VIRGINIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCE
GRANTS AND AWARDS

Horsley Research Award Small Project Research grants Jeffress Memorial Trust
Best Student Paper Fellow Gwathmey Memorial Trust

SMALL PROJECT RESEARCH GRANTS

GENERAL GUIDELINES for Application for Small Project Research Funds from the Virginia Academy of Science. Awards are now made in amounts up to $1,250.
  1. All investigators and co-investigators must have been members of Virginia Academy of Science for six months at the time of application in order to apply. If a graduate student applies, the student's major professor must be a co-investigator.
  2. The research must be carried out in the state of Virginia or sponsored by an institution in the state.
  3. The investigator need not be affiliated with any particular type of institution (public, private, academic, industrial, etc.).
  4. Publications resulting from these funds must acknowledge support from the Virginia Academy of Science.
  5. Deadlines of receipt of applications will be April 1 each year. Notices of awards will be made about May 15.
  6. Awards are made in amounts up to $1,250.00.
  7. Preference is given to initiation of projects ("seed money").
  8. Proposals for work to update or extend information on natural systems in Virginia and on human impacts on those natural systems are encouraged. Examples of past work which could be updated were published in The James River Basin: Past, Present, and Future and in The Great Dismal Swamp. Copies of The James River Basin: Past, Present, and Future may be ordered by contacting VAS Trust Committee Chair D. Rae Carpenter, Jr. at by telephone at 540-463-4948 or by fax at 540-464-3132. Make checks payable to: Virginia Academy of Science in the amount of $25.00 (members) or $50.00 (non-members). The Great Dismal Swamp was published by the University Press of Virginia, Charlottesville for the Old Dominion University Research Foundation.
  9. Submit five copies of completed applications
Requests for applications and completed applications should be sent to:
Ali Ibrahim Mohamed, Chairman
VAS Research Committee
2181 Jamieson Ave.
Appt 1107 W
Alexandria, VA  22314

Office:     
Phone:   202-720-5229
FAX:      202-720-3398
Email:    amohamed@csrees.usda.gov

 

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 J. SHELTON HORSLEY RESEARCH AWARD COMPETITION

The J. Shelton Horsley Research Award is the highest honor bestowed by the Virginia Academy of Science for original research. The presentation of an engraved certificate and a monetary award are a highlight of the Annual Meeting. All Academy Members are urged to give serious consideration to submitting their paper. Here is the procedure:
  1. Three (3) copies of any paper entered in The Horsley Award Competition must be mailed to the Chair of the VAS Research Committee by February 21.
    2. Ali Ibrahim Mohamed, Chairman
    VAS Research Committee
    2181 Jamieson Ave.
    Appt 1107 W
    Alexandria, VA  22314

    Office:     
    Phone:   202-720-5229
    FAX:      202-720-3398
    Email:    amohamed@csrees.usda.gov

  2. All authors must be members of the Virginia Academy of Science prior to submission of the paper, and the paper must be presented in the appropriate Section at the Annual Meeting.
  3. The title of the paper, together with the name and affiliation (college, business, etc.) of each author must be sent to the appropriate Section Secretary by February 21.
  4. The paper must represent original research carried out by the author(s). If already published, it must have been published after May 1 of the year preceding the year of the presentation.
  5. No person will be awarded the prize more than once.
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BEST STUDENT PAPER AWARDS

Best Student Paper Awards will be given at the Annual Meeting. All students (undergraduate or graduate) who present papers at the annual meeting will be eligible. Presenters MUST be a member at the time of presentation. Students who would like to be considered for the Best Student Paper Awards should indicate this when they submit their titles to the Section Secretaries. Selection of awardees will be based on the originality and scientific merit of the research, the quality of the oral presentation and submitted abstract, and responses to questions. Questions can be directed to:
Carolyn M. Conway
Dept. of Biology
Box 842012
Virginia Commonwealth University
Richmond, VA 23284-2012
(cconway@saturn.vcu.edu)

Guidelines for Best Student Paper Awards

  1. Each section may give one Best Student Paper Award, if desired.

    2. One or two honorable mentions may also be awarded at the discretion of the section.
  2. The Best Student Paper Awards will be announced at the Academy Conference on Thursday afternoon to those awardees that can be selected prior to that time.

    3. The list of awardees will be included in the Newsletter and in the Proceedings issue of the Virginia Journal of Science.
  3. Certificates and a year's student membership in the Senior Academy will be given to the awardees.

    4. Some sections currently have monetary awards which may be given in addition to the certificates. All sections are encouraged to come up with a mechanism to obtain funds for monetary awards, if they so choose, up to a maximum of $100 per award.
  4. Any student, undergraduate or graduate, who presents a paper at the Annual Meeting will be eligible to participate as long as he/she is the sole or first author of the abstract to be published in the Virginia Journal of Science.
  5. The abstract (or its equivalent) must be submitted to the section secretary by the officially established deadline for abstract submission.
  6. Student presentations will be judged on the following: the originality and scientific merit of the research, the quality of the oral presentation and submitted abstract, and responses to questions.

    7. In the event that the presented paper is part of a large research endeavor, the student is responsible for clarifying (either during the presentation or during the response to questions) his/her role in the research.
  7. The Call for Papers for the Annual Meeting will include an announcement concerning the Best Student Paper Awards.

    8. Students who desire to participate will indicate this at the same time they submit their titles to Section Secretaries.
  8. In order to facilitate the selection of recipients, all student papers should be scheduled on Thursday and as early as possible so that selection can be made before the Academy Conference.

    9. This will not be possible for all sections - especially in the larger sections that normally have presentations on both Thursday and Friday. Larger sections may choose their awardee at the close of the meeting. These sections should also decide whether the awardee will be included with the published list of awardees for the current year or recognized at the next year's annual meeting.
  9. Each section's officers should designate three individuals who will function as a selection committee. Every selection committee member should be present to hear all student papers.


    10.  The Awards Committee suggests that if possible the Section Editor be one of the members of the selection committee. (Other officers may also serve on the selection committee.)

     The individuals serving as the selection committee will be responsible for reading the abstracts, hearing the presentations, and selecting the awardee and any honorable mentions.

     This group will also be responsible for transmitting the information on their selection/selections to the Awards Committee prior to the Academy Conference if possible.
     
     

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THE GWATHMEY MEMORIAL TRUST

The Richard Gwathmey and Caroline T. Gwathmey Memorial Trust was established under the will of Mrs. Elizabeth Gwathmey Jeffress in memory of her parents. During her life, Mrs. Jeffress devoted much of her energy and her many talents to the restoration of the pavilions and gardens of the Lawn at the University of Virginia and to the creation of a major exhibit of crystallography at the Science Museum of Virginia in honor of her brother, Allan T. Gwathmey, former Professor of Chemistry at the University of Virginia and guiding spirit in the establishment of the Virginia Institute for Scientific Research. Mrs. Jeffress was particularly interested in the history, literature, art and architecture of Virginia. She was a member of The Society of Colonial Dames and the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities and supported these organizations' efforts in historic preservation.
Grants from the Trust, which is administered by Bank of America, are awarded by an Allocations Committee specified in her will. The Committee is composed of five Virginia residents appointed for a limited term by the following organizations: The Virginia Academy of Science, The Medical Society of Virginia, The Executive Committee of the Bar Association of the City of Richmond, The Virginia State Chamber of Commerce, and Bank of America, the Trustee.

General Policy Guidelines

Grants are made to institutions and organizations which qualify under IRS regulations as tax exempt and operated exclusively for charitable, scientific, literary, or educational purposes, so long as attempts to influence legislation or to Support candidates for public office do not form part of their activities. Grants are not made to private foundations or private operating foundations as defined by the IRS.
Although the Allocations Committee has not established inflexible limitations upon the purposes for which it will award grants, in general, requests for endowment funds will be subordinate to grants for other purposes. Requests for general operating expenses are seldom awarded. preference is given to specific, well-defined projects and programs whose results can be evaluated. Contributions are not made to periodic campaigns for funds by national or community organizations. Grants are not made to individuals. Normally, grants are made only to organizations in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Grants may be made for periods of up to three years. Requests for support from an organization which his received a grant from the Trust will be considered no sooner than three years from the date of the first payment of the previous grant.
All applicants must submit the information listed below to the Trust's Advisor as part of any proposal, or separately in advance of any proposal:
  • (1) a description of the organization, its history and purpose;
  • (2) evidence of the organization's tat-exempt and private foundation status;
  • (3) financial statements for the current year and two previous years showing the major Sources of organizational support and endowment, if any; and
  • (4)names and affiliations of the organization's trustees, directors, advisors and principal staff.

Proposal Guidelines

Although the Trust does not require proposals to follow a specific format, in general, each organization is expected to submit a written proposal that includes, when applicable, the information listed below.
  • A concise description of the project or activity proposed, including the specific purposes for which the grant is requested, the benefits to be provided, and the needs to be met.
  • A detailed financial plan that includes the total costs, the specific amount requested, the amount raised to date, plans for procuring the remainder, other funding sources, and provisions for contingencies and on-going support.
  • Plans for evaluation of the project's results and for sustaining the project after grant funds expire.
  • A brief biographical background of the person who will conduct or supervise the proposed program.
  • A covering letter from an official of the organization stating that the organization has formally approved the proposed program.

Review of Applications

Applications will be received at any time. They will be reviewed initially by the Advisor to the Trust and will be evaluated by the Trust's Allocations Committee at meetings held in the spring and fill of each year, generally in May and November. The deadline for receipt of proposals for the spring meeting is March 1; for the fall meeting, September 1. Applicants will be notified only in writing of the decision of the Committee after the meeting at which their proposal has been considered. It is important for applicants to understand that it is only the Committee as a group that makes each decision, and that the volume of applications and the subjective considerations involved preclude the Trust from critiquing unsuccessful applications, and inquiries of this nature are discouraged.
Applicants should be aware that almost every application the Trust receives is meritorious and that because of the number of such requests, the Committee must pick and choose and many worthy requests must be declined. In some cases requests may be declined because of timing, and applicants should not be from future requests. In any event, applicants should understand that rejection of a proposal is not a rejection of the proposer.

Payment and Accountability

For approved applications, funds will be forwarded to the recipient organization as stated in the award letter. A report of the use of the funds and the status of the project must be made no later than one year after the payment of a grant. For multi-year grants, installment payments will be made after the receipt of an annual report on the progress of the program and a statement of funds expended or committed.
Proposals and correspondence concerning grants should be address to:
Dr. Richard Brandt, Jr. Ph,D., Advisor

Bank of America
Private Bank
P.O. Box 26688
Richmond, VA 23261-6688
Telephone:(804) 788-3698
FAX: (804) 788-2700
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JEFFRESS MEMORIAL TRUST

The Thomas F. Jeffress and Kate Miller Jeffress Memorial Trust was established under the will of Mr. Robert M. Jeffress, a business executive and philanthropist of Richmond, Virginia. Mr. Jeffress had a deep interest in his native state, and he made large contributions during his life in support of scientific research in the Commonwealth of Virginia. His interest in scientific matters stemmed largely from his close association with his brother-in-law, Allan Talbott Gwathmey, former Professor of Chemistry at the University of Virginia. Dr. Gwathmey was the guiding spirit in the establishment of the Virginia Institute for Scientific Research, an organization devoted to fundamental research in the natural sciences. Mr. Jeffress was a founder and the principal benefactor of the Institute, and he served as Chairman of its Board of Trustees for many years.
Grants from the Trust, which is administered by Bank of America, are awarded on the advice of an Allocations Committee specified in his will. The Committee is composed of five Virginia residents appointed for a limited term by one of the following organizations: The Virginia Academy of Science, The Medical Society of Virginia, The Executive Committee of the Bar Association of the City of Richmond, The Virginia State Chamber of Commerce, and Bank of America, the Trustee.

General Policy Guidelines

The purpose of the Jeffress Trust is to support basic research in chemical, medical, or other scientific fields through grants to educational and research institutions in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Grants are given to assist scientists in such institutions to conduct investigations in the natural sciences, generally considered to include chemistry, physics, biology (with the exception of field studies, classification, other largely observational studies), studies in the basic medical sciences, such as biochemistry, microbiology, and others.
Grants are made to institutions and organizations in the Commonwealth of Virginia only which qualify under IRS regulations as tax exempt and are operated exclusively for charitable, scientific, literary, or educational purposes, so long as attempts to influence legislation or to support candidates for public office do not form part of their activities. Grants are not made to private foundations or private operating foundations as defined by the IRS.
All applicants must submit the information listed below to Trust's Advisor as part of any proposal:
  • (1) a description of the organization, its history and purpose;
  • (2) evidence of the organization's tax-exempt and private foundation status;
  • (3) financial statements for the current and two previous years showing the major sources of organizational support and endowment, if any; and names and affiliations of the organization's trustees, directors, advisors and principal staff.
These items should be submitted with or before the first grant application but, after the initial submission, should be updated periodically, and not included with subsequent applications.
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Specific Guidelines for Jeffress Research Grants

The Trust will make grants-in-aid of research and Will not suggest specific research programs. Institutions requesting support for programs will be expected to give evidence of their interest in the programs by providing usual supplies and services and indirect costs.
The Trust will normally not support clinical research (diagnosis or treatment of disease, abnormality, or malfunctions in people or animals, or testing of drugs or procedures for their treatment).

The principal evaluation criteria will be the scientific significance of the proposed work and the competence of the investigator.
Awards are limited to one year for a maximum amount of $30,000 and the Committee will continue to adhere to the long-standing priority of supporting fundamental research by scientists early in their careers and new areas of research or more speculative projects by established investigators. The funding of a research project approved initially for a lesser period may be renewed at the discretion of the Allocations Committee. However, grants will be funded only for a maximum period of three years, including any renewals.

In general, items of direct expense essential to the successful prosecution of the proposed project will be provided. These would normally include undergraduate or graduate student summer stipends; summer stipends for principal investigators who lack other support for research in the summer months; supplies directly related to the proposed project; special equipment (for expensive equipment whose use can extend beyond the specific project, the Trust will expect the institution to share the cost); travel to use specific facilities not available in the host institutions, to learn special techniques, or to confer with specialists in the field; other expenses clearly justified as necessity for satisfactory performance of the work.

Principal investigators may request as part of the budget contributions to summer salary for up to two months at the monthly rate of $3,000.00 per month or $6,000.00 for the summer.

Student participation should be in the form of fellowship or scholarship activities whenever possible. Fellowship or graduate assistant summer stipends paid from grant funds shall not exceed one-fourth of the academic year stipend, not including amounts for tuition or fees, paid by the institution. Summer stipends for undergraduate students who participate in research programs are limited to the regular monthly rate paid in the academic year for three summer months. Up to $1,000 will be allowed for national or local travel.

No funds will be approved for international travel, tuition and fees or fringe benefits including FICA.

Page charges for publications will be considered when incurred, not as part of the project budget. Faculty and student stipends are limited in amounts provided. The Trust's Advisor should be contacted for currently approved amounts.

The following categories of support will not normally be provided: Indirect costs; common supplies and services; secretarial assistants; academic year salaries or stipends for faculty and students in academic institutions; instrument or computer time and maintenance charges for institutionally owned equipment, with the exception of specialized, expensive equipment shared by several departments; travel to regularly scheduled meetings of scientific societies or organizations. Fringe benefits are not chargeable to grants, unless the investigator and institution agree that there is no other way to accomplish the desired results, and the total used conforms to the total budget submitted with the grant application.
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Guidelines for Proposal Authors

Proposals for Jeffress Research Grants should include the following items:
  • (1) a covering letter from the official authorized to commit the organization in business and financial affairs, indicating the approval of the organization for the proposed project;
  • (2) a statement of the problem to be investigated;
  • (3) a review of the literature placing the problem in context and revealing its significance;
  • (4) a description of experimental procedures contemplated and interpretation of results;
  • (5) a detailed budget including justification for equipment and travel expenses requested;
  • (6) current, anticipated or requested support of the principal investigator from other sources, including institutional support, and a description of the relationship, if any, to the proposed project;
  • (7) a biographical sketch of the principal investigator and any other senior scientists involved in the project, including a list of publications during the past five years only;
  • (8) the names and addresses of five persons knowledgeable in the field of the proposed project who are possible referees, three of whom are not known personally to the applicant, identifying these.
The scientific text should be limited to fifteen double-spaced pages. The original and five copies of a proposal should be submitted. Manuscripts, preprints, or reprints of articles submitted for publication or published in reasonably available journals should not be included as an appendix. Such items will be removed before the proposal is submitted to reviewers, unless there are compelling reasons to include them.

Review of applications

Applications will be received at any time. They will be reviewed initially by the Advisor to the Trust and will be evaluated by the Trust's Allocations Committee at meetings held in the spring and fall of each year, generally in May and November. The deadline for receipt of proposals for the spring meeting is March 1; for the fall meeting, September 1. Applicants will be notified only in writing of the decision of the Committee after the meeting at which their proposal has been considered. Reviewers comments, edited to assure anonymity, may be furnished to applicants, if requested. Applicants should be aware that it is only the Committee as a group that makes each decision, and that most every application the Trust receives is meritorious. Because of the number of such requests, the Committee must pick and choose and many worthy requests must be declined. Applicants should not be discouraged from future requests if a proposal is declined.

Payment and Accountability

For approved applications, funds will be forwarded to the recipient organization as stated in the award letter. A report of the use of the funds and the status of the project must be made no later than one year after the payment of a grant. For multi-year grants, installment payments will be made after receipt of an annual report on the progress of the program and a statement of funds expended or committed. Final reports must be received no later than three months from the completion date of the grant.
Proposals and correspondence concerning grants should be addressed to:
Richard Brandt, Ph.D., Advisor

Bank of America
Private Bank
P.O. Box 26688
Richmond, VA 23261-6688
Telephone:(804) 788-3698
FAX: (804) 788-2700

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