Junior Faculty Award Grant

The Junior Faculty Award, established by the New England Botanical Society in 2019, supports early career academic faculty in New England focusing on botanical research. This award promotes innovative studies on local flora, including ecological experiments and herbarium research. Eligible candidates must be within their first five years of employment in New England and demonstrate academic achievement. Grants of up to $5,000 can be requested, fostering projects that enhance understanding of New England's botanical diversity.

Established by the New England Botanical Society in 2019, the Junior Faculty Award supports the developing research programs of early career academic faculty with work focused on botanical, ecological, biogeographical, genetic, or systematic aspects of plants in the New England flora. Early career candidates are those who are in their first 5 years as a new academic member at a post-secondary teaching institution in New England, who are teaching botanically related courses, and who are establishing or expanding a research program. For the purposes of this award, "botanical" study systems can include vascular plants, non-vascular plants, algae, fungi, and lichens.
The objective of NEBS in offering the Junior Faculty Award is to support new members of the academic community in New England and to encourage innovative botanical research on the flora of the region. The award grants are intended to support research, including botanical surveys and studies, ecological experiments in field or greenhouse settings, molecular and phylogenetic lab work, applied and conservation-oriented research, and herbarium-based studies, or similar projects. Please note that this award may not be given every year, but only in years where applicants meet all the eligibility requirements.

Eligibility

Project Requirements: The research must advance our knowledge of plants that occur in the New England flora. Notably, while the project proposed might represent the first stage of longer-term efforts in a study system, the proposed work should result in a complete project, experiment, or study within one year of the award.This research may be newly proposed or in the early stages of implementation. Types of Expenses Eligible for Support: Costs associated with conducting field, lab, greenhouse, and/or herbarium-based research are eligible for funding. Travel and lodging expenses associated with the research are also eligible, as are supplies and equipment associated with the proposed work. Modest stipends to support student involvement in projects will also be considered.Eligibility:The Junior Faculty Award is open to early career faculty members within the first five years of their employment at the college or university where they are based in the New England region. Applicants should have completed graduate training (typically Ph.D.) in a plant-related field of biology and have a record of academic achievement (e.g., peer-reviewed publication).Applicants do not need to be a member of our organization to apply for this award.Amount of Award: Applicants may request up to $5,000, but a full budget for a project must be included.If total costs exceed $5,000, indicate other sources of funding available to or being sought by the applicant to ensure project launch and feasibility in the coming year.Winners of awards amounting to $600 or more will be required to submit IRS Form W-9 Request for Taxpayer Identification Number (provided by our treasurer) before award checks will be issued.Awards will ONLY be paid to the award recipients and NOT to any third party (such as colleges, universities, research institutions, employers, family members, etc.). For winners who are not United States residents, nonrefundable tax withholding of 30% will generally apply unless reduced or exempted by tax treaty.