About the Sun Grant Program

Authorized by Congress in 2004, the Sun Grant Program is a national network of land-grant universities working in collaboration with national laboratories and government agencies, partnering to build a biobased economy. Sun Grant institutions are charged with making significant advances in biobased industries for the benefit of America's independent farmers, rural communities, and the public-at-large.

The mission of the Sun Grant Program is to (1) enhance national energy security through development, distribution and implementation of biobased energy technologies; (2) promote diversification and environmental sustainability of agricultural production in the United States through biobased energy and products technologies; (3) promote economic diversification in rural areas of the United States through biobased energy and product technologies; and (4) enhance the efficiency of bioenergy and biomass research and development programs through improved coordination and collaboration between the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Department of Energy (DOE), Department of Transportation (DOT), and the land-grant colleges and universities.

 

Sun Grant Program - South Central Region

The Sun Grant Program – South Central Region (SGP-SCR), located at Oklahoma State University (OSU), is the administrative unit for the region composed of the states of Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas.

 

Application Guidelines (2024-2025)

 

SC Sun Grant Competitive Research Support

The SC Sun Grant Program requests proposals that focus on providing education and training to graduate students from a college or university within the SGP-SCR who are conducting research benefiting the region or university under the guidance of a faculty mentor/faculty mentors. Funding will be awarded for graduate student assistantship support up to 12 months duration with a minimum stipend allocation. Tuition or tuition remission is allowable, according to the recipient university’s policy, and some funds can be designated for other direct costs within the maximum award amount.

 

Deadline

Applications should be submitted as a single PDF (filename: “Last name_SCSGPReg2024) via email to Pamela Abit at (pamela.abit@okstate.edu) by May 15, 2024, at 5:00 PM CST, using subject line: “SC Sun GrantReg2024_Last name”. We expect to fund approximately five applications depending on availability of funds and competitiveness of proposal submissions.

 

Types of Research Funded

Funding is available to support biofuel, bioenergy, and bioproduct related projects. Applications must focus on efforts to support efficient, economically viable, and sustainable supply chains for development of bioenergy and biobased products. Research proposals in areas of feedstock development, processing operations and methods, conversion, and separation technologies for the advancement of biobased industries and markets may be submitted. Projects encompassing agronomy, engineering, chemistry, microbiology, policy, and/or economic evaluation are welcomed.

 

Who Can Apply

Applications must be submitted by a university/college faculty mentor supporting an eligible graduate student with a research assistantship. Eligible graduate students are those enrolled in higher education institutions from the states of Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas; and conducting research in one of the research areas mentioned above.

 

Funding Information

The maximum award amount per proposal is $53,400. At least $30,000 of the budget must be used for the graduate student stipend and the remaining funds can be allocated for tuition, travel, materials and supplies, or other related direct costs. Indirect costs are not allowed. Cost Sharing/Matching Requirements—Not less than 20% of the total project costs or 25% of the Total Federal Funds requested must be matched with non-federal funds. Note: Matching requirements do not apply to fundamental research. Fundamental research is defined as research that increases knowledge or understanding of the fundamental aspects of phenomena and has the potential for broad application; and has a positive effect on agriculture, food, nutrition, or the environment. The budget justification should include written verification of commitments of matching support (including both cash and in-kind contributions).

 

Award Duration

Grants will be supported for up to 12 months starting July 1, 2024. No cost extensions are not allowed.

 

Application

Applications must consist of:

• Proposals, which are limited to a maximum of three single-spaced pages with 1” margins and 12-point Times New Roman font. The page count includes graphics and tables but excludes references.
• Proposals must include the following:
  • Project title
  • Faculty Mentor Contact Information
  • Type of project:  Applied or Fundamental (if fundamental provided justification statement)
  • Graduate Student Information (Name, Graduate Degree Program, email)
  • Expected Project Outcomes and Deliverables
• Budget and Budget Justification (not included in the page count). Budget must be allocated to benefit the graduate student and the research they are working on with the faculty mentor. At least $30,000 of the budget must be allocated for the graduate student assistantship while the rest of the budget will be used for research support (e.g., tuition, travel, supplies, etc.). Faculty salary is not allowed.
• References Cited (not included in the page count)
• 2-page Biographical Sketch for the faculty mentor and graduate student, including GPA (not included in the page count)
• Faculty mentor’s conflict of interest (COI)

 

Evaluation Criteria

Proposals will be evaluated using the following criteria:

1. Relevance and scientific merit (innovative, and/or significantly contributes to the knowledge in field, scientifically sound and appropriate methods used to meet goals and objectives).
2. Graduate student’s qualifications to conduct research successfully and be active in the scientific community.
3. Potential outcomes and accomplishments
4. Budget and budget justifications

 

Reporting Requirements

Recipients will be required to submit a report (3-5 pages) on project results and impacts within two months after the award end date.

 

Questions: Contact Dr. Pamela Abit at pamela.abit@okstate.edu.