ROSES-19 Amendment 50: New ROSES Graduate Student Research Program Element: E.6 Future Investigators in NASA Earth and Space Science and Technology (FINESST)

A new program element has been added to NASA’s Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Sciences 2019 (ROSES-2019) to support graduate student-designed and performed research projects that contribute to the Science Mission Directorate’s (SMD’s) science, technology and exploration goals.

Future Investigators in NASA Earth and Space Science and Technology (FINESST), the ROSES Graduate Student Research Program Element, E.6, is now soliciting proposals from accredited U.S. universities and other eligible organizations. A Notice of Intent is not requested for E.6 FINESST, but proposals to FINESST are due by February 4, 2020.

FINESST awards research grants with a research mentor as the principal investigator and the listed graduate student listed as the “student participant”. Unlike the extinct NASA Earth and Space Science Fellowships (NESSF), the Future Investigators (FIs) are not trainees or fellows.

For Current NESSF Recipients

Students with existing NESSF awards seeking a third year of funding, may not submit proposals to FINESST. Instead, they may propose to “NASA Earth and Space Science Fellowship-2020 Renewal Proposals (Solicitation: NESSF20R)”. Subject to a period of performance restriction, some former NESSFs may be eligible to submit proposals to FINESST.

In 2018, The Science Mission Directorate’s or SMD’s four science divisions, Earth Science, Heliophysics, Planetary Science, and Astrophysics, at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC, announced the phasing out (sun setting) for the NASA Earth and Space Science Fellowships or NESSF competition.

On behalf of existing eligible NESSF students, universities shall continue to request funding for the academic 2020-2021 year via this final NESSF20R solicitation. Students who are not already NESSFs are not eligible to propose for a NESSF award via this solicitation.

Proposals are due March 16, 2020.

FINESST Pre-Proposal Teleconference

Potential proposers are invited to participate in an optional pre-proposal teleconference on December 2, 2019 from 1:00-2:30 p.m. Eastern Time. Participants may (no earlier than 30 minutes prior to the start time) call 1-888-324-3185 (U.S.-only Toll Free) or 1-630-395-0272 (U.S. Toll) and use Participant Passcode: 8018549. Restrictions may prevent the use of a toll-free number from a mobile or free-phone or from telephones outside the U.S. For U.S. TTY-equipped callers or other types of relay service no earlier than 30 minutes before the start of the teleconference, call 711 and provide the same conference call number/passcode.

Email HQ-FINESST@mail.nasa.gov any teleconference agenda suggestions and questions by November 25, 2019. Afterwards, questions and responses, with identifying information removed, will be posted on the NSPIRES page for FINESST under “other documents”.

Further Information

This Amendment to the NASA Research Announcement “ROSES 2019” (NNH19ZDA001N) is posted on the NASA research opportunity homepage at:
http://solicitation.nasaprs.com/ROSES2019

The announcement also appears on the RSS feed at:
https://science.nasa.gov/researchers/sara/grant-solicitations/roses-2019/

Questions concerning this program element may be directed to HQ-FINESST@mail.nasa.gov.