Many grant-writing seminars offer general advice. This 75-minute seminar workshop takes a different approach. Drawing on Professor Autar Kaw’s experience as a Principal Investigator on seven NSF-funded projects that have been continuously funded since 2001, and on his service as an NSF reviewer, panelist, and mentor, he will share practical strategies for distinguishing funded engineering education proposals from those that are not. Participants will learn to identify fundable ideas, outline reviewer-friendly project descriptions, choose team members, develop credible evaluation plans, and avoid common pitfalls that weaken proposals. The session will combine a focused presentation with brief interactive exercises that help participants apply key concepts to their own proposal ideas. Rather than emphasizing lengthy group discussions or generic grant-writing recommendations, the workshop will focus on actionable insights, lessons learned, and specific strategies that faculty can immediately use to strengthen their proposals. The workshop is ideal for engineering faculty, postdocs, and aspiring PIs seeking to enter or increase their success in funding research in engineering education.

Speaker Bio:
Dr. Autar Kaw is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of South Florida and an internationally recognized scholar in engineering education. He received the 2012 U.S. Professor of the Year Award from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. He is a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). His scholarly interests include research in engineering education, adaptive and flipped learning, open educational resources, early detection of struggling students, and the future of higher education. Dr. Kaw has authored textbooks, developed widely used open educational resources, and created online learning materials that have reached millions of learners worldwide through videos and digital courseware. He has facilitated numerous faculty workshops on innovative teaching practices, engineering education research, assessment, and securing external funding.