In response to an NSF Dear Colleague Letter recently published

on NSF’s “Coasts and People” initiative.

Give potential PIs a chance to understand expertise on campus across the various disciplines.
Provide the opportunity to hear from various groups through 2-minute “ignite” talks.
Enable networking and interactions across disciplines.

Further info:

The RSVP page contains a quick set of questions about the research expertise and approach of each potential participants.
This information will be made available to all participants ahead of the session to allow participants time to plan how they can best use the networking time during the reception.
Interested faculty are asked to fill out the information on the RSVP form even if you are not able to attend to allow for a complete database.