» The Fletcher Jones Foundation Faculty Fellows in Engineering

Proposals should be written in 12-point Times New Roman font, with single spacing and 1” margins. Figure captions and cited references can be in 10-point Times New Roman. Your proposal should describe the problem or question you hope to address, the reason this challenge is important (e.g., why is the current state of the art not sufficient?), and your approach to it.You should provide enough technical content and detail to convince reviewers that you know the field, have a unique approach to address the issue, and that you have the expertise to carry out the work. 

The proposal is not the space to discuss every experiment that will be done or why. However, it is a place where you will want to highlight your approach, broken down into its significant aims, and any key experiments, strategies, or new methods that you plan to use to make a significant contribution to the field. 

Whereas it is important to propose interesting science and engineering, you must also place your science and engineering within a broader context. - What is the need for what you are proposing and why is what you are proposing useful and exciting? - What will be achieved technically if this work is successful? - Will it have a societal impact? - What will change if this project is successful?  

Answering some or all of these questions will help the reviewers to understand the potential impact of the work that you are proposing. In fact, if you can find a way to briefly remind the reviewers of the shortfalls of current technology and the advantages of your solutions throughout your pre-proposal, it will keep the relevance and importance of what you are proposing in the front the reviewer’s minds. The best creativity comes from boundary-less thinking. Try not to worry about what others are doing or proposing. Instead, focus on presenting a good idea to approach a problem of scientific import that excites you. Then, explain it clearly in a way that a general audience can understand it. A proposal that is written in your own personal voice will always be most compelling. 

Think about potential issues and contingency plans (e.g., why might my initial idea not work, and if it doesn’t, how might my team get around this issue to still accomplish the goals of the proposal so we can continue the rest of the work?). This is especially important if your second or third aims or goals rely heavily on the successful completion of an earlier part of the proposal. Identifying potential challenges doesn’t mean naming everything you could possibly try. Rather, focus your attention on what aspects of your proposed work MUST be accomplished for the remainder of the work to be possible. For these critical outcomes, are there things that might cause the studies, as proposed, not to work? If so, can you come up with another approach that could realistically be used to circumvent the issue? By recognizing potential issues and building tunable or diverse strategies into your proposal, you show reviewers not only that you recognize the key parts of your strategy, but also that you are a scientist and engineer who is able to adapt and overcome the challenges that are always part of the research process. 

The biosketch template contains the following sections: Name; Position Title; Education/Training; Personal Statement; Positions, Appointments and Honors; and Contributions to Science and Engineering. Special instructions for some key sections of the biosketch are given below. 

1. Personal Statement:  

Briefly describe why you are well-suited for your role in this project. Relevant factors may include: aspects of your training; your previous work on this specific topic or related topics; your technical expertise; your collaborators or scientific environment; and/or your past performance in this or related fields, including ongoing and completed research projects from the past three years that you want to draw attention to, including current or previously funded projects. 

You may cite up to four publications or research products that highlight your experience and qualifications for this project. Research products can include, but are not limited to, audio or video products; conference proceedings such as meeting abstracts, posters, or other presentations; patents; data and research materials; databases; educational aids or curricula; instruments or equipment; models; protocols; and software or netware. Use of hyperlinks and URLs to cite these items is not allowed. 

Additional notes: 

• If you wish to explain factors that affected your past productivity, such as family care responsibilities, illness, disability, or military service, you may address them in this "Personal Statement" section. 
• Indicate whether you have published or created research products under another name. 
• Do not present or expand on materials that should be described in other sections of this Biosketch or application. 
• Figures, tables, or graphics are not allowed. 

2. Positions, Scientific Appointments, and Honors. 

List in reverse chronological order all current positions and scientific appointments both domestic and foreign, including affiliations with foreign entities or governments. This includes titled academic, professional, or institutional appointments whether or not remuneration is received, and whether full-time, part-time, or voluntary (including adjunct, visiting, or honorary). 

List any relevant academic and professional achievements and honors. 

• Include scholarships, traineeships, fellowships, and development awards, as applicable. 
• Clinicians should include information on any clinical licensures and specialty board certifications that they have achieved. 

3. Contributions to Science and Engineering. 

Briefly describe up to five of your most significant contributions to science and engineering. The description of each contribution should be no longer than one half page, including citations. 

For each contribution, indicate the following: 

• the historical background that frames the scientific problem; 
• the central finding(s); 
• the influence of the finding(s) on the progress of science or the application of those finding(s) to health or technology; and 
• your specific role in the described work. 

Note: Figures, tables, or graphics are not allowed. 

For each contribution, you may cite up to four publications or research product that are relevant to the contribution. If you are not the author of the product, indicate what your role or contribution was. Note that while you may mention manuscripts that have not yet been accepted for publication as part of your contribution, you may cite only published papers to support each contribution. Research products can include audio or video products; conference proceedings such as meeting abstracts, posters, or other presentations; patents; data and research materials; databases; educational aids or curricula; instruments or equipment; models; protocols; and software or netware. Use of hyperlinks and URLs to cite these items is not allowed. 

Descriptions of contributions may include a mention of research products under development, such as manuscripts that have not yet been accepted for publication. These contributions do not have to be related to the project proposed in this application.