One of the amazing, and perhaps not fully appreciated, aspects of NSF is the incorporation of temporary or rotating Program Directors in its scientific staff. This opportunity allows for scientists, engineers, and educators to join NSF on a temporary appointment to participate in NSF’s mission to promote the process of science. To the benefit of the agency, rotators bring fresh ideas from individuals engaged daily in scientific research, training, and outreach, and insight into issues specific research or academic communities are facing.

While a rotating Program Director, you participate fully in the oversight of merit review, including organizing and running panels; recommend funding decisions; interact with the PI community via outreach activities; and provide advice on grant proposals in development or on recently reviewed grants. You can also be involved in and spearhead new scientific funding initiatives. It is a fantastic opportunity for you to learn the inside-scoop on how decisions are made at NSF. And, of course, you can take your new-found knowledge back to your home institution to share with your colleagues upon completion of your rotation! Previous rotators have stated that their time at NSF was “the best”!

More information about the rotator program at NSF can be found HERE.

If you are interested in potentially serving as a rotator within IOS in the future, we encourage you to fill out this short form and someone from IOS will be in contact with you.

If you would like to apply for a rotator position today, there are two open opportunities for Program Directors in IOS, in the Developmental Systems Cluster and the Physiological and Structural Systems Cluster. The application can be found HERE and closes on February 8, 2022. The Division of Biological Infrastructure (DBI) also has some rotator opportunities open, which are focused on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion efforts. Learn more about those from their recent blog post.