About the position
North Carolina Sea Grant (NC Sea Grant) is accepting applications for the inaugural Coastal
Resilience Team Competition. This program provides an opportunity for teams of North
Carolina-based graduate and undergraduate students to conduct projects that will lead to more
resilient habitats and communities within the NC Coastal Plain.
North Carolina Sea Grant strongly encourages proposals from teams that include students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities and at Minority Serving Institutions, and/or students from traditionally underserved and underrepresented communities.
Each team will conduct research that addresses one or more of these focus areas:
- the impacts of higher groundwater levels on forest, agriculture, and community infrastructure;
- how changing precipitation patterns impact salinity levels in estuarine systems;
- the impact of higher temperatures on submerged aquatic vegetation communities in North Carolina;
- how coastal communities can engage underserved populations to better prepare them for future disasters;
- how aquaculture practices can buffer the industry against disasters;
- the economic impact of climate change on N.C. coastal communities, including the effects on different sectors and populations; and
- additional research topics that address how coastal North Carolina can become more resilient to the impacts of climate change.
Proposals should explain how the proposed teams’ research and related outreach will benefit underserved and underrepresented communities.
The winning team will present their findings to North Carolina Sea Grant’s advisory board. Sea Grant’s science communicators also will work with the winners to publicize the team’s research through an array of products and media, as appropriate.
Award Overview:
- One to two project teams are expected to be funded out of this competition; subject to the
availability of funds and the quality of the received applications. - The performance period will be January 4, 2022 through December 31, 2024.
- NC Sea Grant will provide the winning team/s up to $10,000 per year for the duration of
the project ($20,000 total funding available per team project). - Funding will be channeled to the project team members via student stipends. How the
total stipend amount is to be distributed among the team members is up to the Graduate
Student lead. This data should be included on the title page (see below). - Funding for year 2 is dependent upon successful execution of year one (see reporting
requirements below) and NC Sea Grant’s receipt of additional federal funds. Year 2 is
not guaranteed. - It will be incumbent upon the Graduate Student lead to ensure the project is completed
and that each participant completes their portion. - It is incumbent on the applicant team to obtain all additional institutional (e.g. IRB), state,
and federal permits required for conducting the project.
To apply
All applications must include the following elements.
- A research proposal (described below).
- A current curriculum vitae (CV) for each member of the project team, limited to 2 pages
per CV. - The lead graduate student’s major professor must provide a letter of support outlining the
student’s qualifications and abilities to undertake/oversee this team project. - A data management plan, limited to 2 pages.
The Graduate Student lead should prepare and submit the application. Application materials
must be received by 5 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 29, 2021. Applications will only be accepted
through the eSeaGrant portal. This portal can be accessed at: go.ncsu.edu/ncesg. The portal
will walk you through submitting all required elements of the proposal. Incomplete or late
applications will not be eligible. The portal will automatically close at the deadline.
The deadline to apply is 5 p.m. on October 29, 2021. For more information, access the full Request for Proposals.