​​​ISIS wishes to support and encourage early-career researchers to use neutron and muon techniques within their work, and to enhance the profile and career prospects of early-career researchers using ISIS facility techniques.​ ISIS would also like to create a cohort of early-career scientists closely associated with the facility who can act as advocates for the facility, support each other in their career development, and provide further advice to ISIS on community development and support for early-career researchers using ISIS techniques.​

As part of this, ISIS proposes to offer​​​ up to three Springboard Awards each year. These Awards will be given competitively via an application and review process, and each will last for a period of three years. Applications are invited from early-career researchers with a permanent position at a UK institution. The closing date for applications is 18 October 2024, 5pm UK time.

Benefits of an ISIS Springboard Award​

Those selected for an ISIS Springboard Award will be offered the following:

• Recognition of achieving an Award within a competitive process

• Funding of up to £1000 per year for conference attendance to present work related to ISIS experiments

• Access to the ISIS sample preparation and characterisation labs and their equipment (to be agreed with lab managers and subject to availability)

• Funding of up to £1000 per year for experiment consumables on top of that normally provided for ISIS experiments

• Provision of support for other activities which promote awareness of ISIS and its techniques, e.g. outreach.

• The chance to spend an extended period at the facility of up to one month to develop knowledge of neutron or muon methods and ass​ociated techniques, in collaboration with a facility scientist (ISIS will cover the accommodation costs for this).

• A case study / highlight / career profile written in conjunction with the ISIS communications team

• A guest seminar at the facility

• Training possibilities (for example, ISIS periodically runs PhD supervisor training, and Springboard researchers would be invited to such sessions).
  
  

Requirements for a Springboard Award application

In order to apply for an Award, applicants must meet the following requirements:

• Have a permanent position at a UK university or institute for the duration of the Award

• Be using, or planning to use, neutrons or muons within their research work

• Be within eight years of their PhD award (this is from the time of the PhD 'viva' oral test) or within six years of their first academic appointment (the first full or part-time paid employment contract that lists research or teaching as the primary function). These periods exclude any career break, for example due to family care, health reasons, or reasons related to COVID-19 such as home schooling or increased teaching load.

Preference will be given to applicants who can demonstrate significant use of neutrons or muons in their future research plans. In case a number of strong applications are received, preference will be given to those who are relatively new to these techniques. Applications must demonstrate partnership with one or more ISIS scientists.

Application process for a Springboard Award

To apply for a Springboard Award, please use the online form​​​. The form requires a summary of your research to-date, your future research plans (including use of neutrons or muons within these), and how a Springboard Award will help you in your career and help you to promote ISIS.

The closing date for applications is 18 October 2024, 5pm UK time.

Applications will be assessed initially to ensure that applicants meet the criteria given above. Appl​ications will then be assessed by a panel consisting of members of the external community (includi​ng early-career members of the ISIS Science Advisory Committee) plus two ISIS staff. Assessment criteria will include:

• the strength and timeliness of the proposed resear​ch​
  

• the extent and appropriateness of the use of neutrons or muons within the proposed research

• and how Awards will enable recipients to promote use of ISIS and its techniques
  

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