Talk - AstroFit

ERC grants: testimonianze e
consigli
Raffaella Schneider
INAF – 11 Settembre 2014
[email protected]
un pò di numeri dalla call Starting Grant 2012*
Budget: 800 milioni di euro
Numero di progetti finanziati: ~ 536 [~1.5 M€/progetto]
Numero di applications ricevute: 4741 [11.3% success rate]
% di progetti finanziati con PI donne: ~ 24%
Numero di progetti finanziati in astrofisica (PE9): 18 [3.4%]
Nell’INAF dal 2007 al 2014 ci sono stati solo 4 progetti ERC:
G. De Lucia StG – OATrieste - veniva dalla Germania
M. Viel StG – OATrieste – INAF staff
L. Guzzo AdG – OABrera – INAF staff
R. Schneider – OARoma –INAF staff
*starters e consolidators erano riuniti in un’unica call
Dobbiamo e Possiamo fare meglio!
Altri paesi:
• hanno un supporto concreto per la preparazione dei proposals,
organizzando ogni anno dei corsi di preparazione da staff
specializzato
• training specifico per l’interview!
• offrono migliori condizioni di lavoro e prospettive di carriera ai PI…
Suggerimenti da un applicant:
Prima di iniziare a scrivere:
(1) assimilare bene i criteri di valutazione
(2) organizzare la descrizione del PI e del progetto cercando di rispondere ai
criteri di valutazione
Descrizione del PI:
Evaluation criteria:
Intellectual capacity and creativity:
To what extent are the achievements and publications of the Principal Investigator
groundbreaking and demonstrative of independent creative thinking and capacity
to go significantly beyond the state of the art?
To what extent will an ERC Starting Grant make a significant contribution to the
establishment or consolidation of independence?
Commitment:
Is the Principal Investigator strongly committed to the project and willing to
devote a significant amount of time to it (they will be expected to devote at least
50% of their total working time to the ERC-funded project and spend at least
50% of their total working time in an EU Member State or associated country) ?
Descrizione del PI:
1. mettete in luce i vostri contributi innovativi negli ambiti di ricerca in cui avete lavorato
2. evidenziate il vostro riconoscimento internazionale: numero totale di citazioni, h-index,
contributi ad invito a congressi internazionali, meeting che avete organizzato voi
3. indipendenza e capacità di leadership: coordinamento di progetti di ricerca, supervisione
di studenti
Bisogna “azzeccare” il tono giusto, non essere arroganti ma neanche timidi…
Es1: “…My work was the first one to extend this analysis to extragalactic sources
exploiting data on the
cosmic star formation rate coupled to single and binary stellar population synthesis models. As a result
of my PhD achievements, I have been asked to be a member of the ESA science advisory group for the
Laser Interferometer Space Antenna….”
Es2:
“…I and my collaborators were the first who emphasized the role of cooling by dust grains.
The so called critical metallicity scenario, presented in Schneider et al. 2003 Nature, 422, 869, has
been widely accepted by the scientific community…”
Es3: “.. I believe that to date my career has demonstrated my capability of being an independent leader
of my research field. An ERC starting grant at this stage of my career would help me to pursue my
independent scientific ideas by supporting and consolidating my own research team…”
Descrizione del PI:
1. mettete in luce i vostri contributi innovativi negli ambiti di ricerca in cui avete lavorato
2. evidenziate il vostro riconoscimento internazionale: numero totale di citazioni, h-index,
contributi ad invito a congressi internazionali, meeting che avete organizzato voi
3. indipendenza e capacità di leadership: coordinamento di progetti di ricerca, supervisione
di studenti
Non nascondete le potenziali debolezze del vostro CV, fatene un punto di forza
Es1: cambiamento di research field (PhD gwaves, Pdoc high-z universe) ben recepito dai Referees
Es2: “…In spite of the fact that my personal life has prevented me from working for long periods abroad
(I have two children and my husband works in a completely different field), I have been frequently invited
by, and indeed visited, international institutes…”
Descrizione del PI:
1. mettete in luce i vostri contributi innovativi negli ambiti di ricerca in cui avete lavorato
2. evidenziate il vostro riconoscimento internazionale: numero totale di citazioni, h-index,
contributi ad invito a congressi internazionali, meeting che avete organizzato voi
3. indipendenza e capacità di leadership: coordinamento di progetti di ricerca, supervisione
di studenti
Tabella di Early Achievement-Track-Record:
66 publications (42 in peer-reviewed journals)
2 publications in Nature (1 as first author and 1 as second author)
25 publications as first author (14 in peer-reviewed journals)
59 publications without the PhD supervisor as a co-author
1867 citations of peer-reviewed papers
18 institute seminars and general colloquia
36 talks given at international conference of astrophysics and relativistic astrophysics
20 invited presentations
3 invited reviews
2 international conferences organized
Descrizione del Progetto:
Evaluation criteria:
Ground-breaking nature and potential impact of the research:
To what extent does the proposed research address important challenges at the frontiers
of the field(s) addressed ? To what extent does it have suitably ambitious objectives,
which go substantially beyond the current state of the art (e.g. including inter- and
trans-disciplinary developments and novel or unconventional concepts and/or approaches)?
Methodology:
To what extent does the possibility of a major breakthrough with an impact beyond a
specific research domain/discipline justify any highly novel and/or unconventional
methodologies ("high-gain/high-risk balance") ?
To what extent is the proposed research methodology (including the proposed
timescales and resources) appropriate to achieve the goals of the project ?
To what extent are the resources requested necessary and properly justified?
If it is proposed that team members engaged by another host institution participate
in the project is their participation fully justified by the scientific added value they
bring to the project?
Descrizione del Progetto:
Seguite un approccio top-bottom:
1.
individuate LA DOMANDA: il cuore del progetto (deve essere ambiziosa!)
2.
articolatela in un numero < 5 di sotto-progetti, ciascuno con obiettivo scientifico chiaro
- inserire qualcosa di NUOVO: nella metodologia o nei contenuti….
3.
allocate a ciascuno di questi sotto-progetti il man power e le risorse necessarie
Esempio di B1 (5 pagine)
The FIRST project focuses on the study of the first stars and galaxies and has two primary scientific goals:
(1) Understand the evolution of the first metals and dust and their role in setting the characteristic masses
of stars and seed black holes;
(2) Assess the properties of the first galaxies and quasars.
…..
In the following, I outline the main projects that will be undertaken to achieve the primary goals of
FIRST. These represent the principal tasks of the proposed research…..
Project A: from the first stars to the Local Universe
Background:…
Proposed Work:...
Expected Results: …
stessa cosa per Project B e Project C
Descrizione del Progetto:
Esempio di B1 (5 pagine)
Nell’ultima mezza pagina:
Research environment: …
Resources and feasibility of the project: …
Summary: …
Descrizione del Progetto:
Esempio di B2
a. state-of-the-art and objectives:
….
Project A:
Theoretical background:…
Observational background:…
Objectives:…
stessa cosa per Project B e Project C
mettete delle figure, prese dai vostri lavori o riadattate dai vostri lavori
summary evidenziando come gli obiettivi – se raggiunti – consentiranno un sostanziale passo in avanti nel
vostro campo e le ripercussioni in altri campi di ricerca
Descrizione del Progetto:
Esempio di B2
b. Methodology
The achievement of the goals discussed in the previous section requires a sequence of activities, consisting
mostly in the development of theoretical models and numerical simulations, but also in the extensive
comparison with observational data. These activities have been divided into specific work packages (WP),
as described in the following. Each WP will have its own results and deliverables at the expected completion
time, as listed at the end of the WP descriptions.
In addition, for each WP we also specify the FIRST team members involved.
Project A:
WP1: chemical imprints of Population III stars
FIRST team members involved: Student 1, the P.I.
….
Expected results of project A and scheduled time for delivery, in years from the Kick Off (KO):
RA1: New grid of SN metal and dust yields; constraints on low-metallicity star formation and Zcr(fdep) (KO+1yr).
stessa cosa per Project B e Project C
Descrizione del Progetto:
Esempio di B2
a. Methodology
The achievement of the goals discussed in the previous section requires a sequence of activities, consisting
mostly in the development of theoretical models and numerical simulations, but also in the extensive
comparison with observational data. These activities have been divided into specific work packages (WP),
as described in the following. Each WP will have its own results and deliverables at the expected completion
time, as listed at the end of the WP descriptions.
In addition, for each WP we also specify the FIRST team members involved.
Project A:
WP1: chemical imprints of Population III stars
FIRST team members involved: Student 1, the P.I.
….
Expected results of project A and scheduled time for delivery, in years from the Kick Off (KO):
RA1: New grid of SN metal and dust yields; constraints on low-metallicity star formation and Zcr(fdep) (KO+1yr).
stessa cosa per Project B e Project C
Descrizione del Progetto:
Esempio di B2
b. Methodology
High risk – high gain:
The success of the FIRST proposal - in particular WPA3, WPB1, WPC2, and WPC3 - relies on
unconventional methods and new numerical techniques, in the high risk – high gain spirit of the ERC
Starting Grant program. Pilot studies done by the P.I. and her collaborators have demonstrated the
feasibility of project A (WPA3) and of project C (WPC2 and WPC3). The highest risk resides in the
development of the new hydro-dynamical code (WPB1). Yet, should the P.I. and her team members fail in
the implementation of the full multi-fluid model within the duration time of the FIRST proposal, the
inclusion of dust evolution and of the new phenomenological model of momentum-driven winds in
GADGET-2 will already represent a substantial advancement with respect to current numerical codes. In
addition, it will enable to accomplish the expected results of project B (WPB2 and WPB3) as planned in
the project timeline.
Descrizione del Progetto:
Esempio di B2
c. Resources
- descrizione della composizione del Team e hiring plan
- giustificazione delle risorse richieste con riferimento alla tabella dei costi…
Ci vuole anche….
• un po’ di fortuna: avere una composizione del panel non sfavorevole,
con qualcuno che comprenda di che si tratta  step 1
• Referee esterni che conoscano il vostro lavoro:
6 Referee reports nel mio caso + Board members!
ATT: potete indicare alcuni nomi che NON volete come Referees (form A1)
Reviewers Requested to be Excluded:
You may indicate the names of up to three reviewers to be excluded from reviewing the proposal.
If the person identified is an independent expert participating in the Starting Grant 2013
evaluation, he/she may be excluded from the evaluation of this proposal. The names of the
excluded experts may be provided to the Panel Chair and/or members of the relevant panel(s).
Please note that all fields have to be properly completed for the request to be considered.
Please indicate one of the following as the reason for exclusion - 1: Direct scientific rivalry; 2:
Professional hostility: 3: Similar situation which would impair or put in doubt the objectivity of
the potential evaluator.