EPSCoR Research Infrastructure Improvement Track-4: EPSCoR Research Fellows NSF23-535
Sponsor: NSF/EPSCoRInternal Deadline: 02/01/2024Institutional Submission Limit: 4Sponsor Deadline: 04/22/2024Program Website
This program provides awards to build research capacity in institutions and transform the career trajectories of investigators and further develop their individual research potential through collaborations with investigators from the nation’s premier private, governmental, or academic research centers. The solicitation provides an opportunity for early career and non-tenured and tenured assistant/associate professor faculty to establish strong collaborations with the option to spend extended or periodic time (e.g., one, two, or three-month summer extended visit) at the nation's premier research facilities. The fellowship period may be used to initiate new collaborative relationships, to expand existing partnerships in ambitious new directions, or to make use of unique equipment not available at the PI's home institution. Successful fellowships will positively impact and potentially transform the recipient's research career trajectory. This fellowship support is intended to provide opportunities for PIs to establish collaborations and work at facilities of national prominence that would not otherwise be possible without the fellowship. The benefits to the Fellows are also expected to improve the research capacity of their institutions and jurisdictions more broadly.
Notes:
• Please review PI eligibility requirements
• Carefully review Section II: Program description, particularly:
o Expectations for Successful Proposals
o Benefits to the Home Institution and/or Jurisdiction
o Partnership Considerations
o RII Track-4:NSF Guidance for Letters
• The RII Track-4 provides opportunities for the participation of one trainee, who must be an undergraduate or graduate student enrolled full-time in an accredited degree program, or a postdoctoral researcher. Staff members, such as technicians or lab assistants could be considered as trainees when properly justified.
USC may submit no more than four (4) applications and is only eligible for RII Track-4:NSF.
Submission Process
Limited submissions MUST be coordinated with the Office of the Vice President for Research.
If interested in applying for this opportunity, please prepare the following and send as a single PDF attachment to Julie Morris at jamorris@mailbox.sc.edu by 5pm on February 1, 2024.
• Coverpage: project title must begin with "RII Track-4:NSF:” with an informative title in the topic area, name and department of PI, and name and location of host institution for the fellowship visit
• Project Summary (1 page): Provide an overview that briefly describes: the vision and goals of the fellowship project; the role of the host site and its personnel in achieving the project's vision and goals; a summary of the objectives and methods to be employed; the expected outcomes and impacts of the proposed activities; and plans for sustaining the project's impacts beyond the award period. In separate statements, provide a succinct summary of the intellectual merit and broader impacts of the project. ALSO: 1) The Project Summary must identify the proposed host site and primary research collaborator(s) and 2) At the bottom of the Project Summary, PIs should also indicate the NSF Directorate, Division, and Program that most closely aligns with the proposal's research focus.
• Project Description (2 pages): Provide a brief description of the proposed activities, focusing on how these activities will lead to long-lasting impacts for both your career and USC. *to help in preparing this section, please review page 6 of the RFP: Expectations for Successful Proposals, Benefits to the Home Institution and/or Jurisdiction, and Partnership Considerations, as well as page 9 #3.
• Letters of Support (2): Provide the following letters: (Proposals without these letters will not be considered in the internal competition.)
o from your department chair or dean: The purpose of this letter is to confirm the administrator's support of the PI's plans and particularly to verify that the PI will receive appropriate release time from other professional duties to complete the fellowship project as proposed. This letter should also confirm the PI's employment status at the home institution as it pertains to eligibility for the competition.
o from the identified primary research collaborator(s) at the host site: This letter should confirm the collaborator's understanding of the goals of the EPSCoR fellowship and provide sufficient evidence to demonstrate that the PI will receive the support necessary to complete the proposed activities.
• a CV/biosketch for the PI using SCiENcv