Apply for the Science Olympiad Alumni Research (SOAR) Grant
Shared on behalf of Science Olympiad:
Since 1984, the Science Olympiad USA Foundation has been one of the nation’s largest and most prestigious science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) competitions. We’ve helped encourage millions of students to follow college and career pathways into STEM, and now, we want to give back to our participants doing groundbreaking and innovative research at top universities. Early-career researchers such as PhD students, postdoctoral trainees, and pre-tenure faculty are invited to apply for one of these grants because of the presence of an existing Science Olympiad Alumni Chapter at Northwestern.
In our inaugural granting year, we are focusing our grants around categories aligned with two of our most popular Science Olympiad events, Disease Detectives and Dynamic Planet. We will be accepting proposals for grants focusing on medical research impacting human health and energy/climate research impacting a safer, greener world. One $25,000 grant will be awarded in each category. These unrestricted grants are intended for early-career graduates, postdoctoral trainees, and assistant professors looking to expand or explore a groundbreaking idea with as little red tape as possible!
At this time, we are inviting applicants to submit a 1-page proposal letter to sketch out broad strokes of their idea, including the topic focus and expected outcomes. You are encouraged to mention the Science Olympiad connection to your idea, work, or personal story. If accepted, you’ll be invited to fill out a very brief, streamlined application in April 2023 which will be reviewed by a committee of Science Olympiad alums and subject matter experts. Grants will be announced in July 2023.
Please send proposals to Board President Jennifer Kopach at jrkopach@soinc.org by Thursday, March 30, 2023.