The success of the NSF merit review process depends on qualified scientific reviewers (like yourself!) to share your time and expertise to review proposals submitted by your peers. IOS needs reviewers to serve as both ad hoc reviewers (typically reading 1 proposal and providing a written review)) and panelist reviewers (who sit on a 2- or 3-day panel that includes evaluating a pool of proposals and writing reviews for 6-10 proposals). There are numerous benefits to being a reviewer for NSF, including reading about the latest science advancements in your field and their potential benefits to society, gaining first-hand knowledge of the merit review process, discovering strategies to writing strong proposals, learning about common problems found in proposals, and (if serving as a panelist) meeting colleagues and NSF program officers working in areas related to your scientific interests. 

If you are interested in reviewing proposals or being on a review panel for IOS, please identify which IOS cluster(s) is most aligned with your areas of expertise (links to the cluster descriptions are provided at the end of this post).   

Once you have a cluster(s) in mind, either: 

• Register your interest using this form, or  
• Directly email the IOS cluster that matches your area of expertise with your CV or NSF Biosketch (an email template and points of contact are provided below).  

IOS Program Directors will be notified of your interest and may invite you to submit a review for NSF if they find a suitable proposal matching your publication history and areas of expertise. 

Example email to express your interest in reviewing for IOS: 

Dear Dr. _____,  
 
I am interested in serving as a reviewer for the _________ cluster. Keywords for my research expertise include: ________, _________, _________, and _______.  For additional information, please see my attached my CV/Biosketch.   

Sincerely, 

IOS cluster descriptions and email addresses: 

Behavioral Systems IOSBSC@nsf.gov 
Developmental Systems IOSDSC@nsf.gov  
Neural Systems IOSNSC@nsf.gov 
Physiological and Structural Systems IOSPSS@nsf.gov 
Plant Genome Research Program dbipgr@nsf.gov