anir-dendroica

It's true that the DOE funds research areas seemingly unrelated to energy, but I suspect that they are funding String Theory and other fundamental physics in the hope that a breakthrough in that area could ultimately lead to a new energy technology. Similarly, their office of Biological and Environmental Research funds fundamental research on biochemistry and cellular processes with the ultimate goals of efficient biofuel production and synthetic mimicry of biological energy conversion processes. I don't think you will see them funding research on the ecology of African elephants or any other research that lacks a conceivable link to energy. But who knows, they might surprise me... Anyway, enough with the off-topic philosophizing :-)

"Prestige" is a fairly arbitrary thing. I would choose an award based on: 1) Benefits (stipend, research funding, tuition), and 2) Networking/applicability to your career ambitions The DOE SCGF and EPA STAR both require fellows to attend conferences, and almost certainly give recipients a leg up if they are aiming to work in the energy/environmental fields, respectively. The NSF is regarded as the highest graduate honor by most research scientists, and is probably the best choice if you are looking to go into basic research. As for the NDSEG, I am less certain, but as it is administered by ASEE I imagine that it is respected more than the NSF grant in engineering and applied research fields. That said, congrats to all who get to choose between multiple fellowships! I don't think it's possible to choose wrongly, and going with the one that provides the most benefits is never a bad idea...

Rejected, 12: 41 pm PST

I applied under the Energy FON and was notified yesterday morning at 9 am PST. My call was from Jose, an (the?) EPA Fellowships Project Officer, and he was very clear that I had been selected but that I need to tell them by the 13th whether I will accept the award, at which point they will send more information. Jose did, at my request, send me an e-mail with contact information so I could see some notification "in writing." I didn't hear the "don't tell anyone" thing... Rejected by NSF, no call yet from the DOE SCGF and with only a 5% award rate I am assuming rejection. I will wait for NDSEG announcements tomorrow, but even in the unlikely event that I get that one (with a significantly higher stipend) I might choose the STAR because it provides research funding and ideologically I would prefer to be funded by the EPA rather than the DOD. The STAR was by far the most difficult and involving application, and right now I'm feeling glad that I stuck it out.

I applied for the EPA STAR and was notified of acceptance yesterday (4/7). I have until 4/13 to accept, and I am hoping to hear from the DOE SCGF and NDSEG before I reply. I have no idea what their notification schedule is - the website just says before May 31. They are moving to a two-year application cycle, so the next opportunity to apply will be in 2011.

Everything posted so far supports alphabetical notification: D @ 11:30 EST H @ 3:30 EST L @ (7:00?) EST If it was alphabetical, it would seem that they didn't get through the list yesterday. That means either a-- they notified the rest today, and no one posted it on this forum, or b-- the notifier had other tasks today, and the remainder will be notified tomorrow/later this week So there may still be hope for some of us...