Friday, February 4, 2011

2011 Ocean Ventures Fund Competition

OCEAN VENTURES FUND (OVF) GUIDELINES, 2011

The Ocean Ventures Fund was created in response to the traditionally conservative and time consuming funding procedures of federal agencies. The intent of OVF is to promote hard-to- fund research and innovation by encouraging scientists to take chances in following their curiosity.

WHO IS ELIGIBLE TO APPLY:

OVF is open to all students in the MIT/WHOI Joint Graduate Program in Oceanography and Oceanographic Engineering. The research idea and the proposal text must come from the graduate students, not his/her supervisor. Students are the Principal Investigators. Both disciplinary and interdisciplinary proposals are encouraged, as are projects relating to EPA- funded research.

CALENDAR:

The submission deadline for OVF proposals is April 1, 2011. Proposals will be reviewed during April 2011 by the WHOI Education Coordinators, Dean, and Associate Dean. Award decisions will be made and notices will be sent in May for research start-up on June 1, 2011. At least 8 awards may be given in 2011.

PROPOSAL FORMAT:

With the exception of the following, OVF proposals should follow NSF guidelines. The explanatory text may not exceed four pages (maximum of six with illustrations). A cover letter must recap the proposal in lay person's terms and include reasons for applying to OVF. Remember to state clearly the research objective and why it is important.

The OVF Proposal must include the following sections in this order: 1. Cover letter, no longer than one page. 2. Endorsement letter, no longer than one page, from student's advisor. 3. Title page with abstract, including signatures of department chair and advisor. 4. Explanatory text, not to exceed four pages (excluding figures). 5. Bibliography. 6. Budget; should not exceed $15,000.00. 7. Curriculum Vitae. 8. Please provide the proposal in hard copy and pdf format to your Education Coordinator.

BUDGET:

Budgets may be used be for your stipend, if you are unsupported by a research grant. Salary support for technical assistance may also be included, as well as cost of equipment, supplies, travel, and computer time. Budgets must be calculated using WHOI (i.e., not MIT) rates.

EVALUATION:

Proposals are judged on: 1. Quality of science and how clearly you express it. 2. Appropriateness for funding by OVF, as opposed to funding by conventional research sources.

Submit your proposals, by April 1, to your education coordinator.

Education Coordinators: Biology, Mike Neubert; MC&G, Mark Kurz; G&G, Delia Oppo; AOPE, Tim Stanton; Physics, Steve Lentz

No comments:

Post a Comment