To:              School of Medicine Faculty

From:         Jon M. Lindstrom, PhD, Chair, PSOM Limited Applications Selection

                    Committee

Re:              Identifying Young Investigators for the David and Lucile Packard                                    Foundation Fellowships for Science and Engineering Program

Deadline:   February 9, 2018

The University has been invited to nominate two faculty members for the David and Lucile Packard Foundation Fellowships for Science and Engineering Program.  Each school within the University may nominate two candidates. A committee, established by the Office of the Vice Provost for Research (OVPR), will determine the final candidates to represent the University.

Program Description:

The Packard Fellowships for Science and Engineering program invests in future leaders who have the freedom to take risks, explore new frontiers in their fields of study, and follow uncharted paths that may lead to groundbreaking discoveries. The Fellowship Program provides support for highly creative researchers early in their careers; faculty members who are well established and well-funded are less likely to receive the award. Packard Fellows are inquisitive, passionate scientists and engineers who take a creative approach to their research, dare to think big, and follow new ideas wherever they lead.

Eligibility:

• Candidates must be faculty members in the first three years of their faculty careers, that is, whose initial faculty appointments began no earlier than May 31, 2015, and no later than May 31, 2018
• Candidates must be faculty members who are eligible to serve as principal investigators engaged in research in the natural and physical sciences or engineering. Disciplines that will be considered include physics, chemistry, mathematics, biology, astronomy, computer science, earth science, ocean science, and all branches of engineering.
• The award does not support social science research, clinical research, or research associated with the design and construction of large national facilities such as accelerators and space stations and applied research of direct relevance to national security.

Program Information:

• Award amount $175,000 per year for five years for a total of $875,000
• Intent of the program is to provide support for unusually creative researchers early in their careers
• Intent of the Foundation is to emphasize support for innovative individual research that involves the Fellows, their students, and junior colleagues, rather than extensions or components of large scale ongoing research programs
• Complete guidelines and details are available at https://www.packard.org/what-we-fund/science/packard-fellowships-for-science-and-engineering/about-the-packard-fellowship-awards/ (attached)
• A list of previous Packard Fellows is available at https://www.packard.org/what-we-fund/conservation-and-science/science/packard-fellowships-for-science-and-engineering/
• Penn faculty who have most recently received Packards include: Allison Sweeney (Physics), Joe Subotnik (Chemistry) and Jason Burdick (Chemical Engineering)

PSOM Review Process:

Each candidate must submit the following:

• Cover page with Candidate’s name, academic rank, department, email address, phone number and campus address, month and year of appointment to Penn faculty. In addition, please provide the names, titles and academic institutions of the 3 people from outside of Penn who will write the letters of recommendations.

• A letter of nomination from the candidate’s Chair/Division Chief which should describe first-hand knowledge of the nominee's ability to do creative research.
• Research Statement: The research statement should describe why the research is important and outline the general goals for the next five years. The statement should also indicate, in general, how funds will be used. This does not need to be a detailed budget and will not be binding on the actual use of funds. The research statement is limited to 1,400 words (maximum two pages of text, prepared in 12 point font with 1 inch margins). If there are relevant figures, images or references, please include these separately on a third page.
• CV including month and year of appointment to faculty, educational background, professional appointments, awards and honors and current and pending funding with award amounts

Materials must be submitted electronically in a single pdf file in the following order: cover page, letter of nomination, research proposal, CV

Applications must be submitted to Connie Weinstein at clw@pennmedicine.upenn.edu by 9:00 AM on Friday, February 9, 2018.

Subject line of email should be Packard Fellowship and name of nominee, e.g. Packard Fellowship_ Smith_Jane

Please contact Connie Weinstein should you have any additional questions at clw@pennmedicine.upenn.edu or at 215-898-0132.