Program Description: This program seeks to enhance and expand the national resource of digital data documenting existing vouchered biological and paleontological collections and to advance scientific knowledge by improving access to digitized information (including images) residing in vouchered scientific collections across the United States. The information associated with various collections of organisms, such as geographic, paleogeographic and stratigraphic distribution, environmental habitat data, phenology, information about associated organisms, collector field notes, and tissues and molecular data extracted from the specimens, is a rich resource providing the baseline from which to further biodiversity research and provide critical information about existing gaps in our knowledge of life on earth. The national resource is structured at three levels: a central coordinating organization, a series of thematic networks based on an important research theme, and the physical collections. The national resource builds upon a sizable existing national investment in curation of the physical objects in scientific collections and contributes vitally to scientific research and technology interests in the United States. It will become an invaluable tool in understanding contemporary biological issues and challenges.

Please see the solicitation for complete information.

One (1) TCN proposal per lead institution. (We may be involved in more than one collaborative effort as a non-lead proposal.)

Associate Deans or Designates should submit the following materials electronically to limitedsub@austin.utexas.edu by 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 26, 2012:

1. Dean's or ORU Director's Letter of Nomination
2. Two page maximum lay abstract describing the aims/needs of the proposed research project.
3. The bio sketch/CV of the UT PI

Each college may submit one (1) nomination.

Revision Summary

This solicitation is the successor to solicitation, NSF 11-567 and differs from NSF 11-567 in the following ways:

1. It includes the updated Directorate for Geosciences Earth Cube goals and web links
2. It provides additional guidance for proposals from collections to become partners to existing networks.
3. Other revisions change language to clarify the intent.
4. The name of the program is modified from Biological to Biodiversity to indicate more clearly the joint goals of BIO and GEO.

Dr. James Sprinkle, Jackson School of Geosciences

Dr. Ann Molineux, College of Natural Science