Research Corporation Programs in Chemistry, Physics and Astronomy

1
Research Corporation Programs in Chemistry,
Physics and Astronomy

• Silvia Ronco, Program Officer,
• Research Corporation

2
Grant Programs

• PhD granting departments
• Cottrell Scholar Awards (CSA)
• Research Opportunity Awards (ROA)
• Non-PhD granting departments
• Cottrell College Science Awards (CCSA)
• Department Development Awards (DDA)

3
COTTRELL COLLEGE SCIENCE AWARDS

• Individual investigator awards for beginning
  (first three years) or established faculty
• We support faculty/student collaborative
  research projects at primarily undergraduate
  institutions (PUIs)
• Eligibility is limited to faculty members at
  Chemistry, Physics or Astronomy Departments

4
Renewal Awards

• Support for up to 2 more years
• Requires a preliminary letter of request from PI
  before first award is closed
• Eligibility is based on productivity and long
  term goals
• Typically 5 of submissions

5
Established faculty

• New research direction is required.
• High probability of success, if there is a track
  record of previous productivity.
• Talk to a program officer and send a preliminary
  proposal.

6
CCSA Award Activity
7
The budget

• Average award 36,000
• Average match 12,000
• We fund
• Equipment and supplies
• Summer stipends (maximum)
• PI - 8 weeks 7,500
• UG - 10 weeks 3,500

8
About matching funds

• Not required, but expected.
• Viewed as a measure of institutional commitment
  to undergraduate research.
• What if no match?
• Talk to a program officer
• May affect outcome
• Submit anyway

9
The Research Narrative Page 1

• Statement of the Problem and Scientific
  Significance of Proposed Research
• Put your science in context
• Show knowledge of the field with updated
  references
• Include a clearly stated hypothesis
• Make a strong case for significance and
  originality

10
The Research Narrative Pages 2 and 3

• Plan of Procedure
• Be specific!
• Address feasibility issues and include
  alternative routes
• Show long-term goals and sustainability
• Will your research program attract federal
  funding?
• How will your research program impact your
  disciplinary field?

11
Most common problems

• Research is derivative of doctoral or
  postdoctoral work.
• Feasibility and significance are not
  well-addressed.
• The proposal is too vague and not
  hypothesis-driven.
• Unrealistic expectations.

12
What do I do if things go wrong?

• Request your reviewers comments and evaluate
  resubmission
• Do your homework!
• Take it as a learning experience
• Talk to a program officer

Remember that not getting what you want is
sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck. Dalai Lama
13
Deadlines and review

• Target dates are May 15 and November 15.
• Reviewing process takes approximately 6 months.
• Proposals are reviewed by external reviewers and
  members of the RC advisory committee

14
CCSA new online submission process

• After March 15, 2007 ONLY online applications
  will be accepted.
• Application process will contain three steps
• Eligibility quiz
• Preparing a complete proposal in PDF format
• Completing application process on our website.

15
CCSA online submission

• ELIGIBILITY QUIZ
• Are you a faculty member in a chemistry, physics
  or astronomy department at a college or
  university within the United States and Canada?
  Yes No
• 2. Does your department offer a PhD program? Yes
  No
• 3. Does your department offer a bachelors degree
  in your discipline (chemistry, physics or
  astronomy)? Yes No
• 4. Do faculty in your department mentor doctoral
  students? Yes No
• 5. Are you a tenured or tenure-track faculty
  member? Yes No
• 6. Are you a faculty member within the first
  three years of your first tenure-track
  appointment? Yes No

16
Chemistry applications (), 2005
Organometallics Physical Organic and Inorganic
Chemistry Spectroscopy Computational Materials Env
ironmental Synthetic Organic Chemistry Biological
Chemistry
17
Physics applications (), 2005
18
Contact us

• http//www.rescorp.org
• Call or visit with a program officer
  [phone]
• Silvia Ronco (Chemistry)
• Jack Pladziewicz (Chemistry)
• Ray Kellman (VP, Chemistry)
• Richard Wiener (Physics)