Research Exchange Program

See also the opportunity for Interridge Cruise Travel Bursaries of up to $2000.

Call for Proposals

This is a rolling call.

C-DEBI facilitates scientific coordination and collaborations by supporting student, postdoctoral, and faculty exchanges to build, educate and train the deep subseafloor biosphere community. We award small research exchange grants for Center participants. These grants may be used to support research, travel for presenting C-DEBI research at meetings, or travel exchanges to other partner institutions or institutions that have new tools and techniques that can be applied to C-DEBI research. We anticipate ~10 awards of $500-5000 with additional matched funds to be granted annually.

Research exchanges establish direct linkages among groups within individual institutions, which are intended to result in a well-connected community and the development of future deep subseafloor biosphere researchers and leaders. These exchanges allow a C-DEBI researcher (student/postdoctoral/faculty) to spend 1-6 months at a participating C-DEBI community host laboratory to carry out experiments, use analytical equipment, learn a new tool, and/or join a research cruise.

Financial support for exchanges through C-DEBI will be ~50% of the total cost. Matching funds for travel could come from a travel award from any program that supports student awards in this way (e.g., Geological Society of America, NASA Lewis and Clark fellowships), or by other means, such as matching support from the researcher’s institution or from a postdoctoral supervisor. Research exchange proposals to support travel to a lab to start a collaboration can support up to $500 in research costs, up to $3500 for domestic travel and up to $4500 for international travel, such that with the match, the total budget is limited to $8000 for a domestic exchange or $10,000 for an international exchange. Undergraduate students who have participated in CC-RISE or C4 are eligible to apply for a research exchange grant with funding provided as student stipends (e.g., up to $12.50/hour over an academic year) and the host lab responsible for matching research costs (lab costs, supplies, etc.).

C-DEBI welcomes proposals from applicants who would enhance diversity in C-DEBI and STEM fields.

This funding is only available to individuals sponsored in US institutions.

Application & Submission

A complete application consists of the following:

  • Proposal (up to 2 pages) outlining the intended objective and anticipated outcome of a research exchange with a title and a short project summary of ≤200 words written for a broad audience
  • Budget and justification (1 page) outlining expected costs of the exchange as well as other sources of funds which will be used to support the exchange. For undergraduate internships, detail the number of hours and rate of the stipend and timing for payment (up to 2 per semester).
  • Confirmation of financial commitment for matching funds. For undergraduate internships, include commitment of time and resources from host advisor (can be documented in letter of support below).
  • CVs of all participants (e.g., applicant and host)
  • Two letters of support including a letter of support from the host advisor at the hosting institution (if applicable). For students and postdoctorals, one letter must be from your advisor and include a statement acknowledging the absence from the home institution as applicable.

Please submit your proposal as a single PDF via our online submission form. This is a rolling call.

Review Process

Successful proposals will be: thoughtfully conceived, carefully organized, clearly written, relevant to C-DEBI themes, highly impactful, and tractable given the budget and schedule. We anticipate making decisions on funding 1 month following submission, with successfully proposed activities starting between 1-10 months following notification.

Contact Information

For questions regarding the general scope of this call and proposal submission, please contact: Rosalynn Sylvan (rosalyyl@usc.edu), C-DEBI Managing Director

Questions regarding undergraduate internships for CC-RISE/C4 participants can be addressed to: Gwen Noda (gnoda@usc.edu), C-DEBI Education & Diversity Director


See also:

Funded Projects

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