Field notes
Posts on NSF proposals, review panels, and the mistakes I see most often.
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Common CAREER proposal mistakes
Two CAREER mistakes I see on NSF panels: a lukewarm departmental letter and weak integration of research and education, and how to fix both.
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The Future of Peer-Review at NSF
NSF BIO has changed its peer-review process. Why a pre-submission review now matters more, especially for early-career and niche researchers.
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Why your Broader Impacts killed your proposal
Performative inclusion, narrow benefit, no feasibility, no creativity: the Broader Impacts problems that sink NSF proposals with strong science.
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Five common GRFP mistakes
Five GRFP mistakes reviewers see constantly, from cliché personal statement openings to weak recommendation letters, plus a bonus on GenAI.
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What Big Red Pen is …and isn’t.
Big Red Pen is a mock NSF panel review of your full draft, not editing or coaching. What you get, what you don’t, and when to send it.
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Pay to Play?
Why I charge for NSF grant reviews, who usually pays for them, and how I keep GRFP reviews affordable for graduate students.
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Why I’m Offering Grant Reviews
After nearly 20 years of NSF funding and a decade on review panels, I started Big Red Pen to offer real NSF-style proposal reviews.