2021 Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Achievement Nominations Process

 UM Call for Internal Pre-proposals for Institutional Nomination for
Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Awards 2021

Summary:  Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU) sponsors the annual Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Awards competition, providing seed funding for research by junior faculty and, catalyzing competitiveness for other funding. Awards are $5K for one year (June 1 to May 31) and require a match of $5K (provided by ORSP). UM may nominate up to 2 full-time assistant professors within two years of their initial tenure track appointment (Jan 1, 2019 through Jan 2, 2021[1]) at the time of application.

Eligible faculty members may compete for nomination submitting a Notice of Intent (NOI), followed by an internal application. Projects must be in one these disciplines:

  • Engineering and Applied Science
  • Life Sciences
  • Mathematics/Computer Sciences
  • Physical Sciences
  • Policy, Management, or Education

Internal NOI should contain: Name, Department, Project Title, Discipline, Appointment Date, and up to 4 keywords (for identifying reviewers).

Internal Application documents are to be prepared in accordance with ORAU’s Application Instructions for Faculty Members[2], and must include the following, which should be combined into a single PDF for upload to the Info Ready Review Portal: 

  1. A one-page abbreviated resume
  2. A one-page listing of publications and/or presentations
  3. A two-page research proposal that should address the following:
    1. Research goals and objectives and relevant background
    2. Expected research outcomes and relevance
    3. Research design and methodology
    4. Competence of the applicant to perform the proposed research
    5. Available research facilities and resources
    6. Budget justification
  4. Additional single page of references relating to the proposal (optional)
  5. If nominated last year, but not selected for an award, you may also (optionally) include:

a.     An exact copy of the Summary Comments document provided by ORAU, and
b.     A < 1 page summary of whether/how last year’s reviews are addressed

Internal Review Process

ORSP Research Development will oversee a down-selection review process consistent with our standard procedures for limited submission competitions[3], according to internal review criteria, mirroring the criteria listed in the program FAQ[5]. Based on the reviews, the two most compelling applications will be selected for nomination. Only the two selected nominees should then ask their department chair or dean to prepare the required letter of recommendation.

Key Dates (2020-21):
Sep 28:                     Original date of this announcement
October: 14               ORAU Councilor Gladden received the 2021 PeerNet competition link from ORAU.
Oct 12:                      Internal Notice of Intent due to ORSP, via online InfoReady Review Portal[6].
Nov 02:                     Internal applications due to ORSP, via online InfoReady Review Portal.
Nov 23:                     ORSP will announce results/nomination status.

                                    UM’s ORAU Council (Gladden) will send nominees:

-        A standard letter of support (confirming your nomination)
-        A link to the PeerNet intake system (portal for submitting your app to ORAU)

… thru Dec 15:       Nominees make improvements in their applications.
                                    Chairs of nominees write letters of recommendation and provide to nominees.
                                    Nominees work with ORSP pre-award team on proposal transmittal process.
Dec 16:                     Final transmittal should be submitted to ORSP.
Jan 4:                        Target date for nominees to submit their applications to ORAU via PeerNet
Jan 6, 11am:     Deadline for submitting applications to ORAU via Peernet


Recent UM Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Achievement Awardees:

  • 2021, Ying Hao, Department of Communications Sciences and Disorders
  • 2020. Ayla Gafni, Department of Mathematics
  • 2018. Saumen Chakraborty, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry 
  • 2017. Thái Hoàng Lê, Department of Mathematics
  • 2015. Davita Watkins, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
To ask questions about this competition or process, or to report problems, contact Jason Hale (jghale@olemiss.edu). 

[1] Dates estimated: Appl. due date for 2021 not yet announced by ORAU as of this ORSP announcement.

[6] InfoReady Review Portal: https://research.olemiss.edu/InfoReady