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Undergrad Student Funding Opportunities -

• Undergraduate Research Associates Program (faculty proposals)

• USC Undergraduate Research Program

• National Institutes of Mental Health Career Opportuniities in Research Honors Undergraduate Research Training Grant - 05/12 Yearly

• FY 2016 Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship

  The U.S. Study Abroad Branch within the office of Global Educational Programs of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) announces an open competition to administer the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program. Public and private non-profit organizations meeting the provisions described in International Revenue Code section 26 USC 501(C)(3) may submit proposals for the purpose of administering a scholarship program for credit-bearing academic study or internships outside the United States by U.S. undergraduate students with demonstrated financial need (Pell Grant recipients). The intent of the authoring legislation for the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program is to broaden the U.S. student population that participates in study abroad by focusing on those students who would not otherwise study outside the U.S. due to financial constraints. The Gilman Program provides scholarships to enable U.S. citizen undergraduate students of limited financial means to pursue credit-bearing academic studies or internships abroad. Such foreign study expands the understand of other countries and cultures among U.S. students who may not otherwise be able to study or intern overseas, thereby better preparing these U.S. students to assume significant roles in an increasingly global economy and society.

• 2016 Student Technology Prize for Primary Healthcare

  This 8th Annual Student Technology Prize in Primary Healthcare is a unique $400,000 competition for engineering students to encourage and support innovative clinically-relevant, primary-care technology concepts. It is administered under the auspices of the Massachusetts General Hospital's "Ambulatory Practice of the Future" (APF) and sponsored by the Gelfand Family Charitable Trust. The top prize is $150,000. Quick Facts Objective: This annual national competition is intended to encourage graduate and undergraduate engineering students to direct their creative skills toward the needs of primary care. We seek innovations which have a substantial potential to support improved delivery of this care. These may be technologies, instrumentation, devices, systems, or the like. Technologies of particular interest are ones that could improve access to medical care, leverage the skills of caregivers, automate routine tasks, increase workflow efficiency, support patients with chronic disease, increase compliance with care protocols, reduce medical error, or augment the physician-patient relationship. Applicants should pay close attention to these objectives, as technologies supporting specialty care are of much lesser interest to the judges. Innovations are sought for use in any setting, not just those of the traditional medical-practice office. The full range of venues of daily living, from home to work and beyond, present attractive opportunities for innovations which could enhance the quality and continuity of primary care. Applications directed at global-health needs are also welcome, though the entries must be from students in U.S. universities. Winners from 2015, listed in our September 15th Press Release, posted in APF’s Announcements, should serve as examples of the ideas and accomplishments that are sought. Process: Short pre-proposals from students are due by April 18, 2016. The online submission site will open on March 7, 2016 and remain open until the deadline of April 18, 2016 at midnight. Ten Finalists will then be chosen from these pre-proposals, and each of these will be awarded $10,000 to advance their work, and to help them prepare a full 10-page final proposal, which will then be due August 29, 2016. The First-Prize winner will receive $150,000 for support of their team’s work and career advancement, second prize is $100.000, and third prize is $50,000. Each of these three major awards will be in addition to their earlier award of $10,000. Essential details on the submission process and links to supporting documents, can all be found (after 12/15) by clicking on the Details tab.

• The BIG Idea Challenge

  The BIG Idea Challenge is a university-level design competition sponsored by the Game Changing Development Program (GCD) within NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate, and managed by the National Institute of Aerospace (NIA). The 2017 BIG Idea Challenge calls for teams of 3-5 students to submit robust proposals for in-space assembly of spacecraft – particularly tugs, propelled by solar electric propulsion (SEP), that transfer payloads from low earth orbit (LEO) to a lunar distant retrograde orbit (LDRO). The proposals should be 8-10 pages in length. The BIG Idea Challenge seeks new concepts for constructing 200kW class SEP tugs in space using robotic assembly of modules that make up the SEP tug. Proposals should design and analyze potential modular concepts and systems that provide the ability to construct large SE tugs in space. Concepts can employ new approaches for: • packaging modules in one or more launch vehicles that minimize launch loads, • modular (distributed) solar arrays and ion engines, and • robust robotic assembly (joining) of the modules that form the SEP tug. For your convenience, we have developed a printable flyer for the 2017 BIG Idea Challenge that contains full design guidelines and constraints, and is ideal for posting in classrooms and departmental bulletin boards. Interested teams are encouraged to review the flyer carefully. Full competition details, including design constraints and submission guidelines, can also be found on the BIG Idea Website (http://BIGIdea.nianet.org). Based on a review of the proposals, four (4) teams will be selected to submit full technical papers and present their concepts to a panel of NASA judges at the 2017 BIG Idea Forum at the NASA Langley Research Center, February 15 and 16, 2017, in Hampton, VA. The final four qualifying teams will receive a $6,000 stipend to facilitate participation in the BIG Idea Forum. The winning team will receive offers to participate in paid internships with the GCD team at the NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, VA, where they can work toward further developing their concept under the mentorship of NASA experts. It is my pleasure to invite your interested student teams and their faculty advisors to submit an Online Notice of Intent by September 30, 2016 and submit proposals by November 30, 2016. Important Dates: September 30, 2016 – Notice of Intent (NOI) deadline November 30, 2016 – Proposal deadline December 15, 2016 – Selection notifications will be made February 7, 2017 – Technical paper deadline for 4 qualifying teams February 15-16, 2017 – 2017 BIG Idea Forum at NASA Langley Research Center On behalf of NASA’s GCD and NIA, I hope you will consider involving your students in this exciting competition that could potentially reduce the cost of deep space exploration by developing space systems that can be assembled in-space and re-used or upgraded for additional missions. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the BIG Idea team at BigIdea@nianet.org.

• Call for NASA 2017 RASC-AL Proposals

  NASA is embracing new paradigms in exploration that involve expanding our knowledge and learning how to live in space as we extend our presence into the solar system. The 2017 RASC-AL Competition is seeking undergraduate and graduate teams to develop new concepts that leverage innovations to improve our ability to work more effectively in microgravity. This year’s themes range from the design of more efficient subsystems to the development of architectures that support NASA’s goal of extending humanity’s reach into space. Collaboration with commercial partners will be required to enable this vision, and teams are encouraged to propose to augment NASA investments (or use in conjunction with) those from commercial and/or international partners. Each team’s response should address novel and robust applications to support expanding humanity’s ability to thrive beyond Earth. IMPORTANT DATES November 8, 2016: Notice of Intent deadline January 19, 2017: Abstract deadline February 3, 2017: 1st down-select is made March 16, 2017: Mid-Project Review April 3, 2017: Final down-select is made May 31-June 2, 2017: 2017 RASC-AL Forum

• Environmental Research Apprenticeship Program for College and University Students

  Deadline: 01/24/2017
  The mission of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is to protect human health and the environment. The EPA’s Office of Research and Development (ORD) conducts timely, mission-relevant, solution-oriented research based on the principles of integrity, sustainability, and responsiveness to the needs of the Nation. ORD’s National Risk Management Research Laboratory’s (NRMRL’s) research portfolio spans the five goals outlined in EPA’s Strategic Plan, and directly supports efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve air quality, manage chemical risks, and protect America's water.EPA-ORD seeks applications from eligible entities to enter into a cooperative agreement with EPA that will provide training opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students on-site at ORD’s Ground Water and Ecosystems Research Division (GWERD) research facilities located in Ada, Oklahoma. It is envisioned that the training program will increase both the effectiveness and number of future environmental scientists. The training received under the mentorship of EPA scientists will complement the trainees’ academic coursework. The recipient will be responsible for ensuring that the training projects are supportive of the trainees’ academic training. Some appropriate fields of study for trainees include, but are not limited to, environmental science, water policy, chemistry, engineering, computer science, ecology, and physical and biological sciences.