January 11, 2016

Sigma Xi's Grants-in-Aid of Research Committee met in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, to read and evaluate grant applications.
 
The wait is over for students hoping to hear if their research project would receive funding from Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society's Grants-in-Aid of Research program. In the fall 2015 grant cycle, the Society awarded a total of $108,750.92 to 118 undergraduate and graduate students. The average grant awarded was $1,000.

Thirty-one Sigma Xi members who volunteer on the Society’s Grants-in-Aid of Research Committee and three others read and ranked 787 applications. The committee met December 11–12 near the Society’s headquarters in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, to select the grant recipients. 

See the list of recipients.  

Established in 1922, Grants-in-Aid of Research is often the first grant an early career scientist receives.

“We’re often that first, external person to say ‘you’re doing good work, good science, keep it up. And we believe in you so much, here is some money to help’,” said Emma Perry, a member and former chair of the Grants-in-Aid of Research Committee.

Recipients may use their grant to pay for travel expenses to a research site or to purchase non-standard laboratory equipment that is necessary for their research project.

“What really makes the Sigma Xi grant unique is that it’s for these non-standard kind of supplies,” said Camden MacDowell, who received funding from Grants-in-Aid of Research in a previous cycle. “It kind of promotes innovation, it promotes ideas that are a little bit risky and allow you to kind of put that next step in your research.”

The Grants-in-Aid of Research program is made possible by financial support from the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) and the generosity of Sigma Xi donors. Grants of up to $1,000 are awarded to students in all science and engineering disciplines. Designated funds from NAS allow for grants of up to $5,000 for astronomy research and $2,500 for vision-related research. U.S. citizenship and residence is not required to apply; international applications are welcome. While membership in Sigma Xi is not required to apply, 75 percent of funds are designated for use by individuals who are members or whose primary advisors are Sigma Xi members.

The application deadlines are March 15 and October 15 annually. To learn more, visit the Grants-in-Aid of Research webpage and watch the video below. 

You can have a direct impact on encouraging young people who wish to pursue a research career by making a donation to the Grants-in-Aid of Research program.