Overview
The GIRA program aims to encourage and facilitate greater involvement of physics graduate students in significant instrumentation development, to boost recognition of instrumentation work as a vital part of PhD training, to foster the growth of future HEP instrumentation experts in the US, and to strengthen university-lab ties on instrumentation development. GIRA has been established by the Coordination Panel for Advanced Detectors (CPAD), a standing committee of The Division of Particles and Fields of the American Physical Society. You can find award winners from previous years under the CPAD webpage: https://cpad-dpf.org/?page_id=750#temporaryId10
Award and Funding
The GIRA program aims to award one or two proposals to be funded by the DOE Office of High Energy Physics. Additional proposals may receive honorable mentions. The award will provide a stipend of $45,000 per year. The award is renewable for a maximum of 3 consecutive years total. The addition of a tuition supplement will be determined by OHEP on a case-by-case basis, with a cap of $65,000 on the total including a stipend.
The proposal must be for a graduate student to conduct research on high energy physics instrumentation, to be carried out mainly in the US at a university or at one of the following national labs: ANL, BNL, FNAL, LANL, LBNL, LLNL, ORNL, PNNL or SLAC. The applicant must name a faculty or staff mentor. Even if the work is not to be carried out at one of the labs, the project should include a staff partner from one of these labs. This may or may not be the same person as the mentor.
Eligibility and Terms
All students enrolled in accredited US Physics PhD programs are eligible to submit a proposal (only one proposal per applicant is allowed). Students must be already enrolled in order to apply. It is expected that most students applying will be in their 2nd or 3rd year, but there is no hard requirement beyond being enrolled. The start date of the fellowship can be chosen within 6 months of the award date. The student may not take classes for credit during the performance period, as the award is for full time research. Auditing and professional training courses are allowed, as this may be necessary for instrumentation work. There is no obligation to seek renewal; some projects and student research plans may be satisfied with just one year of instrumentation work, while others may call for two or more. The maximum expected award duration is two years with a third-year renewal only in exceptional cases.
The DOE and the GIRA award are committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive environment within HEP and the field of instrumentation which ensures equality of opportunity for applicants. In support of this commitment, GIRA encourages minorities, women, veterans, and individuals with disabilities to apply for this award. The GIRA committee considers all qualified applicants without regard to age, ancestry, citizenship status, color, disability, gender, gender identity, genetic information, marital status, national origin, pregnancy, race, religion, sexual orientation, veteran status or any other characteristic protected by law.
| 2024 Dates | |
|---|---|
Application Opens: | Now |
Application Deadline: | May 15th 2024 |
Results Announced: | June 30th 2024 |
Earliest Possible Start Date: | July 1st 2024 |
How to Apply
Complete application packages including mentor and lab partner letters must be submitted by the student before the above deadline at:
https://academicprogramsonline.org/ajo/award/27222
Deliverables and Renewal
The expected measure of performance is one instrumentation publication per year of the award in a refereed journal or proceeding. Renewal of the GIRA award (if sought) requires no additional review as long as performance is met and the awardee contacts the GIRA panel and submits a `progress report’ which contains an abstract, summary of accomplishments, work plan for the renewal year, and list of all talks and publications made. Renewal instructions will be provided with the award. For renewal to a second year, the student may submit a progress report and publication plan in lieu of a publication. Renewal for a third year in extremely unlikely and will only be considered for an extremely strong case under exceptional circumstances.
Acceptable Publications
A publication must contain a significant fraction of the student’s original work in order to be acceptable. Review papers are not acceptable. Overviews of construction projects are not acceptable unless the student has management responsibility in the project. Papers with more than 10 authors must be accompanied by a letter from the mentor certifying that the student played a critical role.
Questions and Contact
Send questions to gira (at) fnal (dot) gov and please review the FAQ
FAQ
Can non-US citizens apply?
Yes. There is no requirement of citizenship or permanent residence. Applicants must be enrolled in a US university physics PhD program.
Can a GIRA be combined with other fellowships?
No. The award is intended to support a student and double support is not allowed. Should an applicant be selected for a GIRA and also another fellowship or scholarship, the applicant should choose one and turn down the others.
Is there a proposal template or preferred format?
The preferred format for all documents is pdf. There is no required template for the proposal. The following outline can used a guidance, but following it is not mandatory.
Can GIRA support be used after PhD graduation?
No. The award is valid only for enrolled students.
Can I apply before I start graduate school?
Technically yes, but this is not recommended because one may not take classes for credit during the award period. Applicants may only be selected for an award if it is clear that working on the project will be compatible with their coursework requirements.
Can part of the work be carried out outside the US?
Yes. While the project should be based in US labs or universities, it may require some work abroad, for example for tests at beam facilities, telescopes, etc. If work abroad is required in your proposal, please briefly explain why.
Do I need to request recommendation letters to be sent with my application?
No. You need to provide the name of two references (name and email address), that the panel may consult when making the shortlist.
Can I put down my mentor or lab partner as reference?
No. Your mentor and lab partner will already comment on your experience. For the reference, you need two additional people who will be able to comment on your proposal and experience.
Can a valid proposal involve simulation only, with no physical device test or fabrication?
Yes. Simulations are an integral part of detector development and it is possible for significant advances to be purely analytic or computer simulated. There is therefore no set requirement on the nature and tools of the proposed work. A guiding principle the selection panel will consider is how much the proposal would advance the state of the art in high energy physics instrumentation.
Can work on a construction or upgrade project form the basis of a proposal?
Yes. Please take care to indicate how the publication requirements under “Deliverables and Renewal” will be met, with “a significant fraction of original work”.
How is GIRA administered and who is running the selection? What is Fermilab’s role?
GIRA awards will be funded by DOE Office of High Energy Physics via Fermilab. The university of the award recipient will set up a subcontract with Fermilab and receive the funds that way. Additionally, Fermilab hosts the web site, but has no role in the selection. The applications will be reviewed by a selection panel convened by the Coordinating Panel for Advanced Detectors. The selection panel is identified on the main GIRA webpage. The panel will recommend the winner as well as honorable mentions directly to OHEP (see Award and Funding).
How to submit the mentor and lab partner letters? On the website it says letters must be submitted by the students… So does that mean I will need to add a file for each of these letters into the academicjobonline package? Or I should put their contact information on the coversheet?
These letters (or letter if mentor and lab partner are the same) should be uploaded directly to AJO by the mentor/lab partner. In your AJO profile select references from drop-down menu and enter their names and emails. Check the “email notify writer on submit” or “email again” box befor clicking submit: