Discovery Prize 2021
Call for Proposals
What to Submit
Discovery Prize eligibility is open to faculty who, at the time of application, has
a tenure-track assistant professor appointment or is no more than five years beyond
tenure and promotion at the associate professor level. The proposed research project
may emerge from a single discipline or may be interdisciplinary, involving multiple
SBU faculty. The lead PI, however, must fit the eligibility criteria described above.
The proposed work must be basic research that is discovery-driven and creates new knowledge. Research that is primarily translational in nature (i.e., seeks to apply existing knowledge) or that has been funded in the past is not eligible.
If you meet the eligibility above, you are invited to submit a two-page concept paper that addresses the questions below. Proposals exceeding two pages will be returned without review.
For all PIs, a two-page CV and list of current and pending grant and/or contract support (both using a standard NSF or NIH format) must be submitted along with the concept paper.
Present your two-page proposal concept paper in the following format:
Proposal title:
Principal Investigator(s):
Name
Title/rank
Department
Phone number/email
Official start date of asst. prof appointment or promotion to assoc. prof.
Concept:
What is your idea, and how does it revolutionize your field?
What is the gap in knowledge or paradigm you are seeking to address?
Approach:
How would your research fill the gap or move knowledge forward?
What is your experimental or novel approach for addressing this question?
Broader Significance:
How will your findings change our understanding not only of your field but also other
sciences and/or society at large?
Why is your research so unique that it is unlikely to be supported by funding agencies?
Key Dates
Concept Papers due: November 18, 2020
Invitations to submit full proposals issued: December 14, 2020
Full proposals due: January 19, 2021
Announcement of finalists: February 3, 2021
Oral presentations by finalists and award announcement: TBD
Apply
Applications consisting of the above items must be submitted electronically in PDF format by 11:59 PM on November 18, 2020, to OPD_OVPR@stonybrook.edu. Please direct questions to Mandy Frantz, research development specialist in the Office of Proposal Development at Mandy.Frantz@stonybrook.edu.
Applications that do not follow these guidelines will be returned without review.
Review Process
The Office of the Vice President for Research will lead the proposal review process. Review of concept papers will involve a multidisciplinary panel of senior SBU faculty with accomplished research records. Following review of concept papers, a subset (no more than five) will be invited to submit full proposals. Review of full proposals will involve both written and oral presentations (i.e., TED-style talks) to be judged by a second panel of distinguished external and SBU scientists. Names of panelists will be posted on the Discovery Prize website prior to the proposal deadline.