Beckman
Young Investigators Program
Statement of Research Grant Policy &
Procedures
The Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation makes
grants to non-profit research institutions to promote research in
chemistry and the life sciences, broadly interpreted, and particularly
to foster the invention of methods, instruments and materials that
will open up new avenues of research in science. The Beckman Young
Investigator (BYI) Program is intended to provide research support
to the most promising young faculty members in the early stages
of academic careers in the chemical and life sciences.
GUIDELINES
The following general guidelines apply:
- The BYI program is open to persons with tenure-track
appointments in academic and non-profit institutions that conduct
fundamental research in the chemical and life sciences. No more
than two (2) candidates may apply from any one institution. If
the foundation receives more than two applications from any one
institution, only the first two received shall be considered for
review. Institutions that submit 'bulk' of two (2) or more applications
will be rejected in their entirety.
- Candidates must be citizens or permanent residents
of the United States at the time of application. Documentation
of U.S. citizenship (copy of birth certificate or passport) or
permanent residency status MUST BE PROVIDED with the application.
Persons who have applied for permanent residency but have not
received their government documentation by the time of application
are not eligible.
- To be eligible, an applicant should not have completed
more than three full years in his or her tenure-track or other
comparable independent research appointment. Regardless of eligibility
under this rule, no individual may apply for a Beckman Young Investigator
award more than three times.
- Projects should show promise for contributing
to significant advances in the research fields of interest to
the Foundation. They should represent innovative departures in
research rather than extensions or expansions of existing programs.
Proposed research that cuts across traditional boundaries of scientific
disciplines is encouraged.
- Projects are normally funded for a period of three
years. Grants are normally in the range of $300,000 over the term
of the project. The Foundation does not provide for overhead or
for indirect costs.
LIMITATIONS
Funding will not be considered for the following:
- General institutional expenses.
- General fundraising campaign expenses such as
dinners and mass mailings.
- As a contribution to unified funds or to a pooled
fund that is itself used to award grants of any kind.
- Social science, religious, political, or other
research that does not fall within the Foundation's areas of interest,
as described above.
PROCEDURE
Complete the application material, consisting of
an Application Page and a Principal Investigator Information Page.
Incomplete or late applications will be disqualified from the competition
and will not be evaluated. An original
and one copy of the application and proposal material must be submitted
WITHOUT STAPLES and no double-sided pages. The Foundation must also
receive this application in a PDF file both on CD and via email
(beckmanprograms@yahoo.com),
in the following order:
application
for byi award
principal
investigator information
Four Page Proposal (INCORPORATING ALL
REFERENCES, DIAGRAMS AND DRAWINGS)
The proposal should consist of a description
of the proposed work that is understandable to a multidisciplinary
group of scientific reviewers and should be no more than four single-spaced
printed pages in length, employing standard fonts no smaller than
12 point. The description should make clear the rationale for the
proposed work, its potential importance, the approach to be taken,
progress to date and the potential significant outcomes.
References, diagrams and drawings must be incorporated
within the four page limitation.
Provide a curriculum vitae for the Principal
Investigator (NO MORE THAN TWO PAGES).
The CV should include the following, in
order:
- Education, training, and experience in research
and teaching.
- Selected bibliography, separated into peer-reviewed
and non-peer-reviewed publications; do not include abstracts of
papers given at meetings.
**Please Note that the required
elements of the 2009 Beckman Young investigators application
packet for the pdf file on Cd and sent via email
must only include the Application, PI information, 4-page proposal
and the cv. The following items are to be included in the hard copy
(original/copy) sent into the foundation.**
institutional irs determination
letter *New requirement*
Three Letters of Reference
Provide three sealed, confidential letters of reference
on behalf of the Principal Investigator, either to be included with
application/proposal materials or mailed separately. Only three
letters will be accepted. Facsimile or xerox copies of reference
letters will not be accepted. At least one of the letters of recommendation
will have to come from an expert in the field of the proposal with
whom the applicant has no association (nor a mentor), and who is
at an institution where the applicant has never been (including,
especially, the applicant's current position.) Reference letters
must be received before 5:00 P.M. PST,
Wednesday, October 1, 2008.
A budget report IS NOT required
at time of application. If an award is granted, one will be requested
at that time.
Completed applications should
be mailed to:
Program Administrator
Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation
P O Box 13219
Newport Beach, CA 92658
or sent via ground delivery (FedEx, UPS,
DHL, etc.) to:
Program Administrator
Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation
100 Academy
Irvine, CA 92617
TIMETABLE
Application material, as described above, must
be submitted to the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation prior to
wednesday, October 1, 2008, 5:00
P.M. PST. Applications received after
Wednesday, October 1, 2008 will be eliminated from the competition.
The recommendations of the Grants Advisory Council are forwarded
to the Foundation's Board of Directors, whose decision on awards
is final. Notifications of awards are typically made in the spring.
The funds for a given year of support may be disbursed by the Foundation
in four quarterly payments over a given year, beginning in September.
Because of the excessive administrative requirements
involved, the Foundation is unable to provide critical commentary
on unsuccessful proposals. |
