DEIS GRADUATE STUDENT FELLOWSHIP

Graduate Student Fellowship award applications including a research proposal are invited from graduate students in the general areas of electrical insulation and dielectric phenomena.

The graduate fellowships, established by the Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation Society, are offered to further graduate education in the areas of electrical insulation and dielectric phenomena of interest to the Society and are open to suitable candidates from all over the world. The fellowship is for students pursuing their Ph.D. degree. The graduate student must be either a student member of IEEE or have applied for a student membership in IEEE at the time of application submission. Priory will be given to those students who are also DEIS members and if the major advisor for the student is also a DEIS member. Previous recipients of this award are not eligible for consideration. The DEIS Graduate Student awards are competitive, and the research proposals are refereed by members of the DEIS Education Committee (and/or other referees).

Anticipated award: FIVE awards of up to $5000 each.

DEADLINE FOR SUBMITTING PROPOSALS: September 24, 2021

Awards will apply to the 2021–2022 academic year. The award notification to the successful applicants is expected to be made in early November 2021.

Research topics may cover a broad scope and include insulating media, their electric and dielectric properties, breakdown, charge transport and electrostatics, high voltage effects, and related subjects. Selection will be competitive.

The general criteria used for project evaluation will be clarity of presentation of the problem, relevance, innovative content, impact of the topic chosen and ability to accomplish the objective during the award period.

As a guide to produce a good proposal, please check on the DEIS website (https://ieeedeis.org/deis-fellowships/) those that have been awarded in the last years.

Proposals should be prepared by the applicants themselves.  By the deadline indicated in the call, the copy of the research proposal should be submitted through this website (instructions will be provided in due time). The document should describe shortly the state of the art, and the potential impact the research results could have at both theoretical and practical level. Also, the technical proposal should list the resources needed to accomplish the target and whether or not these resources are currently available.

The work can be part of a larger project. However, the specific task to be undertaken with the fellowship funds should be described separately. The research proposal should be distinct and should differ from a more general proposal sent to another funding organization.

Important: Submissions that contain personal names, affiliation logos or names will be immediately rejected.

Research sponsored by DEIS is intended to encourage innovative efforts, so support normally does not exceed one year. The winners shall:

1. Provide a one-page report to the DEIS Education Committee at the completion of the task. The report will be published in the Electrical Insulation Magazine
2. Present the result of his/her research findings at a DEIS sponsored meeting. 

Part of the fellowship funding is reserved for travel support and will be awarded only when the student presents his/her work at a DEIS sponsored meeting.

IMPORTANT – The winners will be asked to provide:

• A letter of nomination/recommendation from the student’s research director (Faculty Advisor). The advisor should also certify the student’s status in the Ph. D. program and express willingness to monitor the progress of the student’s work during the award period.
• A letter from the student’s Department Head / Chair, indicating the good standing in the department.
• If available, a brief summary of the student’s research contributions and publication (not more than 1/2 page in length).
• A statement that visa issues are not an impediment for the applicant to report his activity to DEIS-sponsored conferences (please check prior sending the proposal)