Call for nominations┋Miller Research Fellowships for Basic Research in Science at UC Berkeley

The Miller Institute for Basic Research in Science invites department chairs, faculty advisors, professors and research scientists at institutions around the world to submit online nominations for Miller Research Fellowships in the basic sciences. The Miller Institute seeks to discover and encourage individuals of outstanding talent, and to provide them with the opportunity to pursue their research on the Berkeley campus. Fellows are selected on the basis of their academic achievement and the promise of their scientific research. Miller Fellows also have a keen curiosity about all science and share an appreciation for an interdisciplinary experience. The Miller Institute is the sponsor and the administrative home department for each Miller Fellow who is hosted by an academic department on the Berkeley campus. All research is performed in the facilities provided by the host UC Berkeley academic department(s). A list of current and former Miller Research Fellows is available on our website.

The Kathryn A Day Miller Postdoctoral Fellowship Award

This award, named for the former Chief Administrative Officer of the Institute, is intended for an outstanding Miller Fellow who has also demonstrated efforts towards community building and outreach in support of science. For consideration for this Award, please indicate by selecting the corresponding checkbox located on the Fellowship Application Form, and briefly state your previous work in the areas of community building and outreach in support of science. Eligible recipients for the Kathryn A. Day Miller Postdoctoral Fellowship will be selected through the established Miller Fellowship program competition.

Qualifications

Miller Research Fellowships are intended for exceptional young scientists of great promise who have recently been awarded, or who are about to be awarded, the doctoral degree. Miller Fellows are expected to begin their Fellowship shortly after being awarded their Ph.D. A short period as a post-doctoral fellow elsewhere does not exclude eligibility, however, candidates who have already completed substantial postdoctoral training are unlikely to be successful except in unusual circumstances. Postdocs cannot have had more than two years of postdoctoral experience from other institutions, nor been employed as an assistant professor, associate professor or professor, in order to be eligible. Per the terms of the gift establishing the Institute, a nominee cannot hold a paid or unpaid position on the Berkeley campus at the time of nomination or throughout the competition and award cycle, which can run through the end of February. Nominees who are non-US citizens must show eligibility for obtaining J-1 Scholar visa status for the duration of the Miller Fellowship. Non-US citizens will be required to prove English language proficiency prior to award. The Miller Institute does not support H1B visa status. The Fellowship term must commence between July 1 and September 1 of the award year. Eligible nominees will be invited by the Institute to apply for the fellowship after the nomination has been reviewed and accepted. The nominee's email address becomes the candidate's unique ID, so please confirm your nominee's preferred and correct email address. Direct applications and self-nominations are not accepted. ALL nominations must be submitted online.

Terms of Appointment

• Miller Fellowships are granted for a period of three years, generally beginning August 1 and ending on July 31. Starting dates must commence between July 1 and September 1 of the award year. A candidate cannot hold a paidor unpaid position on the UC Berkeley campus at the time of nomination or throughout the competition award cycle, which can extend to the end of February.
• The Institute provides a stipend of $75,000 with annual increases. This stipend is not to be construed as salary for teaching or for duties rendered to the University of California. Miller Fellows also receive a research fund of $10,000 per annum to be used in support of research during the Miller Fellowship, for a total compensation package of $85,000.
• Miller Fellows are entitled to all normal holidays observed by the University and are granted an annual bank of 24 days of personal time off. Personal time does not carry forward.
• Twelve days of sick leave are granted annually.
• There is provision for travel to (but not away from) Berkeley for Miller Fellows and their immediate families. An additional allowance of $3,000 is allowed for the transport of personal belongings.
• Benefits including medical, dental, vision, short term disability and life insurance are provided, with Miller Fellows making a small contribution towards the premium. Long term disability is voluntary.
• All University of California postdocs are exclusively represented by the UAW and are subject to the terms of the contract.
• Approximately eight to ten Fellowships are awarded each year.
• Candidates will be notified of the results of the competition between mid-December and mid-February, and a general announcement of the awards will be made in the spring.

Nomination Instructions

Nominations are accepted from department chairs, faculty advisors, professors or research scientists who can attest to the scientific potential of the Miller Fellow candidate. Nominations are accepted from individuals at institutions around the world, and are not limited to faculty at the University of California. Nominations cannot be made by an individual candidate, a student or a postdoc. Nominations will be accepted beginning in May. To be considered, complete nominations must be submitted online by September 13, 2023. The online nomination must be completed during a single online session, therefore nominators will need the following information about their candidate to complete the online process:

• Nominee's complete and full legal name (Do not use nicknames)
• Nominee's preferred, correct, and active e-mail address which will be active throughout the competition process.
  *Please consult with your candidate beforehand to be certain that the email address you provide in your nomination is their correct one and that it will be valid post-Ph.D. residency (from now to beginning of next year). Notification of nomination and application information is sent to this email address and will be their unique identifier in the system.
• Nominee's current institution
• Nominee's preferred mailing address including postal code
• Nominee's telephone number
• Nominee's Ph.D. institution
• Nominee's (expected) Date of Ph.D. (month and year required). * Ph.D. must be received by 8/31/24.
• Nominator's recommendation and judgment of nominee's potential. The letter must be specific to the Miller Fellowship, have a current date and be on institution letterhead or the nomination will be declined. It should then be uploaded as a PDF file and will be automatically included in the candidate's file as an additional letter of reference when the application is submitted.

The Executive Committee finds it helpful in the nomination letter to have the candidate compared with others at a similar stage in their development. The Fellowship is highly competitive and the letter should be persuasive. Successful Miller Fellows exhibit an energetic curiosity for their science and a desire to participate in the Miller Institute community. Should a nominee submit an application, the nomination letter will serve as an additional letter of reference. Upon successful submission of your nomination, an email notification will be sent within 24 hours. Submitted nominations will be reviewed and eligible nominees will be notified via the email provided by the nominator. Please inform your nominee to expect an email from millerfellows@millerfellows.org within 3 business days and to check their spam filters if necessary.

Following the submission of a nomination, invited nominees will be directed to submit an application:

Instructions for completing the Miller Research Fellowship Application

• Direct applications are not accepted. All candidates must be nominated online first.
• The DEADLINE FOR RECEIPT OF ALL APPLICATION MATERIALS, INCLUDING LETTERS OF REFERENCE, is: OCTOBER 10, 2023. Only complete applications will be reviewed.
• The Fellowship term must commence between July 1 and September 1 of the award year.
• Ph.D. must be awarded and proof furnished to the Miller Institute before the start of the Fellowship. Therefore, if you will not receive your Ph.D. before August 31, 2024, you will not be eligible for an award.
• An applicant cannot hold a paid or unpaid position on the UC Berkeley campus at the time of nomination or throughout the competition award cycle, which can extend to the end of February for some candidates.
• References will receive a system-generated email notifying them of your application with instructions for uploading their letter on your behalf. It is suggested that you inform your references to expect an email from the millerfellows@millerfellows.org email address and to check their spam filters if necessary. It is the applicant's responsibility to verify reference email addresses and to ensure their willingness to upload a letter prior to the application deadline date.
• Candidates are REQUIRED to propose a potential UC Berkeley Faculty Host in the application. A support-reference letter from a UCB Faculty Host is required by the Executive Committee.
• Candidates' files may be reviewed by potential host departments for consideration for positions other than the Miller Research Fellowship.

Application Components

Biographical Information

Provide all required information in the online application form (noted with an asterisk). If required application information is missing or incomplete, an error message will indicate which fields must be completed.

Non-U.S. Citizens and Permanent Residents will have additional required information to enter. Only Non-U.S. Citizens already in the U.S. on a visa should upload one combined pdf of all visa documents and work authorizations. Candidates who have just completed a Ph.D. will take advantage of the F-1 OPT training time allowed or STEM status if applicable. New visitors to the U.S. will be helped to obtain J1 Scholar status. The Miller Institute does not support H1B visa status.

References

Three (3) References (other than the nominator) are required. The name and email address of each reference must be entered in the online application to enable the references access to the secure online system to upload their letters. Only references registered by the candidate in their application will receive the system-generated email with further instructions for uploading their pdf letter online. References will not be able to access the system to upload a letter on the applicant's behalf unless they have been included in the application. References will receive a system-generated email with further instructions. Please inform your References to expect an email from millerfellows@millerfellows.org and to check their spam filters if necessary. It is the applicant's responsibility to verify accuracy of reference email addresses and ability to complete & upload their letter by the October 10, 2023 deadline. It is the applicant's responsibility to follow through with references. The references may be from the Ph.D. Institution, UC Berkeley or other institution. Do not enter the nominator as one of the three references because their nomination letter will be automatically included in the application file when the application is submitted to the system. Uploaded letters are not viewable by the applicant.

If the nominator is also the proposed host, the applicant should list the host/nominator as a reference, and the host/nominator should upload a host letter in the application phase that addresses the items required for the host letter. If the nominator is NOT the proposed host, the applicant should not list the nominator as a reference, as the nomination letter is automatically included in the application package.

Note: You are REQUIRED to include your potential UC Berkeley Faculty Host as a reference in your application and their support letter will be in addition to the 3 required reference letters. As part of the Miller Fellow application process, your proposed Faculty Host(s) must submit a reference/support letter confirming their willingness and ability to host and mentor you as a Miller Institute Fellow should you be awarded.

Proposed UC Berkeley Faculty Host 

The Miller Institute is the Sponsor and the Administrative Home Department for each Miller Fellow who is hosted and mentored by UC Berkeley Faculty in the facilities provided by the Faculty Host and academic department(s).

As part of the Miller Fellow application process, a support-reference letter from the proposed UCB Faculty Host is required by the Executive Committee. The Faculty Host support-reference letter must address questions posed by the Executive Committee as well as confirm willingness and ability to host and mentor a Miller Institute Fellow should they be awarded. Only professors who have an active full-time appointment in the Berkeley academic campus department are eligible for the hosting/ mentoring role. The Faculty Host name and email address entered in the application will generate an auto-email to them. (Note: If the nominator is also UCB Faculty, their name and email must be entered as the Faculty Host in the application so that the system can generate the email soliciting their supplementary support-reference letter that addresses host/mentor items required by the Executive Committee.) Uploaded letters are not viewable by the applicant. Support-reference letters by UCB Faculty Hosts must be uploaded to the online application file by the October 10, 2023 deadline. 

Contact with potential UCB Host Faculty and campus visits

It is necessary for applicants to make themselves known to potential host faculty at Berkeley. The application form requires that you select a minimum of one academic host department in which you would like to work, and it is optional to select up to two additional departments. Please list a department only one time. It is required to specify at least one faculty host in each department listed. If you need help identifying potential faculty hosts, you may wish to contact the chair of your preferred host department to discuss your research interests (http://www.berkeley.edu/academics/dept/a.shtml). While the Miller Institute does not financially support campus visits by candidates, we encourage applicants to make contact with potential UC Berkeley campus host academic departments and/or individual faculty hosts during the course of your application process to ascertain possible collaborative opportunities. The support of your potential host is required if you expect to be placed in their group.

Statement of Confidentiality: Under University of California policy, your letter, as part of the official personnel file, will be held in confidence to the extent permissible by law. Although not given access to it, the candidate will upon request, be provided with a summary of all such confidential evaluations in the file, without disclosure of the sources of those evaluations. While we cannot make an absolute guarantee that no court or governmental agency will in the future order disclosure of confidential source evaluations in the University of California personnel files to the candidate, the University has successfully opposed challenges to its policy and will vigorously oppose any future challenges. Information about the Miller Institute is available at https://miller.berkeley.edu.

Research Statement and Publications Lists

• Research Statement: Submit a clearly articulated one page statement of the research you will pursue at UC Berkeley if awarded a Miller Research Fellowship as a pdf file. Your one-page Research Statement submitted as a PDF document should be no more than 1 page including any references or figures, with margins no smaller than 0.5 inch and font no smaller than 11 point. Research statements must include a title and your name. Do not include CV, reprints or any other materials as they will be removed.

  The ability to describe one's research in a way that can be understood and valued is critical to the competitive selection process of Miller Fellows. The Miller Fellow Application Research Statement is typically reviewed by the chair and/or a review committee from each potential academic host department at UC Berkeley; however, the ultimate selection is made by the Miller Institute's Executive Committee. The Executive Committee which will review the 2024-2027 applications is comprised of faculty from Astronomy, Physics, Chemistry, Molecular & Cell Biology, and Computer Science. Because of the broad distribution of fields represented on the Executive Committee, it is imperative that candidates write a clearly articulated statement describing the research to be undertaken at Berkeley. Narrow technical details and the use of jargon may not be understood by those outside of your field and can therefore be viewed less favorably.
   

• CV, including Publications List: The CV must include university-level education information, current position title and current institution/employer, fellowships & awards, occupations other than student in which you have engaged to any considerable extent (e.g., Peace Corps, military service, other employment, etc.), and publications, if any (titles, publishers, dates, beginning and ending page numbers). The list of publications should only include publications that are published or in press. Do not include reprints or any other materials as they will not be included in your file for review.