An official missive from the Sloan Foundation (PDF version here)
Dear Colleague −
The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation has created a new funding opportunity in its Microbiology of the Built Environment program.
The Foundation seeks to support up to four new studies of the microbiology of the built environment. Successful projects will be either hypothesis driven research or studies of building materials and their effects on microbial communities. The Foundation is no longer funding microbiological surveys of built environments.
A better understanding of the microbiology of built environments — where people live, work and play most of their lives — may provide results that could directly influence air and water quality regulation, building design and operation, and human health. The Foundation is not interested in studying exotic environments. The program focuses on those built environments in which large numbers of people spend extended amounts of time, such as homes, offices, schools, businesses, hospitals, and vehicles.
Qualifications. A successful project will have the following attributes:
- multidisciplinary team of PI and co-PIs in relevant disciplines (e.g., building sciences, microbiology, genomics, ecology, engineering, and public health)
- keen interest in advancing knowledge of the microbiology of built environments using state of the art culture independent methods
- commitment to publishing in both the life sciences and building sciences literature
- commitment to open access for knowledge generated, including depositing data in the MoBe DAC
- ability to begin operations before the end of calendar year 2012
- matching funds are desirable.
Each award will be a maximum of $250,000 to be spent over 12 to 24 months. The budget may include indirect costs of up to 15% within the $250,000 limit.
Mandatory Letters of Intent are due Friday June 1, 2012
If you or your colleagues are interested, please send a letter of intent that includes a proposal cover sheet, a two-page summary of your ideas, and two-page CVs of key individuals to olsiewski@sloan.org with a copy to my assistant, Yolanda Wolf at wolf@sloan.org. A single pdf file of all documents will be appreciated.
The Foundation will review the letters of intent by June 15, 2012. After the initial review, a small number of applicants will be asked to prepare a full proposal due July 15, 2012 in accordance with our Grant Application Guidelines. The Foundation expects to announce the four recipients in September 2012, with funds available starting October 1, 2012.
If you have specific questions, please feel free to contact me at olsiewski@sloan.org.
Thank you for your consideration. I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
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