The McWilliams Fellowship in the Mellon College of Science

Handbook Table of Contents | Constitution | Faculty Policies | Degree Policies

• Purpose
• Eligibility
• Administration
• Selection Committee
• Nomination Deadline
• Nomination Requirements
• Selection
• Presentation of Award

The McWilliams Fellowship in the Mellon College of Science

Purpose

Thanks to a very generous gift Dr. Bruce McWilliams (S ’78, ’78, ’81), an endowed fund has been established to provide fellowships to graduate students in the Mellon College of Science studying in an area where Carnegie Mellon has a comparative advantage and where research is at an emerging or critical stage.

Eligibility

This fellowship will initially focus on students doing research in the areas of nanotechnology, biophysics or cosmology, with the donors’ strong preference for supporting chemistry or physics students.

Administration

The Dean of MCS will designate an MCS Associate Dean to be responsible for the administration of the nomination and selection process.

Selection Committee

The Dean of MCS will appoint an ad hoc selection committee to make a recommendation regarding the selection of the recipients.

Nomination Deadline

The exact deadline for submission depends on external circumstances that may vary from year to year. However, it is expected that the date will typically be sometime in January. All nominations material is due at that time. Copies of the applications should be submitted to the Associate Dean responsible for administration of the award. Electronic copies are preferred, or five copies of printed material can be submitted.

Nomination Requirements

Each department may nominate up to two students for this award. To be eligible, students must be in, at least, their third year and have completed all of the requirements for the Ph.D. that are expected at their stage in the program. Nomination packages should include the following:

• The nominee’s statement of his/her research accomplishments, research goals for the next 1–2 years, and how this fellowship would specifically impact their research (2–3 pages),
• The nominee’s up-to-date curriculum vita,
• One letter of support from his/her research advisor(s) describing Carnegie Mellon’s comparative advantage in the student’s research area, evidence of the student’s current and potential contributions to this area, and the impact of those contributions at the current stage of research, and
• A second letter of support from a faculty member (either a Carnegie Mellon faculty member or a collaborator from another institution) who is familiar with the student’s work and can comment on the stage of the research.

Nominees and letter writers are encouraged to include information that will make the candidate’s credentials clear to a selection committee drawn from a broad range of scientific disciplines. This could include comments on the nominee’s:

• outstanding experimental or theoretical results,
• creativity and initiative,
• contributions to collaborative efforts, and
• publications (including comments on the quality of the journals in which they appear).

Selection

The selection committee will make recommendations to the Dean of MCS regarding the selection of the recipients.

Presentation of Award

The fellowship will provide tuition, stipend and fees for one year, or until the recipient graduates, whichever comes first. The student will receive $1000 in a discretionary fund for conference travel or other research expenses. Note that the recipient of the fellowship must write to and meet with Dr. and Mrs. McWilliams periodically during and after the fellowship to keep them apprised of ongoing progress. The award is presented to the recipients at the MCS annual meeting at the end of each spring semester. At the discretion of the Dean of MCS, this award may not be presented every year.