Research Development Events

NSF CAREER Award Workshop Series: Session #1: Strategies for Success 

Join us for an overview of the NSF CAREER Award and hear from a panel of Northeastern NSF CAREER award recipients as they share their experiences and lessons learned along the way to an award. Learn how building a successful CAREER proposal differs from other research grants, how to work with NSF program officers, steps to rebound from a declined attempt, and how to craft a winning strategy. This workshop will be relevant to new faculty considering a future submission, as well as those planning their second or third CAREER submission.

NSF CAREER Award Workshop Series: Session #2: Broader Impacts

Learn about strategies and resources that can be leveraged to design well-integrated broader impact components for NSF merit review. A broader impacts resource panel will include panelists from the Center for STEM Education, Community-Engaged Teaching & Research (CETR), Public Engagement with Science Hub (PESH), Climate Justice and Sustainability Hub, and Center for Advancing Teaching & Learning Through Research (CATLR), as well as recent NSF CAREER Award recipients. While this workshop will discuss broader impacts in the context of the NSF CAREER Award, the session will also be relevant to other NSF program applicants and to those new to NSF who want to learn more about broader impacts. 

NSF CAREER Award Workshop Series: Session #3: Writing Workshop

This interactive workshop starts with a strategic framework for responding to NSF merit criteria in each section of the project summary. Participants will then break into small groups to review draft summaries with peers, senior faculty, and experienced NSF reviewers. This workshop is an excellent opportunity to get feedback and advice on a CAREER project summary or any other NSF project summary, and to see how winning summaries are developed. Draft summaries will be requested beforehand and will be shared with participants before the workshop, but they are not required to participate at the beginning of the workshop. 

Demystifying Fulbright Fellowships – Faculty Workshop and Panel

In this workshop hosted by Faculty Affairs, Julie Taylor, Director of Academic Relations at Fulbright, will share information on the fellowships, including the various options that are available, how and when to apply, and what kinds of resources a fellowship offers. Two former Northeastern Fulbright Fellows will also share their experiences and what they’ve learned from the process. There will be an opportunity for panelists to respond to questions from the audience.

Finding Funding Workshop

This in-depth workshop is designed for faculty eager to maximize their funding potential. This session will explore key funding organizations and provide practical strategies for leveraging networks and tools to discover relevant opportunities. Participants will gain insights into defining clear research goals and aligning them with the right funding sources. Additionally, we will provide an overview of tools such as Pivot, Academic Analytics, and Foundation Directory Online, equipping you with the skills to identify and evaluate potential funding opportunities and collaborators.

Destination Collaboration: Environmental Pollutants and Forever Chemicals

Environmental health focuses on understanding how environmental factors impact human health and disease. Faculty engaged in this area explore topics such as pollution, climate change, and exposure to hazardous substances. Engaging in this field allows faculty to collaborate on critical research that can lead to innovative solutions for improving public health and policy development.

Interested Parties: Public health researchers, environmental scientists, policy makers, healthcare professionals.

Destination Collaboration: Space Economy

The Space Economy is defined by OECD as “the full range of activities and the use of resources that create value and benefits to human beings in the course of exploring, researching, understanding, managing, and utilizing space.”  Investments in commercial space travel and space-based and -enabled technologies are contributing to the massive growth of the space economy. This year, the World Economic Forum projected that by 2035, the space economy will reach $1.8 trillion, up from $630 billion in 2023 and averaging a high annual growth rate of 9%. This session will facilitate a broad discussion of areas of research related to the space economy: space exploration, space technology development, infrastructure management, and sustainability including but not limited to topics such as communications, energy systems/ conversion/ storage, materials capture and synthesis, earth observation, radiation shielding, space debris defense, human habitat/ performance/ survival in space, robotics, propulsion, and international cooperation.  Faculty engaging in this session will have the opportunity to collaborate on critical research that can lead to innovative solutions to advance the future development and use of space resources.

Interested Parties: Researchers in communications, remote sensing, materials, energy, human performance, extreme environments, climate, earth resources, international politics, and more.

Destination Collaboration: Social Media

Social Media platforms have reshaped the ways that people globally connect with one another, share information, and participate in public discourse and decision-making. This session is designed to facilitate a broad discussion of social media technology as a medium, as a research topic, as a research tool, and as a means of disseminating research. This discussion is also an opportunity to explore societal impacts of social media, including issues of trust, distrust and mistrust.

Interested Parties: Researchers in technology, networks, communications, media, and the spread of information, social media users, social scientists, and policy makers.

Fulbright US Scholar Presentation

Northeastern’s Research Development team with Vice Provost for Academic and Faculty Administration & Fulbright Scholar Liaison, Rashmi Dyal-Chand, are hosting a Workshop for Prospective Fulbright Applicants. This workshop will provide an overview of different Fulbright US Scholar awards and their unique attributes plus tips for navigating the Fulbright website, and a discussion of relevant policies and considerations for Fulbright fellows.

NSF CAREER Award Series – Session Three: Writing Workshop

This interactive workshop starts with a strategic framework for responding to NSF merit criteria in each section of the Project Summary. Participants will then break into small groups to review draft summaries with peers, senior faculty, and experienced NSF reviewers. This workshop is a great opportunity to get feedback and advice on a CAREER project summary, any NSF project summary, or to see how winning summaries are developed. Draft summaries will be requested beforehand and will be shared with participants before the workshop, but they are not required to participate at the beginning of the workshop.

NSF CAREER Award Series – Session Two: Broader Impacts

Broader Impacts do matter: Join a panel of CAREER awardees in discussing the strategies and resources they used to design well-integrated broader impact components for NSF merit review — and explore existing NU programs and resources that are available to assist you with addressing this critical component of your proposal. A Broader Impacts Resource Panel will include panelists from the Center for STEM Education, Community-Engaged Teaching & Research, and Center for Advancing Teaching & Learning Through Research (CATLR). Information shared in this workshop will be helpful to all NSF program applicants and to those new to NSF.

NIH K Award Series – Session Three: Specific Aims

This is the third of three sessions explaining NIH’s Career of K award which provides support for senior postdoctoral fellows or faculty-level candidates. The objective of these programs is to bring candidates to the point where they can conduct their research independently and are competitive for major grant support. This session will focus on preparing your specific aims. The Specific Aims section is the most vital part of any NIH grant application and central to your grant proposal. In this session, we will provide some tips on the structure, content, and organization of your Specific Aims page.

Department of Defense Funding for Social Scientists

Join Northeastern University Research Development professionals and Lewis-Burke Associates for an introduction to and analysis of programs and funding opportunities sponsored by the Department of Defense that are relevant to researchers in the social and behavioral sciences. For many, the idea of DOD-funded research conjures up images of advanced aircraft, smart textiles, and munitions technologies; however, the DoD also funds a variety of projects that analyze human behavior, deconstruct social organizations, and studying changes in the international geopolitical environment with the goals of improving national security, training future military leaders, and increasing the DoD’s understanding of the social and cultural forces shaping U.S. strategic interests globally. The 90-minute virtual session, open to all faculty and staff, will introduce the DoD more broadly as a funding agency, then dive into its funding priorities, existing programs, and new initiatives relevant to social scientists. We will also feature a panel of faculty experts to share their insights and experiences applying for DoD research grants.

NSF CAREER Award Series – Session One: Successful CAREERs  

Join a panel of Northeastern NSF CAREER award recipients as they share their experiences and lessons learned along the way to an award. Hear how building a successful CAREER proposal differs from other research grants, how to work with NSF Program Officers, and steps to rebound from a declined attempt and craft a winning strategy. This workshop will help new faculty considering a future submission and those planning their second or third CAREER submission.

Introduction to the Department of Justice 

The Department of Justice (DOJ) offers funding opportunities to support law enforcement and public safety activities in state, local, and tribal jurisdictions; to assist victims of crime; to provide training and technical assistance; to conduct research; and to implement programs that improve the criminal, civil, and juvenile justice systems. Through this webinar, faculty will learn about the structure, funding mechanisms, and priorities of the DOJ to better prepare for future submissions, particularly for social science research, development, and evaluation projects about criminal justice. We will also feature a panel of Northeastern faculty experts to share their insights and experiences applying for DOJ research grants.

NIH K Award Series – Session Two: Mentoring 

This is the second of three sessions explaining NIH’s Career or K awards that support senior postdoctoral fellows or faculty-level candidates. The objective of these programs is to bring candidates to the point where they can conduct their research independently and are competitive for major grant support. This session will provide an overview of finding a relevant mentor and tips for writing a mentoring plan.

Introduction to ARPA-E 

ARPA-E funds research seeking to transform the nation’s energy landscape, defined broadly, through funding high-risk, high-reward projects. The agency’s portfolio supports research that will lead to the development and translation of technologies ranging from carbon capture to renewable energy, agriculture, and beyond.  Securing funding and executing research with the agency has unique challenges due to its fast-paced application process and goals-oriented structure. With the expectation of the upcoming release of the ARPA-e OPEN call this webinar will focus on how to identify, approach, and secure funding through the various grant mechanisms and programs at ARPA-e including the OPEN program.

NIH K Award Series – Session One: Overview

This is the first of three sessions explaining NIH’s Career or K awards, which provide support for senior postdoctoral fellows or faculty-level candidates. The objective of these programs is to bring candidates to the point where they can conduct their research independently and are competitive for major grant support. This session will focus on introducing the program.

Introduction to the NSF Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences (SBE)

Join us for an introduction to programs and funding opportunities sponsored by the National Science Foundation’s Directorate for Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences (SBE). The SBE sciences focus on human behavior and social organizations and how social, economic, political, cultural, and environmental forces affect people’s lives. Hosted by Northeastern University, this workshop is open to faculty and staff at Institutions of Higher Education across the nation. The 90-minute virtual session will introduce divisions and programs within SBE. It will focus on ways that academics from diverse disciplinary backgrounds can successfully position their work to compete for SBE funding. Attendees will learn about priorities and new initiatives within the SBE Directorate from Dr. Mary Feeney, Ph.D., Arizona State University Lincoln Professor of Ethics in Public Affairs and Program Director for the Science of Science: Discovery, Communication, and Impact program at the National Science Foundation. We will also feature a panel of Northeastern faculty experts to share their insights and experiences applying for NSF SBE research grants.

Demystifying Fulbright Fellowships

This program, hosted by Academic and Faculty Affairs, features Julie Taylor, Director of Academic Relations at Fulbright, along with a faculty panel of current and former Northeastern Fulbright Fellows. Presenters provide an overview of the various options that are available, how and when to apply, and the kinds of resources a fellowship offers.

Center Grants 101

This overview will provide the necessary scaffolding for preparing center-level grants. We will engage faculty to think more strategically about writing the narrative of a significant complex grant proposal, team formation, and other critical components for center grants. This workshop is open to all NU faculty and staff. Information shared in this workshop will help anyone considering submitting a center grant in the next 3-5 years. In addition to a brief presentation by Research Development staff, faculty panelists will share their experience submitting to different center programs, discuss what reviewers are looking for, and answer participant questions.

Training Grants 101

Training programs are prestigious and highly competitive funding mechanisms; they are excellent opportunities to provide novel training experiences to students at Ph.D.-, Masters-, and undergraduate-levels, as well as postdocs. This workshop will discuss programs that fund training programs (such as the NSF NRT, NIH T32, DoEd GAANN, etc.) and share lessons learned from faculty who have successfully received training grant funding. We will also discuss how to construct competitive proposals, provide tips on successfully administrating the program (including annual data collection needs), and describe university resources available to support your effort.

Introduction to the Department of Energy (DOE)

The Department of Energy (DOE) is one of the largest funders of R&D in the federal government, surpassed only by NIH and DOD. However, DOE funding programs can vary wildly and often require a quick turnaround of proposals. Through this webinar, faculty will learn about the structure, funding mechanisms, and priorities of the DOE to better prepare for future submissions, particularly those aimed at the basic research programs in the Office of Science. This includes Early Career Research, Basic Energy Sciences, Biological and Environmental Research, Advanced Scientific Computing Research, and High Energy Physics programs. We will also discuss opportunities for partnerships with National Labs.

Introduction to the Department of Defense (DOD)

The Department of Defense (DOD) is the largest funder of R&D in the federal government; however, many agencies within the DoD (ARL, ONR, AFRL, DARPA, etc.), and their programs can vary significantly. This webinar will introduce faculty to the various DoD research agencies and programs, application processes, and strategies for preparing winning proposals.