Opportunity Overview
The Catron Fellowship has been awarded annually since 1987 to students researching practical ways to use solar energy. The late William (BS Econ ’31) and Lenore Catron, formerly of Sunland, California established the grant. The fellowships are a yearlong commitment, running from August to August, for Ph.D. graduate students working in the area of solar energy.
Applications are due June 15th annually.
Eligibility
- Ph.D. Graduate student working in the area of solar energy.
- The student’s stipend at the departmental rate and the applicable tuition must be paid for the entire 12-month period from the grant and, if needed, from supplemental funds from the PI’s resources.
- No fellowship money can be used for the support of the salaries or expenditures (e.g., travel) of the faculty supervising the student.
- The Catron Center Graduate Fellowship is to support starting/strengthening an ongoing research proposal.
- The funding is for science-based research projects which can lead to breakthrough technologies or advances in science.
Funding
- Application-type projects are not suitable for this fellowship
- It is expected that each fellowship will be for $35,000 in total. A limited number of fellowships may be awarded for ¼ time as opposed to ½ time support.
Funding Justification
Iowa State Faculty are invited to apply for two graduate fellowships to be awarded by Catron Center for Solar Energy Research. The objectives of the fellowship are:
- To support new blue-sky projects that can lead to significant new funding in the future from external sources
- To provide the required cost share on external grants/contracts
Application Requirements
Applicants must submit the following:
- Proposal Summary:
- The innovative nature of the project
- What problem(s) are you trying to solve, and why
- What the impact of the project would be on the science or technology of solar energy conversion
- Your qualifications to undertake the project, including a statement about facilities for research
- Specific external funding sources that are going to be pursued for future funding. A generic statement such as “will apply for NSF funding” is not Proposals must describe why the proposed research is of interest to the external sources identified (e.g., mention the specific BAA from DOD or any other RFP from other agencies, if appropriate).
- A statement about how you plan to meet any additional expenses, such as M&S travel to conferences, etc.
- Include a brief summary of outcomes from any Catron fellowships during the last three years. This should include the title of the Catron proposal, a list of papers, and the proposal(s) submitted.
- Indicate if there is a proposal/paper pending in the area of this proposal.
- Proposal Requirements:
- The proposals are limited to two pages in total.
- Clearly identify on top of the first page: “Application for Catron Graduate Fellowship (year-year).“
- In addition, include a brief, up to 2-page CV of the student.
- If your student has Catron funding currently, you must describe progress under the award (including listing publications/presentations) on one additional page.
- Note that we will not support beginning students – the student must be at a stage where he/she can focus full-time on research, i.e., having passed the Ph.D. qualifier or at an equivalent stage in his/her career
Evaluation Criteria
Applications will be evaluated based on:
- Novelty of the proposed research
- Potential for generating new external funding
- Strength of the proposed research
- Level of funding – Full or half
Submission Deadline & Process
- Applications are due June 15, annually.
- Submit materials to COEfunding@iastate.edu
- Awards will be announced as soon as the reviews are completed.
For any questions, please contact Arun Somani