EPA Star Fellowship 2013

[ughgradschool!]

I agree with withoutwords.  I have worked for the feds enough to know how often missing deadlines is the norm, and that wasn't even under the current funding crisis.  And since they seemed to work through the awards by FON, last year there were some folks getting envelopes of doom at the same time others were getting the award...  So if they were really awarding them, and we don't know it because people really were staying silent this year, then we would at least have a person or two report the envelope of doom too (btw, I really love whoever started calling it that!!).

 

I'm ok with the wait - but isn't it kind of lame that they haven't even posted a generic "Award decisions will be delayed indefinitely due to sequestration..." on their website?  Even something that more or less tells us nothing, would be better than the current total lack of information.  Seems kind of disrespectful to people who put a ton of work into their applications.... 

 

Throw us a bone, EPA!!!

[ec1122]

ughgradschool!, that pretty much sums up everything I've been thinking. I just want them to acknowledge the deadline and that we are all waiting!

[mbs191]

Hey all........not that it probably helps much, but I wrote an email in mid-February to James Gentry who I think was one of the contacts if you had any questions, etc..... back in mid-February he said that "they have not yet been peer reviewed. Typically, results are known in the summer."

 

UHHHHHHHHH

Edited May 3, 2013 by mbs191

[zhanger]

Retweeting: FY2014 EPA budget includes elimination EPA STAR Graduate Fellowship Program. Will be a big loss to grad students in environmental sciences.

[withoutwords]

Retweeting: FY2014 EPA budget includes elimination EPA STAR Graduate Fellowship Program. Will be a big loss to grad students in environmental sciences.

Where have you read this ?

[zhanger]

@TimmStrathmann Associate Professor of Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign. He seems to know something.

[Ento]

Well that's only EPA's proposed budget for FY2014. You can scan through the president's budget submitted to congress for specifics. Everything (or nothing) can change after congress has the final say. So, now is the time to write your congressman.

Edited May 6, 2013 by Ento

[dubstep:drop da NaOH]

So I found these bits of information but I am too much of a coward to contact them by phone. So if anyone feels bold, have a go and feel free to share results?

http://epazilla.com/epa-employee/contact/bronda-harrison-703-347-8080

http://epazilla.com/epa-employee/contact/todd-peterson-703-308-7224

http://www.epa.gov/ncer/fellow/forum/contacts.html

Edited May 6, 2013 by dubstep:drop da NaOH

[mbs191]

Hey guys....so I emailed one of the contacts at EPA and I was like "hey, so any updates....its May" (but I phrased it a lot nicer).  

 

They wrote back in like 8 minutes and said they just received notice today saying that:

 

_______________________________

 

 

Due to the Sequestration and resulting actions, the EPA Fellowship program is experiencing some delays in processing grants and completing support actions for the Fellows.

 

Question: When are the 2013 Fellowships going to be announced?

 

Response: At this time, we do not have an expected date for the 2013 Fellowship announcement. We will update you on this as more information is available.

 

______________________________

 

So, I was like "Ok, is this an ambiguous way of saying that the Grants aren't happening due to the ambiguous language, and the person wrote back almost right away saying that nothing firm has been decided, and many things are in flux due to the sequester, and no decisions have been made yet regarding a multitude of issues to-be-addressed regarding Fellowships.

 

 

So, looks like the answer is: Nobody has any idea......... 

[sciencesarah]

I just emailed one of the program officers:

"I am one of the many students that applied for the EPA Star Fellowship this year. Do you know if the notifications will go out by Mid June?  I have to accept or reject other funding offers at that time and it would be ideal to go into that decision knowing the outcome of the EPA fellowship competition. Maybe you could update your webpage to let the applicants know when to expect the notifications. 

 

Thank you very much for your time!" 

 

Let you know if I hear back... 

[MochaMocha]

I am resubmitting my proposal to everyone reading this forum! Lets write letters AND emails to our state reps, the white house, AND the EPA (they could likely use copies of ourletters for something).

I am thinking I can write a generic intro, then post it on here. Everyone can edit it, or take it as is (or not use it) - but we can all open with a couple of sentences and then tack on a paragraph about what the fellowship would/could do for us.

I will do this on Wednesday, if y'all (giving my Texas roots away) want to do this. If someone has time before then, take the lead! I think if they get 1300 letters from all of us we might be able to make some noise? Let's try to pull what an "FAA" move!

[MochaMocha]

Hey All -  so I had some time to get started (mostly b/c this is just on my mind, now) - so here is what I wrote thus far. I think we should send this to all state congressmen/senators, the white house and Lisa Jackson (at the EPA - she might be able to package letters together to make our case). Let's make this happen people! There is no point in just camplaining if we're not going to try to do anything!

 

Dear (INSERT NAME),

I recently submitted an application to the EPA Science to Achieve Results (STAR) Fellowships (2013) this past November. I spent several weeks preparing my application, in hopes of receiving one of these prestigious awards. This fellowship is in jeopardy, however, as the budget cuts associated with the sequester will cut vital funding to the EPA. Though I may not receive one of these wards, I think that it is important for this program to continue. These awards are just a “drop in the bucket” in our country’s budget compared to other programs (only about 80 are awarded) – but they have the potential to greatly impact the success of young scientists. The EPA-STAR Fellowship offers assistance to graduate students for research costs and provide networking opportunities that otherwise would be unavailable. As research funding becomes more limited for many professors, including my own, many students are expected to cover some research costs (with personal funds) – in addition to rising tuition costs. The funding opportunities for graduate students are greatly limited in comparison to the programs available to undergraduate students, but this fellowship provides one of the best opportunities for young researchers who are studying energy, water quality, air quality, and climate change. Cutting these funds will affect me personally because …..
  Everyone agrees that we need clean air and water, and this fellowship helps future scientists gain the skills and experience they need. This type of work can be used by policy-makers to make appropriate decisions about product safety, alternative energy resources and ecosystem services – all of which benefit our country. Please reconsider the budget cuts that will be made at the EPA, as these cuts will affect future research that is important for maintaining healthy ecosystems and resources that are enjoyed by all Americans.   Thank you for your time and consideration,

[dubstep:drop da NaOH]

Contact information of Lisa Jackson:http://epazilla.com/epa-employee/contact/lisa-jackson-202_564_4700

Lisa Jackson is no longer the deputy administrator of the US EPA. She resigned after Obama decided to support the Keystone pipeline.

 

The current administrator is Bob Perciasepe: http://epazilla.com/epa-employee/contact/bob-perciasepe-202_564_4700

Additional details on wiki:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Perciasepe

 

Bank to get your senator's information:http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

 

I am getting ready to send some emails!

[dubstep:drop da NaOH]

We need to get more students on this, there were about 3000 of us! Does anyone have any ideas? Maybe someone can tweet to the EPA and do #EPASTAR. It will get the attention of students who have been waiting to hear back too!

[ughgradschool!]

It looks like the tweet was right about the 2014 budget...from http://www2.epa.gov/planandbudget/fy-2014-budget-brief

 

• Research decreases include:
• $16.4 million from STAR/GRO fellowships, consistent with the Administration’s proposal for comprehensive reorganization of STEM programs to increase the outcomes of Federal investments in graduate fellowships and undergraduate education

 

The administration's proposal being....http://www2.epa.gov/planandbudget/fy-2014-justification-appropriation-estimates-committee-appropriations

 

The Administration is proposing a comprehensive reorganization to facilitate a cohesive national strategy of STEM education programs to increase the impact of Federal investments in four areas: K-12 instruction; undergraduate education; graduate fellowships; and education activities that typically take place outside the classroom. The reorganization involves consolidating or restructuring 90 programs across 11 agencies and improving the delivery, impact, and visibility of STEM efforts. Nearly $180 million will be redirected from consolidated programs to the Department of Education, the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the Smithsonian Institution to implement initiatives in the four core reform areas. The Administration will ensure that all science mission agencies have input into the development and implementation of these initiatives so that they align with agency goals while improving STEM education at all levels in a streamlined way. As part of this effort, funding for EPA’s Science to Achieve Results (STAR) and Greater Research Opportunities (GRO) fellowships will be consolidated at NSF.

 

For many of you that may shift may be ok - as you may fit well with both NSF and EPA Star.  But I already have an M.S. and so am ineligible for an NSF pre-doc.  And in terms of writing a large grant that could include funding for myself...well, I am a heavily applied scientist, and NSF is less heavily skewed that way...  Where oh where will us heavily applied folks go?

 

So good luck peeps.  My feelings of "well, maybe there's a chance..." are gone, and so I am done obsessively checking this forum!  Which is probably for the best - I might actually get a little more work done!

 

Good luck everyone!

[MochaMocha]

I don't want the last post to be a giving up post. Do your part people! This is what's wrong with our system- lets at least try!

Also- checkout dubstep's post about the correct EPA contact.

[zhang22]

@TimmStrathmann Associate Professor of Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign. He seems to know something.

 

Tim is in my department, and I know him pretty well. 

[em829]

I talked to one of the professors who was part of the external review. The external review was done in March. SInce the chances of getting one is very low They are probably still deciding who the winners are. Good luck everyone!

[MochaMocha]

I sent a letter to my senators and local congressman (alreay got a response - but Texas is a little iffy about the EPA). I also submitted a letters to:

 

• White house:  http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact.
• Current  EPA administrator is Bob Perciasepe: http://epazilla.com/...pe-202_564_4700
  • Additional details on wiki:https://en.wikipedia.../Bob_Perciasepe
• (get your own) Senator's information:http://www.senate.go...enators_cfm.cfm
   
• *(copied some info from dubstep:drop da NaOH previous post!)
• Any other contact suggestions from anyone?

 

Note: In my EPA email – I wrote that I just wanted to express that the fellowship was important to me and that I thought it was at risk b/c of budget cuts; that my email was show my support.

 

 

They may still cut funding this year - so we still send emails/letters or call BEFORE they make up their minds. If they decide to cut funding, we don't be able to make them undo it. But if we let them know before they do it, then we might stand a chance. We will be ignored if we don't say something! Let’s make some noise people!

[ec1122]

I just sent emails to my senators and representatives. Hopefully people noticing these cuts will make them notice too. 

[pricejr2]

Wanted to let everyone know that the rejections are here. I got mine today B2. Good luck everyone!!!!

[Ento]

Package of doom! C3: Good, Excellent, Very Good. Good luck everyone PS: "too ambitious"? I'll show them too ambitious

[zhang22]

I don't want to check my mail any more...

[MochaMocha]

yay!   (unless we all got rejected) 

[GarbageNerdUCF]

No envelope yet. Located in Florida. Where is everyone located that received mail today?