Faculty Research Accelerator Program

The mission of the Naughton Fellowships Faculty Research Accelerator Program is to catalyze and support collaborations between faculty at the leading research universities of Ireland and the University of Notre Dame in order to advance collaborative research and foster deeper and stronger ties between both the institutions and the two countries. The program will support collaborative research at the highest level of excellence in the STEM fields (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, as well as cognitive science).

Proposals may request up to $120,000 USD in funding. This is a total amount, to be split between the institutions included on the proposal. To best facilitate joint research, a variety of uses may be proposed. For example, the program will support joint Notre Dame/Irish research programs with budgets that include supplies, equipment, and trainee support, as well as travel for faculty seeking to develop new collaborative research programs. Regardless of intended use, research excellence, the scope of the cross-institutional participation, participation of graduate students or postdoctoral trainees, and the potential for sustained collaborations will be guiding principles and key review criteria.

Partner Institutions

All regular STEM faculty at the following institutions are eligible to participate:

• Dublin City University 
• Trinity College Dublin 
• University College Cork 
• University College Dublin 
• University of Galway 
• University of Notre Dame

Use of Funds

The collaborating faculty members must be identified in the proposal and letters confirming participation are required. Uses of funds may include:

• Supplies
• Non-capital equipment (i.e., equipment not exceeding $5,000 USD; capital equipment is excluded.)
• Graduate student stipends
• Postdoctoral fellow salaries
• Faculty salaries (summer salary for T/TT faculty, or academic/calendar year salary for research or other non-T/TT faculty)
• Travel

Please note that overhead, or indirect costs, are not included as part of the Naughton Fellowship Award. 

Personnel receiving salary/stipend support, regardless of position, are expected to spend considerable time at their partner institution in order to foster close inter-institutional ties. Residencies must be described in the proposal and any proposed exceptions must be justified.

How to Apply

All proposals must clearly communicate excellence of the proposed research, the synergy to be gained from the deep Notre Dame / Ireland collaboration, and the scope and mechanism of the collaborative research. The plan for, and the likelihood of, a long-term, sustained STEM collaboration will be a key review criterion. Requests to support prior or ongoing collaborations must show clear indicators of previous productivity (e.g., joint publications or grant proposals). Proposals must adhere to the guidelines, as follow:

• Excluding budgets, budget justification pages, CVs, and letters of support, proposals must be no more than five (5) pages, with one-inch margins, a 12-point font, and clearly readable figures and figure legends. The five (5) page limit applies specifically to the proposal itself. It is acceptable that the uploaded document is longer than five (5) pages, since it will also include the budget, CVs, and letters of support. 
• Budgets and budget justifications must be included as separate pages. Due to the open-ended nature of program, budget justifications should be detailed without extending or repeating proposal text. They will receive close scrutiny. There is no specific required format for the budget.
• All salaries, including graduate stipends, must include fringe benefits.
• CVs and confirming letters must be included for collaborating faculty members. Full CVs or two page, "biosketch" style CVs are both appropriate.
• For proposals requesting faculty travel, a letter of support from the Department Chair must be included supporting the proposal and confirming any proposed travel will not compromise teaching, service, or other commitments. Any anticipated impacts and how they will be mitigated must be described. For a graduate student, this should come from their thesis supervisor or Department Chair.
• Projects will be funded for two years.
• Proposals are expected to lead to an external grant application (e.g., NSF-SFI), and applicants should describe their plan for future funding.

Proposals deviating from the above guidelines or that are received after the deadline will be returned without review.

Proposals will be reviewed by a committee of interdisciplinary faculty experts. Up to two projects are expected to be funded per year. 

All proposals must then be submitted through the Faculty Accelerator Application Form here. 

Acceptance of Award

In accepting a Naughton Fellowship Faculty Research Accelerator Award, the awardee agrees to:

• Act in accordance with the policy that all permanent equipment purchased is the property of the University of Notre Dame unless otherwise specified when the grant is approved.

• Adhere to University guidelines for all proposed international travel.

• Obtain and follow guidelines and policies affecting these types of projects from Notre Dame Research Administration and Compliance, such as export control, biosafety, and more. Awards will be contingent upon approval of any protocols for research involving the use of live vertebrate animals, recombinant DNA molecules, and/or human subjects, etc. Awardees also must confirm approval of the same at their home university in Ireland.

Reporting

All successful awardees will be required to submit a final progress report no later than six months after the grant concludes. The report is a Google Form that requests feedback on activities and accomplishments, such as presentations, publications, and efforts to secure external funding. Adherence to these reporting requirements will be considered when evaluating future proposals from individual faculty members. This form will be sent you directly from the relevant Naughton Fellowship Committee member. 

Deadline

All applications are due by Friday, April 10, 2026 by 11:59 p.m. Eastern.

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Need More Information?

For questions, please contact naughton@nd.edu.