New Beckman Foundation Research Technologies Initiative

Karen A. Holbrook, Ph.D., Vice President for Research, Dean of the Graduate School

The University of Florida has been invited to submit a pre-application for a new award from the Beckman Foundation — the Research Technologies Initiative. Awards will be in the range of $300,000 to $500,000 per year for a period of up to five years.

It is the intent of this new initiative to support the development of new research technologies, directed at leading edge scientific fields of study, that have similar potential for creating new approaches to the solution of basic research questions. Awards will be made in the fields of chemistry and the life sciences, broadly interpreted, or for technologies that have clear potential for impacting these fields. The Beckman Foundation describes “technology” as the development of new instrumentation and materials, as well as novel methods and applications of existing instrumentation and materials.

Since we are allowed only one pre-application, an internal competition is necessary. Please alert eligible faculty in your programs to the following procedures: (1) Brief pre-proposals (2-3) pages are due no later than 5 p.m., Tuesday, MARCH 10, to 223 Grinter Hall. (2) Pre-proposals should describe the proposed technology and its potential impact on the research community, especially its potential in solving outstanding problems in the chemical and life sciences. (3) The Campus Research Awards Selection Committee will review the submissions and have selection results by Monday, March 16. The deadline for pre-applications to the Beckman Foundation is April 1.

As always, we are interested in submitting our most competitive proposal possible. Please share this information with your faculty. An announcement will also appear in the February 20 ONLINE FYI and FYI DIGEST. Program guidelines are available from ORTGE’s Program Information Office, 392-4804, or E-mail: proginf@nervm.nerdc.ufl.edu