I was involved with the GSRP selection process once while working in the University Programs Office after SAII and I applied for a GSRP fellowship at both GSFC and JSC this past year. The selection process varies from year to year and from Center to Center, but below are some general thoughts and suggestions on the GSRP process in case you're interested in submitting a proposal.
GSRP Fellowships are awarded by each field center and by NASA Headquarters to graduate students that are interested in doing research that is compatible with NASA's programs. The fellowship includes a $16,000 stipend plus $6,000 for travel and tuition and can be renewed annually for a total of three years.
You can submit your proposal to more than one field center as well as NASA Headquarters. Regardless of your proposed research topic, ALWAYS SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION TO NASA HEADQUARTERS in addition to the appropriate field Center(s).
SOME WORDS OF CAUTION: some Centers, and especially some offices at NASA/HQ, are VERY strict with their application deadlines. A February 1st deadline means the proposal has to be in their office before 08:00 on February 1st. At most universities, the proposal has to be routed though the Office of Sponsored Programs which may add a few days or even a week to the proposal preparation process.
Once the proposal is received by the field Center, it is distributed to the appropriate Directorate and at least two readers. Each Directorate returns a prioritized listing of the proposals from their Directorate. You want to be ranked at the top of this list! The readers, who may also sit on the review panel later in the process, evaluate the proposals they receive and score them on a percentage (100% high) scale. The review panel gets together to discuss the Directorate rankings and readers' scores and recommends who should receive GSRP awards.
They selection panel generally considers the following when evaluating a proposal: * Proposal technical merit and innovation * NASA relevance and interest * Proposed interaction with the NASA facility and utilization of its research resources * Quality of the proposed research or plan of study * Student qualifications and ability to accomplish the defined research * University and advisor qualifications
There are some things that you can do to increase the quality of your proposal (listed from what I consider most important to least important):
1. Finding the appropriate NASA Center and utilizing their facilities. You want to make sure that your proposed research fits in with the mission statement of the particular NASA facility. I t is very important that you do your homework and become familiar with the type of research the NASA facility is doing to make sure your proposed research complements it. How will you interface and interact with their activities, personnel, and facilities? What unique NASA facilities that you do not have access to at your university do you plan on using? It better include more than just using their library and talking with a few NASA folks on the phone. How much time do you plan on spending at the facility? Remember, your student and university allowance can be used for travel.
2. Developing a good idea. Your idea does not have to come from those listed in the project description of the GSRP booklet. Use those listed to get a better idea of what type of research the NASA facility does. Ask faculty members at your university if they have any ideas. Make sure you do your homework by talking with researchers in the proposed field and do literature searches. Again, make sure the idea fits in with the NASA facility's mission.
3. Finding a good NASA technical advisor. It is EXTREMELY important that you contact the researcher at the appropriate NASA facility. Use the researchers listed at the end of each project description in the GSRP booklet as a start. It is your NASA technical advisor that can make sure you are a top priority when their Directorate ranks the proposals by making their "bosses" and other researchers at the NASA facility aware of why your research is important. DO NOT BLINDLY SEND IN YOUR PROPOSAL WITHOUT A NASA TECHNICAL ADVISOR LISTED!
4. Submitting a well written proposal. This includes the obvious like no spelling and grammatical errors. The evaluators and selection panel are intelligent scientists and engineers who have experience writing proposals so avoid using BS in an attempt to "fool" them. Make sure you cover the minimum areas that the GSRP booklet suggests, such as: Plan of Study, Research Objectives, Schedule, Methodology, Key Elements, and Milestones.
5. Having good letters of recommendation. You want a glowing letter from your thesis advisor at your university as well as an equally strong letter from your NASA technical advisor. Both letters should reiterate why your proposal meets the criteria the review and selection panel looking for as described above. It would be ideal if your thesis advisor and NASA technical advisor complemented each other in their respective letters. No one knows you and your accomplishments better than you. After reading this, you will have insight into what should be in a GSRP letter of recommendation. Most professors, scientists, and engineers will not mind if you draft a sample letter for them to "massage." This way you will be assured that your letter will contain all the necessary parts.
The key to winning is having a good proposal! If you have any questions while you are preparing your proposal or want a long and more detailed explanation of what I talked about here, feel free to contact me at bjr@po.cwru.edu. You might also want to check my Internship and Research Opportunities homepage for additional NASA Fellowship opportunities. Good luck!