CATALYSIS MEETINGS

CATALYSIS MEETING APPLICATION PROCESS

These one-time meetings bring together ~30 scientists from diverse disciplines to focus on a major question or research area in marine science, conservation, management, or education and outreach.  Catalysis meetings are intended to:

  • focus on a theme that is grand enough to excite and inspire,
  • increase the scale and ambition of our scientific, conservation, and/or educational vision,
  • design avenues for synthesis,
  • identify objectives that must be met before grand-scale synthesis is possible,
  • initiate a dialogue across disciplinary boundaries,
  • influence the research programs of potential collaborators,
  • facilitate the assembly of scientific networks.

LUMCON will not support collection of new data or field research in these meetings, but encourages the mining of public and private databases.  LUMCON is committed to making data, databases, software and other products that are developed as part of LUMCON activities available to the broader scientific community.

Meetings will be held at the DeFelice Marine Center in Cocodrie, Louisiana. Support includes meeting facilities, lodging, and board. No salary support is provided, and no overhead is allowed. Awardees do not receive an actual budget; LUMCON will handle the budgetary needs for all meeting expenses.

BEFORE YOU APPLY

Applicants may contact Craig McClain, Executive Director, or Brian Roberts, Associate Director of Science, for feedback on project ideas.

PROPOSAL GUIDELINES

Proposals for working groups are short, not to exceed 5 single-spaced (12-pt type) pages (excluding CVs and references).

  1. Title (80 characters max)
  2. Short Title (25 characters max)
  3. Name and contact information for Project Leader, and any Co-Leaders. Project Leader must be from a Louisiana University or College.
  4. Technical Summary (250 words max)
  5. Public Summary (250 words max) – written for the public and visible on the LUMCON web site.
  6. Central Theme – Justify the importance of the Central Theme, and why it will capture the attention and imaginations of the participating scientists.
  7. Participating Fields and Partial List of Proposed Participants-LUMCON encourages groups that go beyond existing collaborations and that include multiple disciplines, emerging scientists including graduate students, and international linkages. Named individuals should be committed to participating in the project if funded. Not all participants need to be specified in advance; if unspecified, the type of expertise needed should be indicated. For each participant please include explicit information about career stage, discipline, institution, and institutional location. A supplementary table (not included in the 5 page limit) may be appended for this purpose. Note that at least 25% of the participants must be from Louisiana. 
  8. Rationale for LUMCON support – Why can this activity be most effectively conducted through LUMCON? Demonstrate that this group of scientists has not met previously. Note preference will be given to groups that can provide additional funding to cover travel expenses for participants.
  9. Proposed Timetable – include Start Date (month and year) and length of the proposed meeting.
  10. Outcomes – Proposals should include a clear statement about the expected outcomes of the meeting, including anticipated deliverables.
  11. Short CV of Project Leaders (2 pages for each). Do not include talks, society memberships, or papers in preparation.

PROPOSAL SUBMISSION

Proposals will be accepted in digital format only as a single pdf file including all required components. Graphics should be embedded directly into the proposal document. Note that proposals should be submitted as a single pdf file including all of the components listed above, including CVs. Proposals are submitted electronically by email to Brian Roberts, Executive Director and Chief Scientist.