University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign | Postdoctoral Fellows Interdisciplinary Program

About

Three annual postdoctoral fellowship programs that support outstanding scientists at the Beckman Institute offer a unique opportunity for selected scholars to engage in a three-year fellowship of interdisciplinary research at the Beckman Institute.

The Beckman Institute Postdoctoral Fellows Program recruits up to six outstanding scientists annually to work at the Beckman Institute. The program was established in 1991 by the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation.

The Beckman-Brown Interdisciplinary Postdoctoral Fellows Program selects one outstanding researcher annually. The program was initiated in the fall of 2015, when the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation provided an endowment in honor of Dr. and Mrs. Arnold Beckman and the founding director of the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, Dr. Theodore “Ted” Brown.

The Cancer Center at Illinois – Beckman Institute Postdoctoral Fellows Program supports up to three fellows who would like to pursue projects bridging basic cancer sciences and engineering. Fellows work with faculty mentors from CCIL and the Beckman Institute to develop transdisciplinary skills that support their career development.

Fellows are selected in accordance with the core values of the Beckman Institute: Excellence, Collaboration, Integrity, Transdisciplinarity, Exploration and Diversity.

Eligibility requirements

• Ph.D. degree or equivalent within the last 10 years.
• Relevance of the proposed research plan to the portfolio of the Beckman Institute.
• Application package includes four letters of reference:
  • Two letters regarding the applicant’s prior work experience.
  • Two letters from the proposed Beckman Institute faculty mentors/collaborators, with at least one being a full-time or part-time member of the Beckman Institute faculty.
    • Letters from proposed Beckman Institute faculty mentors/collaborators should explain how the faculty member intends to support the applicant’s research plan.

Program summary

• Fellows receive an annual salary of $63,000 and a $25,000 research budget that can be spent on research activities such as supplies, equipment and conference and workshop travel.
• Fellows are appointed annually for up to three years.
• Fellows are required to write annual reports and check in monthly with the director or associate director for research of the Beckman Institute.

Application guidelines

1. Fill out application form: Applicants must fill out the online application form, where they should also download the prescribed synopsis form. The form also allows for the electronic submission of supporting documents, including personal statement, curriculum vitae, research plan and a representative paper.
2. Curriculum vitae: The curriculum vitae must be submitted as an Adobe PDF file and uploaded with the application form as described above.
3. Prescribed synopsis: A prescribed synopsis is a specific format that summarizes your research plan as below. (The answers should be 300 characters maximum.) A prescribed synopsis template should be downloaded from the application portal and once completed uploaded back into the system.
4. Research and development plan: Upload one PDF file that consists of your plan plus references. Your plan should be organized as shown below and should be a maximum of five pages, plus any number of additional pages for your list of references/bibliography.
5. Personal statement: Please describe anything else that you think we should know about you – for example, education/outreach activities, why you are interested in this opportunity, or any challenges you faced that may have impacted your record.
6. Representative paper: If you have published, submit only one article. If you have not published, submit one introductory or representative chapter. An extended abstract of your dissertation not to exceed five pages may be substituted. Do not submit additional articles or chapters; only one will be passed on to the selection committee. The Representative Paper must be submitted as an Adobe PDF file and uploaded with the application form as described above.
7. Letters of reference: Names and email addresses for your four references: two people who can write letters about your prior work experience, and two Beckman faculty members who will be your mentors/collaborators during your time at Beckman, and at least one must be a part-time or full-time member of the Beckman Institute.
8. Evaluation process: Your application will be evaluated by three members of the Program Advisory Committee, a committee that consists of 12 members of the Beckman Institute faculty.

Application and more details: https://beckman.illinois.edu/opportunities/postdoctoral-opportunities/fellowships/postdoctoral-fellows-program