The major equipment grant falls under the Maroun Semaan Endowment strategic research initiatives and is intended to support the purchase of major research-dedicated scientific equipment that will advance MSFEA’s research and will help MSFEA contribute to addressing a pressing issue. This initiative is distinct from AUB’s capital budget, which prioritizes educational equipment over research.
The equipment grant call for applications for MSFEA faculty members is announced in the Spring Semester of each academic year. The announcement includes the available budget for each call. For the call of the Academic Year 2023-2024, applications are invited from teams of faculty members who request equipment that will benefit their research areas/groups. Full-time non-visiting professorial rank faculty members who have a proven record of collaboration for over 2 years are eligible to apply. A faculty member cannot be listed on more than one application during a given award cycle. The maximum budget per award is $250,000 USD and may be used to fund more than one piece of equipment. In the AY 2023-24, up to $500,000 USD may be disbursed through this mechanism.
The application submission includes (1) a profile of the team, and its research aims (2) the equipment and budgetary quote, and (3) the specific impactful projects or areas of research that will result from it. A budgetary quote including shipping and clearance cost (obtained from the Purchasing Department) should be submitted along with a maintenance plan and whether the equipment requires periodic calibration and consumables that exceed $3,000 USD/year. If so, include a plan of how these additional expenses will be covered. The applicants are expected to make a convincing argument about why it is a great investment for advancing MSFEA’s research.
The applications will initially be evaluated by the Faculty Research Committee (FRC), which will make its recommendations to a committee consisting of the Dean’s team (Dean, and Associate Deans) and the faculty member who represents MSFEA on the capital budget committee of the university. The evaluation procedure is based on criteria related to the equipment impact and potential to be a game changer for the research team and for MSFEA; the focus on problem solving; the research track record of the team championing the equipment; the cost of the equipment and its space requirements; and whether the equipment is completely new or already exists at MSFEA or AUB.
Eligibility
- Applications are limited to teams (two at least) who have been collaborating for more than 3 years and have established a record of publications (at least for two of the team members). Applications by single faculty members will not be considered.
- At least one of the members of the team must be from MSFEA, with lead authorship on multiple co-authored team publications.
- Successful applicants will NOT be eligible to apply to the Exploratory Research grants for the duration of two years.
Qualifying equipment
- Any equipment for research and is not currently supported by other AUB funds; computers are covered by other budgets and may not be purchased under this mechanism.
- Only equipment exceeding a unit cost of $25,000 USD is eligible and does not exclude budget line items for accessories and spare parts.
Criteria for evaluation
Applicants must make a case in their application document for how this equipment would significantly ramp up MSFEA’s research output and stature in an important area of inquiry. How would it better position MSFEA as a competitor in an important area.
Application content process
- Applications must include a 5-year plan and budget for equipment maintenance.
- Applications should include quotations for the equipment and associated consumables. Consumables should indicate if they are a function of the number of hours of operation or simply a function of date.
For equipment that is selected to be awarded, the committee will consult with department chairpersons and lab managers and the assistant to the dean for laboratories and facilities as needed, as well as with the deans of other faculties to explore the possibility of cost-sharing where applicable. The outcome of this final stage is the determination of the amount of equipment grant from the MSFEA Maroun Semaan Endowment if awarded and from another faculty in the case of cost-sharing. Applicants will be informed of the outcome. After final decisions are made, the respective faculty members/lab managers will coordinate with the MSFEA Financial Unit to purchase the equipment.
Below is the schedule for the equipment grant procedure for AY 2023-2024.
| | Date |
| Call for applications | May 06, 2024 |
| Applications are due | May 24, 2024 |
| Research committee ranks applications in accordance with the published criteria | June 14, 2024 |
| Dean’s committee makes final decisions in consultation with additional input from chairpersons, lab managers, assistant to the dean for laboratories and facilities, as deemed necessary. | June 21, 2024 |
| Dean’s office informs applicants of the grant award outcomes | July 01, 2024 |
The deadline for requesting equipment through this initiative for AY 2023-2024 is May 24, 2024. To apply, please fill out your application form in Word (one of the faculty members in a team) and provide your updated CV(s) on your FMIS webpage (all faculty members in a team) by going to My Profile --> Edit --> General Info --> Bio Data --> CV Attachment.