PERLOC Request for Travel Grant Proposals for 2026

Proposal Deadline: May 22, 2026

The Physics Education Research Leadership and Organizing Council (PERLOC) invites applications for PERTG travel grants.We are excited to offer two strands of travel grants: The Duncan McBride Conference Award and PERLOC travel grants. Please read this RFP carefully, as some of our instructions have changed.

Eligibility for the aforementioned travel grants is as follows:

• Only PERTG members in good standing are eligible to apply for grants.
• The Duncan McBride Conference Award is awarded to PER graduate students, post docs, two year college faculty and faculty transitioning to PER.
• For PERLOC travel grants (up to $700), preference will be given to junior or isolated members of the community: high school teachers, PER graduate students, undergraduate students, postdocs, etc.
• Proposals are due by 11:59 PM Pacific Time 5/22/2026. Funding decisions will be shared by the 2nd week of June.
• Proposals should be in PDF format, one PDF per proposal, with the last name of the proposer in the title of the file.
• Email proposals to Idris Malik at idris.malik@ndsu.edu with the subject line "PERTG grant proposal -- SP26".
• Your proposal should be no more than two pages long. Brevity and clarity are deeply appreciated.
• Please indicate on your application who will be responsible for disbursing the funds received. Although scans of actual receipts, where relevant, will be needed from all beneficiaries of an award, AAPT will cut only one check per award.

Your proposal must include:

1. The name(s), institutional affiliation(s), current position(s), and email address(es) for all project PIs. Undergraduate students, graduate students, and postdocs must include their advisor's name.
2. A title for the project.
3. The name of the strand to which you are submitting.
4. Motivation: Why is this project/travel important to you and to the community?
5. Plan: What do you want to do? With whom? When? How long?
6. Need: What other sources of funding are available to this project/travel?
7. Budget: How much money are you requesting? What will you spend it on?

Funded projects will be posted on the PER Central Website. If you do not wish to have your project posted (title, PI name(s), potentially some brief presentation details), you must indicate this in your proposal.  

NOTE: If you are awarded a grant, you should plan to submit a one-page activities report after you engage in the funded activities to submit to AAPT as part of the reimbursement process.

Examples of previously funded projects are available on the PER Central Website. We encourage you to look at previously funded projects and talk to others who have been funded through the PERTG, but your submission should be in your own words. For all strands, we are particularly interested in proposals that support and encourage the diversity of personal backgrounds and research approaches within the PER community.

Strands:

1. Duncan McBride PER Conference Award:
The Duncan McBride PER Conference Award has been established by AAPT and PERTG in appreciation and gratitude for Dr. McBride's advocacy for the field of Physics Education Research and his deep, sustained commitment to the field as a means of improving undergraduate physics education. This award is a fitting tribute as it embodies the key values that Duncan advocated, and we seek to support AAPT members who will broaden and engage with our community, particularly but not exclusively focusing on graduate students, postdocs, two-year college faculty, and/or those transitioning into PER. This year the Duncan McBride award will be maxed out at $1000. The award helps cover travel, lodging and registration for both the AAPT Summer Meeting and accompanying PER Conference.

Applicants should describe why they are strong candidates for the McBride Award, note whether or not they are presenting at the meetings, and indicate the nature of any presentations (e.g., invited talk at AAPT or contributed poster at the PERC). Each applicant should also prepare a travel budget that includes the costs associated with registration for both meetings.

All proposals submitted for the Duncan McBride PER Conference Award will also be considered for funding via the PERLOC Travel Grant Strand unless otherwise requested.

2. Travel grants:
This strand is intended to support travel to a professional conference; preference is given to presenters and to travelers to AAPT meetings. Partial support is more likely than full support; and may max out at $700. Preference is given to junior or isolated members of the community. Historically, travel grant proposals have been somewhat shorter than one page, and we encourage similar brevity in this competition. If you submit to this strand, you must be the traveler; you may not submit to this strand on behalf of someone else. In your proposal please indicate whether you are presenting at the conference and whether your talk/poster/etc., is invited or contributed.