Date: Wed, 15 Jun 2005 15:41:42 -0500
Subject: DPS Mailing #05-15: More on NASA Research Grant Delays....
 
Greetings, DPS Colleagues,
 
 +------------------CONTENTS:-------------------------------+
 1) More on NASA Research Grant Delays
 2) DPS 2005 Abstract Deadline Reminder
 3) Kuiper Belt Book Outlines Sought
 +----------------------------------------------------------+
 
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MORE ON NASA RESEARCH GRANT DELAYS
 
Your input to our last announcement on this subject has revealed a 
broad problem with delays in NASA research grants. These delays are 
impacting careers (as existing funding for some people dwindle), 
are causing delays in hirings (with potential loss of specific 
personnel), and are wasting community time as people write 
additional proposals because of the failure of some programs to 
get out selection letters (much less funding) in less than 
ten months to over a year after proposal deadlines. Please let us 
know how these delays are impacting you, by sending a statement 
to [email protected] (on behalf of the DPS Federal Relations Subcommittee).
 
Based information provided by DPS respondents to our earlier 
email (date), the following programs appear to have been impacted:
 
NO SELECTION LETTERS TO DATE
 
Astrobiology Instrument Development (ASTID proposals submitted 11/2003)
Planetary Instrument Design and Development (PIDDP 5/2004)
Planetary Atmospheres (PATM 5/2004)
Mars Data Analysis Program (MDAP 8/2004)
Exobiology (EXO 8/2004)
 
SELECTION LETTER BUT NO FUNDS TO DATE
 
Outer Planets Reseach (OPR selection letters received 11/2004)
Mars Fundamental Research Program (MFRP 12/2004)
Origins (3/2005)
 
CONTINUING GRANTS AND NO FUNDS
 
Mars Fundamental Research Program (MFRP oldest anniverary date 12/2004)
Origins (3/2005)
Planetary Geology and Geophysics (PG&G 3/2005)
Mars Data Analysis Program (MDAP 4/2005)
Planetary Atmospheres (PATM 4/2005)
Living With a Star (LWS 5/2005)
Terrestrial Planetary Finder Foundation Science (TPF 5/2005)
Exobiology (EXO 6/2005)
 
There are different reasons for different programs. In some cases, 
the program managers at NASA HQ have not gotten the paperwork off 
of their desks. In some cases these managers have not been tracking 
the multistep processes of getting an award from notice to funding, 
so no one notices a hangup until scientists start asking after 
their funding. There is a situation, in the process of being 
resolved, in which NASA's new financial management system pooled 
grant funds from HQ and Goddard funds into a single account 
where the grant funds were subsequently taxed. This was noticed 
and Ed Weiler (GFSC Director) has directed a team to figure out 
what happened and rectify the situation. In the meantime, Weiler 
has decreed that no HQ passthrough funds (e.g., grant funds) 
shall be taxed, and a mechanism has been set up to avoid this 
in the future. However, because of the impact to some existing 
programs (by an amount not yet provided), the reaction of some 
HQ program managers has been to freeze everything even when 
there are funds to support (for instance) continuing grants.
 
We note that some programs are running well (e.g., Planetary 
Astronomy has been mentioned positively by DPS respondents), 
and we would be interested in knowing about any other programs 
in which notices and funding have been disbursed in a timely fashion.
 
The DPS Committee relies upon your input to develop an effective 
plan of action to deal with the current situation. Impact to the 
community is mounting.
 
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DPS 2005 ABSTRACT DEADLINE
 
This is a friendly reminder that the dealine for submission of 
abstracts for the 2005 DPS meeting in Cambridge, UK, is Friday, 
1 July. Abstracts can be submitted via the meeting website 
at http://www.dps2005.com/
 
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KUIPER BELT BOOK OUTLINES SOUGHT
'
Announcing plans for a new book in the Space Science Series,
on the topic of . . .
 
 THE KUIPER BELT
 Edited by
 A. Barucci, H. Boehnhardt, D. Cruikshank, A. Morbidelli
 (publication at end 2007)
 
The process of forming the Scientific Organizing Committee (SOC)
for the topic THE KUIPER BELT is now underway and persons interested
in _devoting_substantial_effort_ as a member of the SOC are invited
to send suggested outlines to the lead editor:
 Antonella.Barucci at obspm.fr
 
A specific call for chapters will be made at a later date.
 
Richard P. Binzel, General Editor
Space Science Series
 

Send submissions (no attachments, please) to:
Linda French Emmons, DPS Secretary (lfrench at iwu.edu)
Department of Physics
Illinois Wesleyan University
P. O. Box 2900
Bloomington, IL 61702