Due to a limit on the number of submissions that Wayne State University may make, the Office of the Vice President for Research is requesting that faculty interested in the following program submit to an internal competition:

NSF Major Research Instrumentation Program (MRI)

The National Science Foundation’s Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) Program assists in the acquisition or development of major research instrumentation by U.S. institutions that is, in general, too costly for support through other NSF programs.Wayne State University may submit up to three applications for the program in any given year; two of the proposals may be for instrument acquisition or development, while the third is solely for instrument development. Because of the restriction, SPA must conduct an internal competition in order not to exceed the number of applications the University may submit.

· A two to three page summary of the instruments to be developed or acquired, and their role in the University’s research, research training, and integrated research/education activities. You must indicate in the first paragraph of your summary whether your proposal is for MRI instrument acquisition or MRI instrument development.

· Sign-offs from the appropriate department chairs or their designated representatives.

All materials should be submitted to the office of OVPR, 6405.3 5057 Woodward, by noon of Friday, January 6, 2006. The final deadline for approved MRI proposals is January 26, 2006.

Guidelines for the program may be found at http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=5260&org=NSF&from=fund