The Keim Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Research
The Keim Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Research | 2020 from The French Lab on Vimeo.
About the Award:
Established by Paul and Jenny Keim in 2020, the Keim Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Research is designed to reward excellence in research by outstanding NAU students during their undergraduate studies, to reward student dedication and leadership to the pursuit of future research, and to encourage the participation of students in research endeavors. To make a gift to the Keim Award, donate online here.
The award will be made annually in the Spring Semester with a committee assembled by the Office of the Vice President of Research and the Pathogen and Microbiome Institute (PMI). All NAU undergraduate students involved in hypothesis-driven scientific research and with promise for future research careers are eligible. The award may be split up to 3-ways or not awarded at all in any particular year. It is recommended that the final disposition be made after the spring UGRAD symposium to allow the committee the potential to engage with the candidates.
Letter of application.
Students must apply by describing their undergraduate research experience, contributions, and their desire to continue in a scientific research career. This must be contained in a 2-page (or less) letter format using 12 point font. This letter, with supporting documentation (see below) should be conveyed by email as a single pdf to the PMI administrative staff (PMI@nau.edu) and addressed to the Keim Award Committee. It should be signed and include contact information. Include the names of your two letter-writing mentors. The 2020 application must be received by midnight on March 1st.
Two Recommendation Letters.
Two confidential letters supporting the application should be provided by mentors directly to the committee by March 1st. These letters should describe their professional collaboration, the student’s research experience, contributions, outcomes, and potential. They should be digitized into a pdf and sent by email to the Keim Award Committee (PMI@nau.edu).
Supporting documentation.
Students are allowed to attach documentation of their research experience to the application letter. This could include research products such as scientific papers they have authored or co-authored, grant proposals they have written, abstracts of their research presentations, posters, awards, transcripts, CV’s, etc. There is no page limit to this material and it should be conveyed in pdf format and as a single file with the letter of application. Referencing the supporting material in the application letter is encouraged. This should be organized as the application letter followed by the supporting material.
Selection Criteria.
This award is to reward excellence in research by NAU students during their undergraduate studies, and dedication to the pursuit of future research. The primary criteria will be evidence of research excellence and could include their description, scientific papers that they have authored or coauthored, research presentations they have made at conferences, grant applications, etc. Hypothesis driven research in particular will be valued. The secondary criteria would be their leadership potential for future scientific research and could include GPA, rigor of studies (e.g., course work), academic awards (e.g., Goldwater Scholar), their description of future career plans, etc. Evidence of active pursuit of future research opportunities is important (e.g., graduate school plans).