Preparing "Chunky Bullets" -- Highlights from Research Funded Through the BES Division of Materials Sciences and Engineering

Dear Program Managers and Coordinators for Materials Sciences and Engineering :

Each spring we are called upon to submit brief write-ups of our outstanding scientific achievements over the past year for our next budget request. This year, we need your inputs by April 5, 2006 (sooner if possible). Please submit them to Harriet Kung.

Please be very selective in what you submit. We anticipate that we will be limited to no more than four submissions per Core Research Activity for our entire (Laboratory + University) program. The emphasis here is on quality and outstanding science, and not on quantity of submissions.

Each submission must be a BES-supported scientific achievement and should be no more than 200 words including the title, or possible footnotes. Please use the same template as last year; six filled-in model examples are attached above. Please fill in the appropriate Core Research Activity (CRA) as follows: 

            KC020101      Structure and Composition of Materials

            KC020102      Mechanical Behavior and Radiation Effects

            KC020103      Physical Behavior

            KC020105      Synthesis and Processing

            KC020601...   Engineering Physics  

            KC020201      X-ray & Neutron Scattering

            KC020202      Experimental Condensed Matter Physics

            KC020203      Condensed Matter Theory & Computational Materials Physics

            KC020301      Materials Chemistry & Biomolecular Materials

Please make use of this template file, which contains a default entry as an example of the type of text we seek. We also have made available an example of the simple graphic which accompanies the text. Please note that if we ask you for an accompanying graphic, we prefer to receive this as a PowerPoint slide (see the last item in the list below).

Here are a few suggestions to keep in mind during your preparations:

  • You are writing for the exceptionally diverse audience that is involved in our budget approval process which includes MBAs, accountants & lawyers, and also PhDs in physics, chemistry, & materials science. Avoid the use of scientific jargon, instead using lay language as much as possible.

  • Choose a clever title that will compel the reader to really want to read the entire text.

  • Never identify the performer or institution in the narrative. (The PI is indicated in a separate column in the above template.)

  • The first sentence should be a discovery or result that will knock the reader’s socks off. We urge you not to start with a statement of the problem or a historical sentence as one might when writing for Phys. Rev. Lett.

  • Refrain from mentioning future plans or current pursuits.

  • In addition to a clear statement of the scientific discovery, breakthrough, or advancement, briefly describe the significance of the scientific result.

  • At a later point in time we may ask for a PowerPoint visual to support your achievement. However, your achievement must serve as a stand-alone document, and not require this visual to be appreciated.

    We appreciate very much your past and continuing efforts to make a good show in this vital step in our budget process.