R.C. Lewontin Early Award

SSE Graduate Research Excellence Grants 2020 R.C. Lewontin Early Award Proposal Deadline February 15 2020

About

The Society for the Study of Evolution (SSE) is pleased to announce the 2020 Graduate Research Excellence Grant (GREG) – R.C. Lewontin Award competition. These awards are to assist students in the early stages of their Ph.D. programs. These grants are part of the Graduate Research Excellence Grants award program.

Eligibility

Only Ph.D. students in their first two years of their programs are eligible. Eligibility can be confirmed by the advisor or graduate director stating that the student fulfills this requirement. Previous applicants to the GREG - Rosemary Grant Advanced Award are ineligible to apply. 

Applicants AND their mentors must be members of SSE, and are advised to join SSE, if not already members, as soon as possible to facilitate their applications (to join, go to: https://payments.evolutionsociety.org/joinsse/).

Previous awardees of either GREG award may not re-apply. Previous applicants to the GREG -  R.C. Lewontin Award who were not selected for funding are welcome to re-apply if they still meet the other eligibility requirements. 

This award is not limited to students in the United States.

Funding

Funding is not limited to any particular aspect of research (but see FAQs below). Funds can be used to collect preliminary data (to pursue additional sources of support) or to enhance the scope of their research beyond current funding limits (e.g. by visiting additional field sites, or working at other labs). Students should confirm that the proposed work is outside the scope of other funding held by either the student or their advisor. 

Awards will range from $1,500 - $2500 and approximately twenty awards will be made.

Indirect costs may not be charged to this award.

How to apply

To submit your proposal:

  1. You must be an SSE member to access the application. To become a member or renew a lapsed membership, visit https://payments.evolutionsociety.org/joinsse/. (Tip: if you are joining SSE for the first time, you can ask your advisor to purchase a $10 gift membership for you.)
  2. To access the application, go to http://awards.evolutionsociety.org.
  3. In the top right corner of the page, log in with your SSE username and password.
  4. Click the green “here” link where it says “Click here to see your current award options.”
  5. Click “Submit new Proposal for Lewontin Award 2020”.
  6. Complete the form. All questions are required. Note that the form includes demographic questions. You may choose not to answer any of these by selecting “Prefer not to say.” Learn more about why we are collecting demographic data and how it will be used here.
  7. Upload your proposal, budget, and note from your advisor as a single PDF (see instructions below).
  8. To submit your application, click “Complete”. 
  9. To save your application and come back to it at a later time, click “Save.”  If you click “Save”, be sure to come back to your application before the deadline and submit it by clicking “Complete”.
  10.  Whether you “Save” or “Complete” your application, you will receive an email at the address associated with your SSE membership (not necessarily the email address you provided on the Lewontin application form). This email will have a link to view and/or edit your application.

How to return to your application after clicking Save:

  1. Go to http://awards.evolutionsociety.org
  2. Click the green link where it says “Click here to see your current award options.”
  3. Click “My Applications”.
  4. Click the title of the application you wish to edit. Your application should appear.
  5. At the top of your application, click “Actions.” A dropdown menu will appear. Click “Edit”.
  6. Make any necessary changes.
  7. The PDF you uploaded previously will not appear, even though it is saved. You do not need to do anything to keep your previous PDF. To upload a new PDF, click “Choose File” and upload a new PDF.
  8. To submit your application, click “Complete.” 
  9. To save your application and come back to it at a later time, click “Save.”  If you click “Save”, be sure to come back to your application before the deadline and submit it by clicking “Complete”.
  10.  Whether you “Save” or “Complete” your application, you will receive an email at the address associated with your SSE membership (not necessarily the email address you provided on the Lewontin application form).

You can edit your application even if you have submitted it (i.e. clicked “Complete”). To edit your application, follow the steps above and click “Update” after making any changes.

To tell if your application has been submitted, go to the My Applications page, where all your applications will be listed with their status. If your application has been submitted, there will be a green box next to your application title that says “Complete”. If your application has not yet been submitted, there will be an orange box next to your application title that says “In Progress”. Be sure to check that your application has the green “Complete” status before February 15.

You should receive an email confirmation of receipt of your materials within 72 hours. If you do not, please contact SSE-Manager@EvolutionSociety.org.

 

Proposal Instructions:

Your research proposal, budget, and a letter from your advisor must be included in your application as a single file in .pdf format with one-inch margins (= 2.5 cm) and 12 point font. 

The file must include: 

  1. Research proposal, describing objectives, methods, significance, and schedule, (max. two single-spaced pages including literature cited and any figures and tables);
  2. Budget (1 page; no justification necessary, just a clear budget);
  3. Confirmation of eligibility as a signed letter from the thesis advisor or graduate director. This should include confirmation that:
    a. the applicant is in the first two years of their Ph.D. program
    b. the advisor has a current membership in SSE.‡

    ‡Applicants will confirm their own SSE membership in the application portal.

    Note: This letter is *not* a letter of recommendation; only include the information requested.

    Sample letter:
    Dear Selection Committee,
    This letter confirms that [Student Name] is eligible for the SSE GREG - R.C. Lewontin Early Award. I am [Student Name]’s supervisor. [Student Name] is in the [first or second year] of their PhD program. Both [Student Name] and I are currently members of SSE.
    Sincerely,
    [Advisor/Graduate Director Name]

In your research proposal, focus on convincing the awards committee of the importance of the question, how the funds will allow you to reach certain objectives, and how these objectives fit into your overall thesis schedule, while also demonstrating that the research is sufficiently independent that funds from your mentor cannot be applied. 


Demographic Data Note

Beginning with the 2020 GREGs, SSE will begin requesting voluntary demographic information from award applicants in an effort to address bias and promote equity in awarding across multiple axes of diversity. Learn more about this process here.

 

DEADLINE: 11:59 PM Pacific Time (GMT-7:00), February 15, 2020 
 
 

Evaluation Criteria

Applications will be reviewed on the following five criteria:

(1) Motivation of research: How well does the proposal situate the project in the context of the field by stating the big-picture question and/or the broader significance?

 (2) Clarity of hypotheses or questions: Are the hypotheses clearly stated?  Does the proposal provide sufficient rationale so that the evaluator can understand the logic behind the hypotheses?

(3) Clear contribution: Does the proposed project address a clear/novel/interesting question that is likely to move the field of evolutionary biology forward?  Does the proposal link motivation with hypotheses?

(4) Explanation of methods / analysis: Does the proposal provide enough explanation to justify the proposed methods for achieving the stated goals, in language that can be understood by an educated but non-expert reviewer?

(5) Connection between objectives and design: Does the proposal clearly and explicitly tie the hypothesis and methods to the motivating question? Will the proposed methods test the stated hypotheses?

Next Steps

All applicants will receive feedback and decisions on their proposals in April via email. In addition, award winners will be announced on the SSE website and at the Evolution meeting during the SSE Presidential Address. SSE would be pleased if you consider submitting work funded by the R.C. Lewontin award to Evolution or Evolution Letters. All work published with funds from the award should acknowledge the work as funded by the Graduate Research Excellence Grant - R.C. Lewontin Early Award from SSE, and a full citation of the work should be submitted to SSE within 2 months of publication.

Awards are typically subject to 1099 reporting, and thus must be included as income by the recipient. All awardees will need to fill out an IRS W-9 form whether or not they are a US citizen, and whether or not they attend a US university. To avoid paying tax on the award, awardees may have their check deposited in a university research account. This award covers direct costs of research only; institutional indirect costs may not be charged to this award. Non-US citizens and those not filing US tax returns are required to set up a separate university account to receive this award.

Members are encouraged to contribute to the Graduate Research Excellence Grants fund when renewing their membership!

Frequently Asked Questions

If I get the award, do I have to use the funds by a certain time?

Nope! 

My faculty advisor isn’t a member of SSE, but my postdoc or grad student mentor is - am I eligible?

Nope, both you and your faculty advisor must be members of SSE. Be sure to ask your advisor if they will purchase a gift membership for you - just $10!

I received a R.C. Lewontin Early Award already. Can I apply for this award again?

No. Previous recipients of the R.C. Lewontin Early Award are ineligible to receive the award again. 

I applied for a R.C. Lewontin Early Award last year but didn’t receive it. Can I apply for this award again?

Yes. Previous applicants who were not selected for funding are welcome to re-apply, providing they still meet the eligibility requirements.

I applied for a Rosemary Grant Advanced Award last year but didn’t receive it. Can I apply for the R.C. Lewontin Early Award this year?

No. Previous applicants to the Rosemary Grant Advanced Award are ineligible to apply for the R.C. Lewontin Early Award. We encourage you to apply for the Rosemary Grant Advanced Award in the fall.

Can I use the award to pay part of my own salary? 

No, salaries are not considered a research expense for this award. Awarded funds, can, however, be used to pay hourly wages for student research assistants. 

Can I use the award to attend a meeting or workshop?

No. Meeting or workshop attendance and/or travel are not considered research expenses for this award. 

Can I use the award to purchase a computer?

No. Computers are not considered a research expense for this award.  


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