Open Call: Beckman Young Investigator Program 2025

Jun 10, 2024 | Awards & Funding, Research

To: All Science Researchers
From: Office of Foundation Relations
Subject: Funding Opportunity

The Office of Foundation Relations is pleased to share this open call for funding from the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation. 

UCSC Contact: Caroline Rodriguez | caroline@ucsc.edu
Funder: Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation
Opportunity: Beckman Young Investigator Program – 2025
LOI Deadline: August 1, 2024

Overview

The Beckman Young Investigator (BYI) Program provides research support to the most promising young faculty members in the early stages of their academic careers in the chemical and life sciences, particularly to foster the invention of methods, instruments and materials that will open up new avenues of research in science.

Projects proposed for the BYI program should be truly innovative, high-risk, and show promise for contributing to significant advances in chemistry and the life sciences. They should represent a departure from current research directions rather than an extension or expansion of existing programs. Proposed research that cuts across traditional boundaries of scientific disciplines is encouraged. Proposals that open new avenues of research in chemistry and life sciences by fostering the invention of methods, instruments and materials will be given additional consideration.

  • The BYI program funds promising young scientists early in their careers who have not yet received a major award from another organization. Proposals that already have substantial funding will not be considered for the BYI award (see eligibility for more information).

  • The Foundation does not provide for overhead or for indirect costs.

Award Amount & Terms

  • Grants are in the range of $600,000 ($150,000 annually) over the term of the project, contingent upon demonstrated progress after the second year of the award.

  • Projects are normally funded for a period of four years.

Eligibility

The BYI program is open to those within the first four years of a tenure-track position, or an equivalent independent research appointment, at a United States academic or non-profit institution that conducts research in chemical and life sciences.

  • Tenure-Track dates for the 2025 program must start after 1/1/2020 AND before 8/1/2024.

  • Applicants must have no more than 10 years post-terminal degree; and no more than 5 years experience in a non-tenure track (not including postdoc position) or industry position.

  • Persons who have applied for permanent residency but have not received their government documentation are eligible to apply; Applicants must be citizens or permanent residents of the United States prior to the BYI Interview (late March/ early April) to remain eligible. Applicants with conditional permanent residency who have received Form I-797 are eligible to apply. See the application for more information.

  • No individual may apply for a Beckman Young Investigator award more than two times (including submitting a Letter of Intent).

  • Applicants can have no more than $225,000 in direct, annualized external funding grants during any BYI Program Year (Aug-July) at time of application. Start-up funds, department-wide instrumentation grants, and “Transition” grants received as a postdoc (such as NIH K99/R00) are not counted toward this total.

  • Institutions are not limited in the number of applicants who apply at the Letter of Intent stage.

See here for past Beckman Young Investigators.

Timeline

  • June 3, 2024 LOIs open
  • August 1, 2024 LOIs due
  • November 18, 2024 Applicants notified
  • January 13, 2025 Full applications due
  • April 7, 2025 Applicants notified
  • April 22-23, 2025 Interviews

Special Instructions

Please notify the Office of Foundation Relations if you are interested in applying to this opportunity (fr@ucsc.edu). For support developing your proposal, please contact the Research Development Specialist assigned to your unit or send a request to resdev@ucsc.edu. Within the Division of Social Sciences, please contact Ashlee Tews (ashleeac@ucsc.edu).

The Office of Foundation Relations is a unit of University Advancement. The FR team creates and maintains mutually beneficial, long-term relationships with private organizations, matching grant initiatives with educational and research programs and centers. FR supports faculty and staff to identify and approach these and other private foundations for funding, to assist in strategic positioning of the grant application, and to facilitate funder campus visits. For a list of recent funding opportunities, please visit the FR website. FR Calls for Funding

If you have any questions or comments, please contact caroline@ucsc.edu
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