# Presentation: 093364

## Report of the Committee of Visitors

- Programs of the Division of Electrical and Communication Systems
- FY 1999, 2000, 2001
- Engineering Directorate
- The National Science Foundation
- April Brown and Shankar Sastry
- October 18, 2002

## Division of Electrical and Communications Systems

**Dr. Vasundara Varadan, Division Director**

**http://www.eng.nsf.gov/ecs/**

**Molecular Electronics**
**Organic Electronics**
**Spin Electronics  **
**Quantum Engineering**
**Micromagnetics**
**Photonics **
**Optoelectronics**
**Biomolecular Devices**
**MEMS/NEMS**
**Sensors and Actuators**
**Wireless Technologies **
**Electromagnetics**

**Control Systems**
**    ****Hybrid & Distributed**
**Network Systems Engineering**
**Power and Energy **
**Risk & Vulnerability**
**Wireless Communications **
**Optical Networks**
**Imaging Systems**
**Modeling and Simulation**
**Quantum Information Systems**

**System on a Chip **
**Macrosystems**
**Smart Structures**

## Division of Electrical and Communications Systems

**Dr. Vasundara Varadan,  Division Director**
**Dr. Lawrence Goldberg, Senior Engineering Advisor**

**Program Directors**

## COV Process

- Charge from Deputy Assistant Director
- Presentations from Division Director and Program Directors
- Two review committees formed (EPDT and CNCI)
- Reviewed approximately 90 jackets

## COV Report

- Section A- Integrity and Efficiency o fthe Program’s Processes and Management
- Section B- Outputs and Outcomes of NSF Investments (People, Ideas, and Tools)
- Section C- Supplementary Areas- Improvements, Performance, and the COV Process

## Recommendations from the 1999 COV

*Cultivate and sustain a broad base of knowledgeable and *
*responsive reviewers*
*	*Progress is on-going
*2. Consideration of the new NSF Review Criteria*
*	*Progress is on-going, new NSF requirements will help
*3. Assessment of GPRA outputs and outcomes*
*	*Progress is on-going
*4. Intellectual coupling to Engineering Education programs*
*	*We found generally good coupling throughout the portfolio
*5. Breadth, depth, and term of awards*
- 	Improvements have been made
*6. Consistent documentation of recommendations and reports*
*	*Progress is on-going
*7. Encouragement of innovative and interdisciplinary research*
*	*Progress is on-going

## ECS BUDGET DISTRIBUTION 93-01

**ECS BUDGET DISTRIBUTION 93-01**

## ECS FUNDING RATE 92-02

**ECS FUNDING RATE 92-02**

## AVERAGE AWARD SIZE 92-01

**AVERAGE AWARD SIZE 92-01**

## Average Time for Processing Proposals

**Average Time for Processing Proposals**

## Percent Proposals Reviewed by Panels

**Percent Proposals Reviewed by Panels**

## ECS Program Portfolio for 1999-2001

**Core Programs****	****Wireless Technology & Information Networks**
**CAREER****	****US-Japan Joint Optoelectronics Project**
**SGER****	****Sensing & Imaging Technologies**
**XYZ on a Chip****	****Quantitative Systems Biotechnology**
**REU****	****Biophotonics Partnership**
**RET****	****DesCArTES **
**CRCD****	****Mixed Signal Electronic Technologies**** ****	**
**Workshops (>20)****	****Ultra-high Capacity ****	**
**	****     ****Optical Communications& Networking****	**
**ADVANCE****	****IGERT**
**NSE****	****Interdisciplinary Mathematics& Statistics**
**ITR****	****Biocomplexity in the Environment**
**STCs****	****Partnership in Basic Plasma Science & Engineering **
**ERCs****	****IUCRC**
**SBIR/STTR****	****NSF/NIH Scholar in Residence at NIH**
**MRI**
**National Nanofabrication Users Network**

## Recommendations

- Develop and sustain a broad base of knowledgeable reviewers
- Improve documentation of proposal action
- Require written reviews one week before panel meeting
- Improve understanding and use of NSF Review Criteria (especially Criterion 2, hard for all to assess and use)

## Implementation of NSF Merit Review Criteria

- Percentage Address the Intellectual Merit Criterion- 89%
- Percentage Address the Broader Impacts Criterion- 65%
- Percentage Review Analyses comment on Intellectual Merit- 92%
- Percentage Review Analyses comment on Broader Impacts Criterion-66%

## NSF Merit Review Criteria

***What are the Broader Impacts of the Proposed ***
***Activity?***
**   ****Advancements of Discovery and Understanding**
**    ****While Promoting Teaching,Training and Learning**
**   ****Participation of Underrepresented Groups**
**   ****Enhancement of Infrastructure for Research and**
**    ****Education **
**   ****Dissemination of Results to Enhance Scientific and**
**    ****Technological Understanding**
**   ****Benefits to Society**

## Recommendations

- Enhance the Impact of Program Outcomes
- Program structure is very good and PDs have been very active in creating relevant new initiatives
- COV concerned the budget is not large enough to enable high impact in all areas
- Encourages Division and Directorate Leadership to enhance budget and create more opportunities for leverage and partnership within and outside NSF
- Difficult to assess program impact without more post-award tracking of projects

## Recommendations

- Enhance the support of innovative projects
- SGER utilized extensively, but budget is fairly small
- Find new mechanisms for support of innovative projects
- Need more PD discretion in funding such projects
- 70% of awards reviewed address the integration of research and education

## Key Issues

- Role of ECS in Eng, cross-directorate links with CISE/Bio/MPS
- New Areas:
- Intelligent Microsystems
- Embedded Systems and Software
- SOC architecture
- The program structure is good- execution can be improved

## Assessment- Section BResults: Outputs and Outcomes of NSF Investments

- People, Ideas, and Tools
- Successful overall
- Great examples in all three areas
- Particular success in development of young researchers
- Particular success in initiative development
- Particular success in infrastructure- NNUN

## COV Process

- Excellent preparations by the ECS Division
- COV Process needs significant improvements
- More time needed with PDs and in overview of portfolio and programs

## Overall Assessment

- ECS Processes are carried out with integrity and improvements are being made
- ECS Program Portfolio: Very Good outcomes in People, Ideas and Tools
- Program and Project Support should be increased to cover initiatives and topics in ECS

## Committee of Visitors

- Kwame Boakye, Harris Corporation
- April Brown, Duke University
- Ralph Cavin, SRC
- Eugene Deloatch, Morgan State University
- Steven Director, University of Michigan
- Floyd Galvan, Entergy Transmission
- Linda Katehi, Purdue University
- Robert Leheny, DARPA
- Richard Powell, University of Arizona

- Yahya Rahmat-Samii, UCLA
- Ron Reedy, Peregrine Semiconductors
- Taher Saif, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- Shankar Sastry, UC-Berkeley
- Michael Stroscio, University of Illinois at Chicago
- Allen Tannenbaum, Georgia Tech