A travel grant to support broad access to Molecular Foundry resources, offering up to $2000 for awardees, to offset costs associated with travel to the Molecular Foundry.
Eligibility:
Users must be from an academic institution in the United States that is located more than 150 miles from the Berkeley Lab site. Users must access the site in Berkeley, California during the course of an active user project.
Application and Selection Process:
Users complete a travel opportunity grant application at the time of proposal submission in the Spring or Fall standard call for proposals. Travel opportunity grant applications will not be considered as part of the proposal review process.
Twice per year, immediately following the Standard proposal review process, a small team of Molecular Foundry staff and reviewers will review applications from users who have had at least one proposal accepted in the current standard call. The selection team will typically select 2-3 awardees per proposal cycle. Awardees will be notified of their selection approximately 1-2 weeks after proposal review notices are distributed.
Application Form Contents and Scoring Rubric:
1. Molecular Foundry User Experience (6 pts): Among researchers at qualifying institutions, the travel opportunity grant seeks to expand access for new groups of users.
How many accepted Molecular Foundry standard proposals has the Principal Investigator led (not including any proposal under review this call)?
- 0 (6 pts)
- 1 (4 pts)
- 2 (2 pts)
- More than 2 (0 pts)
2. Early Career (6 pts): The Molecular Foundry Travel Opportunity Grant program recognizes that investigators early in their career may be building their funding portfolio, and therefore may benefit from additional travel support for themselves or their team.
How many years has it been since the Principal Investigator of this research team began their independent research program?
- 0-5 (6 pts)
- 5-10 (3 pts)
- >10 (0 pts)
3. Statement of Need (6 pts): This program seeks to make Molecular Foundry resources accessible to users who may not otherwise be able to access the Facility.
Provide a statement describing the impact of this grant to your ability to conduct work at the Molecular Foundry.
Using the Award:
Users must work through the Molecular Foundry User Program Office to make plans for airfare, lodging, or other transportation arrangements. The Molecular Foundry will typically pay these costs directly, such as for airfare and lodging at the Berkeley Lab Guest House, rather than reimbursing individual users for their qualifying expenses. This practice ensures compliance with business travel eligibility requirements for Berkeley Lab travel, and reduces out-of-pocket expenses incurred by the traveler.
Funding:
This program is funded through contributions from SkyDeck, individual donors via the Berkeley Lab Foundation, and other gift and royalty funds at the discretion of the Molecular Foundry Director. The program is subject to cancellation if unawarded funds are required for other projects.
Previous Awardees
Fall 2023
Jacek Jasinski, University of Louisville
Nezih Pala, Florida International University
James Edgar, Kansas State University
Spring 2023
Chitraleema Chakraborty, University of Delaware
Sandhya Susarla, Arizona State University
Xinle Li, Clark Atlanta University
Spring 2024
Vsevolod Ivanov, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Teresita Padilla-Benvides, Wesleyan University
Lina Quan, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Fall 2024
Michael Martynowycz, State University of New York at Buffalo
Blakely Tresca, Kalamazoo College
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