If you are interested in submitting a URA Visiting Scholars proposal, the fall deadline is Monday, August 29, 2016.

Synopsis of Program:

The URA Visiting Scholars Program at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory was established in 2007 as a five-year program to support visits by researchers from the Universities Research Association, Inc. (URA) institutions to work at Fermilab for periods of up to one year. URA renewed the program for an additional five years. Resources for this program are made available by the 89 URA member institutions, each of which contributes $5,000 a year.

Visits can range from attendance at Fermilab conferences and summer schools to year-long stays at the Lab. Proposals may be submitted twice a year, in February and August. Support provided by the program may include the following: travel and local lodging expenses during a series of short visits or salary support and round trip travel expenses for an extended visit. Individual proposals may be submitted by researchers who are faculty, postdocs, or graduate students at URA member institutions. Individual awards may be up to a maximum of $50,000 in any twelve-month period with a lifetime maximum award total of $50,000 per individual.

Application Proposal Requirements: Individual Applications

Page limit: 12 pages, plus supporting materials (see below)

Format: one-inch margins, font minimum 11 or 12 pt., common typeface (e.g., Arial, Palatino, Georgia), pages numbered

Proposals must include the following:

A. Cover Sheet (one page, the form at the link provided MUST accompany the application; substitutes not accepted) doc PDF, including the following information:

• Applicant(s) information (home institution and full contact information)
• Title (objective) of proposed activity
• Fermilab sponsor/collaborator
• Grants officer information
• Amount requested and start date
• Other sources of support for proposed work
• Year of prior VS award support (if any)

B. Proposal Content (11 pages)

• Project Description – eight pages maximum: The project proposal should describe the proposed activity and its scientific and/or educational merit, and explain how URA funding will facilitate the proposed activity
• Recipients of previous URA Visiting Scholars awards are expected to discuss accomplishments under the earlier award in their new proposal and include a copy of the URA VSP Project Report submitted at the close of the previously funded project
• Budget – one page
• Bio sketch – two pages maximum

C. Letters of Support

Required:

• Letter from Fermilab sponsor/collaborator
• In the case of a graduate student applicant: a letter from the faculty adviser supporting the application and detailing provisions for supervision of the student during the visit
• In the case of postdocs: a letter from the faculty adviser supporting the application
• Letter from Grants or Sponsored Research Office of the home university waiving indirect costs

Application Proposal Requirements: Fermilab-Sponsored Visits for Group Activity (e.g., conferences, workshops, summer schools)

Page limit: 12 pages, plus supporting materials (see below)

Format: one inch margins, font minimum 11 or 12 pt., common typeface (e.g., Arial, Palatino, Georgia), pages numbered

Group proposals are to be fully developed with all of the required documentation which must include the following:

Cover Sheet (one page, use the form at link provided must accompany the application; substitutes not accepted) doc PDF, with the following information:

• Fermilab Applicant(s) information (full contact information)
• Title (objective) of proposed activity
• Fermilab Grants Manager
• Amount requested and start date
• Other sources of support for proposed work
• Year of prior VS award support (if any)

B. Proposal Content (11 pages)

• Project Description – 8 pages maximum: The project proposal should describe the proposed activity and its scientific and/or educational merit, and explain how URA funding will facilitate the proposed activity.
• Recipients of previous URA Visiting Scholars awards, including group awards, are expected to discuss accomplishments under the earlier award in their new proposal and include a copy of the URA VSP Project Report submitted at the close of the previously funded project
• Budget – one page
• Biosketch – two pages maximum

C. Letters of Support

Required:

• Endorsement of Chief Research Officer, Chief Information Officer or Chief Accelerator Officer, depending on focus of proposed activity

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Per Illinois Tech policy, all grant applications (federal and non-federal) must be reviewed, signed and submitted by the Office of Sponsored Research and Programs regardless of the amount of the request. Complete your routing sheet as soon as possible via Cayuse SP. The Cayuse SP link is found under the Research Tab in the myIIT portal. Contact osrp@iit.edu or call at 312.567.3035 for more information on submitting a proposal.