NCSU Summer 2008 Undergraduate Research Grants: 

Call for Applications

Undergraduate Research Awards

 

Proposal Overview

The Office of Undergraduate Research, Division of Undergraduate Academic Programs, is pleased to announce two Summer 2008 grant opportunities:  (1) Undergraduate Energy-Related Summer Research Grants of $3,700 with $300 as operating dollars for the student’s mentor; this award is funded by the Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Studies, and Progress Energy, Inc.  (2) This second grant opportunity, Undergraduate Summer Research Grant, is open to undergraduates of any discipline and is not restricted to energy-related research; the award stipend for summer 2008 is $3,700 with $300 as operating dollars for the student’s mentor.  Students who are currently supported by Energy-Related Grants or a Research Awards Grant from the Office of Undergraduate Research may apply for continuing support, but they must demonstrate strong progress in the research already funded.  New first-time applications are encouraged. 

 

The deadline for applications is Monday (midnight), February 18, 2008.  Only electronic submissions will be considered.  For those selected to participate, a brief but mandatory information session describing expectations and reporting mechanisms will be held in early March.

 

Students who are awarded grants are expected to present their research at the NC State Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium on July 31, 2008 and encouraged to participate in a future NC State Undergraduate Research Symposium, held each spring semester (see http://www.ncsu.edu/ugrs/ ).  NC State students may also present at the State of NC Undergraduate Research and Creativity Symposium in November 2008 at Appalachian State University, the April 2009 NC State Undergraduate Symposium, or publish in the Undergraduate Research Journal of NC State University.   

 

Eligibility

Only NC State undergraduate students may apply; there is no GPA requirement, but students must be in good academic standing and have the commitment (and signature) of a tenured or tenure-track faculty sponsor for their research, or the Department Head’s approval.  A letter of recommendation is required from the mentor.  The objective of providing these stipends is to seed interest and involvement in energy-related research as well as research in any discipline.  Individual students who have not received other NC State Research Awards will receive priority consideration, but if few applications are received then previous winners will be considered provided that they can demonstrate excellent progress in the prior supported research.  Students who expect to graduate in May 2008 are not eligible for this summer award.  Awardees are expected to participate in a 10-week summer program involving 40 hrs of work per week. Students are not able to take summer school classes in addition to this research.  Students are encouraged to look at the NC State Office of Undergraduate Research http://www.ncsu.edu/undergrad-research/ website for other options for student research or schedule an appointment with our office to discuss opportunities. 

 

• Energy-Related Research is defined here as faculty mentored scholarly research that can involve team efforts in addressing new or improved energy innovations in fossil fuel use, plug-in hybrid transportation, power transmission, energy distribution, wind and nuclear energy, combustion, photovoltaics, topics related to sustainability, environmental impact, exploration for new sources, consumer-based conservation and use, public marketing of new sources and uses, and development of public education tools related to energy production, use, conservation, etc.
• General Disciplinary Research is defined as faculty mentored scholarly research that can involve individual or team efforts in addressing important topics within or allied to the student’s and mentor’s research discipline.

 

Application

On the application form, students must describe the research project along with its importance and implications for advancing either energy-related knowledge (the Energy Awards) or any disciplinary research (the general disciplinary topic Undergraduate Summer Research Awards). Students should develop a research plan that includes the question being addressed; hypothesis, problem, or research goals; description in detail of method, procedures, or design; and a statement of the importance and implications for advancing knowledge in the selected discipline. Students should show a link between their research and their curricular/career interests, although the research does not have to be in the student's major. Students must develop a budget of projected expenses associated with their research.  The budget will be submitted as a separate document at the time of the application.  Students must identify a faculty sponsor for the proposal who has agreed to serve as the official mentor of the project and to attend, with the student, the mandatory meeting of all grant participants.

 

Criteria for Selection

Criteria used for selection of students include

• Details of the experimental / creative project goals, design, methods and expected results
• Evidence of how its results will be used
• Appreciation for the value of research in the chosen discipline
• Connections between the project and candidate's curricular interest
• Recommendation by the research mentor and the awards review committee

 

Payment

For this Summer 2008 award, $3,700 in payment will be made in one installment the end of May 2008.  In addition, $300 as operating support for the student will be provided to the faculty mentor as a direct deposit to the mentor’s department.  Faculty operating supplements will be provided by late April 2008.

  

Additional Requirements and Understandings

•  Tenured or tenure-track faculty are eligible for the faculty operating cost supplement. Non-tenure track faculty may receive the operating cost supplement with a supporting letter from the department head.
•  The student must complete the research project proposal found through their College link on the NC State Fellowship Advising Web Site (http://www.ncsu.edu/fao).  Proposals must be uploaded into the student’s workspace to be reviewed.
•  Part of the intent of this award is that students spend quality research time with a faculty mentor, which precludes a faculty member from taking on a large number of students. Typically a one-on-one student and faculty partnership is required with the expectation that the student will conduct independent research that may contribute significantly to a larger group or departmental research mission.
•  Students as well as faculty will complete a brief report at the end of the summer for which they accepted the research award.
•  A student may earn a maximum of $3,700 with this summer 2008 award.

Application Submission

You will need to upload your completed application within http://www.ncsu.edu/fao for consideration of the award grant. To submit your application, you must register as an Advisee User and complete the student profile. Once registered, enter the Program Directory and do a Text Search for the NC State Summer 2008 Undergraduate Research Grant.  Create a new Workspace within the Portfolio section and upload your application. Step-by-step details will be on the NC State Summer 2008 Undergraduate Research Grant site. Your mentor must enter the letter of recommendation through the FAO web portal once his/her contact information has been entered as a “Recommender”.

 

Reports

At the end of the project, the student and faculty mentor will each complete a brief, separate, confidential evaluation of each other’s work as well as an online assessment form.