Brother Bernard Rapp and Sister Noel Dreska Research awards

To encourage and support innovative research and scholarly activity in the STEM disciplines, a new internal funding mechanism has been established. Faculty members seeking support from these internal STEM funds will participate in a competitive proposal process modeled after a 鈥淪hark Tank鈥�-style format. Applicants will deliver a concise, high-impact elevator pitch presentation before a review panel. These presentations will be 15 minutes in duration, followed by a 5-minute question-and-answer session. The panel of reviewers will assess each proposal for its intellectual merit, feasibility, and potential impact, and allocate funds accordingly.

Applicants may request up to a maximum of $35,000. These funds may be used to support student stipends, purchase scientific instruments, cover operational costs such as consumables and supplies, or fund course reassignment time. For reference, three credit hours of course release is equivalent to $6,000. Proposals must be grounded in a rigorous scholarly framework and include the following components:

1. Background Information: A clear and concise overview of the relevant context for the proposed work, including any pertinent literature or prior research activity.
2. Importance and Relevance: A statement articulating the broader significance of the work and its potential impact on STEM fields, student learning, or institutional research capacity.
3. Driving Question, Gap in Knowledge, or Hypothesis: A description of the fundamental problem or knowledge gap the project seeks to address, framed as a research question or hypothesis.
4. Methodology and Feasibility: A detailed overview of the research design, including the methods and analytical approaches to be used, and a justification of the project鈥檚 feasibility within the funding and timeline constraints.
5. Preliminary Data: Where applicable, preliminary findings or pilot data should be included to demonstrate the project鈥檚 viability and foundation.
6. Budget: A clear and itemized budget that aligns with project goals and follows the funding limitations set forth

For proposals requesting time only鈥攕pecifically to complete an ongoing or nearly finished project鈥攖he applicant must provide compelling justification for course reassignment. The presentation must include:

• Background and relevance of the project
• The driving question or knowledge gap being addressed
• Description of the methods already used
• A summary of the results achieved thus far
• A list of potential publication venues where the results may be disseminated

In cases where the request pertains solely to instrumentation, the faculty member鈥檚 presentation must explain:

• The specific capabilities and applications of the requested instrument
• How the instrument will be used in ongoing or proposed research
• The nature and quality of the data it will generate
• How does the instrument build upon/differ from current campus resources
• Propose the development of a collaborative ecosystem of other potential users (internal or external)

Post-Award Expectations
All recipients of internal STEM funds are required to participate in ongoing accountability and dissemination activities. These include:

• A mid-year progress presentation to update the internal review panel and broader faculty community
• A final poster presentation at the Faculty Awards Event held the day prior to the Celebration of Scholarship (CoS)
• Submission of the final poster to the institutional repository for archiving
• A comprehensive final progress report submitted to the Director of Scholarly Initiatives

Additionally, faculty members who receive course release funding and subsequently leave the institution within one year of the award's conclusion will be expected to reimburse the institution for the cost of the course reassignment.

Please contact the director of scholarly initiatives, Mallory Havens with any questions

The application should the following sections to be filled in:

1. Applicant information
   1. First name
   2. Last name
   3. Position/Department
   4. College
   5. Phone Number
   6. Email
2. Total request amount
   1. Amount of reassignment time
   2. Amount of funds for student stipends
   3. Amount of funds for lab supplies, instrumentation, operational costs, etc.
   4. Amount of funds for travel and conferences

Faculty Eligibility

All full-time faculty members, at any rank (Instructor to Professor) at 海角社区 within CoAST or CoHNS are eligible to apply.

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