As you know, Big iDeas at SMU is an undergraduate research program that will
engage and support SMU students who are interested in addressing key problems
faced by the Dallas and Metroplex area.  At the end of January, I received some
excellent proposals from our undergraduates, which were reviewed by a Grant
Panel comprised of representatives from faculty, students, and the Dallas
community.  I am pleased to announce that 9 project teams were chosen to be
grant recipients of the Big iDeas Competition for 2013.

I am inviting you to attend a Big iDeas Symposium where our grant
recipients will have the opportunity to present their Big iDeas and to explain
why they believe their projects are important to the Metroplex area.  It
will be held on Tuesday, April 23, at 10:00 a.m. in the Hughes Trigg Forum. The
Symposium should last approximately 1-1/2 hours, followed by a Reception in
the Prefunction area outside of the Forum. These students, along with their
faculty advisors, have worked hard to develop a research proposal and are to be
commended for their efforts.  I hope that you will join me in attending the
Symposium to learn about their Big iDeas.

 
Sincerely,

Paul W. Ludden

Provost and Vice President
  for Academic Affairs

I am pleased to announce that the Hamilton Scholars Program (supporting
Undergraduate Research Assistants) has been graciously funded for another year
by Dan Hamilton and Diane Buford, the children of Jack and Jane Hamilton. They
have attended the reception for the past three years and are very impressed by
the collaborative research on this campus that engages faculty with
undergraduate students. 

I am now accepting proposals for a small number (up to 3) of Hamilton Scholars
for the summer (Deadline May 3). Awards for the Hamilton Scholars program are
matched by the university (financial aid) making $4000 available for the summer
if the student is working full-time (40 hours/week; for 10 weeks; at $10/hour).
Further information on the parameters of this requirement can be found on the
Undergraduate Research website (http://smu.edu/ugradresearch), [smu.edu]  Look
particularly for the guidelines for summer research assistants.

The deadline for Hamilton Scholar Proposals for AY2013-14 is AUGUST 30, 2013.
All Hamilton Scholar proposals (maximum length 2 pages) should identify the
student and the student’s background and contain a brief description of the
project the student will be working on as well as the time frame–one semester,
two semesters. Academic year Hamilton Awards can be matched by University
Awards making $3000/semester available. Normally students are paid at the rate
of $10/hour and hence can work up to 300 hours/semester. (For more information
on the Hamilton Scholars program see the Dedman College Interdisciplinary
Institute website: www.smu.edu/dedman/dcii).

Please note that all projects involving Hamilton Scholars must be meaningful
research and learning experiences for the students involved, but they also
should help faculty members to advance their research. The funds should be used
to compensate the student but budgets can include up to $200 for research
expenses.

Please contact me if you have any questions.

Caroline B. Brettell
Ruth Collins Altshuler Professor and Director
Dedman College Interdisciplinary Institute
Southern Methodist University
Dallas, TX 75275-0336
214-768-4254
cbrettel@smu.edu

For those applications that rely on a source of matching funds for which the
application is still pending, the SRA application should still be submitted by
the deadline for full consideration.  In this case, the application should
include:

- mention of this status
- the name of the matching program (eg. McNair Scholars)
- the date that program’s application decisions are expected to be known. 

The latter is particularly important for external sources of funding.  SRA
approvals will be decided based on merit, but new openings may arise after the
deadline for full-consideration if any approved SRAs fail to secure matching
funding.

In a related situation, if a student is applying for an internship but would be
interested in applying for an SRA should the internship not become available,
the student should apply for SRA when they are informed of this status.

As a reminder, all full-time SRA application materials should be submitted to
the Director of Undergraduate Research at urdir@smu.edu. 

Additionally, because several other grant deadlines are also occurring by today
or tomorrow, the deadline for full-consideration of SRA applications is being
extended to April 5th.