PERLOC Request for Proposals for 2025

Proposal Deadline: June 1st 2025

The Physics Education Research Leadership and Organizing Council (PERLOC) invites applications for PERTG travel grants. We have a travel grants budget of approximately $2500, plus the award of one Duncan McBride PER Conference Award (up to $950 this year). Given the budget limitations, we expect to prioritize travel grants to AAPT and PERC with priority given to junior scholars.

Eligibility for travel grants:

PERLOC travel grants (up to $500) are awarded to PER graduate students, undergraduate students and postdocs.

Please read this RFP carefully, as some of our instructions have changed.

• Proposals are due by 5:00 PM Pacific 06/01/2025. Funding decisions will be shared by the end of MONTH.

• Proposals must 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 -- SP25".

• Your proposal should be no more than two pages long. Brevity and clarity are deeply appreciated.

• Only PERTG members in good standing are eligible to apply for grants.

• Although scans of actual receipts, where relevant, will be needed from all beneficiaries of an award, AAPT will cut only one check per award. Please indicate on your application who will be responsible for disbursing the funds received.

Your proposal must include:

o Name, institutional affiliation, current position, and email address for the applicant. Undergraduate students, graduate students, and postdocs must include their advisor's name.

o A title for the project.

o Motivation: Why is this travel important to you and to the community?

o Plan: What do you want to do? With whom? When? How long?

o Need: What other sources of funding are available to this project/travel?

o 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), 150-word abstract) 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.

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. 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; domestic grants are capped at $500, but international grants may be larger but no more than $1000. 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.


2. 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. The award covers 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.