UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND COLLEGE PARK
OFFICE OF RESEARCH AND GRADUATE STUDIES

MEMORANDUM 

To:	Department Chairs and Deans in the Natural Sciences and Engineering
From:	Timothy J. Ng, Associate Vice President for Research
Date:	12 June 2001
Subject:	NASA Research, Engineering & Technology Institutes (URETIs)

UM DEADLINE: Monday, 25 June 2001, 12:00 PM, 2100 Lee Bldg.
 

On 13 June 2001, NASA will issue their formal solicitation (Cooperative Agreement Notice 01-OAT-01) for proposals for University Research Engineering and Technology Institutes (URETIs). URETIs will be in two general areas (Aeronautic and Aerospace Propulsion, and Bio-Nano-Information Technology), and "Notices of Intent and "White Papers" are due to NASA on 29 June 2001. The University of Maryland College Park is limited to one "Notice of Intent" and "White Paper" for each of the two general areas.

NASA plans to use URETIs to strengthen NASA's ties to the academic community through long-term sustained investment in areas of innovative and long-range technology critical to NASA's future. At the same time, the URETIs will enhance and broaden the capabilities of the nation's universities to meet the needs of NASA's science and technology programs.

NASA expects to fund up to five URETIs in the current competition. Initial URETI awards are expected to have a duration of 5 years, with funding of up to $3 million per year. Each cooperative agreement will have a maximum possible duration of 10 years, after which the URETIs will be expected to be self-sufficient. More information on the URETI solicitation can be found at: http://procurement.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/EPS/synopsis.cgi?acqid=96977.

Materials required for University of Maryland review include: a "Notice of Intent" (see Appendix C of the solicitation), and a "White Paper" expanding on the proposed URETI vision, research plan, expected NASA impact, and planned interactions (maximum 3 pages, 12 point font with 1" margins). If necessary, these materials will be reviewed by a faculty committee convened by the Graduate School to determine whether efforts can be combined, or to select which "Notices of Intent" and "White Papers" will be submitted to NASA. These materials must be submitted to the Graduate School, 2100 Lee Building, no later than Monday, 25 June 2001, at 12:00 p.m.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Tim Ng (x56918 or tng@deans.umd.edu) or Anne Geronimo (x54178 or ageronimo@umresearch.umd.edu) at the Graduate School.