James S. McDonnell Foundation

Postdoctoral Fellowship Awards in Studying Complex Systems

WEBSITE: Access the JSMF website.

AWARD MECHANISMS: JSMF Fellowships are not awarded until the student applies to and is accepted as a postdoctoral fellow at a qualified 501(c)(3) institution (or equivalent) and the qualified institution submits an acceptable application to JSMF. The program provides $200,000 over 2 years. Applicants should not currently have a Ph.D. and should not receive a Ph.D. on or before June 15, 2012, but should expect to complete coursework and dissertation sometime in 2013.

SCIENTIFIC AREAS: The Complex Systems program supports scholarship and research directed toward the development of theoretical and mathematical tools that can be applied to the study of complex, adaptive, nonlinear systems. It is anticipated that research funded in this program will address important questions in diverse fields. JSMF is particularly interested in the continued development of complex systems science, and in projects attempting to apply complex systems approaches to coherently articulated questions.

SUBMISSION DATE(S): 15 June 2012

• From the Feinberg Graduate School: Confirmation that if and when the fellowship is approved, the candidate will be eligible to be a post-doc at the Weizmann Institute for the entire duration of the proposed fellowship.
• From the candidate's supervisor (a Weizmann Institute researcher of rank Senior Scientist or higher): Confirmation that the supervisor agrees to host the post-doc for the entire period of the fellowship.

Please note that according to Weizmann Institute procedures, fellowships are paid as stipends at a fixed rate. Consequently, if the amount provided by the funding source is lower than this rate, the difference will have to be supplemented (with an a priori written commitment to this effect to the RGP) by the host researcher at the Institute.

If the fellowship on offer is higher than the Weizmann Institute standard rate, the Institute will be able to receive a stipend only up to its standard rate. Alternatively, if allowable by the funding agency, the fellowship can be paid by the agency directly to the bank account of the recipient. In such a case, the host researcher should apply for post-doctoral status for the fellow at the Institute, either with or without the additional standard Weizmann Institute post-doctoral stipend (as allowable by the external funding source, and according to the resources available to the prospective Weizmann Institute host). For further information and/or clarifications, please contact the Feinberg Graduate School or the RGP.

Please note that foreigners are required to obtain the relevant visa (i.e. for a fixed-amount stipend: category A2; or for an employment contract: category B1 = work permit) prior to taking up an appointment at the Weizmann Institute:

• Non-Israeli fellows receiving a post-doctoral fixed-amount stipend at the Weizmann Institute standard rate are required to obtain a category A2 [student] visa, with the assistance of the Feinberg Graduate School.
• In the case of an external funding source which is willing to provide support only in the form of a salary with social benefits (as opposed to a stipend), the fellow must be engaged by the Institute as a Visiting Scientist on an individual contract. In order to obtain approval for Visiting Scientist status, the prospective host must contact the Visiting Scientists Section at the Housing Directorate and follow their guidelines in this regard. The Visiting Scientsts Section will also assist in the procedures required for obtaining a B1 work permit visa. Please note that the procedures will be different, depending on the location of origin of the prospective Visiting Scientist:
  1. Foreigners intending to come to the Weizmann Institute from abroad, without having previously completed studies in Israel: the Visiting Scientists Section at the Housing Directorate must be contacted to initiate the B1 work permit visa application procedure, long enough in advance for the prospective Visiting Scientist to receive the visa at an Israeli embassy/consulate (outside of Israel), prior to his/her arrival in Israel.
  2. Foreigners who are currently in Israel and hold a category A2 [student] visa: According to the laws of the State of Israel as regards foreign citizens (who do not possess Israeli citizenship), engagement by the Institute of such researchers will only be possible if they a priori leave Israel and then return to an appointment as a Visiting Scientist (conditional upon approval of the Ministry of the Interior, which must agree to issue a category B1 work permit visa for this purpose).
  It should be noted that the work permit approval process - a prerequisite to the approval of the status of Visiting Scientist - usually takes several months. Consequently, a Weizmann Institute researcher intending to host a Visiting Scientist who is not an Israeli citizen should begin the relevant procedures several months in advance of the desired start date. For further details regarding the issue of obtaining a work permit for a Visiting Scientist, contact the Visiting Scientists Section at the Housing Directorate.