All applications will be due by midnight on Monday, January 29, 2024.
Faculty Letters of Recommendation are due Monday, February 5, 2024.
*NASA Media Release form – download here: NASA-AdultMediaReleaseForm 2
Goals of the Program
The Kathryn D. Sullivan Earth and Marine Science Fellowship is designed to increase the number of highly trained earth and marine scientists and enable graduate students to conduct NASA-related Earth/marine science research.
Fellowship Awards
Fellowship money awarded by the SC Space Grant Consortium and SC Sea Grant Consortium will be administered through your institution’s Grants and Sponsored Programs Offices. Indirect charges (IDCs) are NOT ALLOWED on any SC Space Grant student awards. A fellowship of $16,000 will be awarded, with each of the sponsoring programs contributing. SC Space Grant Consortium will contribute $8,000 and SC Sea Grant Consortium will contribute $8,000. No institutional match is required.
Outreach Requirement for ALL student awardees:
We are now requiring that you participate in at least one Outreach/Public Engagement activity event during your award period. SC Space Grant participates in many events each year, and you may join us at any time. Past events include the Charleston STEM festival, Camp Happy Days Summer camp, and the NASA STEM Expo. You may work with our main office or your campus director to locate an event of your choosing. These events will provide you with a great opportunity to share your enthusiasm for NASA and for STEM with the general public.
Please contact the main SC Space Grant office and your SC Space Grant campus director for information regarding upcoming outreach events in your area.
Eligibility
All applicants must be either full-time graduate students enrolled in an accredited consortium member institution or a successful applicant for full time admission to a Masters or Doctorate program in an accredited consortium member institution. Applicants must be citizens of the U.S. (see U.S. citizenship requirements here). An individual accepting this award may not concurrently receive other Federal fellowships or traineeships. Underrepresented minorities, women, and persons with disabilities are strongly urged to apply.
Proposal Requirements
Proposals for the Kathryn D. Sullivan Earth and Marine Science Fellowship must be written by the student. Continuing students are advised to enlist the aid of their faculty advisor for guidance, review, and commentary on the written material prior to submission. Students who have been accepted for admission to graduate school, but have not begun their first semester, must identify a faculty member who has agreed to be their faculty advisor and who can provide a written description of the proposed research. Required components of the proposal include:
- Resume
- Education Information to include unofficial transcripts
- Faculty Advisor Information
- Research Proposal (no more than 3 pages-references not included in page count):
- General outline of the project
- Research methods to be used
- Goals and expected results
- Project Timeline
- Relevance to both NASA and NOAA (Sea Grant)
- Research Term – Awarded for a period of one year starting in either May or August (prorated if anticipated tenure is less than 12 months). You must perform 400 hours, or more, on the research project.
- 1 letter of recommendation, which MUST be from your faculty member research project mentor who will oversee your project. A post-doc or PhD student is not eligible to submit this letter. Faculty Letter of Recommendation are due Monday, February 5, 2024.
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Budget and Justification – Your budget may include tuition costs, living expenses, and/or an allowance for additional research-related expenses. Funds may be used to help defray tuition costs, purchase books and software, or to provide per diem and travel for the student. Requests for the allowance must be fully justified in a brief description/justification.
Proposal Formatting Guidelines:
• Must be single-space, in English, use a font of at least 12 point (no more than ~15 characters per inch horizontally and 5.5 lines per inch vertically)
• Must use standard 1” margins on all sides
• 10 mb file size max for each proposal, must be an unlocked and searchable pdf file
Equal Opportunity
Applicants will not be denied consideration on grounds of race, creed, color, age, or disability
Reporting Requirements
- Fellowship awardees are required to submit a final report of their research and outreach activities at the end of their award term.
- Fellowship awardees are required to present their work at a Research Symposium or conference.
- If selected to participate in this program, you agree to participate in the South Carolina Space Grant Longitudinal Tracking program that is designed to monitor student progress from award through first employment. This information will also be provided to the SC Sea Grant Consortium.
For more information, please contact: Ms. Tara B. Scozzaro, MPA Program Manager
phone: 843.953.5463 | email: scozzarot@cofc.edu
About Dr. Kathryn D. Sullivan
As a NASA Mission Specialist, chief scientist for NOAA, and as a geologist and oceanographer, Dr. Kathryn Sullivan has gained extensive experience both at sea and in space.
From 1978 to 1992, Sullivan served as a Mission Specialist Astronaut in NASA’s Space Shuttle program. She became familiar with a variety of land remote sensing techniques as Mission Manager and in-flight scientist aboard NASA’s high-altitude WB-57F aircraft. Among a variety of positions in flight support and operations, Sullivan flew aboard three Shuttle missions. In 1984, she flew aboard the Challenger, and became the first American woman to walk in space. In 1990, she was an EVA (Extra Vehicular Activity) Mission Specialist aboard Discovery, on the Hubble Space Telescope deployment mission. She was Payload Commander for the Atlas-1 Spacelab on her final flight, aboard Atlantis, in March 1992. Sullivan became involved in national civilian space policy when she was appointed to the National Commission on Space in 1985. She is actively involved in science education, primarily through the Challenger Center for Space Science Education, whose programs she helped design.
Prior to joining NASA, Dr. Sullivan took part in a variety of oceanographic research and survey cruises under the auspices of the U.S. Geological Survey, Wood’s Hole Oceanographic Institution and Canada’s Bedford Institute, including the international FAMOUS Project on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. In 1987, she took part in NOAA’s national Undersea Research Program, diving on the Bermuda Seamount in a Pisces VI submersible to a record 6,500 feet. To remain active in applied oceanography, Sullivan sought a commission in the Naval Reserve Oceanography Program in 1988. She currently serves as a Captain in the United States Naval Reserve.
Sullivan graduated from the University of California at Santa Cruz in 1973, with a B.S. in Earth Sciences. Her doctorate in Geology was awarded by Dalhousie University in 1978. She has received honorary degrees from several institutes, including Dalhousie and Stevens Institute of Technology.
Sullivan is currently the assistant secretary of commerce for environmental observation and prediction and deputy administrator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). She is also performing the duties of NOAA’s chief scientist.
Sullivan has received many awards, including NASA’s Medal for Outstanding Leadership, Exceptional Service Medal (twice) and Space Flight Medal (three times); the American Astronautical Society’s Vic Prather EVA Award, the Haley Award of the American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics, the U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation’s Lone Sailor Award, and the Ohio Museum Association’s Distinguished Museum Professional Award.
Sullivan is a member of numerous oceanographic, geological and aerospace associations. She is a licensed pilot (power and glider) and SCUBA diver, and is fluent in several foreign languages. Her favorite pastimes are SCUBA diving, sailing, playing squash and reading.