The Faculty of Medicine has been asked by UBC VP Research & International to suggest nominees for the upcoming Schmidt Science Polymaths competition. It is a great opportunity for those who fit the eligibility criteria, and applications are by invitation only.
We would greatly appreciate your assistance if you could identify up to 2 nominees from your unit (Department/School) that could take advantage of this highly competitive opportunity. We also ask that you consider equity, diversity and inclusion in your approach to nominations. The turnaround time is very tight as FoM needs to submit a maximum of 2 nominees to VPRI by August 24th.
Program Overview
The Polymath program will make long-term bets on recently-tenured professors with remarkable track records, promising futures, and a desire to explore interdisciplinary research. Each professor will be awarded $500,000 per year, paid through their institution, for up to five years to help support a research group through talent, such as three to four students or postdocs, and resources. These grants are intended to make possible the exploration of new ideas across disciplines, using emerging technologies to test risky theories that may not otherwise receive funding or support. They are not intended to relieve the researcher of pursuing other grants to continue their mainstream work, nor to be large enough to fully support a modern lab.
Candidate Considerations
We are seeking the names of the most outstanding research scientists who:
- Have achieved tenure in 2019 or later
- Have a remarkable record of accomplishment in area(s) of science and engineering,
- Have a demonstrated history of pursuing and publishing results in a diverse set of fields,
- Need for additional funding to enable experiments and shifts of research directions.
Nomination Package:
- Department Heads, School Directors, and Centre Directors to put forward nominees. Centre Directors, please ensure the Department/School is in agreement.
- For each nominee, please submit:
- Contact info (name, email address)
- Brief outline of their primary field of research (max 1 page)
- UBC CV
Please send your nomination package to bryan.wong@ubc.ca. Deadline for receipt is August 19th, 2022.
A central committee will review nominations submitted by Faculties across UBC and select the institution’s three nominations for submission. Should the Schmidt Futures program accept any of UBC’s nominations after an initial review, the identified candidate(s) will be contacted directly to submit an application, due October 17th. Selected candidates will have VPRI support in finalizing their materials, which includes a detailed nomination form.
Please visit the VPRI website (CWL required) for further details.