Reflection

LetmejuststartbysayinghowproudIamofmyselfforgettingthisassignmentdonein
themannerthatIdid,whichistosayIonlyprocrastinatedalittlebitandthemajorityofthe
proposalwasfinishedbeforepeerreviewdayonWednesday.

Additionally,IwouldliketosaythatIhonestlyenjoyedthisassignmentforseveral
reasons.ThemainreasonIlikeditwasbecauseIwasabletoincorporateknowledgewhichI
haveobtainedthroughmyworkexperienceinelectrochemicalengineeringhereoncampus.It
alsogavemeasenseofwhatisrequiredforagrantproposal,namely,alotofwork,andvery
specificdetails,which,Iamconfident,willservemewellinthefutureasIhaveplanstosubmit
agranttotheNationalScienceFoundation(NSF)tofundmygraduateresearch.

Asidefromthat,Icanthelpbutcritiquemyselfsomewhat.Ihonestlydidntpourmy
heartoutonthisassignment(Idontthinkthatsontherubric),buthadIdoneso,Ifeelthat
withextensiveinputfrommyteamoffearless,andaccomplished,researchadvisors,itwould
havebeenthebeginningofarealproject(oratleasttheproposalwouldhavebeengood
enoughforsubmission).InotherwordsIcouldhavedonebetter.

AndtowrapupthissectionsoIcanmoveontothestudentlearningoutcomes.Iwould
justliketolistafewthingswhichInoticedthatwereparticularlydifficultformeandwhatI
learnedfromtheexperienceofwritingthisproposal:

ProjectPlan:asIstartedwritingtheprojectplanIrealizedhowdetaileditwould
reallyneedtobe,andasaresultImsurethattheplanislackinginmany
respects.Thereissurelymuchmoretowritingagrantproposalforhalfamillion
dollars;intherealworldIwouldsurelyneedafullteamassembled,includingall
collaboratorsbeforeIwouldsubmitaproposalofthisnature.Additionallythe
proposalwouldneedtodealwithmoreofthetechnicalaspectsofrobot
constructionandsoftwareprogrammingotherwiseitwouldbevery
unprofessional.
Budget:Iamnotverygoodwithmoneytobeginwith,soallocatingfundsforthis
projectwassomewhatdifficult,atleastmoredifficultincomparisontowriting
othersectionoftheproposal.However,itwasagoodexerciseandIhopetoget
betterwithpractice.ThatisanotherreasonwhyIlikedthisassignmentbecause
ithighlightedthosethingsthatImightstrugglewithwhenIsitdowntowritea
realgrantproposal.
TimeManagement:ThisisanotherthingIneedtoworkonpersonally,butthatI
feelItookthefirstimportantstepstowardinitiatingonthisassignment.Ididnt
needtostartamonthinadvance,butIalsodidntwaittillthelastminutelikeI
usuallydooneverythingelse.Havingtheassignmentprettymuchdonewitha
fewdayslefttogoaffordedmetheopportunitytoaddandimprovethe

documentaswellastoreflectonitcalmlysothatIcouldgoinaaddthefinishing
touchesbeforesubmission.Additionally,havingthatextratimeeliminatedthe
possibilityofextenuatingcircumstancesinterferingwithmyabilitytofinishthe
assignmentorhavesomethingreadyforpeerreviewday.

OnTheStudentLearningOutcomes

1. Analyzetherhetoricalsituation:

Subject:
Thesubjectofthisproposalisarequestforfundingtobuildarobotcapableof
synthesizingcatalyticmaterialsviaanestablishedmethoddevelopedbyanAssociateResearch
ProfessorinthedepartmentofChemicalandBiologicalEngineeringhereatUNM.

Purpose:
ThepurposeofthisproposalwastoconvinceanofficialattheDOEtofundthe
developmentandconstructionofasynthesisrobotsothatthelabIworkincoulduseitto
furtherenhancethelabsproductivityandelevateitscontributiontothescientificcommunity.
Thisisevidentthroughouttheproposal.Forexample,inthebenefitssectionIwrite:

CMEM hascalculatedtheaddedbenefitofaddingjustonesynthesisrobottoourteam
of skilled scientists andengineers workinginthefield of hydrogen fuel cell developmenttobe
equal to that of hiring an additional fifty graduate students working around the clock with
constantaccesstoequipmentandmaterials.Indoing so,theforecastedincreaseinproductivity
is over three hundred fold...Additionally, this increased productivity will supply an
unprecedented amount of scientific data,whichwillbe used to further elucidate thecomplex
mechanismswhichgovernthemodeofactionoftheseincrediblecatalyticmaterials.

Audience:
The primary audience of this proposal was Sunita SatyapalDirector of the
Fuel Cell Technologies Office in the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy at the
Department of Energy. I chose this particular person as my primary audience, because she
holds aprestigious positionin thegovernment organizationfrom whichIwasrequestingfunds
(DOE). In that capacity, she likely oversees the grant review process for thegrantswhich are
distributedfromheroffice.

Additionally, Sunita would likely have a team ofadvisorswho wouldalsobe reviewing

this proposal, and as such would constitute the secondary audience. Because you (Breanne
Potter)areevaluatingthis proposal andadvising me as tothequalityofitscontents,youarea
tertiary audience. Finally, my boss who would be responsible for giving me permission to
submittheproposalwouldbeagatekeeper.

Constraintsof the ProposalGenre:

Iwantedthisproposaltobesomewhatrealistic,soI
usedfactual informationwhich I wasaware of based onmyworkexperience, such asthevery
real problem of productivity that exists in my lab, as well as the background information
regarding the composition of PGMfree catalysts and the methods by which they are
synthesized.Ialsoresearchedandselectedarealgranttoapplyforthatmightactuallyfundthis

project, andselected my primaryaudience(Sunita)accordingtotheirabilitytomakeadecision

tofundtheprojectornot.

Also, from what I understand about the proposal genre, proposals need to be very
detailed andspecific.Forexample,whenIwriteaboutthequalificationsthatCMEMhastolead
the construction of a synthesis robot I didntjustsaysomethinglike CMEMdoesgreatwork
and everybody knows that, insteadIincludedspecificaccomplishmentsthat CMEM has such
asthenumber of studentswe havetrainedand thenumberofpatentswe have(eventhoughI
madethose numbersup).For thesame reason,inthebenefits sectionIspecificallystatedhow
havingmoreproductivitywouldallowustolearnmoreaboutPGMfreematerialsandhowthey
worked, and that this understanding would further the science of fuelcelltechnology,which
would lead to greater marketability and a cleaner energy future, rather than just saying that
greaterproductivity willlead to acleanerenergyfuture. Icouldhavebeenmorespecificabout
howwestudythesematerials,butIfeltitwouldhavebeenbeyondthescopeofthisproject.

2
.
Findandevaluateinformation:
InwritingthisproposalIfoundandevaluatedinformation
fromvarioussources.Forexample,IneededtofirstfindarealgrantforwhichIwouldapplyfor,
whichIfoundquiteeasilyfromtheDepartmentofEnergy.Togivemyselfsomeadditional
creditthisrequiredmetounderstandwhomightfundthistypeofproject,andinordertodo
soIreliedonmyintuitionregardingthecomplexgrantmarketplace.AfterIhadselectedthe
grantIwouldbeapplyingforIneededtouseacademicsourcestosubstantiatethefactual
informationIpresentedintheproposal.ForthisIselectedareviewpaperwhichsavedmetime
intrackingdownandcitingmultiplesourceswhilealsoprovidingpotentialreaderswithalarge
amountofrelevantinformation.Ialsofoundsomenicearticlesoutsideofacademiawhich
toutedoursuccessesatCMEMinregardstothematerialswesynthesizeandtestforhydrogen
fuelcellapplications,whichIthinkwasanicetouch.

3.Composedocuments:

Strategydevelopment
:GiventhedetailednatureoftheproposalgenreIfeltitwas
importantformeto,first,haveanoutlineofmainpoints,whichasitturnsoutservedmevery
well,becauseasIwaswritingthedocumentIreferredbackmyoutlineconstantlytomakesure
thatmywritingwasonpointandwouldconveytheinformationIwastryingtogetacross
withoutgettingofftrackandincludinginformationnotpertinenttoaparticularsection.Also,
whenIstartedwritingIwasnotsoconcernedaboutthevisualdetails,ratherIsimplywrote
downasmuchinformationasIcouldwiththeintentionoffillinginthingslikecitations,adding
pictures,andorganizingthetextlater(whichIdid).ThishelpedmefocusonthebigpictureasI
waswriting.

Ethicalinfluences
:Intermsofethics,Ithinkitwasimportantformetoincludeasmuch
factualinformationasIcould,andwhenIstretchedthetruth,forthepurposesoftheproject,
thatIwasabletomakeitbelievable.AnotheraspectoftheproposalinwhichIfeelbeing
ethicalcomesintoplayisincitingsources,(whichIdid)eventhegraphics,becauseifIdidnt
citemysourcesIwouldbeplagiarizingotherswork.Forexample,Ididnotcreatethose

graphicssoIshouldnottakecreditforthem.AnotherwayinwhichIfeelthisproposalexudes
ethicalwritingpracticesisthroughtherealisticrequestforfundingbasedonthecurrent
situationsurroundingPGMfreematerialsynthesis,whichisevidentinthebudget.Forexample,
thesalarieswhichIallocatedforspecificindividualsandteamsworkingontheprojectis,if
anything,alowballestimate,i.e.,Ididnotrequestanexorbitantamountofmoneytofundthe
project,orallocatealargerportionofthegrantmoneytoanyoneindividual,ratherIestimated
apaygradewhichIthoughtwascommensuratetotheparticularindividualorteamexperience
andresponsibilitiesastheypertainedtotheproposedproject.Itwouldhavebeenunethicalfor
metogivemyselfhalfthemoneyandnotexplainwhy.

Workingwithothers
:InitiallyIwouldhavelikedtoworkwithothersonthisproject,
howeverIwasrejected,butIworkedwithotherpeopleinseveralways.Forexample,onpeer
reviewday.ForthisitwasimportantformetoupholdmyendofthebargainbysupplyingGreg
withmyproposalinatimelymannerforhimtoreview.Itwasalsoagoodopportunityto
expresssomeempathyinmyevaluationofhiswork,whichisalifeskillIwasgladIgotthe
chancetoworkon.Also,Irequestedinformationfrommyresearchadvisorpertainingtothe
actualgrantsourlabhassothatIcouldincludethem,andIworkedextensivelywithmy
professionaldevelopmentmentorsintheUNMIMSDprogramonrevisingmyresume(which
theywantmetocallacv),whichwasagreatopportunityformeaswell.

4.Presentdocuments:
Asitpertainstorevisions,Iwentthroughfourroughdraftsofthis
proposal.AfterIhadtheinformationonthepageIfocusedextensivelyonreadabilityand
managedtoimproveitsignificantly,thoughIcouldhaveorganizedtheprojectplanbetter.I
thinkmydocumentlooksprofessionalenoughforthepurposesofthiscourse,becauseI
includedpictureswhichIfeeldonotdetractfromtheprofessionalnatureoftheproposal
genre,nordidIoverwhelmtheproposalwithunnecessaryimages.Instead,Iaimedtobalance
thetextwiththeimageswithoutmakingthedocumentlooklikeacomicbook.Theoverall
designisquitesimple,because,again,Ididntwanttooverwhelmtheinformationwith
unnecessaryvisualelements.However,anexampleofthewayItriedtoenhancethereadability
oftheproposalwasbymakingeachheadingoftheobjectivesaboldbluefont,whilethesteps
containedwithineachsectionarebluebutwithoutbolding.Myintentindoingsowasto
conveyadistinctionbetweenthetwosectionsinordertoenhancethereadersawarenessof
howtheinformationineachsectionwasrelatedandorganized.

5.Composeinvariousmodes:
Theprimarymodeofcommunicationinthisproposalisthe
writtentext.IchosethisprimarilybecauseIthinkitisthemostprofessionalmannerinwhichto
requestfundingforscientificresearch.WhileIcouldseeavideobeingapartofarequestfor
funding,andperhapsaveryconvincingoneatthat,Iwouldalwaysincludeawellwritten
document,becauseitislikelythatmanydetailsthatwouldbeinformativeforthereviewer
wouldbetoomuchtoincludeinaconvincingvideo.

Thegraphicsincludedinthisproposalweremeanttoconveyapowerfulmessagethatwords,
perhaps,couldnot.Forexample,Icouldhavetriedtodescribewhatthefinalproductwould
looklikebutthepicture(Fig.1)givesthereaderamuchbetterimpressionofwhatitmight
actuallylooklike.Variousfeatures,suchasthesizearewelldescribedbythisparticularpicture.

Thesenseofscaleisillustratedbythemaninthephoto.Therefore,Ithoughtitwasimportant
toincludethispicture.Theplacementofthisparticularfigure,followingthecurrentsituation
andpriortotheprojectplanwasalsoimportant.Haditbeenelsewhere,nexttothebudget
perhaps,itwouldnothavebeenaseffectiveofanimage,ratherIbelieveitwouldhave
distractedthereader.

Iorganizedthebudgetintoatableinordertoexplainthefinancialinformationinaconcise
format.Alist,likethosepresentintheprojectplan,wouldhavebeeninappropriateforthe
purposesofthebudget,thoughthelistswereeffectivefortheirownpurpose(givingbriefbut
specificinformation).Inall,thevariousmediumsofcommunicationusedinthisproposalwere
chosentocommunicatemoreeffectivelywithmyaudience.