The Small Research Grant (SmRG) Program is administered by the AAS Executive Office. The program is funded mainly by a grant from NASA. A small amount of additional funding may be provided by income from the AAS operating-reserve fund and/or by the Cecilia Payne and Sergei Gaposchkin Memorial Fund. The amount of money available during any proposal cycle depends on the sources of support available to the Society at that time.

There are two opportunities to apply each year, one in May and the other in November. Upcoming deadlines are listed below.

Purpose

To cover costs associated with any type of astronomical research.

Amount

Awards range from $1,000 to a maximum of $7,000 (US dollars).

Eligibility

Open to both US and international astronomers with a PhD or equivalent; graduate students are not eligible. Astronomers from smaller, less endowed institutions will be given priority. Astronomers living outside the US are eligible only for AAS funds, which are limited. Proposals are welcome from individuals not associated with an institution.

Eligible Expenses

Acceptable expenses are those normally associated with research: computing costs; equipment purchases, upgrades, and repairs; equipment transport/shipping; travel (including student travel) to observatories and/or scientific meetings, but not AAS meetings; and page charges. Please note that requests to fund page charges should be made only when papers are written and ready for publication.

Limitations

• No salaries or overhead will be paid. (Note that no institutional endorsement is required on proposals.)
• For observing runs and scientific meetings both travel and subsistence costs may be requested, provided that these costs will not otherwise be reimbursed.
• If use of a facility other than that in the original proposal is involved, such use must be approved in writing before funds are actually awarded. If possible, include such possibilities in the original proposal.
• NASA funds are not available to astronomers living/working outside the U.S.
• When NASA funds are used, all travel must be made on U.S. flag carriers whenever possible.
• Travel to AAS meetings is not supported.

Proposal Requirements

In the following, page refers to a single-sided page. A double-sided page is equivalent to two single-sided pages.

Cover/Signature Page (one page)

The cover/signature page should contain on separate lines:

• Project title.
• Total amount requested (maximum $7,000).
• Proposer’s name, institution (if applicable), postal address, e-mail address, and phone number.
• If the applicant works for the US Government, indicate to whom the check should be made out.
• A summary statement (maximum 200 words) of the project and its expected results.
• A statement that funds will be used for the requested purpose and that an accounting will be furnished to the AAS within 12 months after receipt of the grant.
• Signatures of proposer and his or her immediate supervisor. Supervisor’s signature indicates that he or she is aware of the proposal and does not constitute an official endorsement from the proposer's institution.
• Date of submission.
• Click to download a PDF [3] or Word doc [4] of the cover/signature page template.

Project Description (maximum two pages)

• Please include a broad statement explaining why your project is important and how the results will advance our knowledge of astronomy and astrophysics. The committee judging your proposal will not necessarily be familiar with your area of research.
• Project and budget justification.
• What the expected results will be.
• If appropriate, explain the relevance of your proposed research to a NASA mission or to the determination of the direction of a future NASA mission. The SmRG program is funded primarily by NASA, and a statement of relevance to NASA programs is necessary to determine whether NASA funds may be used. Proposals for non-NASA-related projects need not include this statement and, if funded, will be paid with funds from other sources.
• You must indicate what other efforts have been made to obtain funding and what other funds are available for the proposed project. It is not sufficient to merely state "no other funds are available." If your project includes collaborators from other institutions, have those institutions been asked for support?

Budget Page (one page)

Itemize the proposed expenditures, line item by line item. The review committee may elect to award partial funding, so it is crucial that each component of your budget be listed separately.

If you haven't already done so in the project description, use the budget page to justify each proposed expenditure. For example, why do you need so much RAM in your new computer? Why do you need three students to accompany you on your observing trip, rather than just one or two? Why do you need to attend this particular conference?

Curriculum Vita (maximum two pages)

Provide a résumé/CV including your education and only the most recent relevant publications. A short description of the applicant’s position at his or her institution (if applicable) is helpful to the committee, particularly if there are any special circumstances, such as a recent change of jobs.

Application Checklist

One copy of the complete proposal, including:

• Cover page (Word doc [4], PDF [3]) with signatures.
• Project description (max. two pages).
• Budget page (one page).
• CV (max. two pages).

Proposals longer than six pages in total will not be considered.

Deadlines

Completed proposals are due in the AAS Executive Office by 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time on:

3 May 2010 for funds to be awarded in mid-2010.

29 November 2010 for funds to be awarded in early 2011.

2 May 2011 for funds to be awarded in mid-2011.

Proposals should be sent to:

Small Research Grant Committee
American Astronomical Society
2000 Florida Avenue, NW, Suite 400
Washington, DC 20009-1231

You may submit your proposal by e-mail as a PDF to AAS Press and Education & Outreach Officer Rick Fienberg [5] by the deadline. You must, however, mail a hardcopy of the entire proposal, including a signed hardcopy of the cover page, to arrive at the AAS Executive Office no more than a week later, or your proposal will not be considered.

Proposals are reviewed by a committee of four AAS-appointed astronomers via teleconference shortly after each deadline. The SmRG review committee will confer within eight weeks of the proposal deadline, and results will be announced soon thereafter.

Review Criteria

Evaluation criteria of proposals include:

• scientific merit
• student participation
• budget with sufficient detail and justification
• relevance to NASA missions or programs, where applicable
• indication of what other efforts have been made to obtain funding and what other funds are available for the proposed project.

Reporting Requirements

Within 12 months of receiving a Small Research Grant, the successful proposer must submit a final report on his or her project or, with justification, request an extension.

The final report should include a detailed description of the expenditure of the funds with supporting receipts (or photocopies) and a brief (no more than one-page) summary of the project's activities and results.

If a paper has resulted from the project, researchers are asked to include the following text in their acknowledgements:

This research was supported in part by NASA through the American Astronomical Society's Small Research Grant Program.

A copy of a preprint for a submitted, accepted, or published paper should also be submitted with the final report.

Questions regarding SmRG reporting requirements may be e-mailed to Rick Fienberg [5].

Interim Proposals

As noted above, the AAS Small Research Grant Program receives proposals twice a year, in May and November. Interim proposals are discouraged. Occasionally, however, an astronomer may come upon an unexpected research opportunity for which he or she needs to submit a proposal between regular deadlines. BEFORE submitting a proposal outside one of the two formal review periods, contact Rick Fienberg [5]. If your project is deemed eligible for a grant, the AAS will convene an ad-hoc committee to review your proposal, which must comply with all the guidelines listed above. Funding will be awarded only if the ad-hoc committee agrees unanimously. Interim proposals must comply with all budget and reporting requirements as well.