Postdoctoral Fellowships in Postdoctoral Fellowships in Polar Regions ResearchPolar Regions Research

The newest NSF postdoctoral fellowship program

Kathleen Flint

AAAS Science Policy Fellow

• Support innovative research• Foster next generation of polar

scientists • Broaden participation in polar science

• Encourage best practices in the community for a postdoctoral research experience

Program GoalsProgram Goals

Fellowship OverviewFellowship Overview

• Independent postdoctoral research in polar science

• Up to 3 years

• Includes: Salary, health insurance, research budget, fieldwork support

• U.S. host institution under mentorship of specified host scientist

Program InnovationsProgram Innovations

• Travel grants: independent award opportunity, supports travel to 1-2 prospective host institutions during fellowship proposal development

• Health insurance: the first NSF postdoctoral fellowship to provide an explicit health insurance allowance

• Fieldwork: fellowship proposals can include a fieldwork component, logistics funded in addition to standard stipends

• Mentoring Plan: host scientists must detail a mentoring plan for the postdoc as part of their letters of support

Latest DevelopmentsLatest Developments

• Travel grant deadline changed to rolling deadline

• Increasing publicity & outreach of program – but more work needed

• Developing an information handbook for use by Fellows and OPP

• 2nd competition is underway; 70% increase in number of proposals

The Faces of The Faces of OPP’s 1OPP’s 1stst Postdoc Postdoc

Fellows: 2004Fellows: 2004

Gregory Balco• Cosmogenic-nuclide geochronology

of glaciated surfaces in the upper Dry Valleys

• Sponsor: Howard Conway, Univ of Washington

Matthew Wallenstein• Seasonal variability of the soil

microbial communities responsible for decomposition of the arctic tundra carbon pool

• Sponsor: Josh Schimel, UC Santa Barbara

Nate Bickford • Habitat use and life

history of fish in the eastern Bering Sea

Kenia Whitehead • Global patterns of gene expression and regulation

in response to UV radiation and low temperature stress

• Sponsors: Nitin Baliga, Institute of Systems Biology & Ferran Garcia-Pichel, Arizona State Univ

• Sponsor: Brenda Norcross, Univ of Alaska Fairbanks

Brook Nunn • The effects of iron supply on the size,

composition and bioavailability of dissolved organic carbon from Phaeocystis antarctica

• Host: David Goodlett, Univ of Washington

Bradley Buckley • Genomics of Antarctic notothenioids, an

extremely cold-tolerant group of perch-like fish

• Host: George Somero, Stanford

Program EvaluationProgram Evaluation3-year review period Decide renewal

late 2006

• Should we continue beyond Year 3?

• How do we evaluate its success?– Will it have met its goals?

• Changed community overall? (e.g. broadened participation? new polar scientists?)

• Individual Fellow successes? (e.g. jobs? publications?)

– Other metrics?