PRISM: Internally Funded Summer Research Grants

Request for PRISM Proposals Summer 2019

Contact: Kevin E. Johnson, Director of Undergraduate Research, johnsonk@pacificu.edu

Disciplines: Anthropology, Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Criminal Justice Law & Society, Environmental Science, Exercise Science, Mathematics, Physics, Psychology, Public Health, Social Work, Sociology

Application Deadline. February 11, 2019

Award Notice. March 15, 2019

Spending Window. May 1 – August 31, 2019

Student Stipend. $4,375 for 10 weeks of work. (This is a stipend for research and not wages, determined on the basis of a 35-hour work week for 10 weeks at the $12.50 minimum wage for the Portland metro area as of July 1, 2019. Students will be paid twice: at the beginning and end of June.) Students are responsible for housing and may live on campus for a fee. Faculty members must apply for at least one student and may apply for up to two students. Faculty are encouraged to work with two students.

Faculty Stipend. A maximum of $4,000 additional pay may be requested. (Faculty compensation includes a 9% retirement contribution for total of $4,360.) Faculty are required to work directly with students for minimum of 8 weeks. (Students must be able to work safely and independently when the faculty member is absent.) Faculty members who already have another source of summer salary support may apply for student support.

Research Support Funds. Faculty members may request up to $1000. (This money may be used for research related supplies, minor equipment, and travel that includes students. These funds may not be used for travel to conferences.)

Faculty Post-Grant Report. Faculty receiving a PRISM grant must submit a post-grant report of project outcomes that includes both research outcomes, and dissemination activities, both completed and planned. Reports are due by Dec. 31, 2019.

Student End-of-Summer Report: Any student awarded a grant must submit a report on their summer research project by Aug. 31, 2019. A report template will be provided to students.

Summer Participation: Faculty are expected to meet with students on a daily basis as much as possible and to mentor their students in the writing of the end-of-summer report and seminar presentations. All faculty and students awarded a grant are expected to participate in the summer research seminars.

Pacific Undergraduate Research Conference. Any student awarded a grant agrees to submit a poster to the Pacific Undergraduate Research Conference, fall 2019. Dissemination of research results at the conference should acknowledge the Pacific Research Institute for Science and Mathematics for funding.

External Dissemination. At a minimum, a national or major regional conference presentation is expected. (If selected, presentation at the Murdock College Science Conference is expected.) Peer-reviewed publication is strongly encouraged. Any external dissemination of research results should acknowledge the Pacific Research Institute for Science and Mathematics for funding.

Review Committee. A faculty committee, assembled from the disciplines named above, will review proposals; it will consist of individuals who have not submitted proposals.

Funding Criteria

First year of support. Priority will be given to faculty members who do not currently have other sources of substantial support and whose proposals receive the most favorable reviews from the Review Committee.

Additional years of support. In order to receive funding beyond the first year, faculty members are required to submit an external grant proposal (since the time of their last PRISM award) or be in the process of submitting an external grant proposal. If a proposal has been submitted, a copy of the proposal must be uploaded with the PRISM proposal. If a proposal is in the process of being submitted, a draft of the proposal, details of the external program, and a planned submission date must be included with the PRISM proposal. In addition to the external proposal, the faculty member’s PRISM proposal must show progress toward peer- reviewed publication. Finally, in order to receive additional years of PRISM support, principal investigators are expected to contribute to developing the campus research community (for example, a PI might organize undergraduate research seminars during the academic year or community building events during the summer).

The Review Committee will use the following evaluative criteria:

  1. The research asks interesting questions, is important to the field, and fits into one of the Boyer categories for scholarly and creative contributions (fitting into more than one Boyer category does not increase a proposal’s merit).
  2. The research seems likely to succeed and has a high probability of producing results within the available timeframe and shows promise for peer-reviewed publication.
  3. The necessary equipment, supplies, and lab/field space are in place.
  4. The student experience is likely to be high quality.
  5. The proposal is the continuation of a successful project or has a high likelihood of continuing beyond the summer.

Proposal Submission

When submitting a proposal, the website will have entry fields for the following items. Convert all uploaded documents to pdf files.

  1. Name and department of Principal Investigator (required)
  2. Name and department of co-Principal Investigator (if applicable)
  3. Title of Project
  4. Information about any required review board approvals for project (required)
    If this proposal requires approval from any of the above mentioned committees, a copy of the approval letter from the committee(s) must be submitted to the Dean’s office before any funds awarded through this grant program will be released.
  5. List past 5 years of Internal Pacific University support. (required)                                                                       Including Startup, Faculty Development, PRISM Summer, PRISM Local Collaboration, Holce, and other. List source, Project Title, time period, and amount of support.
  6. External grant proposals submitted in last 5 years (required)
    Indicate agency, amount, dates of submission/award and whether it is related to this proposal.
  7. Peer-reviewed publications in last 5 years (required)
    List all peer-reviewed publications that have been published, accepted, or are in preparation. Provide complete citation and title, use asterisks to indicate undergraduate co-authors. (For funding requests beyond a first year, indicate publication(s) that are related to prior PRISM funding.)
  8. Conference presentations in last 5 years (required)
    List all conference presentations that have been given or are in preparation. Provide complete citation and title, and use asterisks to indicate undergraduate co-authors.
  9. Undergraduates mentored in last 5 years (required)
    Give names and majors of all students who worked on research with you and the dates that the work took place. Use asterisks to indicate which students worked on projects related to this proposal.
  10. Budget  

a.  Requested number of students (1 or 2)

b. Requested additional pay for PI and co-PI (Total maximum $4000 per project)

c. Requested funds for research: minor equipment, supplies, and travel for research ($1000 maximum). Description of funded expenses.  

d. Are other funds available for this project? If yes, list sources.  

e. Does this project require outside additional funds? If so list source(s) of funding.

11. Research faciliites  

a. Location for research (lab building & room number and/or field location)

b. Confirm availability of all necessary equipment for this project and a plan to have access during the summer.

12. UPLOAD: CVs of PI and co-PI (if applicable) in pdf format (required)

13. UPLOAD: Proposal in pdf format (required, style guide below)

Required items for request of funding past first year of PRISM funds:

14. List external grant submissions: submitted and planned, since last PRISM award; include agency, date, status, and amount requested.

15. UPLOAD: Copy of external proposal(s)/draft proposal(s) in pdf format (required for additional years of PRISM support)

16. Provide details about your contributions to the development of the campus research community as described above under funding criteria additional years of support.

Proposal Style Guide

The proposal should have the following format:

COVER PAGE

  1. Title of project, PI name and department, date. 

Project Summary: Each proposal must contain a summary of the proposed project not more than one page in length. The Project Summary consists of three sections (paragraphs):

a) Overview: The overview includes a description of the activity that would result if the proposal were funded         and a statement of objectives and methods to be employed.

b)  Statement on the intellectual merit of the proposed activity: The statement on intellectual merit should describe the potential of the proposed activity to advance knowledge in at least one of the Boyer categories. (Description of Boyer Categories may be found here: https://pacificu.box.com/s/crs0zkm5rq2jx0pfo5tk78awaerfsczv )

c)  Statement on the broader impacts of the proposed activity: The statement on broader impacts should describe the potential of the proposed activity to impact student development, curriculum, community outreach or institutional prestige.

The Project Summary should be written in the third person, and, insofar as possible, understandable to scientists and mathematicians outside your field. It should not be an abstract of the proposal.

PROPOSAL BODY: Not to exceed 3 pages in length

  1. Background

    Provide a general context for the project. Does the project continue from previous work?

  2. Project Description

    Describe the research in enough detail so that readers will understand how the goals of the project will be achieved. Explain the roles of the student and the faculty member.

  3. Significance of Project

    Describe the importance of the project to the field. Will it continue beyond the summer? What are the prospects for outside funding in the future?

  4. Research Plan

    Describe the summer work to be accomplished under this grant. Provide evidence that the work proposed requires that students will work full time for 10 weeks.

  5. Expected Outcomes

    Describe the likely places the results of this work will be externally disseminated (national and/or major regional conferences, peer-reviewed journals, etc.). What is the likely timeline for the work to be disseminated?

  6. References
    Provide a list of references related to this project.

Please submit your proposal here: https://goo.gl/forms/OnjxNC7K4YrhGtaA3