Funding Opportunities for Graduates: Fellowships and Travel Grants

1. Funding Opportunities for Graduates: Fellowships and Travel Grants Daniela Stan Raicu, Ph.D. Assistant Professor UPE Seminar November 1st, 2005

2. FUNDING FOR ACADEMIC RESEARCH IS NOT PRIMARILY ABOUT MONEY Why apply for external support?

3. Secure (Relative) Independence • Articulate long term plans for independent research • Distinguish yourself through demonstrating an awareness of the significance of the research • Many federal programs provide funds for tuition + relatively large stipends ($30K+ annually)

4. Prestige Factor • Join distinguished cohorts of scholars • Gain recognition for your accomplishments

5. Build Research Collaborations Increasingly large numbers of grants provide travel and other opportunities to collaborate with scholars in the U.S. and abroad.

6. Pursue Special Interests (Research and Curricular) Special programs for Graduate Students include: • Summer internships with industry • Development of community outreach programs to enhance science instruction • Special opportunities to volunteer your expertise abroad

7. Most Importantly: Your Future • Research Faculty are expected to successfully compete and secure external funding for their research. • Building (early) your capacity to articulate your research, to network and to write grants will enhance your chances for success.

8. Securing Funding in a Competitive Environment • Grantsmanship for Graduate Student Fellowship Programs • “Do-It-Yourself” Tips for Identifying Funding Opportunities • Resources (Divisional and University)

9. Tips for Competitive Grantsmanship • Know Yourself • Know Your Funder (I): Public vs. Private Funders and Their Specific Interests • Know Your Funder (II): Submission and Review Processes • Strategic & Effective Communication

10. A. Know Yourself • Level (new graduate student, Dissertation, Postdoc) • Application management (timing clearance of multiple hurdles for submission) • Funding Goals (Competitive award? special initiative ? travel?)

11. B. Know Your Funder (I): Public vs. Private Funding • Federal Agencies (Public mandate; basic and applied research to advance specific scientific initiative or mission) • Private Independent Foundations (High-risk, innovative investment in new talent and scientific leadership) • Corporations (support for innovative research subject to corporate recruiting and strategic interests) • Associations (membership-based societies with a special mission/goal)

12. C. Know Your Funder (II): Submission and Review Processes • Federal Agencies (NSF, DOD, EPA, DOE, NASA, etc.)

13. NSF (National Science Foundation): NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Website: http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2005/nsf05601/nsf05601.pdf Goal: “to ensure the vitality of the human resource base of science in the United States” by investing in early career graduate students Requirements: transcripts; 3 reference letters; Proposed Plan of Research; personal profile information and various statements (see website). Eligibility: 12 months of graduate study (max); US Citizenship or permanent residency required. Deadline (for CS): Nov. 9, 2005;letters of reference due Dec. 31, 2005. Submission: Through NSF FASTLANE. Create own account. Access at: https://www.fastlane.nsf.gov/grfp Special tips: - NSF Review Criteria (“intellectual merit” and “broader impacts”) -Women in Computer Science Awards linked to the program

14. DoD: National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship Program Website: http://www.asee.org/ndseg Goal: “to increase the number of US Citizens trained in disciplines of science and engineering in fields important to national defense” Requirements: personal statements; external letters of reference Eligibility: No more than one academic year of graduate study; US Citizenship required. Deadline : January 6, 2006. Submission: Online. Create own account. Access at: http://www.asee.org/ndseg Special tips: - Extremely competitive: 3% of CS applicants received funding - Successful applicants are able to identify and map their research onto current research interests of the DoD. This information is available at the following websites: Department of the Army (http://www.aro.army.mil);Office of Naval Research(http://www.onr.navy.mil); Air Force Office of Scientific Research (http://www.afosr.af.mil)

15. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) STAR Fellowships Website:http://es.epa.gov/ncer/rfa/2006/2006_star_fellow.html Goal: “The purpose of the fellowship program is to encourage promising students to obtain advanced degrees and pursue careers in an environmental field.” Requirements: Statement of objectives and narrative statement + EPA forms. External letters of reference. Eligibility: US Citizenship or permanent residency required. Deadline: October 18, 2005 Submission: Through “grants.gov”. Create own account, but must be reviewed by URA. Access at: http://fedgrants.gov/Applicants/EPA/OGD/GAD/EPA-F2006-STAR-F2/Grant.html Special tips: • Applicants remain eligible through their fourth year of graduate study • Must have a strong sustainable interest in environmental studies but open to all scientific disciplines

16. C. Know Your Funder (II): Submission and Review Processes • Private Independent Foundations, Corporations & Associations

17. John and Fannie Hertz Fellowships Website:http://www.hertzfndn.org/eligibility.shtml Goal: Merit based fellowships in the applied physical sciences. Supports scholars who demonstrate exceptional creativity, broad understanding of physical principles, and outstanding potential for innovative research. Requirements: online application, interview, letters of reference. Eligibility: current graduate students early in their careers may apply. Deadline: October 28, 2005. Submission: Through website: http://www.hertzfndn.org/application.shtml Special tips: - “Applied" is broadly construed to mean fields of endeavor in which one applies, invents, and/or develops results from the basic physical sciences to generate solutions to problems of comparatively near-term, widespread human interest.

18. Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans Website:http://www.pdsoros.org Goal: to provide opportunities for continuing generations of able and accomplished New Americans to achieve leadership in their chosen fields. Requirements: online application, interview, letters of reference. Eligibility: applicants must be under 30, be a “new american” and have no more than two years of graduate study. Deadline: November 1, 2005. Submission: Through website listed above. Special tips: - Successful applicants must demonstrate: 1) creativity, originality and initiative; 2) a capacity for exceptional accomplishment; 3) a commitment to the values expressed in the US Constitution and the Bill of Rights. -”New Americans” are naturalized US citizens, resident aliens, or children of naturalized citizens.

19. IBM Fellowship Program Website: http://www.developer.ibm.com/university/scholars/fellowship/phd Goal: honors exceptional Ph.D. students in an array of focus areas of interest to IBM and fundamental to innovation. Requirements: faculty nomination; online application submitted by nominator. Departments may only submit two nominations annually. Eligibility: must have completed at least one year of graduate study. Deadline: October 31, 2005. Submission: Through website above. Special tips: - Areas of current interest are provided on the program website - Fellowships may be renewed for up to three years. An IBM mentor is assigned and an IBM Think Pad is provided. NO citizenship restrictions, but must be affiliated with an US university.

20. Microsoft Graduate Fellowship Program Website: http://www.research.microsoft.com/aboutmsr/jobs/fellowships/ Goal: honors exceptional Ph.D. students in an array of focus areas of interest to IBM and fundamental to innovation. Requirements: department chair nomination; online application submitted by nominator. Maximum of three applicants per dept. Eligibility: Citizenship unspecified; preference given to candidates that are completing their second or third year in a Ph.D. program Deadline: October 17, 2005. Submission: Through website above. Special tips: - All recipients will be interviewed for summer internships at Microsoft Corporation. Scholarships are awarded for two academic years and each recipient will be given a TabletPC.

21. A Sampler of Additional CS Opportunities For travel NSF East Asia and Pacific Summer Institutes Website: http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=5284 Deadline: 12/13/05 Belgium American Educational Foundation: Graduate Study or Research in Belgium Website: www.baef.be Deadline: October 31, 2005 Alexander von Humboldt Foundation: Postdoctoral Research Fellowships in Germany Website: http://www.humboldt-foundation.de/en/programme/stip_aus/stp.htm Deadline: Open/Rolling

22. Sampler (continued) To launch a career in… Bioinformatics (academia) Burroughs Wellcome Fund: Career Awards at the Interface Website:http://www.bwfund.org/programs/interfaces/career_awards_background.html#ProgramBackground Deadline: May 1, 2006 Public Policy American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellowships Website: http://fellowships.aaas.org/ Deadline: January 10, 2006

23. Sampler (Continued) To conduct research off-campus Radcliffe Institute: Fellowship Program for Natural Scientists and Mathematicians (open to men and women/postdocs) Website: http://www.radcliffe.edu/fellowships/apply/index.php Deadline: December 1, 2005 Los Alamos National Laboratory: Graduate Research Assistantships Website: http://www.lanl.gov/education/grad/about.shtml Deadline: Rolling/open Argonne National Laboratory: Graduate Research Appointments Website: http://www.dep.anl.gov/highered/labgrad.htm Deadline: Open/Rolling

24. Sampler (continued) For Women and Minorities Google Anita Borg Scholarships: Annual award to encourage training of female computational scientists Website: http://www.google.com/anitaborg/ Deadline: January 20, 2006 AT&T Bell Labs Cooperative Research Fellowships for Women and Minorities Website: http://www.research.att.com/academic/ Deadline: January 31, 2006 American Association of University Women: Dissertation Fellowships Website: http://www.aauw.org; Deadline: November 15, 2005 Ford Foundation Pre- and Post-Doctoral Fellowships for Minorities Website: http://www7.nationalacademies.org/fellowships/Ford_Fellows_Home_Page.html

25. Special Programs for Non-US Citizens Several international, private and intergovernmental organizations provide support to non-US citizens studying in the US. Examples include: Kosciuszko Foundation: Fellowships and Grants for Polish Citizens Website: www.kosciuszkofoundation.org American-Scandinavian Foundation Website: www.amscan.org American Association of University Women: International Fellowships (all fields; women graduate students that are non US citizens) Website: http://www.aauw.org/fga/fellowships_grants/international.cfm Vietnam Education Foundation (special focus: Information Technology/mathematics) Website: http://www.vef.gov/fieldsofstudy.htm

26. D. Strategic and Effective Communication • Learn about your funder • Tailor your application (why one size does not fit all) • Why letters of reference are critical • Review Boards • “Thinking outside the disciplinary box”

27. Resources and Support Resources (For Funding Opportunities) Illinois Research and Information Service (IRIS) Website: http://www.library.uiuc.edu/iris/ Community of Science (COS) Website:http://fundingopps.cos.com/

28. Questions ? .