Research Fellows Program
The UWM Research Foundation's Research Fellows Program recently announced grants in December 2009 and anticipates issuing the next call for proposals in the fall of 2010.
Overview: This program is designed to help UWM attract and retain the best and brightest talent to improve the productivity of their research programs. The program makes awards of $7,500 to $10,000 directly to research assistants and post-doctoral researchers working in the laboratories of faculty members in the sciences, engineering and business. These "kicker grants" are over and above base support, so they can help faculty members recruit the best talent. The program has $160,000 in committed support, including $80,000 committed by UWM Foundation and UWM Research Foundation Board Directors. The program has made 15 awards to date in two rounds in the fall of 2008 and 2009.
Programs that Bridge the Commercialization Gap: The UWM Research Foundation has created a set of programs designed to bridge the gap between research and commercialization in addition to the Research Fellows Program. The Catalyst Grant Program provides seed funding to research projects with high potential for return on investment - through com
mercialization or ability to attract funding from other sources. The Research Foundation also promotes corporate partnerships and starteup companies helping commercialize ideas as they reach later stages of maturity. Underlying all of these activities is the management of intellectual property - which includes assessing ideas, protecting intellectual property through patents and copyrights and licensing.
Research Fellows Process: The Research Fellows program is open to researchers in the sciences, engineering and business. In structuring this program, the Research Foundation seeks to have a significant impact on the resarch program of principal investigators by helping them attract top talent who can work independently, come up to speed quickly and impact the outcome of their research program. Awards are based on the research program of the "Sponsoring PI", but awards are paid directly to a Graduate Research Assistant or Post-Doctoral Researcher working in the research program of the Sponsoring PI.
A Committee of the UWM Research Foundation including members of the Board and an outside industry representative determine Research Fellow awards based on the following criteria.
- Qualification Criteria - The Sponsoring PI must demonstrate base funding for the Research Fellow and the PI's research program must be in the sciences, engineering or business;
- Research Program Quality and Impact - Applications are judged based on the quality of their research program, and the ability of the Research Fellow to impact the outcomes of the PI's research program, and the ability to leverage other sources of funding; and
- Alignment with Research Foundation Mission - including commercialization, corporate partnerships and development of intellectual property.