Technology

Filling Out the NSF Biographical Sketch Form

Last modified 7/11/2024

Watermark Faculty Success (formerly known as Digital Measures Activity Insight) is a tool used as a teaching, research, and service report generator. This tool also feeds faculty information to department websites and About.IllinoisState.edu sites.

This article discusses how to fill out the NSF Biographical Sketch form within Watermark Faculty Center.

  • Filling Out the NSF Biographical Sketch Form

Biographical Sketch Label


The first textbox is for the Label for this Biographical Sketch. To keep the system organized, please title your reports as: 'ULID-UniqueFileName'.

  • Example: RRedbird-Document01


For more information on this section, click the question mark icon next to the textbox.

Publications


In the Publications section, you are able to upload up to ten peer-reviewed publications that show your qualifications for this project. Only publications that have been added to your Intellectual Contributions/Publications can be selected from the drop-down menu.

Note

Intellectual Contributions/Publications is located below the Scholarship/Research header on the ISU Digital Measures Activity Insight Home page.


To add multiple publications, click
Add (Figure 1).

Figure1:

Screenshot depicting the location of the Add button within the Publication pane

  • My Publication Is Not Appearing in the Drop Down Menu

If others have created Intellectual Contribution records for publications you worked on and have linked these records to your account, these publications will NOT be available for selection from the drop-down list.

If you would like to include one or more of these linked publications in your report, select the Linked Records checkbox. This will include an Appendix section at the bottom of your report listing all Intellectual Contribution records you are linked to. You can then copy and paste the relevant citations into the body of the report (in Microsoft Word). Remove the rest of the appendix before submitting the form.

  • Synergistic Activities

In this section, briefly describe up to five Synergistic Activities that demonstrate the broader impact of the individual’s professional and scholarly activities that focus on the integration and transfer of knowledge, as well as its creation.

Examples: Innovations in teaching and training (e.g., development of curricular materials and pedagogical methods); contributions to the science of learning; development and/or refinement of research tools; computation methodologies, and algorithms for problem-solving; development of databases to support research and education; broadening the participation of groups underrepresented in STEM; and service to the scientific and engineering community outside of the individual’s immediate organization.

Only publications that have been added to your Intellectual Contributions/Publications can be selected from the drop-down menu.

If you want to add an activity that isn’t in your Intellectual Contributions/Publications (such as an award or extracurricular activity), describe it briefly in the Other Activity textbox provided, or copy the link from your Linked Records appendix.

  • To add multiple publications, click Add.
  • Click Save to go back to the NSF Biographical Sketch page.

  • NSF Biographical Sketches Copy Function

Once you have created an NSF Biographical Sketch, you can quickly make a new file with personal information already filled out. Select the box to the right of the item you wish to copy and then click Duplicate (Figure 2).

Figure 2:

Screenshot depicting the NSF item selection in Digital Measures, including the Duplicate feature
You have now successfully created an NSF Biographical Sketch within Watermark Faculty Success.


How to Get Help

Technical assistance is available through the Illinois State University Technology Support Center at: