Stone Laboratory is offering financial support for OSU graduate student researchers who intend to pursue research using the facilities in 2024. These funds are primarily aimed at supporting OSU graduate students whose research projects will take place at Stone Lab and who could benefit from supplementary funds. These funds could cover, for example, housing, boat time, lab space and use of equipment (see appended list for estimated costs), and materials, supplies and new equipment (which will remain at Stone Lab at the completion of the project). Funds may not be used for stipends, salary, or tuition and fees. Students may request funds up to $10,000 but smaller amounts are encouraged and may be offered. Depending on available funding and quality of proposals submitted, one to several students will be funded each year.
Eligibility: OSU graduate students in good standing with the Graduate School; must be enrolled in spring and planning to enroll in the following autumn semester.
The application is a two-step process:
Step 1: Graduate researchers will need to contact the Stone Lab Research Coordinator, Dr. Justin Chaffin (chaffin.46@osu.edu), prior to submitting a proposal to determine if their project is feasible and if housing, lab, space, and equipment will be available during the time they hope to conduct the research. Note that Step 1 is a pre-submission process and does not guarantee funding. The window for Step 1 is open now through December 1, 2023.
Step 2: The proposal and a letter of support from the student’s graduate advisor should be emailed to Dr. Chaffin (chaffin.46@osu.edu) no later than 5:00pm on January 15, 2024. Please include “Stone Lab Grad Student Scholarship” in the subject line. All proposals will be reviewed by a panel and decisions made by March 1, 2024.
Proposal: The proposal should be no more than two pages, single-spaced, 11pt font with 1” margins and saved as a PDF. Figures may be included within the 2-page limit. References cited may be included on a separate page and are not included in the page limit. Please include the following components:
1. Project title
2. Name and contact (email) of graduate researcher
3. Name and contact (email) of graduate supervisor
4. Requested date range for staying at Stone Lab
5. Requested total amount
6. A brief summary of the project
7. Budget justification (does not count towards 2-page project summary) that includes requested items (e.g., housing, lab space, boat time, specialized equipment, materials and supplies, etc.). Students should use the appended list of estimated costs and discussions with Dr. Chaffin to inform their budget.
Letter of support: The letter, addressed to the Scholarship Review Panel, should contain a brief statement from the graduate advisor indicating support for the student to perform research at Stone Lab and that the student is in good standing with the Graduate School. Any other sources of financial support and how Stone Lab funds would enhance the student’s work, should be noted. The letter may be sent separately from the proposal to chaffin.46@osu.edu with “Stone Lab Grad Student Scholarship - Letter” in the subject line by 5:00 pm on January 15, 2024.