As part of the Center for Smart Living (ISC SMRT) and the Center for Science, Technology, and Society (CSTS), faculty are encouraged to submit proposals for seed money funding by Monday, Oct. 4. Three types of funding are available:

1. Graduate, undergraduate or postdoctoral support: Researchers need graduate student support for up to an entire year to create the needed preliminary research.  This type of funding includes a GRA stipend of $24,000 plus partial tuition support up to $7,500. Support for undergraduate research is available with hourly funding from $11-15/hr for up to 20 hours/week. Postdoctoral support is available in the form of a 50% match on other funding (up to $24,000).
2. Faculty release time or student support: For faculty with high teaching loads and less release time budgeted for research, this type of funding includes release time plus a fringe of $10,000 and undergraduate support of $5,000.
3. Specialized equipment support and special initiatives: In particular, smart living involves Internet of Things devices that are generally small and of diverse technologies interlinked in potentially complex networks. This type of funding allows for initiatives of up to $10,000 to purchase equipment. Once purchased, the equipment will be maintained as part of the laboratory maintenance budget proposed below.

Proposals must be interdisciplinary and may mix and match different funding types. The proposal must address one or more specific funding programs. Proposals are sought throughout campus, including proposals from researchers who have not traditionally sought external funding. The Smart Living Center co-directors and the associate deans of both colleges will jointly make decisions on awards.

Each proposal should consist of a two-page narrative of items No. 1-7 below, plus a third page containing an itemized budget and explanation:  

1. Project title
2. Relevance to smart living thrust areas (please select the relevant ones):
   • Ethical decision making, governance and policy
   • Smart infrastructures (homes, water, electric power, transportation, etc.)
   • Privacy and security
   • Accessibility and sustainability in environment and health
3. Names of faculty members in the collaborative project
4. Research objective
5. Project description
6. Targeted funding programs
7. Results from prior smart living support.

Please follow these instructions

• In the project description, describe the motivation or significance, approach and tasks.
• For results from prior smart living support, provide 1) title of smart living funded collaborative project in the past academic year, 2) summary of project results in one or two paragraphs, 3) list of project publications that have credited the Center for Smart Living, and 4) list of related proposals that have been submitted for external funding (proposals should credit the center on the PSRS).
• The text style and page layout are: Times New Roman 12 point, single spacing, and 1-inch margin on all four sides.
• During the coming academic year, the student working on the project will be asked to present the project results (both in writing and oral presentation) at the SMRT mini-symposium in spring 2022 and a poster presentation in fall 2022.

Submit your proposals electronically in a PDF to Larissa Winstead, office support assistant, by noon Monday, Oct. 4. Decisions will be announced by Monday, Oct. 18.