Fargo, N.D. — The North Dakota Water Resources Research Institute invites 2012 Graduate Research Fellowship program applications.

NDSU and University of North Dakota graduate students, who conduct or plan research in water resources, can apply for fellowships of varying duration, ranging from three months to one year. Typically, fellowship awards range from $800 to $1,000 per month for master’s degree students and $1,000 to $1,400 per month for doctoral students. The fellowship funds must be applied between March 1, 2012, and Feb. 28, 2013. A technical completion report co-written by the fellow and the adviser is expected of each fellowship research project.

Research proposed for fellowship support should relate to water resources issues in the state or region. Regional, state or local collaborations or co-funding will strengthen an application. Fellowships have a matching requirement of two non-federal dollars to one federal dollar. At the time of applying, applicants should have a plan of study filed and/or a thesis research topic selected. Applications need to be prepared in consultation with advisers. The applications should be co-signed by the applicants’ advisers. Applications from students and advisers who have not met the reporting requirements of their previous fellowship projects will not be considered for funding.

General criteria used for proposal evaluation include scientific merit, originality, research related to state or region, and extent of regional, state or local collaboration and/or co-funding. A panel of state water resources professionals will review the proposals.

Award announcement will be made by early January, subject to the appropriation of funds for the fiscal year 2012 program by the federal government. For more information on the program and guidelines for preparation of applications, visit www.ndsu.edu/wrri.

Applications are due by 5 p.m., Dec. 2. Submit original and four hard copies of applications to Linda Charlton, North Dakota Water Resources Research Institute, Family Life Center (FLC 320), NDSU Dept 2030, PO Box 6050, Fargo, ND 58108-6050 and an electronic copy in Word format to g.padmanabhan@ndsu.edu.

For additional information, contact G. Padmanabhan, professor of civil engineering, at g.padmanabhan@ndsu.edu or Linda Charlton, ITS tech coordinator, at linda.charlton@ndsu.edu.