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Schmidt Science Polymaths Program

General Information

Program Description

The Schmidt Science Polymaths program is to encourage the best “polymath” scientists to expand their research portfolio by exploring new lines of research that are substantively different from their ongoing and proven research activities. The program will offer long-term research support to recently tenured professors (within the past 3 years) with remarkable track records and highly promising futures. These grants are intended for the exploration of new ideas across disciplines that use new technologies and insights that are generally too new or risky to garner regular support. They are not intended to relieve the researcher of pursuing other grants to continue their mainstream work, nor be large enough to fully support a modern lab. The program will identify and support innovative scientific researchers at this pivotal moment (and potentially the most productive time of their careers) by providing the resources that allow them to substantively explore new lines of research. Instead of focusing on specific research ideas, the goal of the program is to bet on people, their special talents, and their teams aligning with Schmidt Futures’ overall people-focused approach.

Limitation

Schools may submit two (2) applications for Penn’s internal competition.

Eligibility

  • Appointment: Candidates must have achieved tenure (or equivalent status) within the past three years (2021 or after).
  • Record of Accomplishment: Candidates must have a remarkable record of accomplishment in mathematics, computer science, natural sciences, and/or engineering.
  • Research History: Candidates must have a demonstrated history of pursuing and publishing results in more than one field.
  • Research Expansion: Candidates must have a desire and plan to expand their research portfolios by exploring a substantive disciplinary or methodological shift, but have not yet launched such shifts.
  • Funding Need: Candidates must demonstrate a need for additional funding to enable new experiments, explorations, or shifts in research directions.
  • For any sponsored research projects, the applicant must be eligible to serve as Principal Investigator for the project, unless otherwise noted in the LSO. Please see Penn’s PI Eligibility requirements to ensure you are eligible.

Award Information

  • An unrestricted total research award of $2,500,000 for five (5) years.
  • Annual Distribution: The award will be distributed annually over the five-year period. This includes $500,000 per year.
  • Funding Purpose: Funding intended to support new experiments, explorations, or shifts in research directions.
  • Program Goals: Program encourages interdisciplinary research and aims to enable scientists to expand their research portfolios by exploring substantive disciplinary or methodological shifts.
  • Research Group Support: Funding can support part of a research group.
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Limited Submission Opportunities Protocol 

What is a Limited Submission Opportunity? When a funding agency or foundation limits the number of applications Penn can submit, the OVPR manages a two-part internal review process to select the proposal that advances to the funder. 

What is the Review Process for Limited Submissions? The selection process begins at the school level, where candidates are vetted to choose a finalist for the OVPR round. Applicants must follow their home school’s deadlines and submission instructions. A committee of reviewers then recommends candidates to the Senior Vice Provost, who selects the final nominee. 

Where do I find out about limited submission opportunities on the OVPR website? The newly designed website lists LSOs. Use the filters on the left to refine your search. Opportunities are listed in summary form. Click on the title of an opportunity to see the full details. 

How do I apply? When the full detail page for the opportunity is open, click the “APPLY HERE” button at the bottom right of the screen. This starts your application process using InfoReady. Log in with your PennKey credentials. After you submit your application, InfoReady processes it for the first round of review at your school. If selected as the Penn nominee, you will be notified directly and will begin the submission process to the funder with the Office of Research Services and PennERA.