UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Penn State Institutes of Energy and the Environment (IEE), together with the Institute for CyberScience (ICS), will host two collaboration sessions in January 2017 targeting researchers who are interested in two current National Science Foundation (NSF) funding opportunities.
The first session, scheduled from noon to 2 p.m. on Jan. 12, 2017, in 233A HUB-Robeson Center, will focus on the NSF program “Innovations at the Nexus of Food, Energy and Water Systems” (INFEWS), which aims to enable research leading to new solutions for critical problems in the world’s food, water and energy systems through approaches that include quantitative and computational modeling. Interested researchers can register for the session here.
The second collaboration session, set for 9 to 11 a.m. on Jan. 16, 2017, in 233AB HUB-Robeson Center, will focus on the NSF program “Energy-Efficient Computing: from Devices to Architectures” (E2CDA), which looks to support new research that will minimize the energy impacts of processing, storing and moving data within future computing systems. Interested researchers can register here.
IEE Director Tom Richard said these events are an excellent way for faculty members and researchers to learn about work that others at Penn State are doing and meet potential research collaborators.
“We work at a large and diverse university, which is wonderful in many ways. But pulling together a successful large interdisciplinary project often requires collaboration across disciplines and colleges, and it can be hard to know who shares your interests and has complementary skills,” Richard said. “These events will be a great opportunity to share ideas and expertise, make new contacts and discuss potential collaborations.”
“These are major NSF funding opportunities that call out for an interdisciplinary approach,” said Jenni Evans, interim director of ICS. “Both IEE and ICS were created with the goal of promoting interdisciplinary research at Penn State, and we’re excited to bring faculty together to brainstorm, build connections and work toward what we hope will be winning proposals.”
Both collaboration sessions are free and open to any interested Penn State faculty members or researchers. The Jan. 16 session will also include opportunities for discussion around the NSF program “Cyber-Physical Systems” (CPS), which looks to develop the core system science needed to engineer complex cyber-physical systems for human use. Additionally, a lunch buffet will be provided for the Jan. 12 session, and a continental breakfast will be provided for the session on Jan. 16.