The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers has announced the ‘ASHRAE Innovative Research Grant’ that will complement research steered by the society’s technical committees. By awarding researchers with up to $125,000 (€88,100), ASHRAE seeks to encourage out-of-the-box research in HVAC&R engineering. Pre-proposals are due 1 September 2011.
The award will enable researchers to evaluate the feasibility of a new concept, process, methodology, technology, etc, with little guidance from the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE). Research with promising findings could lead to additional larger scale projects.
The grant
The award consists of a base grant of $50,000 (€35,240) per year for two years, with an additional $25,000 (€17,620)available in the third year if matched by a contribution from industry. Thus, the maximum award from ASHRAE would be $125,000 (€88,100), while the maximum available to the recipient would be $150,000 (€105,720).
Selection process & criteria
The intention is to fund one award each year. A two-phase process will be used to select individuals to be granted the award. Pre-proposals will be invited once a year when funding is adequate to support the award. Of these, a maximum of five each year will be invited to submit full proposals.
The criteria for selecting projects for funding include:
- Novelty of the research
- Importance of the problem
- Potential for success
- Student involvement
- Cost sharing
How to apply
This year, pre-proposals consisting of a two-page whitepaper and a two-page curriculum vitae for the principal researcher, are invited until 1 September 2011. Interested individuals can submit pre-proposals to ASHRAE’s Manager of Research & Technical Services, 1791 Tullie Circle, NE, Atlanta, GA 30329. Full proposals are due 15 March 2012.
About ASHRAE and its Research Strategic Plan 2010-2015
Founded in 1894, ASHRAE is an international organisation of 51,000 persons, with a mission of advancing heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration through research, standards writing, publishing and continuing education.
The ASHRAE Research Strategic Plan for 2010-2015 consists of 11 strategic goals, addressing technical challenges that limit the ability to maximise building performance, energy efficiency and indoor environmental quality while minimising the impact on the environment. Goal 8 of the plan is to facilitate the use of natural and low global warming potential (GWP) synthetic refrigerants and seek methods to reduce their charge.
