Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope
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  • The Phase 1 proposal deadline for Cycle 1 has passed.
  • If you have been invited to submit a Phase 2 (budget) proposal, the deadline is Friday, February 29. Phase 2 instructions can be found here.
  • Abstracts of the proposals tentatively accepted after Phase 1 review can be found here.

Fermi Cycle 1 Guest Investigator Program Information

Fermi's Guest Investigator Program, part of NASA Headquarters' Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Sciences (ROSES) Announcement, supports basic research relevant to the Fermi mission. Cycle 1 investigators may propose for funding rather than for specific Fermi observations or data rights; in addition, investigators may apply for radio or optical observing time through the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) or the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) or for high-end computing resources. In this cycle investigators may propose theory studies, correlated multiwavelength observations and the development of new data analysis techniques relevant to the Fermi mission. GIs will be able to analyze GBM burst data, and the summary LAT data (e.g., fluxes and lightcurves of transients and ~20 scientifically interesting sources) that will be released. The GI program will also award radio and optical observing time through the Fermi-NRAO and the Fermi-NOAO joint proposal programs.

Details:

Fermi Cycle 1 Announcement

Appendix D.9 of ROSES-07, the Fermi Guest Investigator Program—Cycle 1, is the definitive definition of the GI program.

IMPORTANT! Properties of the Fermi GI Program

Investigations are to begin in the first year of Fermi's science observations, i.e., starting ~60 days after launch.

In Cycle 1 there will be two proposal classes: (1) Regular proposals with research plans that can be completed in one year and (2) Large proposals whose research plans are more expansive and may take up to three years to complete. Large projects will be reviewed before each of the two cycles following the cycle of the initial award to determine if appropriate progress is being made toward the proposed objectives.

It is anticipated that approximately $4 M will be available through this solicitation for the support of approximately 40 Guest Investigations of one-year duration each and up to ~4 Large projects.

What the Fermi GI program is:

  • Fermi PIs can propose to:
    • Analyze the data released by the LAT: lightcurves and spectra of ~20 bright sources; light curves and spectra of transients.
    • Analyze all science data released by the GBM.
    • Support correlated observations of gamma-ray sources at other wavelengths that are directly relevant to Fermi.
    • Develop advanced techniques for analyzing Fermi data.
    • Perform theoretical studies of gamma-ray sources. Up to 10% of Fermi GI funding may be devoted to such theoretical efforts.
    • Observe Fermi-relevant sources on NRAO and NOAO facilities.
  • Fermi proposals may be submitted by investigators at both US and non-US institutions, but only PIs or Co-Is sited at US institutions may receive funding from NASA. Proposals without any investigators sited at a US institution will be evaluated (such an evaluation may assist an investigator obtain funding from a foreign agency), and may be awarded NRAO and NOAO observing time.
  • The Fermi GI program is part of NASA Headquarters Research Opportunities in Space And Earth Science 2007 (ROSES-2007).

What the Fermi GI Cycle 1 program is NOT:

  • Fermi proposers will not have access to LAT event data. These data will be proprietary to the LAT instrument team until the beginning of Cycle 2.
  • Fermi proposers will not have proprietary data rights to GBM data. All GBM science data products will become public immediately.
  • Fermi proposers may not request pointed observations in Cycle 1.

Schedule and Checklist of Required Items for a Complete Fermi Proposal Submission

Proposers are urged to read carefully the Description of the Fermi Guest Investigator Program for Cycle 1 (i.e., Appendix D.9 of ROSES-07). Below we distill the highlights.

Fermi's Cycle 1 proposal process will have two Phases. In Phase 1 you will submit a cover page and a scientific justification; the cover page (generated by a webform) will include a budget cap and the scientific justification should include a brief management section that describes the resources required (e.g., FTE). The page limit for this section is 4 pages for a Regular proposal, and 6 pages for a Large proposal. A peer review panel will review your Phase 1 proposal, and you will submit a Phase 2 budget proposal only if your Phase 1 proposal has been tentatively accepted.

PIs of Large projects approved in previous cycles must submit a progress report annually on the Phase 1 proposal due date (rather than on the anniversary of the award date). A Large project may be funded for a total of 3 years.

Proposal submission is fully electronic. No paper copies are required. For Fermi's Cycle 1, the Phase 1 (science/technical/management) proposals must be submitted via AKBAR/RPS. Phase 2 budget proposals will be submitted through NSPIRES. Both systems require simple registration before use—see below for details.

Schedule for Fermi Cycle 1

Announcement (as part of ROSES 2007) February 16, 2007
Release of online proposal aids and documentation June 7, 2007
Notices of Intent Accepted after July 13, 2007
Proposals Due September 7, 2007
Proposal Peer Review December 10-12, 2007
Fermi Cycle 1 Begins ~60 days after launch

Checklist:

  • Register now

    Before submitting proposals, you must register with the relevant systems (below).

  • Notices of Intent - accepted after July 13, 2007

    Submit the Notice of Intent (NOI) through the FSSC NOI website. You will provide the following information:

    • Your name
    • Your e-mail address
    • A tentative title
    • A tentative abstract
    • Proposal type: regular or large
    • Research type: Correlated, Data Analysis Techniques, GBM Analysis, or Theory
    • Subject category: Active Galactic Nuclei; Gamma-Ray Bursts; Pulsars; Stars; Supernovae, Novae, SNRs and Diffuse Emissions; Galaxies and Clusters; or Other

    There is no advance notice needed for the AKBAR/RPS system. You may submit a Phase 1 proposal even if you did not submit a NOI, but a NOI will help us plan the peer review of your proposal.

  • Phase 1 Proposal Submission - due September 7, 2007, 4:30 pm EDT

    Required Items for a Complete Fermi Cycle 1 Phase 1 proposal submission:

    1. A cover page submitted electronically via AKBAR/RPS. On this cover page you will include:
      • Contact information for all investigators
      • Abstract
      • Proposal categorization (large/regular, type of source studied, type of proposal)
      • Identification of joint programs (if relevant)—the current programs are the NRAO-Fermi cooperative agreement and NOAO-Fermi cooperative agreements, and NASA's High-End Computing (see section Id of the Summary of Solicitation).
      • NRAO or NOAO resources requested (if relevant)
      • Maximum Budget Request—this is the maximum funding request you will make if your proposal is accepted, in thousands of dollars. For a multi-year large proposal, enter the budget for the first year only. This is the only place you will provide a budget number.
      • NASA FTE Commitment—this is the number of NASA civil servant FTEs that the proposed research program will support if accepted.
      • Target forms (if relevant)—source name, position and type. A file with a list of targets can be uploaded by clicking on the 'Add Targets' button at the top and bottom of the form.
    2. A single PDF file containing the text of your scientific justification uploaded via the RPS Web site. The page limit for the scientific justification is 4 pages for a Regular proposal, and 6 pages for a Large Proposal. The PI's Vita is not required. The font shall be no smaller than 10 pt, and need not include section headings. This text should include:
      • Scientific description of your research plan.
      • A short statement demonstrating the relevance of the proposed research to NASA's objectives (see Table 1 of the Summary of Solicitation).
      • A management section that describes the resources required, including the expected contribution of the different investigators. This section should provide an estimate of the level of effort (e.g., 0.5 FTE of a postdoc), but not the maximum budget request. If you are submitting a multi-year large proposal, please qualitatively describe the level-of-effort profile.
      • If you are proposing for NRAO or NOAO observing time, please include your NRAO or NOAO observing plan. To ease the review and implementation of your observing plan, please include all the relevant information in one contiguous section. Note that you cannot apply for more than 200 hours or Target-of-Opportunity radio observations through the NRAO joint proposal opportunity, or for Target-of-Opportunity or survey program optical observations through the NOAO joint proposal opportunity, but must instead apply through the cooperative proposal opportunity of each program.
      • If you are proposing for NASA-Provided High-End Computing Resources, please describe and justify your request (see section Id of the Summary of Solicitation).

    Proposals to analyze released LAT data on a particular source, perform correlated multiwavelength observations of a source, or model a source also require electronic submission of an AKBAR/RPS target form containing the source name and position (RA and Dec) of the target.

    Proposals must be received by 4:30 PM EDT September 7, 2007. If you have difficulties submitting your proposal or have technical questions about the Fermi mission, see our Getting Help section.

  • Phase 2 Proposal Submission

    You will submit a phase 2 (budget) proposal only if your phase 1 proposal has been (tentatively) accepted. You will receive instructions in that happy event.

Supporting Materials for Submitting Fermi Proposals

Getting Help

If you have problems with the first Phase proposal and target forms in the AKBAR/RPS system, please see the AKBAR/RPS Quick Help page; questions about AKBAR/RPS should be sent to the RPS Help Desk, which is linked at the bottom of the Quick Help page.

If you have questions or problems with the NSPIRES system, please consult the NSPIRES Help Page, or submit your technical support question to nspires-help@nasaprs.com.

If you have questions about the Fermi instruments, mission, simulation tools, or overall proposal program, please contact the Fermi Science Support Center Help Desk.

If you'd like to be a Peer Reviewer

The Fermi Cycle 1 Peer Review will take place December 10-12, 2007, in the vicinity of Washington, DC. Reviewers must have a PhD at the time of the Peer Review.

If you would like to be considered as a reviewer, please send an e-mail to the HEASARC Peer Review mailbox.

Changes Since June 7 Release

  • Only first year budget number submitted for multiyear large proposals--8/23/07
  • Links added to Fermispec--7/13/07
  • NOIs accepted after 7/13--7/17/07
  • NOAO program added--8/21/07