The daylong event, which featured presentations in the Lecture Hall touching on topics ranging from proposal preparation to the peer-review process, was the first such program the NSF offered in New York.

Gerald Sonnenfeld, vice president for research, said the sessions were helpful for new and experienced faculty alike.

“The speakers from NSF provided valuable insights,” he said. “We hope that many Binghamton researchers will be able to apply the information they gathered the next time they seek NSF funding.”

Michael Frame, director of federal relations, coordinated the workshop with Lisa Gilroy, director of sponsored programs, and officials from NSF. He said the day, which drew nearly 400 participants from colleges and universities across New York, exceeded even the organizers’ expectations.

“The event had the largest registration of any regional seminar NSF has ever presented,” he said. “We’re thrilled that so many researchers were able to benefit from the sessions and from the one-on-one interactions with NSF staff members.”

George M. Wilson, legislative specialist in the Office of Legislative and Public Affairs at NSF, provided participants with an overview of the agency whose vision is “advancing discovery, innovation and education beyond the frontiers of current knowledge, and empowering future generations in science and engineering.”
Wilson emphasized the importance of a proposal’s ability to educate the next generation.

“We ask that when you give us a proposal, you explain how your research will be used in developing the human and physical infrastructure for the next generation of researchers,” he said. “Concentrate on how that (research) can affect the nation as a whole.”

Wilson said that 44,199 proposal actions, or decisions, were made on 248,000 reviews in 2008. This led to 11,156 awards – a 21 percent award rate for research projects.

“The odds of getting funded can be somewhat daunting,” he said. “The answer to that is persistence.”
Wilson urged participants to learn from the review of a rejected proposal and try again. The success rate of a proposal rises from 15 percent in the first submission to 50 percent in the second attempt to 75 percent by the third submission, he said.

There is a “steep learning curve” in proposal writing, Wilson said, and becoming an NSF reviewer can help. The 248,000 reviews last year were made by 45,000 reviewers.

“The best way to write a proposal for the National Science Foundation is to review proposals for the National Science Foundation,” Wilson said. “It can be a significant task, so reviewers tend to wear out after a while. We are always looking for new reviewers.”

Introduction to NSF – The Basics
George Wilson, Legislative Specialist, Office of Legislative and Public Affairs

Cross-Disciplinary and Special Interest Programs
George Wilson, Legislative Specialist, Office of Legislative and Public Affairs

International Programs
Sarah Yue, Einstein Fellow, Office of International Science and Engineering

Concurrent Directorate Sessions:
Biological Sciences
Diane M. Witt, Deputy Division Director, Division of Integrative Organismal Systems

Computer & Information Science & Engineering
Lawrence E. Brandt, Program Director, Division of Information and Intelligent Systems

Education and Human Resources
Julio E. Lopez-Ferrao, Program Director, Division of Research on Learning in Formal and Informal Settings

Engineering
Allen L. Soyster, Division Director, Division of Engineering Education and Centers

Geosciences
Stephen A. Macko, Program Director, Division of Earth Sciences

Mathematical and Physical Sciences
Zeev Rosenzweig, Program Officer, Division of Chemistry

Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences
Brian D. Humes, Program Director, Division of Social and Economic Sciences

Proposal Preparation 101
George Wilson, Legislative Specialist, Office of Legislative and Public Affairs

U.S. Sen. Charles E. Schumer and Rep. Maurice D. Hinchey said they believe CASP can help to address the national energy crisis as well as lead to the establishment of companies that will create more jobs in upstate New York.

“We are very grateful to Senator Schumer and Congressman Hinchey for their support in securing this funding and for their continuing support of the University,” Binghamton University President Lois B. DeFleur said. “This is an exciting investment in the University and yet another step in the advancement of the Center of Excellence and its research. It is vital that we look at long-term future energy generation from solar power, and Binghamton University is the right place to do just that.”

CASP will address the scientific challenges of reducing the cost of solar power and enhancing energy efficiency. The multidisciplinary center will draw expertise from engineering, computer science, chemistry and physics to focus on areas such as solar conversion efficiency, storage capabilities, solar module stability and power system cost reduction.

CASP will also work with industry to develop new technologies for defense, energy, aerospace, consumer and industrial markets by focusing on solar power sources integrated with new product designs. Potential applications include transportation communication systems, power generation for buildings and devices that will charge cell phone and laptops without the use of batteries.

“A place like this is the hope of the future of the Southern Tier and of America,” said Schumer, who added that he feels that we have a “moral imperative” to advance research on solar energy.Hinchey said he expects to seek additional federal funding for the center in the future. “We need – in the U.S. and frankly around the world – a new industrial revolution,” he said.

Building on the expertise of S3IP, which incorporates the Center for Advanced Microelectronics Manufacturing and the Integrated Electronics Engineering Center, CASP will develop thin film solar modules. Mimicking nature’s own energy-conversion processes, these ultra thin technologies will allow for the design of layered devices that capture all frequencies of the solar spectrum.

Gerald Sonnenfeld, vice president for research, noted that CASP builds on the University’s and the region’s historic strengths. Binghamton, he said, has become a model in terms of building collaborations among government, industry and academia.

“We are committed to the development of unique projects that can improve people’s lives,” Sonnenfeld said.

Using a sustainable model that demands that the individual device will generate much more energy in one year than it takes to manufacture, CASP researchers will be able to develop new and cost-effective applications.

“We all feel the pinch of rising energy costs and, as a society, need to explore alternatives,” said Seshu Desu, dean of the Thomas J. Watson School of Engineering and Applied Science and CASP director. “At the Watson School, our faculty and students are working on addressing the greatest challenges of our technology-intensive society and harnessing low-cost alternative energy sources is at the forefront of our priorities.”

The CAMM is an integral component of Binghamton University’s New York State Center of Excellence in Small Scale Systems Integration and Packaging. As one of New York State’s most innovative initiatives, the Centers of Excellence (COE) support high technology ventures through a collaborative approach among the State, academia, private venture capital companies, and other private and public sector parties. As one of only six COE’s in New York, Binghamton University’s Center specializes in small-scale systems design, process development, prototyping, and manufacturing for academia and the microelectronics industry.

Plans for the CAMM were initiated in 2005 when the United States Display Consortium (USDC) selected Binghamton University to manage this new initiative.  The USDC provided $12 million in equipment to establish the CAMM, which is hosted by Endicott Interconnect Technologies and draws collaborative resources from Cornell University.

From the USDC’s initial collaboration, the CAMM has grown into a facility that consists of a 10,000 square foot area and clean room. It includes an integrated roll-to-roll flexible electronics prototype manufacturing line, and an associated microfabrication laboratory. CAMM facilities also include a precision lithography stepper, vacuum coaters, and an in-line defect inspection capability.

“Binghamton University is a world leader in small scale systems integration and packaging research,” said Binghamton University President Lois B. DeFleur. “The Center for Advanced Microelectronics Manufacturing offers an unparalleled research and development capability that will help businesses compete in the global marketplace and spur economic advancement in the Southern Tier, New York State and the nation.”

Currently, most advanced electronics components are produced on silicon or quartz wafers, or on plates of specialized glass in a “batch” process that has been the backbone of the integrated circuit (IC) and flat panel display (FPD) industries. A R2R process, which integrates electronics on flexible plastic means, in theory, that components can be produced more efficiently, at higher yields and at a lower cost than is common practice today and opens up potential new application areas for flexible electronics.

Directed by Bahgat Sammakia, professor of mechanical engineering and director of Binghamton University’s New York State Center of Excellence in Small Scale Systems Packaging Center, the CAMM will evaluate equipment and materials developed under the auspices of USDC, industry and its own research and development program that will be further developed into a fully-integrated prototype manufacturing line. The CAMM will also provide large-scale testing whereby academic and industrial research groups can test their work for manufacturing applicability without the high costs and risks typically associated with such activities.

Equipment is accessible to both the University community and private industry, which participates in the CAMM through paid membership fees and funded research programs. CAMM’s corporate members include Endicott Interconnect Technologies, General Electric, Kodak, Corning Incorporated, Texas Instruments and Samsung Electronics Company. Additional partners and supporters include the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Army Research Laboratory, and New York State Foundation for Science, Technology and Innovation.

The CAMM is also working in tandem with the U.S. Army-funded Flexible Display Center (FDC) at Arizona State University (Tempe, Ariz.) on display-related R&D. The FDC focuses on process development and pilot production of flexible backplanes and displays for U.S. Army platforms and eventually, commercial applications.

“It is, in effect, creating the mold for others to follow,” Clinton said during a Monday visit to the campus. She met with University officials and leaders from the Greater Binghamton health-care community to discuss the nation’s nursing shortage and rural health concerns.

“The Decker School has had an emphasis on rural health since it was founded,” University President Lois B. DeFleur noted.

Clinton recently reintroduced a bill that aims to increase the nurse workforce in rural areas, expand nursing school faculty and develop initiatives to integrate patient safety practices into nursing education. The Nursing Education and Quality of Health Care Act would provide funds for grants and programs in rural areas to enhance the recruitment and retention of nurses as well as nursing students and faculty.

“We may be facing a nursing shortage today, but we are setting ourselves up for a nursing crisis if we don’t address this issue now,” said Clinton, a New York Democrat who is seeking her party’s nomination to run for president.

According to the senator, New York will need 80,000 nurses in the next 10 years. Meanwhile, schools such as Decker don’t have the capacity – in terms of both faculty and facilities – to educate all the qualified candidates who apply.

As she toured the Decker School’s Innovative Practice Center, Clinton spoke with students and faculty and even tried her hand at the lab’s simulations. She used a stethoscope to listen to the “heartbeat” of a SimBaby and felt the “pulse” of a SimMan.
“It feels real, doesn’t it?” she said with surprise, nodding at a student next to her.
Joyce Ferrario, dean of the Decker School, said the meeting with Clinton was productive. “I was astounded at her grasp of the issues we have, not only in nursing but in health care more broadly,” she said.

Ferrario noted the Decker School faces the same challenges as nursing programs all around the country.

The profession hasn’t made it a priority to train educators; very few nurses have doctoral degrees. In addition, faculty salaries can’t compete with those in industry. And nursing school facilities aren’t simple classrooms; colleges must have expensive high-tech learning labs as well as relationships with hospitals where students can gain clinical experience.

Terri Parkin, who graduated from the Decker School in May, now works for United Health Services. “My experiences at Decker have allowed me to become a cognitive and compassionate individual,” she told Clinton and others during a press conference.
Parkin, who grew up in New York City, said she views lifelong learning as critical to her work as a nurse. “Rural communities depend greatly on family and friendship,” she added, “and I have decided to incorporate that into my practice every day.”