NSF GRFP - Images?

[Joesh]

Is it ok to include images in the NSF essays? I have an image in my previous research that explains my test set-up better than I can do in words in a smaller amount of space. The picture is greyscale. I think I remember reading on the GRFP website that images were allowed but the documents would be printed in black and white. My question is, will they be printed in true black and white? (i.e. only using pure black ink or no ink at all), or will they be printed in different shades of grey? In my image there are 3 main colors, white, grey, and black and if printed in black and white purely the image would be undecipherable.

[Tsujiru]

Is it ok to include images in the NSF essays? I have an image in my previous research that explains my test set-up better than I can do in words in a smaller amount of space. The picture is greyscale. I think I remember reading on the GRFP website that images were allowed but the documents would be printed in black and white. My question is, will they be printed in true black and white? (i.e. only using pure black ink or no ink at all), or will they be printed in different shades of grey? In my image there are 3 main colors, white, grey, and black and if printed in black and white purely the image would be undecipherable.

Yes, you can and should use your image. Grey should not be an issue, they only mean to say that they won't be printing anything in color so make sure your image works in greyscale. Two of my friends who have won these in past years sent me their proposals, and one had an image that really clarified her research methodology. It is tough to give up that space in 2 pages (probably why I won't) but when it is worth it, go for it.

Good luck!

[Eigen]

The images I'm using are in color, but I've made sure they'll print fine in greyscale.

It's tough to give up the space, but a graphic can be worth a lot of words when you're trying to describe a complex process. Mine saves me upwards of 200 words worth of description!

Otherwise, trying to describe, say, high order structural shift schemes can be quite impossible. I'll also note that captions can be in 10 pt, which helps with space.