering        |                   |
| research centers in Japan and Western Europe.    |                   |
| [http://www.wtec.org](http://www.wtec.org/)      |                   |
|                                                  |                   |
| **[Fred Thompson]{.underline}** (PD/ET/BES) has  |                   |
| participated in WTEC studies on Environmentally  |                   |
| Benign Manufacturing (EBM) that was sponsored by |                   |
| NSF under NSF Cooperative Agreement              |                   |
| (ENG-9707092). This study involved a review of   |                   |
| the status of EBM technologies, applications,    |                   |
| and policies in Europe and Japan in comparison   |                   |
| to those in the United States. Topics covered    |                   |
| include metals and metal manufacturing,          |                   |
| polymers, automotive applications, electronics,  |                   |
| and energy related issues.                       |                   |
| [http://www.wtec.org](http://www.wtec.org/)      |                   |
+--------------------------------------------------+-------------------+

+--------------------------------------------------+-------------------+
| **PEOPLE GOAL INDICATORS**                       | **PROGRAM         |
|                                                  | ACHIEVEMENT**     |
|                                                  |                   |
|                                                  | **(select one)**  |
|                                                  |                   |
|                                                  | **SIGNIFICANT,    |
|                                                  | or**              |
|                                                  |                   |
|                                                  | **NOT             |
|                                                  | SIGNIFICANT, or** |
|                                                  |                   |
|                                                  | **DOES NOT APPLY, |
|                                                  | or**              |
|                                                  |                   |
|                                                  | **DATA NOT        |
|                                                  | AVAILABLE**       |
+--------------------------------------------------+-------------------+
| Enhancement of undergraduate curricular,         | **SIGNIFICANT**   |
| laboratory, or instructional infrastructure;     |                   |
|                                                  |                   |
| Comments: **Many BES awardees are contributing   |                   |
| toward enhancement of undergraduate curriculum,  |                   |
| laboratory, or instructional infrastructure.**   |                   |
|                                                  |                   |
| Examples are:                                    |                   |
|                                                  |                   |
| a\) BES/BEB co-funded a Combined                 |                   |
| Research-Curriculum Development (CRCD) program   |                   |
| award made to Professor **[Edward F.             |                   |
| Leonard]{.underline}** at the Columbia           |                   |
| University (EEC/BES-0088001). The research is    |                   |
| entitled, [Curriculum in Genomic                 |                   |
| Engineering]{.underline}. Engineers and computer |                   |
| scientists are to be trained to conduct research |                   |
| in genomic engineering, defined as the           |                   |
| development and application of techniques for    |                   |
| identifying and understanding genomic sequences  |                   |
| and their interactions with other cellular       |                   |
| components.                                      |                   |
|                                                  |                   |
| b\) **[James E Kilduff]{.underline}** at RPI was |                   |
| supported by BES (9871241) for                   |                   |
|                                                  |                   |
| his acquisition of instrumentation for research  |                   |
| on the continuum of aqueous colloids and         |                   |
| particles and he has been able to enhance        |                   |
| [instructional infrastructure]{.underline} for   |                   |
| his research (also supported by BES-0122863) on  |                   |
| sorption reversibility of hydrophobic compounds  |                   |
| in geo-sorbents investigated with model          |                   |
| sorbents.                                        |                   |
|                                                  |                   |
| c\) BES Program Officers including [**Leon       |                   |
| Esterowitz** and **Nicholas                      |                   |
| Clesceri**]{.underline} (PDs/BES-EE) have been   |                   |
| actively involved with the NSF wide Major        |                   |
| Research Instrumentation Program (MRI) that is   |                   |
| designed to increase access to scientific and    |                   |
| engineering equipment for research and research  |                   |
| training in our Nation\'s academic institutions. |                   |
|                                                  |                   |
| d\) CAREER grants are very important for people  |                   |
| development. Many BES CAREER grantees are doing  |                   |
| excellent work for enhancement of undergraduate  |                   |
| curricular and/or laboratory training. Examples  |                   |
| are:                                             |                   |
|                                                  |                   |
| **[Fernando Escobedo]{.underline}** at Cornell   |                   |
| University (BES-0093769),                        |                   |
|                                                  |                   |
| **[Konstantinos Konstantopoulos]{.underline}**   |                   |
| at Johns Hopkins University (BES-0093524), and   |                   |
| **[David Schaffer]{.underline}** at UC Berkeley  |                   |
| (BES-0094015)                                    |                   |
|                                                  |                   |
| e\) BES has provided supplemental funding for    |                   |
| Research Experience For Undergraduate students   |                   |
| program (REU). Approximately, 60 to 80           |                   |
| undergraduate students have been trained in PI's |                   |
| laboratory in each year for their research       |                   |
| experience. Examples are:                        |                   |
|                                                  |                   |
| **[Michael Shuler]{.underline}** at Cornell      |                   |
| (BES-9909133), and                               |                   |
|                                                  |                   |
| **[Eleeftherios Papoutsakis]{.underline}** at    |                   |
| Northwestern University (BES-9905669)            |                   |
+--------------------------------------------------+-------------------+

+--------------------------------------------------+-------------------+
| **PEOPLE GOAL INDICATORS**                       | **PROGRAM         |
|                                                  | ACHIEVEMENT**     |
|                                                  |                   |
|                                                  | **(select one)**  |
|                                                  |                   |
|                                                  | **SIGNIFICANT,    |
|                                                  | or**              |
|                                                  |                   |
|                                                  | **NOT             |
|                                                  | SIGNIFICANT, or** |
|                                                  |                   |
|                                                  | **DOES NOT APPLY, |
|                                                  | or**              |
|                                                  |                   |
|                                                  | **DATA NOT        |
|                                                  | AVAILABLE**       |
+--------------------------------------------------+-------------------+
| Awardee communication with the public in order   | **SIGNIFICANT**   |
| to provide information about the process and     |                   |
| benefits of NSF supported science and            |                   |
| engineering activities.                          |                   |
|                                                  |                   |
| Comments: **The** **COV believes limited         |                   |
| opportunities exist for formal, broad, public    |                   |
| communication of NSF processes and the benefits  |                   |
| of NSF supported research. On the other hand,    |                   |
| the COV believe that a great deal of informal    |                   |
| communication about the research, with reference |                   |
| to NSF, does occur.**                            |                   |
|                                                  |                   |
| **[Mark S. Humayun]{.underline}**, Professor at  |                   |
| the Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins          |                   |
| University                                       |                   |
| (<http://www.wilmer.jhu.edu/humayun.htm>), and   |                   |
| his colleagues have been testing an electronic   |                   |
| implantable chip system designed to restore      |                   |
| vision in patients rendered blind by diseases    |                   |
| like retinitis pigmentosa and macular            |                   |
| degeneration. NSF has supported his early        |                   |
| research (BES-9810914, 9808040, 9980792,         |                   |
| 0086832, 0133046, 0106930). His research results |                   |
| have been widely disseminated throughout popular |                   |
| media as well as many scientific publications    |                   |
| \[NSF Engineering News, 1997; NSF Frontiers,     |                   |
| electronic news, 1997; Artificial Retina, US     |                   |
| News and World Report, March 30, 1998;           |                   |
| Ophthalmology Times; March, 2001; Artificial     |                   |
| vision,\" Eye, vol. 12 (Pt. 3b) pp. 605-607,     |                   |
| 1998\]. More recently, NSF, NIH, and other       |                   |
| organizations have funded projects dedicated to  |                   |
| the engineering and testing of an implantable    |                   |
| retinal prosthesis. The longer term objectives   |                   |
| of this proposal are to: (1) engineer a novel    |                   |
| implantable image sensor/power receiver unit,    |                   |
| (2) develop technology for forming high density, |                   |
| hermetic see-through in a micro-channel glass    |                   |
| substrate, (3) develop biocompatible, hermetic   |                   |
| packaging of the camera and stimulator           |                   |
| electronics to enable long-term (10 years)       |                   |
| implantation in the eye, and (4) integration of  |                   |
| the camera/power unit and channel glass          |                   |
| electrode package with stimulator electronics    |                   |
| and verification of system operation. The        |                   |
| current prototype consists of an external camera |                   |
| to acquire an image and external electronics to  |                   |
| process the image and transmit the signal to an  |                   |
| implanted electronic chip on the retinal         |                   |
| surface. The implanted chip will electrically    |                   |
| stimulate the retina in a pattern appropriate    |                   |
| for the image.                                   |                   |
+--------------------------------------------------+-------------------+

B.1.b COV Questions related to PEOPLE Areas of Emphasis

For each relevant area shown below, determine whether the program's
investments and available results demonstrate the likelihood of strong
performance in the future? Justify your argument by providing
NSF-supported examples of investment results (with grant numbers) that
relate to or demonstrate outcomes for the PEOPLE goal and relevant
indicators. If the area of emphasis is not relevant to the activity, do
not discuss.

+------------------------------------------------+---------------------+
| **PEOPLE Areas of Emphasis**                   | **Demonstrates      |
|                                                | likelihood of       |
|                                                | strong performance  |
|                                                | in future?**        |
|                                                |                     |
|                                                | **(YES, NO, DOES    |
|                                                | NOT APPLY or DATA   |
|                                                | NOT AVAILABLE)**    |
+------------------------------------------------+---------------------+
| K-12 Education - President's Math and Science  | **YES**             |
| Partnership                                    |                     |
|                                                |                     |
| Comments: Math and Science Partnership (MSP)   |                     |
| program is a new NSF wide initiative (1st      |                     |
| solicitation due in April 2002) and is to      |                     |
| strengthen and reform pre-K-12 education       |                     |
| through support of partnerships that unite the |                     |
| efforts of local school districts with         |                     |
| science, mathematics, engineering and          |                     |
| education faculties of colleges and            |                     |
| universities. **BES is actively participating  |                     |
| in the program development through [Carol      |                     |
| Lucas]{.underline} (PD in BME/BES) who         |                     |
| represents the Engineering Directorate as a    |                     |
| coordinator of the program.**                  |                     |
+------------------------------------------------+---------------------+
| **Learning for the 21^st^ Century:**           | **YES**             |
|                                                |                     |
| -   Centers for Learning and Teaching (CLT)    | **DOES NOT APPLY**  |
|                                                |                     |
| **The                                          |                     |
| [Vanderbilt-Northwestern-Texas-Harvard/MIT     |                     |
| (VaNTH) Engineering Research Center (ERC) for  |                     |
| Bioengineering Educational                     |                     |
| Technologies]{.underline}** (Award;            |                     |
| EEC-9876363, also partial support from BES     |                     |
| 0132358). This ERC team of academic            |                     |
| researchers and industrial personnel focuses   |                     |
| on the most effective pedagogy and educational |                     |
| technology needed to advance education in the  |                     |
| field of bioengineering, and this ERC has      |                     |
| become a showcase paradigm for NSF CLT         |                     |
| program. It is anticipated that the research   |                     |
| program will advance: (1) asynchronous         |                     |
| learning networks (ALN) and functioning        |                     |
| technology for the delivery of                 |                     |
| learning/teaching materials through ALN, (2)   |                     |
| visualization, simulation, and web-based       |                     |
| teaching and lifelong learning as the major    |                     |
| educational technology tools in bioengineering |                     |
| education.                                     |                     |
|                                                |                     |
| -   NSF Graduate Teaching Fellows in K-12      |                     |
|     Education (GK-12)                          |                     |
|                                                |                     |
|     The program is managed by the Directorate  |                     |
|     for Education and Human Resources          |                     |
+------------------------------------------------+---------------------+

+------------------------------------------------+---------------------+
| **PEOPLE Areas of Emphasis**                   | **Demonstrates      |
|                                                | likelihood of       |
|                                                | strong performance  |
|                                                | in future?**        |
|                                                |                     |
|                                                | **(YES, NO, DOES    |
|                                                | NOT APPLY or DATA   |
|                                                | NOT AVAILABLE)**    |
+------------------------------------------------+---------------------+
| **Broadening Participation**                   | **YES**             |
|                                                |                     |
| -   Minority-Serving Institutions (MSI)        | **DOES NOT APPLY**  |
|     programs                                   |                     |
|                                                |                     |
| **BES has been actively participating in the   |                     |
| MSI programs**. An example:                    |                     |
|                                                |                     |
| **[Kimberly L. Jones]{.underline}** is an      |                     |
| Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil |                     |
| Engineering, Howard University, Washington, DC |                     |
| and the Deputy Director of the Nanotechnology  |                     |
| Center for Molecular Recognition at Howard     |                     |
| University. The center was recently            |                     |
| established with another research grant        |                     |
| received from Keck Foundation. She is using    |                     |
| the ion-implanted membranes developed as       |                     |
| molecular recognition sites through her        |                     |
| NSF-funded research (CAREER EPSCoR Award BES   |                     |
| 9734429). Her current research interests       |                     |
| include investigating novel methods for        |                     |
| optimizing membrane processes to be used in    |                     |
| water and wastewater treatment. The focus of   |                     |
| much of her work is on developing methods to   |                     |
| reduce membrane fouling and increase rejection |                     |
| of target contaminants. Specific membrane      |                     |
| processes that are being studied are           |                     |
| microfiltration, ultrafiltration,              |                     |
| nanofiltration and pervaporation.              |                     |
| kjones@scs.howard.edu;                         |                     |
| <http://www.imappl.org/~kjones>                |                     |
|                                                |                     |
| Graduate Student Stipends                      |                     |
|                                                |                     |
| -   Increasing stipends for GRF, IGERT, and    |                     |
|     GK-12                                      |                     |
|                                                |                     |
|     This program is managed by the Directorate |                     |
|     for Education and Human Resources (EHR).   |                     |
+------------------------------------------------+---------------------+

**B.2.a COV Questions for IDEAS Goal**

[NSF OUTCOME GOAL for IDEAS]{.underline}: Enabling "discovery across the
frontier of science and engineering, connected to learning, innovation,
and service to society."

Consider each of the six indicators for the IDEAS goal in the table
below. Has the activity supported projects that demonstrate significant
achievement for the IDEAS outcome goal indicators? Complete the table
below for each program reviewed. To support your results in the table,
provide NSF-supported examples for each of the relevant indicators that
apply to the activity and explain why they are important for the IDEAS
outcome. If projects do not demonstrate significant achievement, comment
on steps that the program should take to improve. Do not discuss if
indicator is not relevant to the activity.

+-------------------------------------------------+--------------------+
| **IDEAS INDICATORS**                            | **PROGRAM          |
|                                                 | ACHIEVEMENT**      |
|                                                 |                    |
|                                                 | **Select one:**    |
|                                                 |                    |
|                                                 | **SIGNIFICANT,**   |
|                                                 |                    |
|                                                 | **NOT              |
|                                                 | SIGNIFICANT,**     |
|                                                 |                    |
|                                                 | **DOES NOT APPLY   |
|                                                 | or**               |
|                                                 |                    |
|                                                 | **DATA NOT         |
|                                                 | AVAILABLE**        |
+-------------------------------------------------+--------------------+
| Discoveries that expand the frontiers of        | **SIGNIFICANT**    |
| science, engineering, or technology;            |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| Comments: Some of these examples could be used  |                    |
| in several sections of this question. Even      |                    |
| though an example project highlights a specific |                    |
| attribute for part of the question, this        |                    |
| categorization is not a singular                |                    |
| characterization. It is also representative of  |                    |
| a broader area.                                 |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| **[Bernhard Palsson]{.underline}** 98-14092 In  |                    |
| Silico Analysis of the Escherichia coli         |                    |
| Metabolic Genotype and the Construction of      |                    |
| Selected Isogenic Strains                       |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| Palsson (Depart. of Chemical Engineering, Univ. |                    |
| of CA, SanDiego) has developed mathematical     |                    |
| algorithms and computational methods which, in  |                    |
| conjunction with metabolic flux information,    |                    |
| can be used to predict rates of biochemical     |                    |
| reactions to maximize cellular functions.       |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| Source: Annual report FY 2001 BE                |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| **[Cato Laurencin]{.underline}** 0115404        |                    |
| Bioreactor-based Bone Tissue Engineering        |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| Laurencin (Depart. of Chemical Engineering,     |                    |
| Drexel University) has conducted research       |                    |
| involving the synthesis, characterization,      |                    |
| design, fabrication, and in vitro/in vivo       |                    |
| testing of novel degradable polymers for        |                    |
| biomedical applications. Among first to study   |                    |
| the development of tissue engineered matrices   |                    |
| for bone.                                       |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| Source: Jacket BM                               |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| **[James Fujimoto]{.underline}** 0119452        |                    |
| Biophotonics: Compact and Low Cost Ultrashort   |                    |
| Pulse Laser Sources for Biomedical Imaging      |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| Fujimoto (Research Laboratory of Electronics,   |                    |
| MIT). The development of a third generation of  |                    |
| ultrashort pulse laser technology having        |                    |
| shorter pulses, broader bandwidths and broader  |                    |
| tunability is enabling a wide range of          |                    |
| applications in biomedical imaging as well as   |                    |
| ultrafast measurement.                          |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| Source: Jacket BM                               |                    |
+-------------------------------------------------+--------------------+

+-------------------------------------------------+--------------------+
| **IDEAS INDICATORS**                            | **PROGRAM          |
|                                                 | ACHIEVEMENT**      |
|                                                 |                    |
|                                                 | **Select one:**    |
|                                                 |                    |
|                                                 | **SIGNIFICANT,**   |
|                                                 |                    |
|                                                 | **NOT              |
|                                                 | SIGNIFICANT,**     |
|                                                 |                    |
|                                                 | **DOES NOT APPLY   |
|                                                 | or**               |
|                                                 |                    |
|                                                 | **DATA NOT         |
|                                                 | AVAILABLE**        |
+-------------------------------------------------+--------------------+
| Discoveries that contribute to the fundamental  | **SIGNIFICANT**    |
| knowledge base;                                 |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| Comments:                                       |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| **The following two projects demonstrate        |                    |
| significant contributions to the fundamental    |                    |
| knowledge base.**                               |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| **[Chaitan Khosla]{.underline}** 9417419        |                    |
| (Waterman prize), 9910949 Engineered            |                    |
| Biosynthesis of Novel Aromatic Polyketides      |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| Khosla (Depart. of Chemical Engineering,        |                    |
| Stanford University). Directed microbial        |                    |
| biosynthesis of polyketide antibiotics is being |                    |
| developed using gene regulation coupled with    |                    |
| biosynthetic knowledge of the producing         |                    |
| microorganism. Receipt of the Waterman prize    |                    |
| was based on work funded in this arena.         |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| Source: Annual report 2001 BE                   |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| **[Leonard Lion]{.underline}** 9706715          |                    |
| Biological Interactions with Iron Oxides and    |                    |
| Consequences for Toxic Metal Adsorption         |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| Lion (Civil and Environmental Engineering,      |                    |
| Cornell University). The combined results of    |                    |
| these studies provide an improved understanding |                    |
| of the nature of trace metal adsorption by Fe   |                    |
| oxides and the relative role of Fe oxides in    |                    |
| controlling trace metal adsorption to natural   |                    |
| biofilms.                                       |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| Source: Jacket EE                               |                    |
+-------------------------------------------------+--------------------+

+-------------------------------------------------+--------------------+
| **IDEAS INDICATORS**                            | **PROGRAM          |
|                                                 | ACHIEVEMENT**      |
|                                                 |                    |
|                                                 | **Select one:**    |
|                                                 |                    |
|                                                 | **SIGNIFICANT,**   |
|                                                 |                    |
|                                                 | **NOT              |
|                                                 | SIGNIFICANT,**     |
|                                                 |                    |
|                                                 | **DOES NOT APPLY   |
|                                                 | or**               |
|                                                 |                    |
|                                                 | **DATA NOT         |
|                                                 | AVAILABLE**        |
+-------------------------------------------------+--------------------+
| Leadership in fostering newly developing or     | **SIGNIFICANT**    |
| emerging areas;                                 |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| Comments:                                       |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| **The following three projects represent some   |                    |
| of the exciting areas emerging in the BES       |                    |
| Division that additionally hold important       |                    |
| potential for significantly moving the          |                    |
| disciplines ahead in research needs.**          |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| **[Bruce Logan]{.underline}** 9842015           |                    |
| Biodegradation of Subsurface Pollutants by      |                    |
| Chlorate-Respiring Microorganisms               |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| Logan (Depart. of Civil and Environmental       |                    |
| Engineering, Penn State University). Prospects  |                    |
| for remediating widespread                      |                    |
| perchlorate-contaminated water are promising    |                    |
| because of fixed bed reactor technologies using |                    |
| perchlorate-respiring microorganisms which use  |                    |
| perchlorate as a terminal electron acceptor (US |                    |
| Patent No. 6214607). Logan was funded by a      |                    |
| small NSF investment grant and has since been   |                    |
| funded by other agencies. Logan's research was  |                    |
| featured on the front cover of EST in December, |                    |
| 2001.                                           |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| Source: Jacket EE                               |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| **[Mark Humayan]{.underline}** 0086832          |                    |
| Biophotonics: Biocompatible Technology for a    |                    |
| High Density High Resolution Retinal Stimulator |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| Humayan (Depart. of Ophthamology, Johns         |                    |
| Hopkins). Bypassing the damaged retina with an  |                    |
| artificial retina is the goal of Humayan's work |                    |
| at Johns Hopkins Wilmer Eye Institute. Efforts  |                    |
| to miniaturize the retinal chip for improved    |                    |
| resolution and finding the best way to attach   |                    |
| the chip are underway.                          |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| Source: Jacket BM                               |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| **[Michael Shuler]{.underline}** (0109936)      |                    |
| Overcoming Barriers to Plant Protein Production |                    |
| in Plant Cell Culture                           |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| Shuler (Dept. of Chemical and Biomolecular      |                    |
| Engineering, Cornell University) has done       |                    |
| research initially supported by BES in plant    |                    |
| cell culture. He has recently studied the       |                    |
| biosynthesis of taxol and has proposed a taxol  |                    |
| precursor produced in plant cell culture for    |                    |
| commercialization of taxol. He is also actively |                    |
| engaged in insect cell culture and the          |                    |
| baculovirus expression system for the           |                    |
| production of glycosylated proteins. Shuler was |                    |
| funded earlier by NSF on cell culturing         |                    |
| techniques.                                     |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| Source: Jacket BE                               |                    |
+-------------------------------------------------+--------------------+

+-------------------------------------------------+--------------------+
| **IDEAS INDICATORS**                            | **PROGRAM          |
|                                                 | ACHIEVEMENT**      |
|                                                 |                    |
|                                                 | **Select one:**    |
|                                                 |                    |
|                                                 | **SIGNIFICANT,**   |
|                                                 |                    |
|                                                 | **NOT              |
|                                                 | SIGNIFICANT,**     |
|                                                 |                    |
|                                                 | **DOES NOT APPLY   |
|                                                 | or**               |
|                                                 |                    |
|                                                 | **DATA NOT         |
|                                                 | AVAILABLE**        |
+-------------------------------------------------+--------------------+
| Connections between discoveries and their use   | **SIGNIFICANT**    |
| in service to society;                          |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| Comments:                                       |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| **BES encompasses great diversity in the        |                    |
| research being sponsored. The following three   |                    |
| projects provide evidence of this diversity and |                    |
| are projects that easily demonstrate that       |                    |
| society is being served by addressing important |                    |
| problems affecting peoples' lives.**            |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| **[David Sedlak]{.underline}** 9734130 The Fate |                    |
| of Hormones in the Aquatic Environment          |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| Sedlak (Depart. of Civil and Environmental      |                    |
| Engineering, Univ. of Calif., Berkeley).        |                    |
| Removal of microcontaminants from water occurs  |                    |
| primarily by microbiological biotransformation. |                    |
| However, kinetic limitations can occur at the   |                    |
| low microcontaminant concentrations found in    |                    |
| recycled water. The combination of low affinity |                    |
| for surfaces and low concentration makes        |                    |
| biotransformation difficult. This research was  |                    |
| featured on the front cover of the December     |                    |
| 2000 issue of ES&T. The future in water quality |                    |
| is predicted to be addressing long term effects |                    |
| of exposure to currently uncharacterized        |                    |
| compounds as have been identified by Sedlak's   |                    |
| work.                                           |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| Source: Jacket EE                               |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| **[Thomas Graedel]{.underline}** 9818788 Should |                    |
| We Mine the Landfills: an Industrial Stocks and |                    |
| Flows Proposal                                  |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| Graedel (School of Forestry and Environmental   |                    |
| Studies, Yale University). Promotion of         |                    |
| environmentally oriented corporate behavior is  |                    |
| a goal of the discipline of industrial ecology  |                    |
| for which Graedel is credited. Pollution        |                    |
| prevention, minimization of energy use,         |                    |
| increased modularity, and packaging redesign    |                    |
| are some of the directions. This work was       |                    |
| published in ES&T Jan 2000.                     |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| Source: Jacket EE                               |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| **[Robert Langer]{.underline}** 9904378 (Draper |                    |
| award) Utility of Patterned Electrical          |                    |
| Stimulation for Controlling Cell Behavior       |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| Langer (Dept. of Chemical Engineering, MIT) has |                    |
| been supported by BES from his early studies    |                    |
| that spawned an entire field of study using     |                    |
| copolymers for the growth of tissue. The        |                    |
| technology has been licensed to industry that   |                    |
| has used it to cultivate human skin to repair   |                    |
| diabetic ulcerations. Another area of Langer's  |                    |
| research is in the use of copolymers in drug    |                    |
| delivery. His most recent award supports        |                    |
| studies in electrical control of mammalian cell |                    |
| behavior.                                       |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| Source: Jacket BE                               |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| Langer has more than a 10-year profile with NSF |                    |
| funding. His past work and discoveries have     |                    |
| matured to the point that their use in society  |                    |
| can be well demonstrated. The current project   |                    |
| represents a new endeavor. Although a           |                    |
| potentially high-risk project, this PIs track   |                    |
| record is a good indicator of his potential in  |                    |
| this endeavor.                                  |                    |
+-------------------------------------------------+--------------------+

+-------------------------------------------------+--------------------+
| **IDEAS INDICATORS**                            | **PROGRAM          |
|                                                 | ACHIEVEMENT**      |
|                                                 |                    |
|                                                 | **Select one:**    |
|                                                 |                    |
|                                                 | **SIGNIFICANT,**   |
|                                                 |                    |
|                                                 | **NOT              |
|                                                 | SIGNIFICANT,**     |
|                                                 |                    |
|                                                 | **DOES NOT APPLY   |
|                                                 | or**               |
|                                                 |                    |
|                                                 | **DATA NOT         |
|                                                 | AVAILABLE**        |
+-------------------------------------------------+--------------------+
| Connections between discovery and learning or   | **SIGNIFICANT**    |
| innovation;                                     |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| Comments:                                       |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| **The requirement for PIs to address both       |                    |
| Criterion I and Criterion II encourages a link  |                    |
| between discovery and learning or innovation.   |                    |
| The following projects being funded by BES      |                    |
| highlight a range of projects addressing the    |                    |
| connections between discovery and learning or   |                    |
| innovation.** These projects include studies on |                    |
| the phytoremediation of As contaminated soils,  |                    |
| the use of miniature microscope to detect       |                    |
| cancer, and the study of extremophiles in the   |                    |
| deep sea that also supports a novel educational |                    |
| initiative.                                     |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| **[Lena Ma]{.underline}** 0132089 EE and        |                    |
| **[Jean-Francois Gaillard]{.underline}**        |                    |
| 0132114 Collaborative Research: Understanding   |                    |
| and Enhancement of Arsenic Hyperaccumulation by |                    |
| a Fern Plant                                    |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| Ma (Depart. of Soil and Water Science, Univ. of |                    |
| Florida)                                        |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| Gaillard (Depart. of Civil Engineering,         |                    |
| Northwestern Univ.)                             |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| Ma and Gaillard have discovered that the brake  |                    |
| fern is extremely efficient in extracting       |                    |
| arsenic from soils and accumulating it in plant |                    |
| tissue. The lowering of the EPA standard for    |                    |
| arsenic to 10ppm makes this work highly         |                    |
| relevant. This research links discovery with    |                    |
| learning or innovation because it is explaining |                    |
| mechanisms as opposed to the try and see        |                    |
| approach in the past. A technical brief         |                    |
| appeared in Nature, Feb. 2001.                  |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| **[Michael Descour]{.underline}** 0086736       |                    |
| Multimodal Miniature Microscope for Detection   |                    |
| of Pre-cancer                                   |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| Descour (Optical Sciences Center, Univ. of      |                    |
| Arizona) Biophotonic advances in ultra-compact  |                    |
| microscopes developed by Descour together with  |                    |
| the use of contrast agents demonstrate the      |                    |
| clear distinction between benign and early      |                    |
| cancerous lesions. This research is very        |                    |
| innovative and has great potential for impact   |                    |
| on society.                                     |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| Source: COV report 1999 BM                      |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| **[Robert Kelly]{.underline}** 9942332          |                    |
| Biological and Chemical Energetics of Deep Sea  |                    |
| Subsurface Life: Evolutionary and Exobiological |                    |
| Implications                                    |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| Kelly (Depart. of Chemical Engineering, North   |                    |
| Carolina State) has been doing research on      |                    |
| extremophiles with support from BES for several |                    |
| years studying catalysis at elevated            |                    |
| temperatures for commercially important         |                    |
| reactions. One of the highlights of this        |                    |
| program is how they are incorporating           |                    |
| undergraduate research projects into their      |                    |
| program. With their collaborators at NC State,  |                    |
| U of GA, U of Wash-Seattle, they host an annual |                    |
| meeting of undergraduate students featuring     |                    |
| their research experiences in the past year.    |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| Source: Jacket BE                               |                    |
+-------------------------------------------------+--------------------+

+-------------------------------------------------+--------------------+
| **IDEAS INDICATORS**                            | **PROGRAM          |
|                                                 | ACHIEVEMENT**      |
|                                                 |                    |
|                                                 | **Select one:**    |
|                                                 |                    |
|                                                 | **SIGNIFICANT,**   |
|                                                 |                    |
|                                                 | **NOT              |
|                                                 | SIGNIFICANT,**     |
|                                                 |                    |
|                                                 | **DOES NOT APPLY   |
|                                                 | or**               |
|                                                 |                    |
|                                                 | **DATA NOT         |
|                                                 | AVAILABLE**        |
+-------------------------------------------------+--------------------+
| Partnerships that enable the flow of ideas      | **SIGNIFICANT**    |
| among the academic, public or private sectors.  |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| Comments:                                       |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| **To illustrate the flow of ideas, the          |                    |
| following project demonstrates linkages between |                    |
| academics, public, and private sectors in their |                    |
| work on biosensors.**                           |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| **[Frances Arnold]{.underline}** 9981770 Tools  |                    |
| for Directed Evolution of Oxygenases: High      |                    |
| Throughput Screening of Epoxidation and         |                    |
| Hydroxylase Catalysis                           |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| Arnold (Chemical Engineering, Cal Tech) has     |                    |
| received a number of awards from BES supporting |                    |
| her work at the life science/engineering        |                    |
| interface. Her work in biopolymer/ligand        |                    |
| interaction has led to the development of novel |                    |
| selective biosensors for medical applications.  |                    |
| Her work in biocatalysis is recognized as       |                    |
| likely to revolutionize the use of enzymes in   |                    |
| large-scale production of specialty chemicals   |                    |
| within the decade.                              |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| Source: COV report 1999 BE                      |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| Partnerships:                                   |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| BES has formed partnerships through the         |                    |
| following programs and outside agencies.        |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| ## Program Agencies                             |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| Metabolic Engineering Working Group MEWG        |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| Biophotonic partnership NIH and DARPA           |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| # Multi-Agency Tissue Engineering Science MATES |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| Joint NSF/EPA TSE solicitation                  |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| Phytoremediation                                |                    |
+-------------------------------------------------+--------------------+

B.2.b COV Questions related to IDEAS Areas of Emphasis

For each relevant area shown below, determine whether the program's
investments and available results demonstrate the likelihood of strong
performance in the future? Justify your argument by providing
NSF-supported examples of investment results (with grant numbers) that
relate to or demonstrate outcomes for the IDEA goal and relevant
indicators in the space below the area of emphasis. If the area of
emphasis is not relevant to the activity, do not discuss.

+------------------------------------------------+---------------------+
| **IDEAS Areas of Emphasis**                    | **Demonstrates      |
|                                                | likelihood of       |
|                                                | strong performance  |
|                                                | in future?**        |
|                                                |                     |
|                                                | **Select one:**     |
|                                                |                     |
|                                                | **YES, NO, DOES NOT |
|                                                | APPLY or DATA NOT   |
|                                                | AVAILABLE**         |
+------------------------------------------------+---------------------+
| Biocomplexity in the Environment               | **YES**             |
|                                                |                     |
| Comments: **The BES currently supports three   |                     |
| projects involving biocomplexity - an          |                     |
| incubation project that began in the fall of   |                     |
| 2000 and two large-scale environmental         |                     |
| research projects.** One example of an award   |                     |
| that indicates the potential for strong        |                     |
| performance in biocomplexity in the future is: |                     |
|                                                |                     |
| PI Names: **[Gail Tonnesen]{.underline}**,     |                     |
| **[James Lents]{.underline}**, **[William      |                     |
| Jury]{.underline}**, and                       |                     |
|                                                |                     |
| **[Michael Allen]{.underline}**                |                     |
|                                                |                     |
| Award No: BES 0083383                          |                     |
|                                                |                     |
| PI Institutions: University of California --   |                     |
| Riverside                                      |                     |
|                                                |                     |
| Performance Goal: Significant                  |                     |
|                                                |                     |
| Relevant Area of Emphasis: Biocomplexity in    |                     |
| the Environment                                |                     |
|                                                |                     |
| Source of Report: Abstract and first year      |                     |
| progress report                                |                     |
+------------------------------------------------+---------------------+
| Information Technology Research                | **YES**             |
|                                                |                     |
| Comments: **Although a relatively new          |                     |
| initiative for the BES (2002 funding of \$500k |                     |
| for 12 proposals being reviewed), the          |                     |
| initiative and response indicate the potential |                     |
| for strong future performance in this          |                     |
| important area -- application of IT principles |                     |
| to bioengineering and environmental            |                     |
| research.** An example of a potentially        |                     |
| significant project to be funded that will     |                     |
| demonstrate strong future impact by the BES    |                     |
| includes:                                      |                     |
|                                                |                     |
| PI Name: **[Zhongfei Zhang]{.underline}**      |                     |
|                                                |                     |
| Application No: 0219166                        |                     |
|                                                |                     |
| PI Institution: SUNY at Binghampton            |                     |
|                                                |                     |
| Performance Goal: Significant                  |                     |
|                                                |                     |
| Relevant Area of Emphasis: Multi-modal Medical |                     |
| Imaging                                        |                     |
|                                                |                     |
| Source of Report: Abstract                     |                     |
+------------------------------------------------+---------------------+

+------------------------------------------------+---------------------+
| **IDEAS Areas of Emphasis**                    | **Demonstrates      |
|                                                | likelihood of       |
|                                                | strong performance  |
|                                                | in future?**        |
|                                                |                     |
|                                                | **Select one:**     |
|                                                |                     |
|                                                | **YES, NO, DOES NOT |
|                                                | APPLY or DATA NOT   |
|                                                | AVAILABLE**         |
+------------------------------------------------+---------------------+
| Nanoscale Science and Engineering              | **YES**             |
|                                                |                     |
| Comments: **The BES has been actively involved |                     |
| in three areas -- nanoscale biosystems,        |                     |
| nanoscale exploratory research,and nanoscale   |                     |
| interdisciplinary research teams. Based on     |                     |
| recent performance (23 total grants in         |                     |
| 2000-2001), the BES can have a strong future   |                     |
| impact in this area.** One example of a        |                     |
| significant nanoscale effort being supported   |                     |
| by the BES is:                                 |                     |
|                                                |                     |
| PI Name: **[Vincent Pizziconi]{.underline}**   |                     |
|                                                |                     |
| Award No: BES9986614                           |                     |
|                                                |                     |
| PI Institution: Arizona State University       |                     |
|                                                |                     |
| Performance Goal: Significant                  |                     |
|                                                |                     |
| Relevant Area of Emphasis: Nanoscale Optical   |                     |
| Biomedical                                     |                     |
|                                                |                     |
| Detection Systems                              |                     |
|                                                |                     |
| Source of Report: Abstract                     |                     |
+------------------------------------------------+---------------------+
| Interdisciplinary Mathematics                  | **YES**             |
|                                                |                     |
| Comments: Although there is no basis to        |                     |
| project future BES performance in this area    |                     |
| based on past activities, some of the          |                     |
| **proposals received in response to the        |                     |
| Information Technology Research initiative     |                     |
| encompass inter-disciplinary mathematics and   |                     |
| indicate the potential for strong future       |                     |
| impact by the BES.** One example of such a     |                     |
| proposal is:                                   |                     |
|                                                |                     |
| PI Name: **[Jeffrey Derby]{.underline}**       |                     |
|                                                |                     |
| Application Number: BES0219115                 |                     |
|                                                |                     |
| PI Institution: University of Minnesota        |                     |
|                                                |                     |
| Performance Goal: Significant                  |                     |
|                                                |                     |
| Relevant Area of Emphasis: Numerical           |                     |
| Simulation of Cell                             |                     |
|                                                |                     |
| Growth                                         |                     |
|                                                |                     |
| Source of Report: Abstract                     |                     |
+------------------------------------------------+---------------------+

**B.3.a COV Questions for TOOLS Goal**

[OUTCOME GOAL for TOOLS:]{.underline} Providing "broadly accessible,
state-of-the-art and shared research and education tools."

Consider each of the six indicators for the TOOLS goal. Has the activity
supported projects that demonstrate significant achievement for the
TOOLS outcome goal indicators? Provide NSF-supported examples for each
of the relevant indicators that apply to the activity and explain why
they are important for the TOOLS outcome. If projects do not demonstrate
significant achievement, comment on steps that the program should take
to improve. Do not discuss if indicator is not relevant to the activity.

+------------------------------------------------+---------------------+
| **TOOLS INDICATORS**                           | **PROGRAM           |
|                                                | ACHIEVEMENT**       |
|                                                |                     |
|                                                | **Select one:**     |
|                                                |                     |
|                                                | **SIGNIFICANT,**    |
|                                                |                     |
|                                                | **NOT               |
|                                                | SIGNIFICANT,**      |
|                                                |                     |
|                                                | **DOES NOT APPLY    |
|                                                | or**                |
|                                                |                     |
|                                                | **DATA NOT          |
|                                                | AVAILABLE**         |
+------------------------------------------------+---------------------+
| Provision of facilities, databases or other    | #### SIGNIFICANT    |
| infrastructure that enable discoveries or      |                     |
| enhance productivity by NSF research or        |                     |
| education communities;                         |                     |
|                                                |                     |
| Comments: **The BES division is one of the     |                     |
| smallest in the NSF. Its activities have       |                     |
| resulted in infrastructure that has            |                     |
| contributed significantly to BME education**.  |                     |
| An example is the VaNTH ERC jointly operated   |                     |
| by Vanderbilt, Northwestern, UT Austin, and    |                     |
| MIT. This project aims to develop the          |                     |
| educational resources to prepare for the       |                     |
| future of Bioengineering.                      |                     |
|                                                |                     |
| PI Names: **[T. Harris]{.underline}**; **[R.   |                     |
| Linsenmeler]{.underline}**; **[K.              |                     |
| Diller]{.underline}**; **[M.                   |                     |
| Gray]{.underline}**                            |                     |
|                                                |                     |
| NSF Award #: EEC-986363                        |                     |
|                                                |                     |
| PI Institutions: Vanderbilt; Northwestern; UT  |                     |
| Austin; MIT/Harvard                            |                     |
|                                                |                     |
| Relevant Performance Goal/Indicator:           |                     |
| Databases; facilities                          |                     |
|                                                |                     |
| (software)                                     |                     |
|                                                |                     |
| Source: ERC annual report                      |                     |
+------------------------------------------------+---------------------+

+-------------------------------------------------+--------------------+
| **TOOLS INDICATORS**                            | **PROGRAM          |
|                                                 | ACHIEVEMENT**      |
|                                                 |                    |
|                                                 | **Select one:**    |
|                                                 |                    |
|                                                 | **SIGNIFICANT,**   |
|                                                 |                    |
|                                                 | **NOT              |
|                                                 | SIGNIFICANT,**     |
|                                                 |                    |
|                                                 | **DOES NOT APPLY   |
|                                                 | or**               |
|                                                 |                    |
|                                                 | **DATA NOT         |
|                                                 | AVAILABLE**        |
+-------------------------------------------------+--------------------+
| Provision of broadly accessible facilities,     | **SIGNIFICANT**    |
| databases or other infrastructure that are      |                    |
| widely shared by NSF research or education      |                    |
| communities;                                    |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| Comments: **An example of a database that has   |                    |
| been widely accessible regionally is the        |                    |
| Metabolic Engineering Project Inventory. This   |                    |
| is an interagency initiative involving eight    |                    |
| agencies (DOA, DOD, DOE, EPA, NASA, NIH, NIST,  |                    |
| and NSF) and serves as inventory of the efforts |                    |
| of those agencies.** It is available to all     |                    |
| researchers and is accessible through the URL   |                    |
| <ht                                             |                    |
| tp://www.epa.gov/opptintr/metabolic/index.htm>. |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| DATABASE Metabolic Engineering Project          |                    |
| Inventory                                       |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| PI Names: **[L. S. Lin]{.underline}**; **[H.    |                    |
| Bright]{.underline}**; **[V.                    |                    |
| Sariski-Reed]{.underline}**; **[M.              |                    |
| Broder]{.underline}**; **[S.]{.underline}**     |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| **[Davison]{.underline}**; **[W.                |                    |
| Jones]{.underline}**; **[V.                     |                    |
| Vilker]{.underline}**; **[F.                    |                    |
| Heineken]{.underline}**                         |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| NSF Award Number: See URL.                      |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| PI Institutions: DOA; DOD; DOE; EPA; NASA; NIH; |                    |
| NIST; NSF                                       |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| Relevant Performance Goal/Indicator: Project    |                    |
| Inventory Databases                             |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| Source: MEWG WEB site (EPA)                     |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| <h                                              |                    |
| ttp://www.epa.gov/opptintr/metabolic/index.htm> |                    |
+-------------------------------------------------+--------------------+
| Partnerships, e.g., with other federal          | **DOES NOT APPLY** |
| agencies, national laboratories, or other       |                    |
| nations to support and enable development of    |                    |
| large facilities and infrastructure projects;   |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| Comments: **BES is not currently involved in    |                    |
| large facilities**. However, with initiatives   |                    |
| such as **CLEANER**, which is already in the    |                    |
| planning stage, the Division should participate |                    |
| in large infrastructures in the future.         |                    |
+-------------------------------------------------+--------------------+
| Use of the Internet to make SMET information    | **SIGNIFICANT**    |
| available to the NSF research or education      |                    |
| communities;                                    |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| Comments: Undergraduate Design Projects Annual  |                    |
| Review is a good example of using the internet  |                    |
| to make SMET information available to the       |                    |
| community. This database serves as a "handbook" |                    |
| for future design projects.                     |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| The report for years 1989-2000 is on the WEB at |                    |
| <http://nsf-pad.bme.uconn.edu/>.                |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| PI Names: **[J. Enderle]{.underline}**; **[B.   |                    |
| Hallowell]{.underline}**                        |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| NSF Award #: BES 9813338                        |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| PI Institutions: Uconn.; Ohio Univ.             |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| Relevant Performance Goal/Indicator: Research   |                    |
| and education                                   |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| communities                                     |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| Source: Award jacket; WEB page at               |                    |
| <http://nsf-pad.bme.uconn.edu/>                 |                    |
+-------------------------------------------------+--------------------+

+-------------------------------------------------+--------------------+
| **TOOLS INDICATORS**                            | **PROGRAM          |
|                                                 | ACHIEVEMENT**      |
|                                                 |                    |
|                                                 | **Select one:**    |
|                                                 |                    |
|                                                 | **SIGNIFICANT,**   |
|                                                 |                    |
|                                                 | **NOT              |
|                                                 | SIGNIFICANT,**     |
|                                                 |                    |
|                                                 | **DOES NOT APPLY   |
|                                                 | or**               |
|                                                 |                    |
|                                                 | **DATA NOT         |
|                                                 | AVAILABLE**        |
+-------------------------------------------------+--------------------+
| Development, management, or utilization of very | **DOES NOT APPLY** |
| large data sets and information-bases;          |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| Comments: Large databases such as the human     |                    |
| Genome project are **outside the funding        |                    |
| capability of the relatively small Division**.  |                    |
+-------------------------------------------------+--------------------+
| Development of information and policy analyses  | #### SIGNIFICANT   |
| that contribute to the effective use of science |                    |
| and engineering resources.                      |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| Comments: **The BES division has contributed    |                    |
| quantitatively and significantly to information |                    |
| and policy analyses in science and              |                    |
| engineering.** Examples include:                |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| -   WTEC panel report on Environmentally Benign |                    |
|     Manufacturing, April 2001                   |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| -   Workshop Report on Technical Requirements   |                    |
|     for Image-Guided Spine Surgery, April 1999. |                    |
|     URL:                                        |                    |
|     <http://www.imac.georgetown.edu/frame.htm>. |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| -   Workshop Report on Home Care Technologies   |                    |
|     for the 21^st^ Century, April 1999.         |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| -   Workshop report on Quantitative Systems     |                    |
|     Biotechnology, September 2000. URL:         |                    |
|     <http://www.wtec.org/qsb/>.                 |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| PI Names: **[R. D. Shelton]{.underline}**       |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| NSF Award #s: [ENG-9707092]{.underline}         |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| PI Institutions: International Technology       |                    |
| Research Institute                              |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| Relevant Performance Goal/Indicator:            |                    |
| Information and policy analysis                 |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| PI Names: **[Seong Ki]{.underline}**, Mun       |                    |
| (workshop chair K. Cleary)                      |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| [BES-9804700]{.underline} (with support from    |                    |
| NIH, TATRC (U.S. Army), Whitaker Foundation,    |                    |
| and Picker International)                       |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| PI Institutions: Georgetown University          |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| Relevant Performance Goal/Indicator:            |                    |
| Information and policy analysis                 |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| PI Names: J**[. Winters]{.underline}**; **[B.   |                    |
| Herman]{.underline}**                           |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| [BES-9816735]{.underline} (also supported by    |                    |
| FDA and Whitaker Foundation)                    |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| PI Institutions: CUA; CDRH/FDA                  |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| Relevant Performance Goal/Indicator:            |                    |
| Information and policy analysis.                |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| Source: Workshop report.                        |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| PI Names: **[R. D. Sheldon]{.underline}**       |                    |
| (workshop chair M. D. Shuler)                   |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| [BES-0004066]{.underline}                       |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| PI Institution: World Technology Evaluation     |                    |
| Center, Inc.                                    |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| Relevant Performance Goal/Indicator:            |                    |
| Information and policy analysis                 |                    |
|                                                 |                    |
| Source: Workshop report.                        |                    |
+-------------------------------------------------+--------------------+

B.3.b COV Questions related to TOOLS Areas of Emphasis

For each relevant area shown below, determine whether the program's
investments and available results demonstrate the likelihood of strong
performance in the future? Justify your argument by providing
NSF-supported examples of investment results (with grant numbers) that
relate to or demonstrate outcomes for the TOOLS goal and relevant
indicators in the space below the area of emphasis. If the area of
emphasis is not relevant to the activity, do not discuss.

+----------------------------------------------------+-----------------+
| **TOOLS Areas of INVESTMENTS**                     | **Demonstrates  |
|                                                    | likelihood of   |
|                                                    | strong          |
|                                                    | performance in  |
|                                                    | future?**       |
|                                                    |                 |
|                                                    | **Select one:** |
|                                                    |                 |
|                                                    | **YES, NO, DOES |
|                                                    | NOT APPLY or    |
|                                                    | DATA NOT        |
|                                                    | AVAILABLE**     |
+----------------------------------------------------+-----------------+
| Major Research Equipment (MRE)                     | **DOES NOT      |
|                                                    | APPLY**         |
| Comments: **BES has not invested in MRE's during   |                 |
| this period**.                                     |                 |
+----------------------------------------------------+-----------------+
| Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) Program       | **YES**         |
|                                                    |                 |
| Comments: **The MRI program invests in significant |                 |
| research instrumentation to augment or develop     |                 |
| community facilities for research and education.** |                 |
| The facilities may be broadly accessible to        |                 |
| investigators across the institution, region,      |                 |
| and/or nation (**BES0079483, BES9977488)**.        |                 |
| Facilities are used for research and education on  |                 |
| the undergraduate, graduate and post-doctoral      |                 |
| levels, and also novel outreach to the general     |                 |
| public (**BES0079483)**. The "Tool" indicator to   |                 |
| develop partnerships to support large facilities   |                 |
| is not applicable to the MRI program in BES.       |                 |
| Facility and educational information is available  |                 |
| on the internet (e.g.                              |                 |
| www.seas.upenn.edu/be/labs/confocal/ from          |                 |
| **BES9977488**) to enhance dissemination of        |                 |
| information and outreach.                          |                 |
+----------------------------------------------------+-----------------+
| Science & Engineering information, reports, and    | **DOES NOT      |
| databases                                          | APPLY**         |
|                                                    |                 |
| Comments: **BES has not invested in this area      |                 |
| during this period. Currently these tools are      |                 |
| provided by Science Resources Statistics (SRS).**  |                 |
+----------------------------------------------------+-----------------+
| Scientific databases and tools for using them      | **DOES NOT      |
|                                                    | APPLY**         |
| Comments: **BES has not invested in this area      |                 |
| during this period because they do not support     |                 |
| creation or use of massive databases, such as      |                 |
| GENBANK.**                                         |                 |
+----------------------------------------------------+-----------------+
| National SMETE Digital Library                     | **DOES NOT      |
|                                                    | APPLY**         |
| Comments: **BES is not involved in the science,    |                 |
| math, engineering, and technology digital          |                 |
| library**.                                         |                 |
+----------------------------------------------------+-----------------+

B.4 Please comment on any program areas in need of improvement.

The Bioengineering and Environmental Systems Division has continuously
sought to improve its programs and processes over the past three years.
The Division is viewed as having been diligent and, for the most part,
successful in this undertaking. One area does need improvement, however,
and that is in connection with the NSF merit review criteria,
particularly the one that deals with [broader impacts]{.underline}. The
files that the COV examined revealed that the Program Directors in their
*review analyses* commented on aspects of the [broader
impacts]{.underline} criterion in 52 of the 100 files examined. On the
other hand, Program Directors in their *review analyses* commented on
aspects of the i[ntellectual merit]{.underline} criterion in 73 of the
100 files examined. The Committee believes that these two criteria
should be given equal importance in the review analyses.

The success that the Division has enjoyed in improving itself has been
strongly influenced by two factors: the leadership provided by the
Division Director and the creativity of the Division's Program Directors
in conceiving new programs; and, the notion of leveraging Division funds
through interagency partnerships on program or proposal solicitations.
Important examples of the creativity of the Program Directors may be
found in each of the cluster areas. These include Quantitative Systems
Biotechnology, New Technologies for the Environment, and Biophotonics.
Examples of the success of leveraging through interagency partnerships
include Technology for a Sustainable Environment with EPA and
Opportunities in Metabolic Engineering with NIH.

The Division is encouraged, however, to be ever vigilant in seeking ways
to further improve its programs in the future. One such way is to work
in partnership with other Directorates across the Agency. In this
connection, the Committee notes that the Division has already initiated
some partnerships, and is participating in others. This effort should be
extended to include emerging areas such as Quantitative Systems
Biotechnology with participation by the Directorate for Biological
Sciences and the Directorate for Computer and Information Science and
Engineering. These partnerships could be an important factor in meeting
the challenge of developing knowledge at and across the frontiers of
science.

B.5 Provide comments as appropriate on the program's performance in
meeting program-specific goals and objectives, which are not covered by
the above questions.

The Committee determined that the programs in the Division were meeting
stated goals and objectives, and doing it well. This is particularly
noteworthy in view of the wide range of programs in the BES portfolio,
constrained resources at the Agency level, and the fact that the
Division receives less than 1 per cent of the NSF budget.

BES devotes a significant portion of its budget to CAREER awards, a
program where BES has done an especially good job and which, by all
accounts, has been enormously successful. The COV identified two aspects
of the program, though, where some improvement could be effected. NSF
should provide some explicit guidance regarding the expectations for the
education component in the CAREER competition. Furthermore, the
prevailing thinking of the COV is that women and minorities are expected
to place a disproportionate emphasis on education and outreach
components in order to be competitive in their careers. A mentoring or
peer advising program for CAREER awardees should be established to help
guide these early career investigators.

The COV believes that a critically important point in panel reviews is
that the panel be charged with developing a portfolio of awards that is
both meritorious and balanced. In the three years since the last COV
review, the number of panel reviews conducted per year has roughly
doubled and now appears to be the preferred method of review. The COV
believes that diligence is required in assuring that the overall goal of
balance is maintained, especially as it relates to high risk- high
potential.

B.6 NSF would appreciate your comments for improvement of the COV review
process, format and report template.

[Description of Existing Process]{.underline}

This COV was charged with reviewing the Bioengineering and Environmental
Systems Division at NSF using as a guide the FY 2002 Core Questions. The
Division's programs are divided into three clusters: Environmental
Engineering and Technology; Biochemical Engineering and Biotechnology;
and, Biomedical Engineering and Research to Aid Persons with
Disabilities. All three were reviewed.

The Committee consisted of ten members. The method of review involved
inspecting in detail 100 jackets (10 per COV member). Of these, 48 were
awards, 49 were declinations and 3 were withdrawals. These withdrawals
were proposals submitted as part of the joint solicitation with EPA on
***Technology for a Sustainable Environment*** and withdrawn so that
they could be funded by EPA. The Committee received and reviewed a wide
range of information, all of which was well organized in advance by the
staff. This contributed substantially to the success of the review. And,
for this work, the staff is to be commended.

[Findings and Recommendations]{.underline}

The Committee judged the COV review process to be somewhat cumbersome.
In particular, the Committee felt that the COV was (too) highly
prescribed around GPRA and that the COV had been converted to an audit
function for GPRA. Much time was spent on answering questions in Part A,
and relatively little time on questions in Part B. Consequently, there
was little or no time to discuss strategies for the future for the
Division. In this connection, the Committee suggests that a Strategy
Council which utilizes COV expertise be convened, or that time be
allotted during the COV review to discuss strategy at the Division
level.

In the course of its review the Committee read and evaluated one hundred
(100) files, all from FY 2001. A total of two thousand (2000) files
covering the last three years were available for review. The Committee
requested, and did receive, additional files for review from this
collection. The Committee felt, however, that it would have been helpful
to have an index of the files for FY 1999 and FY 2000 to aid in a
judicious selection of files from those years. Such an index may be
helpful for future COV reviews.