Applications for the Reber Doctoral Fellowship program can be submitted by NRAO or GBO staff scientists or thesis advisors employed at institutions within the United States. NRAO/GBO staff members who have an adjunct appointment at the student’s home university may apply as the student’s primary thesis advisor. The Reber program is available to graduate students who are enrolled at universities and colleges within the United States. The student’s enrollment status must be confirmed by the university department chair.
Awards will be determined by the Reber Fellowship selection committee. The committee considers the nomination by the thesis advisor(s), the proposed research plan, and the timetable for Ph.D. completion by the student. Awards will be subject to the availability of funds.
Advisors and students will receive notification from the Reber Fellowship coordinator concerning the status of their request within one month of receipt of the application. Once the award is accepted by the student, the NRAO Contracts and Procurement department will set up a sub-recipient agreement with the student’s institution. The award is not activated until the subrecipient agreement is executed and the institution receives a purchase order for the award. The Reber Fellowship coordinator is a member of the NRAO scientific staff. The award administrator will assist the fellowship coordinator with award activation, disbursement, and deactivation.
Funding is awarded for periods ranging up to two years. One request for an advance portion of funding may be made in the period between award notification and activation. Invoices and related inquiries should be submitted via email to the award administrator. Requests for award extension may be made by sending an email to the award administrator. If approved, the extension will be confirmed by modification to the original award agreement. A report summarizing the progress achieved during the first year must be submitted for evaluation by the Reber Fellowship coordinator before the funding for the second year will be released.
The annual funding cap for graduate student stipends is 33K and an additional 2K annually may be requested for student travel to a conference. Administrative costs may be budgeted into the award to offset the costs of administering the award by the student’s institution. Administrative costs may not exceed 10 percent of the Reber stipend, since the fellowship functions as a joint program with the student’s university. If 33K is requested for the student stipend and 2K for travel, an additional 3.3K may be requested for administrative costs. If less than the funding cap is being requested for student stipends and travel, the administrative costs may be no more than 10 percent of the stipends. Tuition costs are not allowed. Fringe benefits are allowed.
Travel should be coordinated by the student’s institution, not the NRAO or GBO. Tickets for air travel must be purchased from US flag carriers, defined as those holding certificates under section 401 of the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 (49 U.S.C. 1371).
Those receiving funding through the NRAO/GBO Reber Fellowship Program remain eligible for other NRAO/GBO user support programs, including travel to Observatory sites for observing and data reduction, and page charges. The standard publication acknowledgment must be augmented by the sentence: "Support for this work was provided by the NSF through the Grote Reber Fellowship Program administered by Associated Universities, Inc./National Radio Astronomy Observatory."
