Announcement of opportunity: CZO Science Across Virtual Institutes/ French OZCAR Scholars Program

This announcement is an open solicitation for applications by graduate students or postgraduates at US universities to receive funds for international travel to French Critical Zone Observatories during 2018. A similar program of research-related travel awards is being offered by France to support travel by their students to U.S. CZOs.

A major goal of the Critical Zone observatory program globally is to develop international collaborations, including young scientists who will advance CZ science throughout their careers. U.S. applicants can propose CZ research activities at any sites of the OZCAR Critical Zone resource or laboratories associated with the French CZO initiative (see attached table), whereas French students can propose research at any of the U.S. CZOs or associated university partners (see criticalzone.org). Ongoing collaborations with and connections to existing CZOs will be viewed favorably, and those proposals advancing cross-site science at multiple CZOs will be prioritized. While not required, a scientifically rigorous partnered proposal in which a U.S. student hosts a French scientist, and vice versa, will be highly regarded. Description of the OZCAR French observatories may be found at https://www.ozcar-ri.org/les-observatoires/reseaux-dobservatoires-dozcar/?lang=fr.

We anticipate funding up to 5 applicants from each country with amounts ranging from ~$2000-$5000 each to support travel and research-related expenses; no overhead or stipend costs can be included in the proposed budgets. This funding is not for travel to conferences. Successful applicants will be obligated to provide an ~three-page report documenting the overall results of the work as well as a description of how the activity will help to advance their career, and to provide confirmation that they have obtained necessary research agreements and any legally required collecting, import, and export permits for samples, instrumentation, and data.

Applicants should send a 3-page proposal describing the proposed research activities, budget and anticipated outcomes. The single-pdf-file application packet should also include a C.V., letter of recommendation from the applicant’s primary advisor, and a letter of support from the appropriate contact person at the French host institution. Applications from U.S. students should be sent to Sarah Sharkey (ses5291@psu.edu), whereas French applicants should send their proposals to Fatim Hankard (hankard@ipgp.fr) by March 26, 2018.