Call for Proposals at OpenSolaris.org

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OpenSolaris Undergraduate Research Awards Program

Grant Call for Proposals

1. INTRODUCTION

The OpenSolaris Undergraduate Research Awards Program (“Program”) is designed to recognize and award grants for outstanding student engineering or research projects related to OpenSolaris (“Projects”). Undergraduate students (“Undergraduate Researchers”) and professors (“Faculty Advisors”) from colleges and universities are invited to submit proposals for Projects that will be completed in 2008 (“Proposals”) in accordance with the requirements set forth below. Grant award(s) (“Grants”) may be awarded for the best Proposals (as described in Section 4 below) as determined by the Judges (as defined in Section 5 below) in accordance with the Evaluation Criteria set forth in Section 5 below. Proposals must be submitted by eligible Undergraduate Researcher(s) in conjunction with a Faculty Advisor. See Section 2 below for eligibility. Each Undergraduate Researcher may submit only one Proposal. Faculty Advisors may work on multiple Proposals with different Undergraduate Researchers. The number of Grants to be distributed, if any, and the amount of each Grant will be determined by the Judges, within their sole and absolute discretion.

The Sponsor of this Program is the OpenSolaris community (“Sponsor”), located at www.opensolaris.org. Sun Microsystems, Inc. is funding all of the Grant awards; however, Sun Microsystems shall have no liability or responsibility in connection with the Program other than to fund the Grant awards specified herein.

2. ELIGIBILITY

Undergraduate Researchers must be students at a college or university and Faculty Advisors must be employed by the same college or university as the Undergraduate Researcher.
Undergraduate Researchers and Faculty Advisors must be of the legal age of majority in their country, province or state of legal residence and residents of one of the following countries/territories: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, the Philippines, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the fifty United States and the District of Columbia. Void in Puerto Rico, Province of Quebec, Canada, and where prohibited by law. Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to modify the list of eligible resident countries at any time.
Employees of Sun Microsystems, Inc., and its parent companies, affiliates and subsidiaries, participating advertising and promotion agencies and members of their immediate family, defined as parents, children, siblings and spouse, regardless of where they reside, and/or those living in the same household are not eligible.
Sun Campus Ambassadors (“Ambassadors”) are eligible to participate with the following additional restrictions:
1. Ambassador's participation must be voluntary, and without direction, encouragement, or other involvement from Sun Microsystems, Inc.
2. Ambassadors must not be paid by Sun Microsystems Inc. for any work conducted in conjunction with the Program.
3. Ambassadors may not submit any work that they have conducted for Sun Microsystems, Inc. as part of a Proposal or Project.
4. Ambassadors must work on Proposals and Projects outside of scheduled Sun Microsystems Inc. work hours.
5. Ambassadors may not use any Sun Microsystems Inc. resources to work on a Proposal or Project.
Undergraduate Researchers and Faculty Advisors must also have access to the Internet and a valid email address in order to submit a Proposal.

3. PROPOSAL SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS

Proposals must be submitted by a team comprised of one Faculty Advisor and at least one, and up to four, Undergraduate Researchers (individually, “Team Members”; collectively, the “Team”). All Team Members must meet the eligibility requirements listed above. Each Team must designate one individual member of the Team as the Team Leader for contact purposes. The Team Leader is responsible for submitting the Proposal on behalf of the team.
All Team Members must register on www.opensolaris.org. The Team Leader must also register at awards.opensolaris.org.
Proposals must be received by Thursday May 15, 2008 at 11:59 pm PT. The Sponsor’s clock is the official time clock of the Program. Proof of submission does not constitute proof of receipt.
Once registered, Team Leaders may submit Proposals by uploading a PDF of the Proposal to awards.opensolaris.org.

IMPORTANT NOTICE TO TEAM MEMBERS: ALL TIMES PROVIDED IN THESE RULES ARE PACIFIC TIMES IN THE U.S.A. TEAM MEMBERS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR DETERMINING THE CORRESPONDING TIME ZONE IN THEIR RESPECTIVE JURISDICTIONS.

4. PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS

All Proposals must be written in plain text, must be in English, must be typed in single column, double-spaced, 12 point, Times New Roman font. The Proposal must not exceed 10,000 words or 20 pages. Source code references are exempt from this limitation and may be uploaded as a separate file. There is no minimum length for the Proposal. In addition, all Proposals must include the following:

A written description of a Project that applies to OpenSolaris in some way, including, but not limited to, operating system development, device driver development, OpenSolaris technology in alternative software, ports to experimental/research hardware, kernel development, or porting of research applications and/or platforms to run on OpenSolaris. Your Project description must:
1. Provide a statement of purpose for the Project.
2. Provide a brief background and cite any supporting or related research already performed with a concise set of references.
3. Describe the approach to be used for the Project.
4. Describe how this Grant will specifically facilitate the Project.
5. Describe the key technology goals of the Project.
6. Describe briefly what the expected outcome of this research will be.
7. Describe the significant deliverables, such as progress reports, annual reports, seminar exchanges, prototypes.
8. Provide a schedule for outcome reports which will detail each potential Grantee’s progress toward their objectives, goals, and deliverables.
Documentation, including:
1. The name of the Team’s university or college.
2. A brief C.V. for each Team Member, including the name, email address, and phone number of each Undergraduate Researcher; and the name, email address, web page, and phone number of each Faculty Advisor who submits a particular proposal.
3. A detailed budget for the Project, including cash and/or equipment expenses. For example, specify whether you plan to use the Grant to:
  - Pay salaries, wages, or stipends
  - Purchase, lease, or borrow equipment or supplies
  - Pay for contract services
  - Pay for travel, membership, or publication expenses
4. A reference list or bibliography, including open source code references used for the Proposal
Proof of university or college affiliation for both the Faculty Advisor and Undergraduate Researcher(s), which may include, for the Faculty Advisor a link to the Faculty Advisor’s web page, and for the Undergraduate Researcher(s), a copy of the student’s transcript. Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to accept or reject as sufficient proof of university or college affiliation provided by Undergraduate Researcher and Faculty Advisor.
An image file of a scanned document listing all Team Members, the signatures of all team members (including Faculty Advisor and Student Researcher(s)), and the percentage of the potential Grant to be awarded to each Team Member. Grants may be awarded to Undergraduate Researchers, Faculty Advisors, or to Team’s college or university as allowed by the Team’s country of residence. If a potential Grantee’s country of residence requires that Grants be awarded to the college or university, the Grant will be awarded to the appropriate institution, regardless of the request indicated on the Proposal.

5. PROPOSAL EVALUATION CRITERIA

All Proposals will be judged by a panel of experts comprised of members of the OpenSolaris community (the “Judges”), based on the following evaluation criteria:

Novelty
Feasibility and significance of proposal
Accomplishments of the Undergraduate Researcher(s)
Accomplishments of the Faculty Advisor
Evidence of institutional affiliation
The research environment

All Proposals must comply with the Proposal Requirements set forth in Section 4 above. If your Proposal is selected, you will be notified on or about June 16, 2008, by email, phone or postal mail, as provided during registration.

6. AWARD PROCEDURES

The number of Grants, if any, to be distributed will be determined by the Judges, within their sole and absolute discretion, based on the nature and quality of the Proposals submitted. The amount of individual Grant awards will be determined by the Judges, within their sole and absolute discretion, based on the cost of living in the Team’s country of residence. The Judges reserve the right to award no Grants, if in their sole and absolute discretion, they do not receive any qualified Proposals. All members of the Team selected (collectively, the “Grantee” or “Grantee Team” and individually the “Grantee Members”), will be required to execute a Grant Award Agreement which will detail the terms and conditions of the Grant, and a Sun Contributor Agreement, which is available at http://www.opensolaris.org/os/about/sun_contributor_agreement/ (“Agreements”). Any Grantee Member who fails to sign will be disqualified and his or her portion of the Grant will be awarded equally among the remaining members of the Team. If, however, the Agreements are not signed by the Faculty Advisor and at least one Undergraduate Researcher, the entire Team will be disqualified. (Example: A Team consists of one Faculty Advisor and three Undergraduate Researchers. If the Faculty Advisor fails to sign the Agreements, but all three Undergraduate Researchers sign the Agreements, the Team, in its entirety will be disqualified. If the Faculty Advisor signs the Agreements, but no Undergraduate Researcher signs the Agreements, the Team will be disqualified in its entirety. If the Faculty Advisor and at least one Undergraduate Researcher signs the Agreements, the Grant will be awarded to the two who have signed, and those who have failed to sign the Agreements will be disqualified.) Grant Award checks will be distributed to the Grantees as identified in the Proposal on or about August 15, 2008. All Grants will be paid in U.S. Dollars. All costs associated with currency exchange are the sole responsibility of the Grantee. ALL TAXES ARE THE SOLE RESPONSIBILITY OF EACH GRANTEE MEMBER.

7. PROJECT REPORT

Each Grantee Team will be required to submit a written report of the project by Tuesday, December 16, 2008 and must attribute Sun Microsystems, Inc. in all publications regarding the winning Proposal and Project, according to the terms and conditions of the Sun Contributor Agreement.

8. CONDITIONS OF PARTICIPATION

Submission of Proposal into this Program constitutes each Team Member’s agreement to be bound by the terms of this Call for Proposals and by the decisions of the Judges and Sponsor, which are final and binding on all matters pertaining to this Program. Any potential Grantee Team who cannot be contacted within 15 days of first attempted notification may be disqualified. In addition to the Agreements required pursuant to Section 6 above, each Potential Grantee Member may be required to sign and return a Declaration of Eligibility/Liability and where legally permissible, a Publicity Release (“Required Documents”) within 30 days following the date of first attempted notification. Any Potential Grantee Member who fails to sign and return the Required Documents will be disqualified, and his or her portion of the Grant will be awarded equally among the remaining members of the Team. If, however, the Required Documents are not signed by the Faculty Advisor and at least one Undergraduate Researcher, the entire Team will be disqualified. Team Members acknowledge and agree that the intellectual and industrial property rights to the Proposal and Project, if any, are subject to the “contribution” provisions of the Sun Contributor Agreement. Acceptance of the Grant constitutes permission for, and Team Member’s consent to, Sponsor and Sun and its agencies to use the Team Member’s name, likeness, Project and Proposal for advertising and promotional purposes without additional compensation, unless prohibited by law. To the extent permitted by law, Team Members agree to hold Sponsor, Sun Microsystems, Inc. and each of its parent, subsidiaries, agents, directors, officers, employees, representatives, and assigns harmless from any injury or damage caused or claimed to be caused by participation in the Program and/or use or acceptance of any Grant award, except to the extent that any death or personal injury is caused by the negligence of the Sponsor. Sponsor and Sun Microsystems, Inc. are not responsible for any typographical or other error in the printing of the Call for Proposals, administration of the Program or in the announcement of the Grant(s). A Team Member may be prohibited from participating in this Program if, in the Sponsor’s sole discretion, it reasonably believes that the Team Member has attempted to undermine the legitimate operation of this Program by cheating, deception, or other unfair playing practices or annoys, abuses, threatens or harasses any other Team Members, the Sponsor or associated agencies. Due to the unique nature and scope of this Program, Sponsor reserves the right to alter or modify this Call for Proposals at any time.

9. NO RECOURSE TO JUDICIAL OR OTHER PROCEDURES

To the extent permitted by law, the rights to litigate, to seek injunctive relief or to make any other recourse to judicial or any other procedure in case of disputes or claims resulting from or in connection with this Program are hereby excluded, and any Team Member expressly waives any and all such rights. In the event that a court of competent jurisdiction finds the foregoing waiver unenforceable, Team Members hereby consent to the jurisdiction and venue residing exclusively within the federal or state courts in the state of California, United States and agree that any and all disputes, claims, and causes of action arising out of or connected with this Program or any prize awarded shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action. Team Members agree that these Official Rules are governed by the laws of California.

10. DATA PRIVACY

Team Members agree that personal data, especially name and address, may be processed, stored and otherwise used for the purposes and within the context of the Program and any other purposes outlined herein. The data may also be used by the Sponsor in order to check Team Member’s identity, their postal address and telephone number, or to otherwise verify their eligibility to participate in the Program. If Team Member’s data is not provided or is canceled, Team Member’s Proposal will be ineligible. Team Members have a right to access, review, rectify or cancel any personal data held by the Sponsor by writing to Sponsor at grant dash submit at sun dot com). By submitting a Proposal, Team Members hereby agree to all personal information uses and disclaimers as explained in Sponsor’s Privacy Policy. Submitting a Proposal further constitutes Team Member’s full and unconditional agreement to and acceptance of this Call for Proposals and Sponsor’s Privacy Policy and willingness to be contacted by telephone and/or email. If Team Member is a French resident, by submitting a Proposal, such Team Member gives consent to the transfer of his or her personal data outside the European Union in connection with the above purposes, and that such data will be transferred to the United States.

11. WARRANTY AND INDEMNITY

Team Members certify that their Proposal, and Project, if applicable, is original and Team Member can legally grant the rights set out in the Sun Contributor Agreement. Each Team Member agrees not to submit any Proposal or Project that (1) infringes any 3rd party proprietary, intellectual property, industrial property, personal rights or other rights, including without limitation, copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret or confidentiality obligation; or (2) otherwise violates applicable law in any countries in the world. To the maximum extent permitted by law, each Team Member indemnifies and agrees to keep indemnified the Sponsor and Sun Microsystems, Inc. at all times from and against any liability, claims, demands, losses, damages, costs and expenses resulting from any act, default or omission of the Team Member and/or a breach of any warranty set forth herein. To the maximum extent permitted by law, each Team Member indemnifies and agrees to keep indemnified the Sponsor and Sun Microsystems, Inc. at all times from and against any liability, actions, claims, demands, losses, damages, costs and expenses for or in respect of which the Sponsor or Sun Microsystems, Inc. will or may become liable by reason of or related or incidental to any act, default or omission by a Team Member under this Call for Proposals including without limitation resulting from or in relation to any breach, non-observance, act or omission whether negligent or otherwise, pursuant to this Call for Proposals by a Team Member.

12. ELIMINATION

Any false information provided within the context of the Program by any Team Member concerning identity, postal address, telephone number, ownership of right or noncompliance with these rules or the like may result in the elimination of the Team Member from the Program. Sponsor further reserves the right at any time, including after announcement of Grantees to disqualify any Proposal or Project that it believes in its sole and unfettered discretion infringes upon or violates the rights of any third party or otherwise does not comply with the terms of this Call for Proposals.

13. INTERNET

Sponsor is not responsible for electronic transmission errors resulting in omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operations or transmission. Sponsor is not responsible for theft or destruction or unauthorized access to or alterations of Proposal materials, or for technical, network, telephone equipment, electronic, computer, hardware or software malfunctions or limitations of any kind. Sponsor is not responsible for inaccurate transmissions of or failure to receive Proposals by Sponsor on account of technical problems or traffic congestion on the Internet or at any web site or any combination thereof, except to the extent that any death or personal injury is caused by the negligence of the Sponsor. If for any reason the internet portion of the program is not capable of running as planned, including infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, disruption or termination of the OpenSolaris site for any reason or any other causes which corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity, or proper conduct of this Program. Sponsor reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to immediately cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the Program. Sponsor reserves the right to select Grantees from eligible Proposals received as of the termination date. Sponsor further reserves the right to disqualify any individual who tampers with the Proposal process. Caution: Any attempt by a Team Member to deliberately damage any web site or undermine the legitimate operation of the Program is a violation of criminal and civil laws and should such an attempt be made, Sponsor reserves the right to seek damages from any such Team Member to the fullest extent of the law.

14. SEVERABILITY

If any provision(s) of this Call for Proposals are held to be invalid or unenforceable, all remaining provisions hereof will remain in full force and effect.

15. GRANTEE LIST

For name(s) of Grantee(s), go to www.opensolaris.org/os/project/awards/awards_research_land on or about June 30, 2008, available for a period of up to 60 days.