Stanford University
School of Earth Sciences

CALL FOR PROPOSALS
FOR
McGEE AND A.I. LEVORSEN RESEARCH GRANTS IN EARTH SCIENCES

FOR 2008/2009

This is the annual call for proposals for funds to support graduate student research. This Call for Proposals is funded by two sources that support graduate student research: the McGee Grant and the newly established Levorsen Research Fellowship Fund. The McGee Grant was established in 1983 and the Levorsen Research Fellowship was established in 2006.

Ideally, a McGee grant would be used as seed money for pioneering work that may lead to continuing support from other sources or as matching funds to help attract new grants. However, proposals to supplement support from ongoing research programs will also be considered. Preference will be given to innovative research directions and to research projects that would not be feasible without McGee funds.

The Levorsen Research Fellowship, named to recognize the founding dean of the School of Earth Sciences (then called School of Mineral Sciences) when it was first established as a separate school at Stanford in 1947, supports the research, field work, or other educational expenses of graduate students with a preference for projects or courses of study in petroleum geology or other energy-related areas.

Who may submit:  Graduate students in School of Earth Sciences departments and programs.

Form and length of proposal:  Proposals should be limited to no more than five double-spaced pages; the inclusion of lengthy appendices is discouraged. The proposals should include: 

(1) an abstract;

(2) a narrative in which the following points are addressed

(a) definition of the research question,

(b) importance and relation to past or on-going research,

(c) work plan, and

(d) expected results and expectations for future funding

(3) a budget.

The faculty member who has agreed to serve as a research advisor should be identified on the title page and endorse the proposal with their signature.

Allowable expense:  Supplies, scientific equipment, services, travel, and field expenses are allowable. Computer equipment is not an allowable expense. Salaries will be considered only in unusual circumstances. Awards will be dispersed as student aid in the form of a stipend check.

Previous award:  There is a two-time limit on these awards, as well as a lifetime limit of $6,000. If you have had previous McGee funding, please add no more than one page of explanation of results of that project, how budgeted funds were spent, and how the current proposal relates to it.

Award amounts: No individual grants will exceed $5,000; because of the demand, most may be smaller.

Deadline: Three copies should be placed in Roni Holeton’s mailbox in Mitchell 101 (Dean’s Office) by Friday, April 25, 2008. Submissions after that date will be considered only if funds have not been exhausted. 

Selection process: Reviewers are Dean Matson and Associate Dean Jerry Harris. Proposals will be considered competitively. Students should view this as an opportunity to develop new and exciting research ideas, and to present these ideas in a concise and convincing proposal. Requests to extend or to supplement support from ongoing, funded projects will be given lower priority. Such proposals must present a strong case for the importance of the McGee grant for the student’s research, as well as for the scientific significance of the project.

Notification: Funding decisions will be announced the week of May 5, 2008.

                                                                                                                                    March 20, 2008