The Early Career Investigator Program (ECIP) in Heliophysics is designed to support outstanding scientific research and career development of scientists at the early stage of their professional careers. The program aims to encourage innovative research initiatives and cultivate diverse scientific leadership in Heliophysics. This program is designed to foster the empowerment, inspiration, and education of the next generation of space researchers, as part of the DRIVE (Diversify, Realize, Integrate, Venture, Educate) initiative put forward as a high priority recommendation of the 2013 Solar and Space Physics Decadal Survey.
ECIP is a component of the Heliophysics Research Program and proposers interested in this program element are encouraged to read B.1, The Heliophysics Research Program Overview, for Heliophysics-specific requirements. Common requirements for all ROSES elements and proposals are found in this year's ROSES Summary of Solicitation and the NASA Proposer’s Guide and the order of precedence for proposers is the following: This document takes precedence followed by B.1, The Heliophysics Research Program Overview, followed by the ROSES Summary of Solicitation and, finally, the Proposer’s Guide. Proposers should be familiar with all of these resources.
Deadlines:
- REQUIRED Step 1 proposals: Sep 18, 2024
- Invited Step 2 proposals: Dec 3, 2024
To be eligible for an ECIP award, proposed PIs must meet the following requirements at the time of initially receiving funding of the award:
1. Be employed at a U.S. institution (see Section III(a) of the ROSES Summary of Solicitation regarding the no exchange of funds policy).
2. Be in a tenure-track or non-tenure-track position in either teaching or research or both, as long as the employing institution assumes the responsibility of submitting the proposal with the individual as the proposed PI or Science PI. Research faculty are eligible. Those in temporary positions with a fixed end-date (like post-doctoral fellowships or other term-limited positions) are not eligible, unless they are actively in transition to a permanent position by the time of receiving funding.
3. Despite being more than ten years beyond the receipt of their Ph.D. degrees, individuals who have interrupted their careers for reasons such as family leave or serious health problems may also be eligible. These applicants should make a written request to the point of contact in Section 6, below, prior to the Step-1 due date to propose. NASA will provide a written response within three weeks.
4. Not hold or have held academic tenure (or equivalent at an academic institution)
5. Not be a current or former recipient of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) award