Continuation of COVID Postdoctoral Fellowship Program

在美国国家科学基金会数学与物理科学部（MPS）化学部和物理部的支持下，科学进步研究公司（RCSA）将为化学和物理领域训练有素的博士后提供三个奖学金，目的是帮助稳定一部分科学劳动力。2019冠状病毒病大流行给社会许多部门造成了前所未有的破坏。大学预算减少，招聘冻结，停工/限制措施实施。希望在这个时候进入教授行列的新科学、技术、工程和数学（STEM）专业人士面临着重大挑战，可能迫使他们中的许多人离开这个行业。这项活动补充了现有的RCSA项目，帮助这些训练有素的STEM劳动力弥合培训和开始独立职业生涯之间的差距，帮助他们留在STEM领域，同时扩大他们的经验广度，特别是对女性和代表性不足的少数族裔。该基金为受COVID-19危机影响的个人提供三个奖学金，这些人影响了他们在科学就业市场上获得独立职位的前景。这些奖学金将为他们提供至少一年的额外支持，而不是让这些人离开STEM领域。除了在他们已经熟悉的领域进一步提高他们的科学专业知识外，这种支持将为这些博士后提供获得主动学习的教学培训的机会，并在在线和/或面对面的课堂上实施。这些研究员的导师也将受益，因为他们将能够在他们的研究工作中保持一定的稳定性。这些奖学金旨在帮助导师在培训新项目成员仍然困难的时候留住训练有素和富有成效的研究人员。学院和大学将从这些奖学金中受益，因为研究员将成为课程交付的额外资源，无论是在奖学金期间还是之后，因为他们开始了自己的独立教师职业生涯。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

With the support from the Division of Chemistry and Division of Physics in the Mathematical and Physical Science (MPS) Directorate at NSF, the Research Corporation for Science Advancement (RCSA) will support three fellowships for highly trained postdoctoral associates in chemistry and physics, with the aim to help stabilize a portion of the scientific workforce. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented disruption in many sectors of society. University budgets have been reduced, hiring freezes put in place, and work stoppages/restrictions enacted. Newer science, technology, engineering, and mathematical (STEM) professionals hoping to enter the professoriate at this time face significant challenges that could force many of them to leave the profession. This activity complements the existing RCSA programs to help these highly trained members of the STEM workforce bridge the gap between training and the start of their independent careers, by helping to retain them in STEM while also augmenting the breadth of their experience, especially for women and underrepresented minorities. This grant provides three fellowships for individuals caught in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis that has impacted their prospects for securing independent positions on the scientific job market. Rather than have these individuals leave the STEM fields, these fellowships will provide them with at least one year of additional support. Beyond furthering their scientific expertise in areas which they are already familiar, this support will provide these postdocs with opportunities to gain pedagogical training in active learning and its implementation in online and/or in person classes. The mentors of these fellows will also benefit since they will be able to maintain some stability in their research endeavors. These fellowships are designed to help mentors retain highly trained and productive researchers at a time when training new project members remains difficult. Colleges and universities will benefit from these fellowships in that the fellows will become an additional resource for course delivery, both over the fellowship period and beyond, as they embark on their own independent faculty careers.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.