US, Irish science funding agencies strike agreement for graduate research

Life

27 May 2013

Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) today announced the details of a partnership with the National Science Foundation (NSF) in the United States. The important agreement will help encourage, develop and facilitate research opportunities in Ireland for the best young research talent in the NSF’s graduate research fellowship programme (GRFP) under the Graduate Research Opportunities Worldwide (GROW) initiative.

The GRFP has supported more than 40 Nobel laureates during its 61-year tenure. Graduates are also well represented among international government leaders, business executives, writers, and members of the National Academy of Sciences including US Secretary of Energy Steven Chu, Google co-founder Sergey Brin and Freakonomics co-author Steven Levitt.

Dr Cora Marrett, acting director, NSF, said: "Today’s graduate students being trained as scientists and engineers in the USA will increasingly collaborate and compete with their peers from around the globe throughout their career. GRFP prepares NSF graduate research fellows to engage successfully in the global research enterprise by connecting them to leading scientists and research infrastructure in Ireland and around the world."

Director general of Science Foundation Ireland Prof Mark Ferguson said: "This partnership will create new opportunities for young, talented researchers while strengthening the academic ties between our two countries. As set out in Agenda 2020, SFI has a strategic objective to be the exemplar in building partnerships that fund and support excellent science. It is important to note that the NSF identified SFI research centres as a major reason for agreeing this partnership for their GRFP. This agreement will deliver excellent research in areas of national importance, including nanotechnology, marine renewable energy, Big Data, medical technologies, and food."

Other countries participating in GRFP include Chile, Denmark, Finland, France, Japan, Korea, Norway, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland and South Korea. The Fellows, selected through the normal process through the NSF GRF Program and invited to participate in GROW, are hosted by a science agency in a partner country for a period of three to 12 months.

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