UC Ship Funds Policy: Support for Ship Time Aboard SIO Research Vessels

Eligibility

SIO Faculty, Staff and Students

The State of California provides limited support for research vessels operated by Scripps Institution of Oceanography.   Each year, some of these State funds are available to SIO faculty, staff and students to conduct teaching and research at sea aboard SIO vessels.   The amount of funding varies annually, and is administered by the Associate Director, SIO.  

Faculty, staff and students at SIO are invited to submit proposals for UC Ship Funds, according to the guidelines below.   These funds can be used to support time aboard R/V Roger Revelle , R/V Melville , R/V New Horizon , or R/V Sproul .

Faculty, Staff and Students at UC Santa Barbara and UC Santa Cruz

In 1992, the Office of Naval Research (ONR) awarded the operation of R/V Roger Revelle to SIO, in part due to strong institutional endorsements by UC Santa Barbara and UC Santa Cruz.     In recognition of their support, SIO invites faculty, staff and students from these campuses to compete equally for UC Ship funds for Revelle .   Note however that only SIO scientists can use UC Ship Funds for other SIO vessels.

Prioritization of requests

An advisory panel selected by the Marine Operations Committee assists the Associate Director in reviewing requests for these funds according to the following guidelines and priorities:

1. Student Instruction At Sea

Highest priority will be given to student training cruises that are conducted as part of formal UCSD courses.   To qualify, courses must register the minimum number of students required by University rules (four), and demonstrate that at least four enrolled students will participate at sea.   Proposals in this category should document participation using either actual enrollment data, enrollment experience with similar courses in previous years, or preliminary contacts with students interested in signing up for a proposed course (the panel is looking for good-faith assurance by practical means, not a rigid procedure).

2. Research by Graduate Students and Postdoctoral Fellows

A high priority will be assigned to proposals for research by graduate students and postgraduate fellows. The panel expects that the faculty advisor will make a reasonable effort to support such research through outside grants, and proposals in this category must include a statement signed by the advisor describing why outside support is not available.

3. Research by New SIO Staff

A high priority will be given to proposals for projects by new staff, especially for programs that have the potential for generating support from external funding sources in subsequent years.   To qualify in this category, proposals should be submitted by staff members within their first 2 years at SIO.

4. Research by Any SIO Staff

Proposals for any worthy project by SIO staff will also be considered, although at a lower priority than the previous categories.   These projects might include adding a few days to a transit leg, testing a new idea before submitting a proposal, or using UC Ship Funds as matching funds for a proposal.

The intent of UC Ship Funds is to pay for sea time aboard SIO research vessels.   Ancillary cruise-related expenses, such as salaries, travel, non-standard instrumentation, freight, etc. should be paid by other funding sources.   However, the panel will consider requests to support these activities, contingent on available funds.

Calls for Proposals

General calls for proposals will occur twice per year, once in the spring and once in the fall.

The spring proposal cycle is the primary opportunity for requesting ship time aboard large SIO vessels ( Revelle , Melville , and New Horizon ) for the next calendar year (e.g., spring '08 proposals will be for '09 shiptime).   Seagoing programs aboard the large vessels typically require long lead times in order to coordinate scheduling within the UNOLS framework, and for planning and permitting.

The fall proposal cycle is intended to provide flexibility in reacting to opportunities within UNOLS ship schedules for the following year, as they become known.   Awards made in the fall will be limited to funds not allocated during the spring awards.

When scheduling opportunities exist on shorter time scales (for instance when a large ship has a gap in its schedule later within the same calendar year), the Panel will consider opportunistic requests for that ship time.

Due to Sproul's scheduling flexibility, the spring and fall proposal periods will consider any requests for Sproul ship time.

In special circumstances the Panel will review proposals outside of the above review periods, in order to take advantage of extraordinary research opportunities (for instance a response to a significant, ephemeral oceanographic event).

How To Apply

Requests for UC Ship Funds should be submitted as written proposals.   Proposals will be solicited and reviewed by the UC Ship Funds Panel of the Marine Operations Committee twice annually, once in the spring and once in the fall as described above.

Each proposal should describe the scientific rationale, cruise plan (including desired ports, transit times, station locations, instrumentation to be used, and overall time estimate), and the category under which it should be considered (items 1 - 4 above).   You should also provide a list of participants, and describe how you will delegate work at sea.   Describe how data will be disseminated, and what your near- and long-term products will be.

Each proposal should:

•  describe the scientific or educational rationale, and how the shipboard operations will satisfy your objectives;

•  discuss the instrumentation you propose to use, who will operate the instruments, and how data will be acquired distributed to participants;

•  state the data products that you intend to produce (theses, dissertations, scholarly publications, etc);

•  present a detailed cruise plan, including desired ports, tracklines, sampling stations, and timeline;

•  describe how the proposal satisfies any of the four prioritized categories above.

Proposals in PDF format should be submitted by email to Bruce Appelgate <tba@ucsd.edu>

For additional information, please contact

Bruce Appelgate

Associate Director, Scripps Institution of Oceanography

University of California, San Diego

9500 Gilman Drive MC0210

La Jolla, CA 92093-0210

tel: 858-534-2220      email: tba@ucsd.edu

Revision history

2008.03.25 - revised (Appelgate)

2005.11.30 - revised (Knox)

1997.06.11 - written (Knox)