Thanks to generous support from UW-Madison’s Grainger Institute for Engineering and the Center for Interdisciplinary Research on Convective Storms (CIRCS), a CIRCS–UW seed grant program is being launched at UW–Madison. The goal of this program is to advance early-stage research ideas to the point where those ideas and their champions can successfully seek industry funding from CIRCS.
CIRCS envisions a world where society is resilient and prepared to mitigate the impacts of convective storms—from tornadoes and hail to extreme rainfall and floods. Through cutting-edge research, collaboration, and innovation, CIRCS strives to unravel the complexities of these perils and empower industry stakeholders to make informed decisions, ensuring safety, prosperity, and sustainability.
Seed grant funding can support graduate student or postdoc salary/benefits/tuition remission and travel to in-person CIRCS workshops, and should be in the $10,000-$30,000 range. Students, postdocs, and faculty receiving a seed grant are expected to attend CIRCS webinars and workshops.
Proposals should be brief (no more than one page, including a short description of the budget request) and should clearly explain how the proposed work could translate into longer-term success within CIRCS.
Please email proposals to Andrea Lopez Lang (andrea.lopez.lang@wisc.edu) and Dan Wright (danielb.wright@wisc.edu) by July 3 for full consideration. Reach out to us before then if you wish to discuss a research idea. We anticipate making decisions by the end of July, and funding can be available as soon as decisions are made. We may contact submitting people/teams to briefly discuss their research idea.
Preference will be given to research ideas that meet at least one of the following criteria:
- The investigator is not currently receiving industry funding from CIRCS but planning to propose a CIRCS project
- The idea is focused on work that incorporates feedback from a prior CIRCS workshop
- Submitted by early career researchers (students/postdocs are encouraged to work with their advisor if they wish to submit an idea)
- Researchers/teams are able to begin work as soon as possible
This seed grant program will run for at least two years. Reach out to Dan Wright if you have a research idea that you are unable to submit by the July 3 due date.