This panel session is focused on graduate students who are about to graduate and postdoctoral researchers who are aiming to start their careers in academia. In this session, panel members Dr. Nirmal Ghimire and Dr. Ganesh Chand will share their experiences before starting their independent research careers. Dr. Ghimire will mostly focus on funding opportunities through the National Science Foundation (NSF), Department of Defense (DOD), and Department of Energy (DOE) whereas Dr. Chand will focus on opportunities through the National Institute of Health (NIH). Both of them will provide the information on how to write a successful pre-proposal/letter of intent and then the full proposal. Moderator Dr. Bhoj Gautam will also share his experiences about the success rate of submitted proposals and provide information about funding opportunities in minority-serving institutions.

This meeting will be beneficial to current graduate students, post-doctoral researchers as well as junior faculties.