Dr. Marie Maynard Daly Scholarship

The Scholarship is named in honor of the pioneering chemist, Dr. Marie Maynard Daly.  

Aim: In a 1987 paper on principles for improving undergraduate education (Chickering and Gamson, 1987); the authors stated, “frequent student-faculty contact in and out of classes is the most important factor in student motivation and involvement.” Using this framework, undergraduate research experience is considered one of the most effective methods that increase student-faculty contact (O’Donnell et al., 2015). Published data show that the positive effects of undergraduate research experience and increased student-faculty contact are most significant for students from underrepresented minority communities, first-generation students, and economically disadvantaged backgrounds (Nolan et al., 2020). Summer sessions are ideal for fostering and strengthening student-faculty interaction through research participation. Research has also shown that students (mainly from the communities mentioned above) view their summer activities as the primary source of income to pay for tuition and other expenses for a regular semester. The lack of competitive summer assistantships for undergraduate research students forces them to find work elsewhere, negatively affecting their research productivity and contact time with their research mentors (O’Donnell et al., 2015). This proposed summer research assistantship program aims to bridge this gap in the undergraduate research program by providing the required financial support to students to continue research work (see below for recruitment criteria), enabling them to spend more time in their lab and further strengthen student-faculty contact.

This scholarship was created by Dr. Sambuddha Banerjee, Department of Chemistry, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC 27858

Selection criteria: Undergraduate student members of ACS from Eastern NC universities and colleges (supported by the Local ACS Chapter) are eligible to apply for this summer’s need-based scholarship program. Eligibility for application is as follows:

• The student is an ACS member in good academic standing (GPA 3.0).

• The student has past research experience and is applying for this assistantship to continue their research work in a lab. Students with past research support and financial need will be prioritized.

• Students must commit to presenting their research findings at a professional meeting of the same year.

Number of awards and evaluation: There will be a maximum of two (2) awards for the summer program, with the scholarship amount (per student) at most $1,500*. The ENC ACS Board will review applications. The research commencement date should not be any later than July 1st and should conclude by August 15th of the same year.  Reviews and scholarship award letters should be sent to successful students and their mentors by the end of June.

Application review process: Students who satisfy the criteria above should write a 2-page research proposal that clearly states: I) their ACS Member ID, complete name, II) past research by the student on the topic (including a hypothesis, plan of work, methods, broader impact, & a timeline for the summer research), and III) a statement on how conducting research during the summer and receiving this scholarship will benefit the student in their long-term career goal as well as financially. Students demonstrating the need for this financial support during the summer months will be given priority during the selection procedure. The document should be formatted: 1” margin on all sides; Times New Roman, font-size: 11; line spacing: 1.15. Applications not following these stylistic regulations will not be considered for review. All application material from the student should be submitted as a single PDF file.

In addition to this proposal, students must request a 2 pp. max—letter of support from their research mentor. The mentor should clearly state the applicant’s contribution to the lab and how this scholarship will align with the applicant’s long-term career goal. The one-page applicant letter and the research mentor’s letter (with the last name in the document title) should be sent to pajskij21@ecu.edu by March 1st. Applications without a letter of support will not be considered for review.

Reviewers will consider the following when scoring individual applications:

1. Merit of the project and its broader impact on the field of research

2. Feasibility of the work during the summer

3. Strength of the letter of recommendation (the letter should clearly state the duration of time the student has conducted research in the lab already, the contribution made by the student so far, and how this financial support will ensure that the student can dedicate time in the lab for research work instead of working elsewhere).

4. The student shows a minimum 20-hours/week time commitment during the period of this scholarship.**  Students will discuss time commitment with their PI.

References

1. Chickering A. W., Gamson Z. F. Seven principles for good practice in undergraduate education. American

Association of Higher Education Bulletin. 1987, 39, 3-7.

2. O’Donnell K., Botelho J., Brown J., Gonzalez G. M., Head W. Undergraduate research and its impact on student

success for underrepresented students. New Directions for Higher Education, 2015, 27-38.

3. Nolan J. R., McConville K. S., Addona V., Tintle N. L., Pearl D. K. Mentoring undergraduate research in statistics:

reaping the benefits and overcoming the barriers. J. Statistics Ed., 2020, 28, 140-153.

*All awardees must have taken the laboratory health and safety class specific to each campus/lab before receiving funds. ACS does not assume any liability for any injuries incurred because of work done while funded by this scholarship.

**Funds will be disbursed in two installments, with one half being provided initially upon selection and the other 50% midway through the award period upon confirmation of  satisfactory progress.