2013-2014 MBB Faculty Awards
The main goal of the Mind/Brain/Behavior Interfaculty Initiative (MBB) is to foster a better understanding of mind, the brain, and behavior by creating and promoting interdisciplinary experiences, education, and research. We are pleased to announce the availability of the 2013-2014 MBB Faculty Awards.
PURPOSE: These awards are intended to support faculty members who want to examine MBB-related issues through interdisciplinary research, education, or experiences.
WHAT IS INTERDISCIPLINARY? As fields change, it becomes increasingly difficult to identify what defines interdisciplinary research. MBB encourages applicants who are combining elements of their own field with methods or insights from another field, especially if those methods and insights have not already been appropriated by the faculty member's original field, and so long as it advances the agenda of the MBB initiative.
WHAT KINDS OF PROJECTS AND EXPENSES QUALIFY? This will be the fourth year we are offering these awards in this particular iteration, and we have intentionally built in a fair amount of flexibility in how these awards might be used, but please know that MBB is primarily interested in supporting novel, interdisciplinary, Harvard faculty-led projects that are relevant to MBB’s mission. These awards should increase productivity and/or facilitate inter-faculty collaboration. Therefore, all proposals must be explicitly cross-disciplinary, involving at least two principals, each from a different discipline.
An MBB Faculty Award could be used to support:
- Postdoctoral Fellowship
- Visiting Research Fellow
- Research Assistant
- Research Equipment or Supplies
- Study Participant Payments/Costs
- Developing and Hosting Interdisciplinary Workshops, Conferences, or Seminars
- Other
These are just a few examples of the types of projects or expenses that would qualify. All Harvard faculty members who currently work or wish to work in MBB-related fields are encouraged to apply. These awards can not be used as salary support for the Principal Investigator(s). [N.B. In the past, MBB maintained a separate postdoctoral fellowships support program, but postdoctoral fellowship support is now part of the faculty awards program.]
APPLICATION DEADLINE: June 14, 2013. We will be unable to accept late submissions.
Awards will be made approximately three months after the deadline, but the funds can be specified for use any time before December 31, 2015. Each applicant will be required to request a specific award amount and to submit an itemized account of how the award will be used. MBB cannot guarantee that all successful applicants will receive the full award amount.
EXPECTATIONS: Award recipients will be expected to:
- Communicate their interdisciplinary experience, the fruits of their work, and the insights gained. This might include a presentation to an MBB audience or may involve a written report.
- Participate in other MBB activities, e.g., faculty receptions, schmoozers, etc.
- Submit a final report to MBB, including financial summary, at the end of the award period.
- Submit copies of any papers or publications that result from the research, and acknowledge their MBB award in such papers and publications.