Reimagining Your NSF Proposal workshop description:
This interactive workshop will offer practical strategies from an NSF expert for interpreting reviewer feedback, strengthening proposal components, and aligning with NSF priorities. Resubmissions that thoughtfully address review feedback have a much higher success rate, and NSF actively encourages this process by providing detailed critiques. Using the tools and support of peers and the presenter the goal is to prepare participants to take the next step and apply for seed funding to support a NSF resubmission. Participants will submit their declined NSF proposal narrative and NSF review summary in advance of the workshop for presenter preparations.
About the Presenter:
Professor Mohan Kumar, in the Department of Computer Science at RIT, was the Department Chair 2013-2021. Mohan's research is in the areas of pervasive and mobile computing and parallel and distributed systems. He has advised 17 doctoral dissertations, published 200+ peer-reviewed articles and secured $8M+ in competitive grants. He recently served as a Program Officer and Acting Deputy Division Director at NSF from 2022-2025. This experience allowed him to led initiatives in multi-site research centers, international collaborations, and interagency partnership across emerging technology domains. His leadership spanned programs in AI, quantum computing, cybersecurity, and translational research, while coordinating cross-division efforts and contributing to strategic funding opportunities.
Interactive Workshop Details:
- Registration Deadline - Monday, November 30, 2026 (registration below)
- Workshop Date - Tuesday, December 8, 2026
- Time - 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM
- Location - The SHED room 3350
- In-person workshop, no remote option available
- A light lunch will be provided
Who Should Participate?
This program is specifically designed to support early-career faculty in securing their first major NSF award. It is ideal for PIs who meet the following criteria:
- Seven (7) years or less in a tenure or tenure-track faculty position.
- Have not yet received NSF funding as a PI.
- Have had a proposal declined by the NSF within the last 18 months that included reviewer comments.
Individual Strategy Consultations
Following the workshop, a limited number of attendees with recently declined NSF proposals that received promising reviewer feedback (e.g., Excellent, Very Good, or Good ratings) will have the opportunity to participate in a one-on-one consultation with Dr. Kumar.
These individualized sessions will provide participants with tailored guidance on reviewer comments, proposal positioning, revision priorities, and resubmission strategy, helping investigators develop a clear path toward a stronger future submission.