The William Simes Research Fund is a new opportunity that was established to honor the father of Frances Simes Hastings who, with her husband Russell, donated the land in Carmel Valley that would become the Hastings Reservation. William Simes was a successful New England merchant specializing in the importation of tea. His daughter Frances and her husband Russell lived in California for many years, purchasing land in Carmel Valley in 1929. Funding to establish the Simes Award was provided by the grandchildren of Frances and Russell in 2017.
Purpose
The Simes Fund is intended to support costs associated with an extended (e.g., several month) period of field research at Hastings. Appropriate uses include costs of housing, food, and other supplies required to conduct fieldwork.
Please read the description and application instructions before applying for this opportunity.
Eligibility
The award is open to graduate students (Masters and Ph.D.) and postdoctoral researchers; pending available funds, applications from exceptional undergraduates will be considered. Any topic in organismal biology is appropriate. Projects in other science disciplines (e.g., geology, anthropology) will also be considered if they use study systems available at Hastings. The award is open to members of any accredited graduate program; applicants do not need to be students at UC Berkeley or other campuses in the UC system.
AWARDS
Awards of up to $1500 will be made each year; the exact number of awards per year will depend upon available funding. The award will be paid directly to the recipient. After 1 year, the recipient will be expected to provide a short (1 page) report summarizing the activities conducted at Hastings using the award.
APPLICATION PROCESS
Applicants should complete the attached form. In addition, they should provide a short description (no more than 2 pages) of the proposed research, including a statement describing the relevance of Hastings to the project and the proposed use of the funds associated with the award. Applicants should also submit their CV and a letter of recommendation from their graduate or postdoctoral mentor. Materials from the application (application form, proposal, CV) should be compiled as a single document in pdf format; the file name should include the applicant’s last name (e.g, “Grinnell_Simes_Award_2020”).
APPLICATIONS SHOULD BE SENT TO:
Jennifer Hunter, Resident Director, Hastings Natural History Reservation at jshunter@berkeley.edu
Deadline for applications: 31 January 2020
IMPORTANT DATES
Deadline for application submission is 31 January 2020. Applications will be reviewed by a committee of faculty familiar with the Hastings Reservation. Awards will be announced by 1 March 2020. Questions regarding the William Simes Award should be addressed to Jennifer Hunter (jshunter@berkeley.edu).