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| wmf){width= | **M E M O R A N D U M**                                |
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**Date:** May 7, 2001

**From:** Assistant Director, MPS

**Subject: Committee of Visitors Report for the Division of Chemistry**

**To:** Director, NSF

Chief Operating Officer, NSF

Chief Financial Officer, NSF

Inspector General, NSF

Director, Office of Integrative Activities

NSF Committee Management Officer

Attached is a copy of the Committee of Visitors (COV) Report on the
Division of Chemistry for the period FY 1998 -- FY 2000. Included with
this Report is a report on the COV membership as specified in Section
343, acceptance of the Report by the Mathematical and Physical Sciences
Advisory Committee, my response to the final COV Report, the response of
the Division of Chemistry to the final COV Report, and, on pages 11-14
of the Report, a list of the COV members.

Robert A. Eisenstein

########  Assistant Director 

**[National Science Foundation]{.smallcaps}**

**4201 Wilson Boulevard**

# Arlington, Virginia 22230

# 

# Division of Chemistry

**May 4, 2001**

**Memorandum**

**To: Morris Aizenman, O/AD MPS**

**From: Donald Burland, Acting Division Director, CHE/MPS**

**Subject: Division of Chemistry Committee of Visitors**

> The Division of Chemistry held its triennial Committee of Visitors
> (COV) meeting on February 12-14, 2001. The Committee consisted of 31
> members chosen from a broad cross-section of the chemistry community.
> Eleven members were women and seven underrepresented minorities.
> Membership was also broadly distributed across research universities,
> undergraduate institutions, national laboratories and industry. All
> sections of the country were represented and one member was from a
> foreign country (Finland).
>
> The Committee was briefed on conflict of interests related to the task
> of the COV, including reading of proposals, reviews and
> recommendations. Members were told to reveal to program officers any
> conflict or potential conflict of interest. Each Committee member
> completed an NSF Conflict of Interest form. Committee members with
> conflicts of interest with an institution or individual were not given
> files from those institutions or individuals. They also were
> instructed not to participate in discussions regarding those
> individuals or institutions.
>
> The Division staff felt that the COV did an excellent job of assessing
> the Division\'s programs and procedures. Their conclusions were
> relevant, fair, and well thought out. The Division staff did not
> detect any situations where conflicts of interest were not handled
> properly.

Director's Office

Building 510F

P.O. Box 11973-5000

Phone 631 344-5414

Fax 631 344-5820

tkirk@bnl.gov

April 24, 2001

Dr. Robert Eisenstein

Assistant Director for the

Mathematical and Physical Sciences

National Science Foundation

4201 Wilson Boulevard

Arlington, VA 22230

Dear Bob:

This comes to provide my formal statement, as chairman of the MPS
Advisory Committee, that the recent Committee of Visitors Reports for
the NSF Chemistry and Mathematics Divisions have been accepted and
endorsed by the Advisory Committee in separate, unanimous votes at our
Meeting of April 12-13, 2001. Both reports were considered by the full
Advisory Committee, along with the written responses by the Divisions
reviewed, and were the subject of oral presentations during this meeting
at NSF.

The Advisory Committee also wishes to add its thanks to the members of
these Visitors Committees for their complete and rigorous reviews and
for generating clear and convincing COV reports in both cases.

I am available for questions as you may require.

> Sincerely, on behalf of the Advisory Committee
>
> Thomas B.W. Kirk
>
> Chairman

Cc: M. Aizenman

> MEMORANDUM

15 March 2001

To: MPS Advisory Committee

> From: Robert A. Eisenstein, AD/MPS
>
> Subject: Response to the Division of Chemistry and the Division of
> Mathematical Sciences Committee of Visitors Reports

Please find attached the MPS responses to the Committee of Visitors
(COV) reports from the 7‑9 February COV review of the Division of
Mathematical Sciences and the 12‑14 February COV review of the Division
of Chemistry. The reviews were thorough and insightful, and the findings
will be very helpful to me and to the Divisions of Chemistry and
Mathematical Sciences in fulfilling our responsibilities to the
scientific community and to the nation. The reports also provide a GPRA
assessment of the degree to which the Divisions of Chemistry and
Mathematical Sciences met their performance objectives. These will form
the basis of the GPRA assessment that you will be asked to carry out for
the Directorate as a whole for the next budget cycle.

> The attached responses were drafted by the Division of Chemistry and
> by the Division of Mathematical Sciences, and I concur with their
> content. I therefore adopt them as the official response of the MPS
> Directorate. I hope the full MPS Advisory Committee finds these COV
> reviews and the NSF responses useful and acceptable.

# Division of Chemistry Response to Findings and Recommendations of the Committee of Visitors

### February 12-14, 2001

The Committee of Visitors (COV) met February 12-14, 2001 at the National
Science Foundation to review:

-   The integrity, efficacy, and quality of the processes used to
    solicit, review, recommend and document proposal actions and monitor
    active projects;

-   The quality and significance of the results of the Division\'s
    programmatic investment;

-   The degree to which the award process supports the long range goals
    of the NSF;

-   The Division\'s balance, priorities, and future directions; and

-   Any other issues relevant to the review.

The Division is delighted that the COV feels that the Division is
\"operating well\" and that it \"applauds the efforts the Division has
made to integrate chemistry research and education.\" We are also
gratified that the COV found that the Division has been successful in
support of the NSF\'s Strategic Plan in all three areas; People, Tools
and Ideas. Comments on the major recommendations of the COV are given
below.

-   \"*The workload in the Division is staggering*.\" Administrative and
    technical staff workload is a problem, not just within the Division
    of Chemistry, but throughout the NSF. The Division was understaffed
    in 1999-2000, at least in part due to the loss of experienced
    program officers to other areas in the NSF. While these
    reassignments have caused short term staffing problems for the
    Division, in the long term the fact that chemists are now in
    important positions overseeing environmental and information science
    programs for the NSF will benefit the chemistry profession. An
    important priority for the Division is to increase the number of
    permanent program officers and to decrease our reliance on off-site
    staff. We also clearly need additional staff to handle the
    increasing complexity of the awards we make and to permit program
    officers to participate in NSF-wide working groups. We are currently
    in the process of hiring program officers in the areas of Analytical
    and Surface Chemistry and in Special Projects. The Special Projects
    program officer will handle center and group awards that require an
    increased level of oversight.

-   \"*Clear guidelines need to be developed for proposal submission in
    areas where strong connections are to be made between research and
    education*.\" The Division has an increasing number of activities in
    areas that bring education and research together. We agree with the
    COV that the Division needs to develop a strategic plan for this
    area and will work with EHR program officers and others to develop
    one. The strategic plan should provide a guide to help program
    officers decide what proposals are suitable for Divisional support
    and which ones are better handled by EHR.

-   \"*The infamous second review criterion of the NSF merit review
    criteria apparently has caused problems for reviewers and PIs*.\"
    The COV found that only about 20-25% of the reviewers actually
    addressed criterion 2 in their reviews. The period under review
    (1998-2000) preceded the introduction in FastLane of two boxes that
    the reviewers are encouraged to complete, one for each review
    criterion. It is hoped that this change in FastLane will result in a
    greater number of reviewers addressing the second criterion. The
    Division, for its part, will continue to emphasize the importance of
    both criteria in its contacts with the chemistry community.

-   \"\...*it is time to have another look close look at the
    instrumentation program*.\" At the recommendation of the 1998 COV,
    the Division of Chemistry\'s instrumentation program was examined by
    a workshop held on April 16-17, 1999. The conclusions of that
    workshop can be found at
    [http://www.cchem.berkeley.edu/%7Emswww/nsf/nsf.html](http://www.cchem.berkeley.edu/~mswww/nsf/nsf.html)
    . The current COV has a particular concern about support for
    specialized and expensive instrumentation that could further the
    research of individual PIs. They requested that the Division examine
    the way that the Divisional cost-sharing requirement may be
    affecting proposals in this area. The Division will have another
    look at our instrumentation program.

-   \"\...*we would like to make sure that Centers are more than
    groupings of PIs who get together only when site visits take
    place*.\" The Division recognizes the increased oversight required
    for the more complex center and group awards. We are currently in
    the process of hiring a program officer whose primary assignment
    will be to run group and center competitions within the Division and
    conduct site reviews of funded centers and groups to insure that
    they are performing up to expectations.

-   \"*The chemistry academic community, the NSF and the Division of
    Chemistry have not developed ways of increasing the representation
    of women and minorities \[in tenure track positions\]*.\" The
    Division has an excellent record of diversity in the program
    officers it hires, review panel composition and choice of *ad hoc*
    reviewers. As noted by the COV, the chemistry community as a whole
    has been less successful at increasing the number of women and
    minorities on chemistry faculties. We will continue to support
    imaginative proposals that attempt to address this problem. An
    example of such a program that is currently supported by the
    Division is the COACh activity. This program tries to provide women
    in tenured faculty positions the mentoring to make them more
    effective faculty members. The Division has also been an active
    participant in the POWRE program to advance the careers of women and
    will continue to participate in its successor program, ADVANCE.

-   \"*Increasing the number of funded proposals while maintaining the
    value of the award can only be done by increasing the Division\'s
    budget for core research*.\" As the COV recognized, the size of the
    Division\'s budget is not directly within the control of the
    Division. To the extent possible, the Division will maintain its
    commitment to core research, much of which is done by individual
    investigators. The dollar amount going to groups and centers is now
    12% of the total Division budget and will increase in FY2001 as a
    result of the Division\'s participation in Foundation-wide
    initiatives such as Information Technology Research and Nanoscience
    and Engineering. The difficult task ahead is to strike the right
    balance between participation in these Foundation-wide activities
    and at the same time maintain support for core research activities.
    The Division will strive to achieve this balance.

-   \"*There was strong sentiment in favor of reviving the competitive
    NSF postdoctoral fellowship program in order to broaden the training
    of young people*\....\" The Division terminated its post-doctoral
    program in FY1996. This was done for several reasons including the
    administrative difficulties of managing a program of awards to
    individuals and the feeling that post-doctoral support could be
    adequately addressed by individual investigator awards. The Division
    still believes that a post-doctoral program centered in the Division
    is not the most effective way of supporting post-doctoral students
    and does not intend to resume this program in the near future. It
    will participate actively in the Mathematical and Physical Sciences
    Directorates new MPS Distinguished International Postdoctoral
    Research Fellowship.

-   \"*Support for graduate students is a major concern*.\" The
    declining number of graduate students supported by the Division is
    of concern to us as well. While the total number of students
    supported on research grants has declined, the number of graduate
    students supported per award has remained constant at about 1.7. One
    way of increasing the number of students supported is to increase
    the grant size. The Division currently increases grant size by
    roughly 3% per year to maintain the \"purchasing power\" of the
    awards. With the relatively flat budgets of the last few years, this
    increase has been at the cost of a declining funding rate. Any
    increase in the grant size above the 3% rate will result in a
    further decline in the number of awards the Division makes. The
    Division will continue to examine this trade-off so that we achieve
    the right balance between number of awards and support for students.

\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

Donald M. Burland

Acting Division Director

Division of Chemistry

#  {#section-1 .unnumbered}

# Report of the Committee of Visitors

# Division of Chemistry

#  National Science Foundation

**February 12-14, 2001**

## Background

The Committee of Visitors (COV) for the Division of Chemistry met for
three days to review actions taken on proposals handled by the Division
during the three year period 1999-2000 and to review the outputs and
outcomes of past and current Division investments. Appendix A is a list
of COV members, Appendix B the agenda and Appendix C the charge given to
the COV by Dr. Robert A. Eisenstein, Assistant Director for Mathematical
and Physical Sciences. The COV was charged to address:

-   The integrity, efficacy, and quality of the processes used to
    solicit, review, recommend and document proposal actions and monitor
    active projects;

-   The quality and significance of the results of the Division's
    programmatic investments;

-   The degree to which the award process supports the long range goals
    and core strategies of the NSF as described in NSF FY 2001-2006
    Strategic Plan (September 30, 2000) that addresses the Government
    Performance and Results Act of 1993 (GPRA).

-   The Division's balance, priorities, and future directions; and,

-   Any other issues the Committee thinks are relevant to the review.

The individual programs that the COV was charged to review are:

-   Chemical Research Instrumentation and Facilities

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-   Organic and Macromolecular Chemistry

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-   Physical Chemistry

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-   Inorganic, Bioinorganic and Organometallic Chemistry

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-   Analytical and Surface Chemistry

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-   Special Projects (including education and materials chemistry).

Five subpanels of the COV examined these programs in the following
groups:

-   Organic and Macromolecular Chemistry

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-   Physical Chemistry

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-   Inorganic, Bioinorganic and Organometallic Chemistry

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-   Analytical and Surface Chemistry and Advanced Materials Chemistry

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-   Chemical Instrumentation, Special Projects (education and centers)

Prior to the COV meeting, the members of the Committee were provided
with the Chemistry Division\'s annual reports for FY1999 and FY2000, the
only years for which such a report is available. These reports provided
background information and statistical data for the Division as a whole
and for all of the individual programs. The previous COV report covering
the years 1996 to 1998 was also provided.

The meeting of the COV began on February 12, 2001 with a review of the
charge to the Committee by Robert Eisenstein, Assistant Director for
Mathematical and Physical Sciences. Members were then briefed on
conflicts of interest. The acting Division Director presented an
overview of the COV process and relevant background information. The
Committee then separated into five subpanels. The panels consisted of
COV members with expertise in the particular Division program to be
reviewed. Each subpanel was briefed on the program by Program Directors.
For the remainder of the first day the COV members studied the
\"jackets\" containing the information on the proposals received and
acted on by the Division. The morning of the second day was spent
preparing a report (referred to as the First Round Report) that answered
the Core Questions for NSF Committee of Visitors.

On the afternoon of the second day, the COV members were formed into
five new subpanels so that each member was able to review proposal
jackets in a program in which he/she was not an expert or might have
secondary expertise. On the afternoon of the second day a Second Round
Report was prepared in a similar fashion to the First Round Report.

On the third day, the First Round panel met again. The chair of the
Second Round subpanel was also a member of this \"merge\" panel. The
composition of the assignment of COV members to the panels is given in
Appendix D. A merged report was created that contained input from both
the first and second round panels. These merged reports constitute the
COV\'s final report on the Division\'s individual programs and are found
in Appendix E of this document.

At the end of each of the first two days, the COV as a whole met to
discuss general issues as they arose. On the afternoon of the final day,
an open meeting was held in which the COV chair lead a discussion of
Divisional issues and formulated the COV\'s response to the Charge to
the Committee (Appendix C). The COV members briefed Robert Eisenstein on
their findings and then adjourned. Following the COV meeting, the
members reviewed, revised and submitted the Division level report.

The COV wishes to thank the administrative support staff of the Division
for its help and hospitality throughout. We would also like to express
our appreciation to the Program Officers and Acting Division Director
for their candor in discussing Divisional issues and for their
willingness to provide the needed information, sometimes on the fly, for
the COV to makes its assessment and recommendations.

## General Conclusions

The Division is operating well. The COV was extremely impressed with the
dedication and effectiveness of the Program Officers and the Acting
Director. The workload in the Division is staggering. In spite of this
heavy burden, the job is getting done on time. But the price of
evaluating proposals in a fair and timely way is the loss of time to
show the flag at scientific meetings, take part in site visits and
participate in NSF-wide working groups and workshops. Chemistry is
moving at an astonishing pace. Program officers need release time to
keep up with the latest developments and think about future directions.
There is no way this can be done given the present proposal workload.
This would be true even if the Division were fully staffed. The loss of
experienced Program Officers and the short staffing over the past year
have only exacerbated this problem. The COV strongly urges the Assistant
Director for MPS to take steps to increase the permanent staff of the
Division at NSF headquarters. The use of off-site program officers has
been quite effective, but more in-house staff members are needed to
steer the ship properly. The workload issue must be addressed!

The COV applauds the efforts the Division has made to integrate
chemistry research and education. But there is work to be done in this
area. Some projects appear to be more closely related to the Education
and Human Resource Directorate\'s (EHR) mission than to the Division\'s,
at least as far as the review process is concerned. We recommend that
program officers in the Division and EHR get together and work on a
strategic plan for support of projects that could be funded jointly.
Clear guidelines need to be developed for proposal submission in areas
where strong connections are to be made between research and education.

The infamous second review criterion of the NSF merit review criteria
apparently has caused problems for reviewers and PIs. The Program
Officers of the Division have saved the day by taking Criterion 2 into
consideration as best they can in reaching decisions on awards. But, in
our opinion, steps need to be taken to educate reviewers and PIs on the
matter. We leave it to the Division and to the NSF as a whole to come up
with a suitable plan. Let it be clear that we understand the goal of
Criterion 2 and we fully support it. We are optimistic that reviewers
and PIs will provide the information that is asked for once they
understand the goal.

The Division has done a terrific job in building the infrastructure for
chemistry research and education by placing key instruments in
laboratories in academic institutions all over the country. This
placement has come from awards made to PIs who have submitted proposals
to several different Division programs. These awards include both
individual investigator awards and awards made in the Chemistry Research
Instrumentation and Facilities (CRIF) program. Currently about 15% of
the Division\'s budget goes to support the purchase of research
instrumentation. It has been difficult to make decisions on
instrumentation proposals, as reviews often cover a rather wide
spectrum. The good news is that the Program Officers of the Division
have been very careful to place instruments where they will enhance
research and training. But it is time to have another close look at the
instrumentation program. There is strong sentiment for a program that
would provide specialized and expensive instrumentation that could
further the research of individual PIs. There are arguments that
proposals of this sort would come from a much larger number of
institutions if no matching funds were required. Currently the Division
requires a 50% match for any instrumentation purchase amounts above
\$80,000. We ask the Division to examine its instrumentation program
portfolio and make changes where needed to maximize its impact on
chemistry research and education.

The number of truly outstanding proposals (and PIs!) on the list of
declinations has become alarmingly large. Competition for NSF grants is
at an all time high. There are only very strong proposals at the
"margin". At the same time many institutions and underrepresented groups
are not included at an adequate level among NSF grantees. We are faced
with a problem of enormous proportions. Some argue that support for
individual PIs should be increased at the expense of support for
Centers. Centers allow the Division to invest in major projects with the
potential for great impact both in research and education. Support for
Centers as a percentage of the Division\'s budget has grown from 7% in
FY1997 to 12% in FY2000. This number will increase in FY2001 with the
Chemistry Research Centers program and the Division\'s participation in
the Nanoscience and Engineering and the Information Technology Research
initiatives. The question of Center versus individual PI support needs
to be addressed. We are not opposed to Center support. But we would like
to make sure that Centers are more than groupings of PIs who get
together only when site visits take place. Centers have the potential to
make a huge contribution to the chemistry enterprise. Review and
evaluation procedures should be in place to insure that they do.

## Integrity and Efficiency of the Program\'s Processes and Management

The Division gets very high marks in these areas. Proposals are reviewed
fairly and in a timely manner. With few exceptions, care is taken in the
selection of reviewers. NSF review criteria are employed in reaching
decisions on awards. The need to educate reviewers and PIs in the matter
of Criterion 2 has been noted above. The COV found that the Program
Officers have done an outstanding job in applying both intellectual
merit and broader impact criteria in the evaluation of proposals.

The proposals that make the short list for awards are all extremely
strong. Only a few are funded. This situation makes the evaluation
process even tougher. The Program Officers took great care in
documentation of the steps leading to decisions.

The Division is funding high risk and multidisciplinary work. Many
projects have highly innovative components. But there is still work to
be done in bringing in underrepresented groups and certain institutions
such as predominantly undergraduate colleges and universities. We did
not find evidence of increasing proposal pressure from groups who have
not been in the system previously. This is a very difficult problem that
needs to be addressed now. Before long it will be too late. Everyone
should have an opportunity to contribute to the chemistry enterprise.

Superb science is being funded by the Division. The portfolio of
projects is most impressive. There are no marginal proposals at the
"margin"! Increasing the number of funded individual PI projects is a
matter of extreme urgency. The funding rate for research proposals
within the Division has declined from 44% in FY1994 to 31% in FY2000.
The Division has had the goal, which the COV supports, of maintaining
the \"purchasing power\" of the individual investigator awards with
inflation. Increasing the number of funded proposals while maintaining
the value of the award can only be done by increasing the Division\'s
budget for core research.

## Quality and Significance of the Results of the Division\'s Investments

The evidence is strong that the Division has achieved an outstanding
return on its investments. The chemistry workforce that has contributed
so much to the impressive strength of our economy received much of its
training in the laboratories of NSF funded PIs. The training of
undergraduate students as well as graduate students and postdoctoral
fellows has long been a high priority of the Division. The results speak
for themselves. We have thriving chemical, pharmaceutical, and
electronics industries staffed with well-trained chemists. Academic
institutions and government laboratories all benefit greatly from the
presence of investigators whose training was influenced by work funded
by the Division. But we cannot afford to congratulate ourselves on a job
well done. The need for well-trained people in chemistry is growing at a
rapid rate. The Division has an awesome responsibility in making sure
the country can meet this need. The COV urges the Assistant Director for
MPS and the Division to address this critical chemistry workforce issue.

Discoveries in chemistry have changed the direction of science. Recent
advances in the biological sciences and medicine can be traced to
fundamental work in chemistry done by PIs funded by the Division.
Indeed, research in chemistry covers so much territory that it is hard
to find a scientific discipline that has not been strongly affected by
ideas generated by chemistry research. The challenge now is to shorten
the time from discovery to application.

New technology drives new science. This statement is especially true for
chemistry. Many of the most exciting breakthroughs in chemistry over the
last few years would not have occurred were it not for the powerful
tools available for the study of chemical structure and reactivity. The
development of those tools can in many cases be traced to work supported
by the Division. Particularly impressive has been the invention of
powerful methods for the synthesis of molecules with novel architectures
and reactivities, underscoring the unique contribution of chemistry in
the creation of new substances that often drives health related and
materials research that in turn fuels the economy and improves the
quality of life.

## Division\'s Balance, Priorities and Future Directions

The COV examined five program groupings in the Division. The proposals
in all five programs are strong and worthy of support. The distribution
of grants over the four traditional areas of chemistry is good. There
are no obvious imbalances in the overall program. Pain is equally
distributed throughout the Division.

The Division has placed a high priority on the integration of research
and training. We support this position. Implementation is not without
problems. The education of reviewers and PIs on the importance of the
broader impact criterion will take time. But vigorous steps in this
direction must be taken immediately.

Of critical importance is the matter of relative investment in
individual PIs and Centers. So is the investment in various types of
instrumentation. Decisions on these matters will affect the health of
chemistry research in the future. Program Officers in the Division need
time to assess the prospects of research in their areas in order to make
informed judgements on high-risk proposals. The Division should position
itself to invest in research with potential for great impact in the
coming years.

## Support of the NSF\'s Strategic Plan

### 6.1 People

The Division is *successful* in its support of a diverse,
internationally competitive and globally engaged workforce of
scientists, engineers, and well-prepared citizens.

The Division supported 1400 graduate students and 514 postdoctoral
students in FY2000. Diversity remains a problem for the academic
chemistry profession. Approximately 33% of all chemistry Ph.D. degrees
are granted to women. Only 12.5% of the senior faculty in science and
engineering are women. In FY2000, 14% of the Division\'s principal
investigators and co-principal investigators were women. This percentage
has not changed substantially since FY1996. A similar situation obtains
for minority researchers. While 11% of the U.S. population in 2000 were
Hispanic and 12% African-American, only 2.2% of the PhDs in chemistry
were awarded to Hispanics and 1.7% to African-Americans. In FY2000, 4.1%
of the Division\'s principal or co-principal investigators were
underrepresented minorities. The Division has done a good job of
supporting women and underrepresented minorities in proportion to their
representation in tenured or tenure-track academic positions. The
chemistry academic community, the NSF and the Division of Chemistry have
not developed ways of increasing the representation of women and
minorities in these positions.

Two activities that the Division supports may in the long run help to
improve this situation. The Division is an active participant in the
Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program. In FY2000 it
supported 550 undergraduates at 56 sites in 33 states. Typically half of
the undergraduate participants are female and over 21% are from
underrepresented groups. The other activity is the Research Sites for
Educators in Chemistry (RSEC) program. In this program, faculty at
undergraduate institutions, including community colleges, are brought
together with faculty from research universities to develop joint
research programs and to bring the \"culture\" of research back to the
undergraduate institutions. Many of these undergraduate institutions
have large minority populations. Three awards were made in FY1999 and a
second round of competition will take place in FY2001. This activity has
great potential but must be closely monitored to make sure that it
accomplishes what it is designed to do.

In 1999, Isiah Warner of Louisiana State University (CHE-9942514)
received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics
and Engineering Mentoring and was recognized by the American Association
for the Advancement of Science with the Mentor Award for Lifetime
Achievement as a \"great teacher, mentor, and friend who affected the
climate of a chemistry department and significantly increased the number
of minority and underrepresented students pursuing and completing
doctoral degrees.\" The Division supports Warner in the development of a
comprehensive program in environmental chemistry and education at LSU
and Southern University. Daniel Akins, City College of New York
(CHE-9872777, 9616128) was the recipient of the Presidential Award for
Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring in 2000 for
his activities that have led to City College being one of the nation\'s
leaders in providing Ph.Ds to minority students.

###  6.2 Ideas

### The Division is *successful* in its support of discovery across the frontier of science and engineering, connected to learning, innovation and service to society.

The Division places a priority on support for high risk-high potential
research, for adequate funding of academic investigators at the
beginning of their careers, and for projects integrating research and
education. The Division is extensively involved in interdisciplinary and
crosscutting NSF-wide programs.

Perhaps the best way to indicate the Division\'s support for Ideas is to
give examples of Division supported research that has been recognized as
successful by others. The Division\'s support of recognized high impact
research is well illustrated by recently awarded Nobel Prizes. The 1998
Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to John Pople (Northwestern
University, CHE-9629964). Professor Pople has been supported for over 25
years by the Division for discovery and implementation of novel methods
for computing the electronic structures of molecules. The 1999 Nobel
Prize was awarded to Ahmed Zewail (California Institute of Technology,
CHE9526069, 9525756) for his pioneering real-time studies of ultrafast
chemical dynamics.

John Ross, Stanford University and Stuart Rice, University of Chicago,
were two of the twelve scientists awarded the 1999 National Medal of
Science for their discoveries and lifetime achievements. Ross
(CHE-9708567) was cited for pioneering studies of chemical reactions in
molecular beams and his demonstration of the computational possibilities
of chemical kinetics. Rice (CHE-9980363, 9977841, 9807127) was cited for
guiding the evolution of modern physical chemistry from statics to
dynamics.

The power of multidisciplinary science is extremely well illustrated in
the area of glycobiology and by the research of Professor Laura L.
Kiessling, an NSF Young Investigator at the University of Wisconsin
(CHE-9840499) and Professor Carolyn Bertozzi, a CAREER recipient at the
University of California, Berkeley (CHE-9734430). Both Kiessling and
Bertozzi were named as 1999 MacArthur Award winners.

6.3 Tools

The Division is *successful* in it support of broadly accessible,
state-of-the-art information bases and shared research and education
tools.

Through the Division\'s Chemistry Research Instrumentation and
Facilities (CRIF) program and equipment funds in individual investigator
awards, the Division uses 15% of its funds to support state-of-the-art
tools. The CRIF program provides support to chemistry departments for
the purchase of shared instrumentation, the development of new
instrumentation and for instrumentation facilities. The Division
supports, jointly with the Department of Energy, a synchrotron beamline
at the Advanced Photon Source (CHE-9522232) and a high field Fourier
transform ion cyclotron resonance/mass spectroscopy facility at the
National High Magnetic Field Laboratory at Florida State University
(CHE-9909502). In addition, the Division manages chemistry-related
awards for the NSF-wide Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) program.
This program brings additional funds into the chemistry program for the
support of shared departmental instrumentation. In FY1998, the Federal
Government supported \$60M of instrumentation in chemistry departments.
This should be compared with a total CRIF/MRI program in FY2000 of
\$12M. The Division\'s programs can be seen to be a substantial fraction
of all Federal Government funds going to chemistry departments for the
support of shared instrumentation. This support is critical for the
integration of research and education.

## Other Relevant Issues

The support of young investigators was discussed by the COV. Some felt
that the CAREER program puts too much emphasis on educational innovation
by inexperienced faculty and not enough emphasis on frontier research.
Others felt that the program was sending the right message to young
investigators. We recommend that the program be evaluated with strong
input from individuals who have had CAREER awards. It is essential to
have programs in place that will enhance the productivity of our most
creative young investigators.

There also was discussion of postdoctoral training in chemistry. The
Division has played a key role in this area over the years. There was
strong sentiment in favor of reviving the competitive NSF postdoctoral
fellowship program in order to broaden the training of young people and
at the same time to let it be known that we are serious in our
commitment to the future of chemistry.

Support for graduate students is a major concern. The Division has a
great record in this area but pressure on PIs to get results disfavors
allocation of resources to students. The number of graduate students
supported on Division research grants has declined from 1655 in FY1994
to 1400 in FY2000. New mechanisms for graduate student support are badly
needed. Other federal agencies might be enlisted in this effort. It is a
critical national need that will affect the strength of our high tech
workforce in the coming years. We urge the Assistant Director for MPS to
address this issue.

***\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_***

Professor Harry B. Gray

Chair

Division of Chemistry

Committee of Visitors

## Appendix A

## 

2001 Committee of Visitors

**Division of Chemistry**

+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| Professor Daniel L. Akins         | Professor Ronald G. Brisbois      |
|                                   |                                   |
| CUNY City College                 | Chemistry Department              |
|                                   |                                   |
| Department of Chemistry           | Macalester College                |
|                                   |                                   |
| Convent Avenue at 138^th^ St      | 1600 Grand Avenue                 |
|                                   |                                   |
| New York, NJ 10031                | St Paul, MN 55105                 |
|                                   |                                   |
| [akin                             | [brisbois@macalester.edu          |
| s@scisun.sci.ccny.cuny.edu](mailt | ](mailto:Brisbois@macalester.edu) |
| o:Akins@scisun.sci.ccny.cuny.edu) |                                   |
|                                   | 651-696-6270 office               |
| 212-650-6953 office               |                                   |
|                                   | 651-523-2620 fax                  |
| 212-650-6848 fax                  |                                   |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| Professor Moungi G. Bawendi       | Professor Arturo Bronson          |
|                                   |                                   |
| Massachusetts Institute of        | University of Texas, El Paso      |
| Technology                        |                                   |
|                                   | Director, Materials Center for    |
| Department of Chemistry           |                                   |
|                                   | Synthesis and Processing          |
| 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Room     |                                   |
| 6-221                             | Burges Hall #319                  |
|                                   |                                   |
| Cambridge, MA 02139               | El Paso, TX 79968                 |
|                                   |                                   |
| [mgb@mit.edu](mailto:Mgb@mit.edu) | [bronson@materials.utep.edu](m    |
|                                   | ailto:Bronson@materials.utep.edu) |
| 617-253-9796 office               |                                   |
|                                   | 915-747-6931 office               |
| 617-253-7030 fax                  |                                   |
|                                   | 915-747-6601 fax                  |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| Professor John I. Brauman         | Professor Charles P. Casey        |
|                                   |                                   |
| Stanford University               | University of Wisconsin Madison   |
|                                   |                                   |
| Department of Chemistry           | Department of Chemistry           |
|                                   |                                   |
| Stanford, CA 94305-5080           | 1101 University Avenue            |
|                                   |                                   |
| [brauman@Stanford.                | Madison, WI 53706-1396            |
| edu](mailto:Brauman@Stanford.edu) |                                   |
|                                   | [casey@chem.wisc                  |
| 650-723-3032 office               | .edu](mailto:Casey@chem.wisc.edu) |
|                                   |                                   |
| 650-725-0259 fax                  | 608-262-8005 office               |
|                                   |                                   |
|                                   | 608-262-0381 fax                  |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| Professor Ronald C. D. Breslow    | Professor Marcetta Y. Darensbourg |
|                                   |                                   |
| Columbia University               | Texas A&M Main Campus             |
|                                   |                                   |
| Department of Chemistry           | Department of Chemistry           |
|                                   |                                   |
| 3000 Broadway                     | College Station, TX 77843         |
|                                   |                                   |
| New York, NY 10027                | [marcetta@chemvx.tamu.edu]        |
|                                   | (mailto:Marcetta@chemvx.tamu.edu) |
| [rb33@columb                      |                                   |
| ia.edu](mailto:Rb33@columbia.edu) | 409-845-5417 office               |
|                                   |                                   |
| 212-854-2170 office               | 409-845-0158 fax                  |
|                                   |                                   |
| 212-854-2755 fax                  |                                   |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| Professor Sean M. Decatur         | Professor John H. Frederick, Jr.  |
|                                   |                                   |
| Mt. Holyoke College               | University of Nevada              |
|                                   |                                   |
| Department of Chemistry           | Department of Chemistry/ 216      |
|                                   |                                   |
| Carr Laboratory                   | Reno, NV 89557-0020               |
|                                   |                                   |
| South Hadley, MA 01075            | [Jhf@chem.                        |
|                                   | unr.edu](mailto:Jhf@chem.uni.edu) |
| [sdecatur@mtholyoke.ed            |                                   |
| u](mailto:Sdecatur@mtholyoke.edu) | 775-784-1347 office               |
|                                   |                                   |
| 413-538-2115 office               | 775-784-6804 fax                  |
|                                   |                                   |
| 413-538-2327 fax                  |                                   |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| Professor Royce Engstrom          | Professor Penny J. Gilmer         |
|                                   |                                   |
| University of South Dakota        | Florida State University          |
|                                   |                                   |
| Office of Research &              | Department of Chemistry           |
|                                   |                                   |
| Graduate Education                | Tallahassee, FL 32306-4390        |
|                                   |                                   |
| 414 East Clark Street             | [gilmer@chem.fsu.edu              |
|                                   | ](mailto:Gilmer@irish.sb.fsu.edu) |
| Vermillion, SD 57069              |                                   |
|                                   | 850-644-4026 office               |
| [rcengstr@                        |                                   |
| usd.edu](mailto:Rcengstr@usd.edu) | 850-644-8281 fax                  |
|                                   |                                   |
| 605-677-5370 office               |                                   |
|                                   |                                   |
| 605-677-6387 fax                  |                                   |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| Professor Billy Joe Evans         | Professor Harry B. Gray (Chair)   |
|                                   |                                   |
| University of Michigan            | California Institute of           |
|                                   | Technology                        |
| 930 North University              |                                   |
|                                   | Department of Chemistry           |
| Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1055          |                                   |
|                                   | 1200 E Cal Blvd                   |
| [bjemag@um                        |                                   |
| ich.edu](mailto:Bjemag@umich.edu) | Pasadena, CA 91125                |
|                                   |                                   |
| 734-763-4228 office               | [hgcm@its.caltech.                |
|                                   | edu](mailto:Hgcm@its.caltech.edu) |
| 734-647-4865 fax                  |                                   |
|                                   | 626-395-6500office                |
|                                   |                                   |
|                                   | 626-449-4159 fax                  |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| Dr. Margaret M. Faul              | Professor Raima M. Larter         |
|                                   |                                   |
| Eli Lilly and Company             | Indiana University                |
|                                   |                                   |
| Lilly Corporate Center            | Purdue University                 |
|                                   |                                   |
| Mail Drop Code 1855               | 402 Blackford Street              |
|                                   |                                   |
| Indianapolis, IN 43285            | Department of Chemistry           |
|                                   |                                   |
| [faul_margaret_m@lilly.com](      | Indianapolis, IN 46202-3274       |
| mailto:Faul_margaret_m@lilly.com) |                                   |
|                                   | [larter@chem.iupui.e              |
| 317-277-1150 office               | du](mailto:Larter@chem.iupui.edu) |
|                                   |                                   |
|                                   | 317-274-6882 office               |
|                                   |                                   |
|                                   | 317-274-4701 fax                  |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| Professor Stephen R. Leone        | Professor Catherine J. Murphy     |
|                                   |                                   |
| University of Colorado            | University of South Carolina      |
|                                   |                                   |
| Department of Chemistry and       | Department of Chemistry           |
| Biochemistry                      |                                   |
|                                   | 631 Sumter Street                 |
| Campus Box 215                    |                                   |
|                                   | Columbia, SC 29208                |
| Boulder, CO 80309                 |                                   |
|                                   | [murphy@psc.                      |
| [srl@jila.colorado.e              | sc.edu](mailto:Murphy@psc.sc.edu) |
| du](mailto:Srl@jila.colorado.edu) |                                   |
|                                   | 803-777-3628 office               |
| 303-492-5128 office               |                                   |
|                                   | 803-777-9521 fax                  |
| 303-492-5504 fax                  |                                   |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| Dr. Mary L. Mandich               | Dr. Anne L. Plant                 |
|                                   |                                   |
| Bell Labs/Lucent Technologies     | NIST, Biotechnology Division      |
|                                   |                                   |
| 600 Mountain Avenue               | 100 Bureau Drive                  |
|                                   |                                   |
| Room ID 251                       | 227 Stop 8313                     |
|                                   |                                   |
| Murray Hill, NJ 07974             | Gaithersburg, MD 20899            |
|                                   |                                   |
| [Mandich@l                        | [anne.plant@nist                  |
| ucent.com](http://www.bell-labs.c | .gov](mailto:Anne.plant@nist.gov) |
| om/user/feature/archives/mandich) |                                   |
|                                   | 301-975-3124 office               |
| 908-582-3396 office               |                                   |
|                                   | 301-330-3447 fax                  |
| 908-582-4868 fax                  |                                   |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| Dr. Owen R. Melroy                | Professor Mathew S. Platz         |
|                                   |                                   |
| IBM Almaden Research Center       | Ohio State University             |
|                                   |                                   |
| 650 Harry Road                    | Department of Chemistry           |
|                                   |                                   |
| Mail Stop 80/D1                   | Columbus, OH 43210-1173           |
|                                   |                                   |
| San Jose, CA 95120-6099           | [platz.1                          |
|                                   | @osu.edu](mailto:Platz.1@osu.edu) |
| <melroy@almaden.ibm.com>          |                                   |
|                                   | 614-292-0401 office               |
| 408-927-2485 office               |                                   |
|                                   | 614-292-1685 fax                  |
| 408-927-2110 fax                  |                                   |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| Professor Tara Y. Meyer           | Professor Marja-Liisa Riekkola    |
|                                   |                                   |
| University of Pittsburgh          | University of Helsinki            |
|                                   |                                   |
| Department of Chemistry           | Department of Chemistry           |
|                                   |                                   |
| 219 Parkman Avenue                | 00014 University of Helsinki,     |
|                                   | Finland                           |
| Pittsburgh, PA 15260              |                                   |
|                                   | <marja-liisa.ri                   |
| [tmeyer+@p                        | ekkola@helsinki>[.fi]{.underline} |
| itt.edu](mailto:+meyer+@pitt.edu) |                                   |
|                                   | +358-9-191-50268 office           |
| 412-624-8635 office               |                                   |
|                                   | +358-9-191-50253 fax              |
| 412-624-8635 fax (same)           |                                   |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| Professor Gregory H. Robinson     | Professor Lee H. Spangler         |
|                                   |                                   |
| University of Georgia             | Montana State University          |
|                                   |                                   |
| Department of Chemistry           | Department of Chemistry           |
|                                   |                                   |
| Athens, GA 30602                  | 108 Gaines Hall                   |
|                                   |                                   |
| [robinson@sunchem.chem.uga.edu]   | Bozeman, Montana 59717            |
| (mailto:Robinson@sunchem.uga.edu) |                                   |
|                                   | <1spangler@chemistry.montana.edu> |
| 706-542-2626 office               |                                   |
|                                   | 406-994-4399 office               |
| 706-542-9454 fax                  |                                   |
|                                   | 406-994-5407 fax                  |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| Dr. Michael E. Rogers             | Dr. Marion C. Thurnauer           |
|                                   |                                   |
| National Institute of Health      | Argonne National Laboratory       |
|                                   |                                   |
| 45 Center Drive MSC 6200          | Chemistry Division                |
|                                   |                                   |
| Natcher Bldg, Rm 2As.49c          | 9700 S Cass Avenue                |
|                                   |                                   |
| Bethesda, MD 20892-6200           | Argonne, IL 60439                 |
|                                   |                                   |
| [rogersm@nigms.nih.go             | [Thurnauer@anlchm.chm.anl.gov]    |
| v](mailto:rogesrsm@nigms.nih.gov) | (../Thurnauer@anlchm.chm.anl.gov) |
|                                   |                                   |
| 301-594-3827 office               | [630-252-3570                     |
|                                   | office]                           |
| 301-480-2802 fax                  | (../Thurnauer@anlchm.chm.anl.gov) |
|                                   |                                   |
|                                   | 630-252-3545 fax                  |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| Professor Gustavo E. Scuseria     | Professor Edward S. Yeung         |
|                                   |                                   |
| William Marsh Rice University     | Iowa State University             |
|                                   |                                   |
| Department of Chemistry           | Department of Chemistry           |
|                                   |                                   |
| 6100 Main Street                  | Ames, IA 50011                    |
|                                   |                                   |
| Houston, TX 77005-1892            | [yeung@a                          |
|                                   | meslab.gov](../yeung@ameslab.gov) |
| [guscus@katzo.rice.e              |                                   |
| du](mailto:Guscus@katzo.rice.edu) | [515-294-8062                     |
|                                   | office](../yeung@ameslab.gov)     |
| 713-348-4746 office               |                                   |
|                                   | 515-294-0266 fax                  |
| 713-348-5155 fax                  |                                   |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| Professor Amy M. Shachter         |                                   |
|                                   |                                   |
| Santa Clara University            |                                   |
|                                   |                                   |
| Department of Chemistry           |                                   |
|                                   |                                   |
| 500 El Camino Real                |                                   |
|                                   |                                   |
| Santa Clara, CA 95053-0250        |                                   |
|                                   |                                   |
| [ashachter@s                      |                                   |
| cu.edu](mailto:Ashachter@scu.edu) |                                   |
|                                   |                                   |
| 408-551-7041 office               |                                   |
|                                   |                                   |
| 408-554-4799 fax                  |                                   |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+

## APPENDIX B

# Agenda

# Division of Chemistry

**Committee of Visitors**

## [Monday, February 12]{.underline}

8:00 am Continental Breakfast

> (Conference Room 375)

8:30 Charge to Committee

> Robert Eisenstein
>
> Assistant Director, Mathematical and Physical Sciences

8:45 Conflict of Interest Briefing

####  Frank Wodarczyk

#####  Program Director, Physical Chemistry

9:00 Overview of Division

#####  Donald Burland

#####  Acting Division Director, Chemistry Division

9:45 General Procedures

######  Frank Wodarczyk

#####  Program Director, Physical Chemistry

10:00 First Round In-depth Program Review

#######  See Assignments

5:00 pm Adjourn

## [Tuesday, February 13]{.underline}

8:30 am Preparation of First Round Report

11:45 am Pick up lunches in Rm 375

12:00pm Second Round Review

4:00pm Preparation of Second Round Report

6:00pm Adjourn

***[Wednesday, February 14]{.underline}***

8:00am Merge of 1^st^ and 2^nd^ Round Reports

11:00am Open Discussion of Divisional Issues

2:00pm Briefing of Robert Eisenstein by COV

3:00pm Adjourn

***Appendix C***

**Charge to the Chemistry Division Committee of Visitors**

**February 12-14, 2001**

The COV is an *ad hoc* subcommittee of the Advisory Committee for the
Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPSAC). The purpose
of the COV is to assess program-level technical and managerial matters
pertaining to program decisions.

The COV is charged to address:

-   The integrity, efficacy, and quality of the processes used to
    solicit, review, recommend and document proposal actions and monitor
    active projects;

-   The quality and significance of the results of the Division's
    programmatic investments;

-   The degree to which the award process supports the long range goals
    and core strategies of the NSF as described in **NSF** **FY
    2001-2006 Strategic Plan** (September 30, 2000) that addresses the
    **Government Performance and Results Act of 1993** (GPRA) . These
    documents and other background on GPRA may be found at
    <http://www.nsf.gov/od/gpra/start.htm>. A framework for addressing
    these issues will be provided at the time of the COV meeting;

-   The Division's balance, priorities, and future directions; and,

-   Any other issues you think are relevant to the review.

Decisions to award or decline grant proposals are based on the informed
judgement of program officers and division directors following merit
review. Systematic examination of proposal files by qualified external
parties provides an independent mechanism for monitoring and evaluating
the quality and pertinence of proposal decisions. This examination is
part of the job of the COV.

The COV will assess the operations of the programs of the Division of
Chemistry during the fiscal years 1998, 1999, and 2000. The COV will
examine a sample of files for both awarded and declined proposals in
each program. Each COV member will participate in two sessions; one in
which the COV member examines files in their area of expertise; and, one
in which the COV member examines files in another area of the Division.
The Division of Chemistry is organized in six major groupings: (1)
Chemical Instrumentation, (2) Organic and Macromolecular Chemistry, (3)
Physical Chemistry, (4) Inorganic, Bioinorganic and Organometallic
Chemistry, (5) Analytical and Surface Chemistry, and (6) Special
Projects (including education and materials chemistry programs).

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