Fellowship and Funding Opportunities Available Through the NASA Astrobiology Institute

The NASA Astrobiology Institute (NAI) provides a suite of funding opportunities to support graduate student and postdoctoral training, collaboration amongst its Teams, travel for field expeditions, seed funding for new innovative research, and the support of meetings, courses, conferences and workshops.

The NAI Postdoctoral Fellowship Program, administered in partnership with Oak Ridge Associated Universities (previously through the National Research Council program), was established to support a highly select group of Institute-wide postdoctoral fellows. These NAI Fellows are encouraged to interact across the entire Institute, and participate fully in the NAI’s activities and programs. The award is initially for one year, and potentially renewable up to a maximum of two years total tenure. There are two review cycles per year, with application deadlines of February 1 and August 1.

The NAI Research Scholarship (NRS) Program offers stipends and research-related travel expenses to enable students (graduate or early postdoctoral) to circulate among two or more of the Teams. The program also supports travel to field-sites and meetings when required for the progress of the student’s research. The maximum award is $5,000. Application deadlines are February 1, June 1, and October 1 of each year.

Through the NAI Conference and Workshop Fund, and with the participation of the NAI Members, the NAI will continue to coordinate the NAI presence at astrobiology-related professional conferences and present the public with information on NAI and Astrobiology. We are open to requests for sponsorship of special sessions at national and international professional meetings, as well as requests for support to organize a separate meeting or workshop focused in areas relevant to astrobiology. Participation by NAI Members is expected, but the activities should also be open to the broader science community.

The NAI Directed Discretionary Fund (DDF) is a critical component of the NAI’s funding portfolio. It is aimed at supporting opportunistic requests requiring a timely response; including activities such as small research projects, workshops and conferences, equipment purchase, and field expeditions. Note that the NAI encourages collaboration amongst its Team, and therefore the DDF is also available to support the travel of its members within and between teams when it is necessary for the success its members work. The maximum request which can be supported through the DDF is $50K.

For more information on these opportunities, and how to apply, see the NAI website at http://nai.arc.nasa.gov, and click on Funding.