The December 3^rd meeting of the PFMF program was the first of a two-part grant writing workshop. The participants met with guest Dr. Tom Trotter, Dr. Dieter Armbruster, and Dr. Matthias Kawski. The purpose of the meeting was to introduce the participants to the grant system.

Our discussion consisted of an introduction to writing grants and an informal question and answer session. All students were particularly active and interested in this session.

Grant programs are the main source of monies available on a competitive basis for academic research. As such, they have become an integral part of a successful research institution. Indirect costs associated with the university account for roughly 50% of the full amount of the grant, depending on equipment costs and other factors. The operating model that supports a faculty member successfully engaged in research mandates that the individual generates enough grant revenue to pay for his/her individual salary in addition to administrative costs associated with the university.

Grants are available from federal agencies, providing a mechanism by which these agencies can direct the direction of current research on a federal level, bypassing state legislature. The main agencies are the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Institute of Health (NIH), the Department of Education (DOE), and the military. Each agency supports different areas of mathematics and maintains their own procedures for application.

Grants come in two flavors: solicited and unsolicited. Unsolicited grants proposals may be written on any topic, and, in general, have a 20% - 30% acceptance rate. The selection procedure is informally skewed towards new faculty. It is also helpful to be well regarded by colleagues in the field. Solicited grants are more competitive and address a particular research topic. Grant amounts are larger, but are accompanied by less freedom in choosing a research direction.

Different grant agencies have different procedures for receiving grants. Central to the application is a significant amount of research justifying the merit of the research, future directions where development can be carried out, and preliminary results. When applying for a grant with the NSF, the applicant must include information pertaining to the project’s budget, facilities, and personnel. Each application is initially reviewed by the Office for Research and Creative Activity (ORCA) at ASU. Next the grant is forwarded to the NSF. In turn, the NSF sends copies of the proposal to scholars who are capable of evaluating the merit of the proposal. In exchange, the applicant will receive other proposals to review while waiting for their own proposal to undergo the reviewing process.

Presently, the participants are preparing to write our own grant proposals. We are in the stages of finding grants to apply for, and will work closely with the PFMF coordinators to complete our proposals.