Academic Support & Scholarships for Interdisciplinary Computational Scientists

What is this program?

Two-year ASSICS program offers scholarships in the amount of $10,000 per year for graduate students who are interested in pursuing academic work and research in Interdisciplinary Computational Science and Engineering topics. The scholarships will supplement teaching and graduate research assistantships masters and doctoral students receive to enable their participation in workshops, seminars, and other activities designed to help enhance their understanding of opportunities and challenges in interdisciplinary research and hone their knowledge and research skills to develop into successful interdisciplinary computational engineers and scientists. This scholarship support offers an academic support program for professional development and exploration of career pathways to becoming interdisciplinary scientists and engineers. Participants will need to allocate and budget time (approximately 5 hours weekly on average) in their schedule for participating in activities, including weekly meetings, seminars and workshops.

The Academic Support and Scholarships for Interdisciplinary Computational Scientists (ASSICS) program is supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation and housed in the SDSU’s Computational Science Research Center.

What are the goals of this program?

The goals of this program are to.

• Increase the number of talented and economically challenged students entering and completing graduate studies in STEM disciplines and pursuing research in Computational Science and Engineering areas

• Develop student awareness of needs, challenges and opportunities for interdisciplinary computational science and engineering research

• Offer workshops and training activities to develop interdisciplinary problem solving skills

• Host career exploration activities and networking events for students to interact with interdisciplinary scientists in industry, government labs and academia

• Provide professional development workshops that are aimed at helping graduate students be more effective in their studies, research and future careers.

The program is also designed to serve as a test bed to understand how students develop skills and gain confidence in becoming interdisciplinary scientists, what interventions and programs that complement coursework and research training contribute most to developing interdisciplinary scientists and what curricular changes to pursue to more effectively develop future interdisciplinary scientists.

Who is eligible to apply?

This scholarship is available for graduate students in biological and physical science and engineering disciplines who are interested in pursuing academic work and research in Interdisciplinary Computational Science and Engineering topics. This program was developed to address the need to strengthen the interdisciplinary skills of Computational Science graduate students and prepare them for careers in interdisciplinary research and tackle challenging problems that need participation in interdisciplinary teams. However, to broaden participation and interdisciplinary engagement we will consider students in all fields of science and engineering that have a strong computational modeling and interdisciplinary components in their research.

Applicants must be able qualify for financial aid (typically US residents only) and demonstrate that the unmet needs by other forms of financial support (stipends, scholarships, etc.) are $10K or higher. Students already supported on another federally funded scholarship (NSF GFRP, SMARTS, etc) are not eligible to receive a NSF SSTEM scholarship.

What are the minimum eligibility criteria for this scholarship funding?

1. Full-time enrollment in in the masters or doctoral program in computational science or engineering;

2. Qualify for federal financial aid (approval for finanical aid by using the FAFSA process).

3. GPA of 3.0 or higher from current and prior institutions (as indicated on official transcript);

4. Must be have US citizenship or US permanent resident status.

Students from underrepresented groups and women are strongly encouraged to apply.

What are the program activities and expectation of students?

ASSICS scholarships will supplement teaching or graduate assistantships (TA/GA), and require participation in training and career exploration activities. The two-year period of scholarship support will cover the entire period for master’s degree seeking students and initial two years for doctoral students. Participation in program activities that include professional development and academic support activities will continue until graduation.

Program participants will participate in personal and professional development activities designed to help them extend knowledge beyond their traditional disciplinary knowledge bases in order to become knowledgeable, effective computational scientists. Program activities include the following:

• Seminars presented by invited speakers from academia, industry, and national labs who are currently working in highly integrated and interdisciplinary problems.

• Learning community/peer support network to discuss career paths, difficulties encountered in interdisciplinary research, how other researchers have navigated similar experiences, and how their careers progressed.

• Workshops and Seminars on Computational Problem Solving with emphasis on interdisciplinary collaboration.

• Journal club to review, analyze, and discuss existing literature on interdisciplinary research.

• Hackathons for solving applied interdisciplinary problems from industry that require computational science and engineering skills, judged by industry experts.

PhD students selected for this scholarship and training program will participate in the professional development activities until they graduate and serve as peer mentors for new students after year two.

Students applying for this scholarship must have a strong interest in understanding and pursuing pathways to becoming interdisciplinary research experts with computational skills. Students accepting the award will commit to participating in weekly meetings (seminars, workshops, discussion groups) developed specially for them by the ASSICS program. Since this is a scholarship and academic support program, students will need to allocate and budget time in their schedule for participating in weekly meetings or seminars and workshops and completing activities assigned. It is estimated this will require approximately no more than 5 hours weekly on average. Applicants should discuss this with their thesis/dissertation advisor and have explicit approval (and shown in their letter of support and commitment).

What are the expectations or commitments for the applicant’s graduate advisors?

Faculty advisors (thesis or dissertation chairs) of applicants to the ASSICS program must submit a letter of commitment and support at the time of application and renewal. The letter of support should indicate faculty advisor has an ongoing interdisciplinary research and/or interdisciplinary research collaborations, is willing to participate in developing and fostering opportunities for students to develop interdisciplinary problem solving skills; will assist in the professional and academic seminars and workshops developed and offered under this ASSICS program, invite and host colloquium speakers with expertise in interdisciplinary research; and commit to allowing their students sufficient time to participate in the ASSICS program activities.

When is my application due?

• Academic year 2020-2021 - Sep 15, 2020

• Academic year 2021-2022 - Aug 15, 2021 (extended to Aug 20, 2021)

• Academic year 2022-2023 - Aug 15, 2022

• Academic year 2023-2024 - Aug 15, 2023

How do I apply?

To apply for the scholarship, submit the following

1. Completed ASSICS program application form.

2. A two-page essay (see prompts provided in application form, page 3)

3. Curriculum Vita (max 2 pages)

4. Copies of unofficial transcripts from all undergraduate and graduate course work (if you are not a graduate student in Computational Science program)

5. A copy or printout of your financial aid award statement for current semester or academic year from the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships website

6. A letter of commitment from faculty advisor

7. Two letters of references (emailed directly to parisa.plant@sdsu.edu)

Applicant’s essay must in detail describe their academic background, their interests in interdisciplinary science and engineering, why they should be considered for this scholarship, how the experience is expected to impact their career goals, and how it will provide future benefits for the profession and society.

Submit completed application and documents (organized as a single PDF file, if possible) with subject line “ASSICS Application" to Ms. Parisa Plant (parisa.plant@sdsu.edu), Program Coordinator, Computational Science Research Center

Reference/Recommendation letter writers can also send their letters to Ms. Plant directly with subject line “ASSICS program – rec letter – Applicant name”

Who can I contact for more information?

Dr. Satchi Venkataraman

Principal Investigator, ASSICS program

Professor of Aerospace Engineering

Associate Director, Computational Science Research Center

satchi@sdsu.edu

Dr. Jose E. Castillo

co-Principal Investigator, ASSICS program

Director, Computational Science Research Center

Professor of Mathematics

jcastillo@sdsu.edu