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Colleagues, I need your help lobbying NSF for a change. In an attempt to get data for a database that Congress can read, NSF has implemented Fastlane submission of annual progress reports and final project reports that does not accomodate chemical formulas (subs and superscripts do not come out), notation for chemical reactions, or Greek symbols. One can only attach one graphics-only PDF file (no text allowed in it) with such symbols in it and submit it as a supplementary attached document. You can imagine that a chemistry progress report would be ridiculous to write this way. The person who can change this is Florence Rabenal at NSF, but she has gotten very few complaints on this forwarded to her from chemistry program directors. Thus, when you write your annual progress report (or, better yet, right now) and find it impossible to report on chemistry with text only allowed, please email your program director and ask him/her to pass on the problem directly to Florence Rabenal (she does not take complaints directly from PI's - Janet Osteryoung forwarded my concern to her) One rational solution is to allow us to submit a PDF file to respond to the "Activities and Findings" section of the Annual Progress reports and Final Progress report (instead of the current requirement which is to type text only into a dialog box). Then you would be able to have all the usual chemical notation in the middle of your description of your results. The Chemistry Division no longer accepts paper annual reports - they require you use the Fastlane system, so if this has not hit you yet it will soon! Please write to your program director and ask them to pass your concerns along to Florence Rabenal. Laurie ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Laurie J. Butler Professor of Chemistry and The James Franck Institute The University of Chicago 5640 S. Ellis Avenue Chicago, IL 60637 Phone: (773) 702-7206 FAX: (773) 702-5863 (put To: L. Butler on cover pg) E-mail: [log in to unmask] ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%