SCIPE AI in Civil Engineering

Undergraduate Research Scholarship Application Instructions

Nominations open: November 11, 2024

Nominations close: February 9, 2025, 11:59pm ET
Due to temporary site outages with NSF's ETAP portal, the deadline has been extended until February 9th at 11:59 pm ET. Please do not wait until the last minute to submit your application; the deadline will not be extended further.

Fellows Announced: April 2025

Funding begins: June 1, 2025

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Requirements

To be considered for a SCIPE AI in Civil Engineering Undergraduate Scholarship, an applicant must meet the following requirement.

  • Be enrolled as an undergraduate student at the time of application
  • Have completed at least one academic year (2 full semesters) of their undergraduate program as of March 2025
  • Have at least one full academic year remaining in their program as of June 2025
  • Be able to spend at least one month of the summer semester in residence at UT Austin/TACC in the year of award

Questions?

Applicants should first consult with an advisor or academic department as they often have experience with programs such as this one.

The SCIPE FAQ provides additional information necessary to correctly complete the application. For additional questions, please email scipe@tacc.utexas.edu.

What the Applicant Provides

The candidate will apply via an online application system called NSF ETAP. The candidate will create an account through research.gov, which will be used to log into the ETAP system. Candidates will search for the opportunity and provide the following information:

  • Contact and demographic information.
  • Project title and abstract.
  • Personal statement - Tell us about your personal, professional, and educational experiences and future career goals. Include specific examples of any research and/or professional activities in which you have participated, and whether you held leadership roles. Specify your role in the activity including the extent to which you worked independently and/or as part of a team, and how you contributed to the team's activity. Tell us why you would make an outstanding SCIPE AI in Civil Engineering awardee.
  • Research statement - research idea and how data analysis, visualization and parallel computing resources are critical to addressing the research topic; how the research will advance knowledge and understanding within the field of study; how this opportunity would further research goals and accelerate or expand the impact of the research.
  • Your entire submission must not exceed 3 pages with a minimum font of 11 points and 1-inch margins on all sides.
  • Two letters of reference: It is your responsibility to secure commitment from two references who know your academic abilities and work ethic (NOTE: Through the application process, you will provide the names and contact information of your recommenders. They will be responsible for uploading their letters of recommendation to the application website). At least one reference must come from a person within your academic major (i.e., major professor, TA, or lab director, etc.). The letters must:
    1. Not exceed two pages per reference
    2. Be signed and on letterhead
    3. Be uploaded as a PDF
  • The letters must address:
    1. Originality of the applicant's proposal.
    2. Role played in assisting the applicant with the proposed research.
    3. Assessment of the applicant’s potential to conduct original research, communicate effectively, and work cooperatively with peers and supervisors.
    4. Assessment of the potential of the applicant’s proposed research to make unique contributions to his/her/their chosen discipline.
    5. Relationship of the work to the application of parallel systems for high-performance computing, data analysis, and/or visualization.
    6. Broader impacts of supporting the applicant, including his/her/their leadership potential in the chosen field of graduate work and as a member of the scientific and technical community.

If awarded, references will be contacted.