Universities Research Association Visiting Scholars Program (VSP) at Fermilab

The Universities Research Association’s Visiting Scholars Program (VSP) was established in 2007 to support  faculty and students from URA institutions to work at Fermilab for up to one year.

Visits can range from attendance at Fermilab conferences and summer schools to year-long stays at the Lab. Proposals may be submitted twice a year, in February and August. Support provided by the program may include the following: travel and local lodging expenses during a series of short visits OR salary support and round trip travel expenses for an extended visit.

Because these funds are provided by URA and come solely from contributions by URA member universities, the awardee’s  home institution must agree to waive indirect costs, tuition, fees, and other administrative expenses.

eligibility

• Individual proposals may be submitted by researchers who are faculty, research scientists, postdocs, or graduate students at URA-member universities doing research in areas such as high energy physics experiments, astrophysics, theory, accelerator physics, materials science, computer science, engineering, and accelerator R&D related to the Fermilab mission. Applicants must be employed by or, in the case of graduate students, enrolled at URA member institutions during the course of the award.
• Proposals may be submitted for an individual award or, in limited circumstances, researchers in residence at Fermilab may submit a proposal for a laboratory-sponsored group activity (e.g., conferences, workshops, summer schools). Specific application requirements for the two types of proposals are described in the Application Proposal Requirements section.
• A proposal must be written and submitted by the intended awardee. Proposals developed or submitted by faculty on behalf of a student or colleague are not accepted.
• Individual awards may be up to a maximum of $50,000 in any twelve-month period with a lifetime maximum award total of $50,000 per individual.