Extreme Materials Workshop Grants

Overview

The Hopkins Extreme Materials Institute (HEMI) invites proposals to support scientific workshops to be hosted by Johns Hopkins University. Proposed workshops should lead to one or more of the following: new HEMI research thrusts, new industry/government partners, new center-scale proposals, new computational or experimental capabilities, or new teams poised to pursue external funding opportunities. Successful proposals should align with the HEMI mission to understand and design materials and structures that are pushed to their limits, operate under extreme conditions, or demonstrate extreme performance, yet will grow the disciplinary reach of the institute.

Successful applicants will receive up to $10,000 in funding to cover travel costs for invited guests, catering, facility rental fees, and materials. In addition to financial support, HEMI staff will aid in planning and execution logistics.

Award Details

• Anticipated Funding Level: $10,000, in addition to in-kind staff support for planning and execution of the workshop, including reserving space, catering, communications, and day-of support. Note that having the workshop at Johns Hopkins University is not strictly required, but doing so will offer the most flexibility in terms of staff support.
• Anticipated Number of Awards per Cycle: 1
• Award Cycles (2x per calendar year): Deadlines of:
  • September 15; workshop to be held by September 15 of the following calendar year.
  • February 15; workshop to be held by February 15 of the following calendar year.
• Covered Expenses: Travel costs for invited guests, catering, facility rental fees (e.g., rooms, AV), materials.
• Eligibility: At least one HEMI Fellow must be a co-PI on the workshop proposal.

Proposal Components

(Maximum 2 pages, excluding references)

1. Topic and Alignment  
   • Define the topic of the workshop and its alignment with the HEMI mission.
2. Agenda and Participants
   • Describe the tentative agenda and participants of the workshop. Who will receive travel support and to what amount?
3. Timeline and Venue  
   • When and where will the workshop be held? What staff support is needed?
4. Anticipated Outcomes  
   • What are the anticipated outcomes of the workshop? Competitive proposals should identify concrete next steps enabled by the workshop, such as new proposal teams, white papers, center-scale funding targets, industry/government partnerships, shared experimental or computational capabilities, trainee opportunities, or new HEMI research thrusts. Proposals should describe how the workshop will expand HEMI’s research enterprise beyond its current activities.
5. Budget
   • How will the grant be spent?

Evaluation Criteria

1. Alignment with HEMI: How well does the workshop support the HEMI mission?
2. Plan: Is the workshop plan—in terms of agenda, participants and budget—well-reasoned?
3. Potential to expand research enterprise: Likelihood that the workshop will create new collaborations, external partners, proposal opportunities, or research directions not currently represented within HEMI.
4. Timeline: Is the timeline for execution of the workshop reasonable?
5. Outcomes: Will the workshop lead to enhanced research activity within HEMI?

Program Expectations

• Within 30 days of the workshop completion, provide a one-page white paper to HEMI leadership summarizing the outcomes of the workshop and anticipated timeline and scope of future proposals enabled by the workshop.
• Within 60 days of the workshop execution, provide a verbal summary to HEMI leadership of the workshop after its execution. Clearly articulate how the workshop will enable new partnerships that grow the research enterprise of HEMI.