Memorandum

I. Executive Summary This memorandum sets out the policies and protocols for the NCAR Faculty Fellowship Program.

The immediate goals of this Program are:

• To provide opportunities and resources for faculty employed at universities, with an emphasis on UCAR member universities and early career faculty, to work in residence at NCAR, and
• To enable NCAR Scientists (Staff, Program, and Associate Scientists including Senior Research Associates) to spend a period of time in residence at US universities, with the same emphasis on UCAR member universities.

Several desired outcomes motivate the creation and the sustained operations of such a program. First, this activity is designed to provide significant and meaningful interactions between NCAR and its constituents: the university community. University faculty will be exposed to facilities, resources, and general research support and opportunities that are available at the national center. Fruitful and lasting intellectual collaborations and partnerships will be incubated by the close contacts between the university faculty in residence and the NCAR Staff and visitors. The program will emphasize our commitment to increasing the diversity of the field. Second, the sustained visits of NCAR science staff to the universities will further enhance this exchange of ideas and opportunities by reaching a wider and more diverse audience by interfacing directly with undergraduate and graduate students. Optimally, the exchange of personnel will be bi-directional. We anticipate a balanced and flexible program that will be able to strengthen numerous cross-cutting ties between NCAR and the universities in a manner that optimizes the benefits and gains for the individuals.

It is anticipated that Graduate Research Assistants and Postdoctoral Research Fellows associated with the university faculty member may also spend periods in residence at NCAR. They will be encouraged to apply to the ASP graduate and postdoctoral fellowship programs.  

II. Eligibility and Selection Criteria All faculty employed full time at a college or university are eligible to apply, but faculty from one of the UCAR member universities are strongly encouraged to apply, and will be given preference in the selection process. Diversity concerns will also be addressed in the selection process. The university-placement component of the Program is limited to US institutions and is open to all NCAR scientific staff.

A. An application will consist of, (1) a curriculum vitae, including a list of all refereed publications, (2) a prospectus outlining the nature of the research to be carried out at NCAR, or equivalently at the designated university, and (3) a brief budget statement describing the anticipated costs, including a clear demarcation between costs to the Program and those being covered by other sources.

B. The UCAR University Relations Committee (URC) will act as the review panel for the applications. They will provide the ASP Director with a ranked list of applications, from which the ASP Director will make her/his selections based upon programmatic and financial considerations, intrinsic merit, and the broader impacts for achieving the goals of the Program.

There is no limit to the number of times any individual may apply. There are no set quotas. The duration of an appointment may not exceed one year, and it may not be less than three months. Stays of less than three months are considered through NCAR’s Visitor Program, while those in excess of one year require a more formal employment agreement between the individual and NCAR.  

III. Implementation Applications will be accumulated throughout the year, but recommendations for the next fiscal year will be made by the URC at its annual Spring Meeting, and forwarded to the ASP Director at the completion of this meeting. Appointments will be made annually.

The Advanced Study Program will maintain a line item in its budget to support the implementation of this Program, and expenditures charged to this line require the approval of the ASP Director.

The ASP office will periodically announce this opportunity in the appropriate trade journals and magazines. Additional announcements will be widely disseminated by whatever means are deemed most appropriate.

-End of Memo-

This page updated 2004-09-28 14:23 -07 by Michelle Flores
Contact: Susan Warner (303) 497-1655; swarner@ucar.edu