UM Call for Internal Pre-proposals for Institutional Nomination for Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Awards 2023

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, 2021 through ~Jan 7, 2023) at the time of application.

Eligible early-career faculty members wishing to compete for UM nomination should submit a required but non-binding internal Notice of Intent (NOI), by the date specified below. NOI submitters deemed eligible to compete will be invited to submit an internal application for consideration. Projects must be proposed in one of these disciplines:

·      Engineering and Applied Science
·      Life Sciences
·      Mathematics/Computer Sciences
·      Physical Sciences
·      Policy, Management, or Education
·      Health Disparities/Equity

Internal Notices of Intent should contain the faculty member’s name, UM title and department, start date of their appointment as a UM faculty member, the disciplinary category of their project, a working project title, a short abstract (<500 words), and up to four keywords. This information will help us confirm your eligibility for consideration, can could help us find disciplinary reviewers for the internal competition.

Internal Application documents from those invited to compete following their NOIs are to be prepared in accordance with ORAU’s Application Instructions for Faculty Members[1], 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:

• Research goals and objectives and relevant background
• Expected research outcomes and relevance
• Research design and methodology
• Competence of the applicant to perform the proposed research
• Available research facilities and resources
• Budget justification

4.     Additional single page of references relating to the proposal (optional)
5.     If nominated by UM for a Powe award last year, but not selected by ORAU for an award, you may also include:

• A copy of the Summary Comments document provided by ORAU, and
• 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[2], according to internal review criteria[3] mirroring the criteria listed in the program FAQ[4]. 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 (2022-23):
Sep 26:                     Original date of this announcement
Oct 17:                      Internal notice of intent due to ORSP, via online InfoReady Review Portal[5].
Nov 1:                       Internal applications due to ORSP, via online InfoReady Review Portal[6].
Nov 14:                     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)

Nov 15:                     Nominees submit SPAN form
… thru Dec 9:         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 12:                     Transmittal should be submitted to ORSP.

Jan 4:                        Target date for nominees to submit their applications to ORAU via PeerNet

Jan 9, 11am:     Deadline for submitting applications to ORAU via Peernet

Recent UM Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Achievement Awardees:

• 2021. Ying Hao, Department of Communication Sciences & 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