General Questions
1. What is CTNS?
2. What Is STARS?
3. Who is funding STARS?
Grant Questions
1. Must one attend a conference to be eligible for the research grants?
2. When can I apply for the research planning grants?
3. May only teams apply for the research grants?
4. May individuals apply for the research grants?
5. I have a Ph.D. in both scientific and humanities fields; may I consider myself an inter-disciplinary team?
6. Must team members be from the same institution? May team members be from the same institution?
7. What are the research planning grant application criteria?
8. Where can I get a research planning grant application?
9. How are the three levels of grants related?
10. What types of research projects are likely to be funded by STARS?
11. What are the desired outcomes of the research projects?
12. Are there any examples of the types of publications or books likely to result from STARS research projects?
13. What is the difference between the research planning grants, the research grants, and the renewal grants?
14. What is the definition of an inter-disciplinary research team?
15. What is the minimum size of an inter-disciplinary research team?
16. What is the maximum size of an inter-disciplinary research team?
17. How many scientists may be on an inter-disciplinary research team?
18. How many humanities scholars may be on an inter-disciplinary research team?
19. What are the qualifications each team member must meet?
20. What is the deadline for applying for the research planning grant?
21. I submitted a research planning grant proposal - when will I be notified of the results?
22. May research planning grant applications be submitted electronically?
23. When may I apply for the $100k research grants?
24. I am already involved in a research project; would an extension of this project qualify as a STARS research project?
25. I do not have a Ph.D.; may I still apply for a STARS research grant?
26. I am not at an institution that allows publications; may I still apply for a research grant?
27. May a STARS advisor, consultant, or lecturer participate in a STARS research proposal?
28. May a member of the CTNS staff participate in a STARS research proposal?
29. The Research Planning Grants are awarded in June 2007, and the Research Grant applications are due in November 2007.
How much proposal planning and writing can be accomplished in five months?
30. If our team receives the Planning Grant, should we apply for the Research Grant?
31. Do STARS grants include money for overhead?
32. Can we apply for a Research Grant if we did not receive a Planning Grant?
33. If we applied for a Planning Grant, do we need to re-send our CVs and publications as part of a Research Grant Application?
STARS FAQ: Questions & Answers
General Questions & Answers
1. What is CTNS?
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A.
CTNS, The Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences, is an international non-profit membership organization dedicated
to research, teaching and public service. It focuses on the relation between the natural sciences including physics, cosmology,
evolutionary and molecular biology, as well as technology and the environment, and Christian theology and ethics. The Center has
successfully managed large multi-year program grants that have resulted in extending the science and religion dialogue world wide:
of the Genome Initiative, The CTNS / Vatican Observatory Decade-Long Research and Publication series on “Scientific
Perspectives on Divine Action,” The Science and Religion Course Program, the Science and the Spiritual Quest Program and
currently, STARS: Science and Transcendence Advanced Research Series.
2. What is STARS?
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A.
STARS: Science and Transcendence Advanced Research Series, is a 4-year, $2.8 million conference and research grant making
program administered by CTNS. The goal of STARS is to sponsor research by small teams of scientists and humanities scholars
on the ways science, in light of philosophical and theological reflection, points towards the nature, character and meaning of
ultimate reality.
3. Who is funding STARS?
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A.
Appreciation is expressed to The John Templeton Foundation for their generous support of this program.
Grant Questions & Answers
1. Must one attend a conference to be eligible for the research grants?
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A.
It is not necessary to attend a STARS conference to be eligible for the research planning grants and the research grants.
However, the conferences will be excellent networking opportunities to interact with world class scholars in science and
ultimacy, as well as other relative newcomers to this field, who are also interested in designing inter-disciplinary
research programs as part of their overall research plans. It is expected that the conferences will help catalyze the
formation of new inter-disciplinary teams, and will better equip existing teams to prepare excellent research proposals.
2. When can I apply for the research planning grants?
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A.
Proposals and other application materials for the research planning grants were due May 1, 2007.
View the Grants page for more details.
3. May only teams apply for the research grants?
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A.
Yes. Research grants will be awarded to inter-disciplinary teams consisting of at least one scientist and one philosopher,
theologian, or religious studies scholar. More details are given on the Grants page.
4. May individuals apply for the research grants?
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A.
No. Only inter-disciplinary teams of 2 or more scholars may apply for STARS research planning grants and research grants.
5. I have a Ph.D. in both scientific and humanities fields; may I consider myself an inter-disciplinary team?
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A.
Only inter-disciplinary teams of 2 or more scholars may apply for STARS research planning grants and research grants.
6. Must team members be from the same institution? May team members be from the same institution?
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A.
Team members may be, but need not be from the same institution. There are certain logistical advantages when team members
are from the same institution, so these types of teams are certainly encouraged.
7. What are the research planning grant application criteria?
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A.
The research planning grant application process and criteria may be found on the
grants page of the website.
8. Where can I get a research planning grant application?
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A.
The research planning grant application is no longer available, as the deadline for the application has passed.
9. How are the three levels of grants related?
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A.
The first grant opportunity consists of a research planning grant of $20,000. Twenty grants at this level will be awarded,
and are to assist teams in the formation of their full research proposal for the $100K grants and/or to provide modest support
for research by the teams even if this does not lead to a full research proposal. Next five grants of $100,000 each will be
awarded on a highly competitive basis. Although to win a $100,000 grant a research team need not have received a $20,000
planning grant, it is presumed that the reception of a $20,000 grant will better equip a research team to successfully compete
for one of the five $100,000 grants. Finally, two research grant renewals of $200,000 will be awarded on a highly competitive
basis from among the five winners of the $100,000 grants.
10. What types of research projects are likely to be funded by STARS?
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A.
Any research proposal submitted by a qualifying interdisciplinary team of scientists and humanities scholars on the ways science,
in light of philosophical and religious reflection, points towards the nature, character and meaning of ultimate reality,
may be considered eligible. These projects may or may not include scientific experiments.
11. What are the desired outcomes of the research projects?
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A.
The first desired outcome is the formation and support of new inter-disciplinary research teams in the area of science
and ultimate reality. It is expected that, as with any world class research, the results and findings will be published
in leading scholarly, peer-reviewed journals. It is also expected that other outcomes may follow, including multi-authored
scholarly book-length publications, graduate level research courses at major research universities, and innovative new
research programs. It is also expected that this research will receive wide public attention through media, presentations
at professional conferences such as the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Academy of
Religion, the European Society for the Study of Science and Theology, etc.
12. Are there any examples of the types of publications or books likely to result from STARS research projects?
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A.
Links to abstracts of research papers relating to each of the three STARS conferences may be found on the
individual conference pages.
Conference 1 |
Conference 2 |
Conference 3
While certainly not exhaustive, these works may be considered representative of the types of publications and books
likely to results from STARS research projects.
13. What is the difference between the research planning grants, the research grants, and the renewal grants?
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A.
The first grant opportunity consists of a planning grant of $20,000. Twenty grants at this level will be awarded,
and are to assist teams in the formation of their full research proposal for the $100K grants and / or to provide modest
support for research by the teams even if this does not lead to a full research proposal. Next five grants of $100,000
each will be awarded on a highly competitive basis. Although to win a $100,000 grant a research team need not have received a
$20,000 planning grant, it is presumed that the reception of a $20,000 grant will better equip a research team to successfully
compete for one of the five $100,000 grants. Finally, two research grant renewals of $200,000 will be awarded on a highly
competitive basis from among the five winners of the $100,000 grants.
14. What is the definition of an inter-disciplinary research team?
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A.
A Research Team consists of at least 2 and not more than 6 members. At least one must be a scientist and at least one must be a humanities scholar, and in each case their primary research must be in the following qualifying fields:
The scientific fields that qualify include the following and closely related fields: physics; astronomy; cosmology; chaos and complexity theory; astrophysics; physical chemistry; chemistry; biochemistry; molecular biology; evolutionary biology; astrobiology; computer science; artificial intelligence; cognitive sciences; neuroscience; psychology; and mathematics.
The fields that qualify in the humanities include the following and closely related fields: philosophy; philosophy of science; philosophy of religion; history of science; history of religion; phenomenology of religion; religious studies; and the theology of a living religious tradition.
Each Research Team member must have a Ph.D. or equivalent, or be an exceptionally well qualified ABD ("all but dissertation") graduate student.
Each Research Team member must have a record of publications in refereed professional journals. Exceptions will be made for publications in non-refereed journals only if a strong case is produced.
15. What is the minimum size of an inter-disciplinary research team?
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A.
The minimum size of an inter-disciplinary research team is two; one scientist and one humanities scholar.
16. What is the maximum size of an inter-disciplinary research team?
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A.
The maximum size of a research team is six.
17. How many scientists may be on an inter-disciplinary research team?
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A.
A minimum of one scientist and one humanities scholar must be on each team. There may be additional scientists or
humanities scholars.
18. How many humanities scholars may be on an inter-disciplinary research team?
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A.
A minimum of one scientist and one humanities scholar must be on each team. There may be additional scientists or
humanities scholars.
19. What are the qualifications each team member must meet?
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A.
Qualifications for each team member are on the website
or see grant question 14
20. What is the deadline for applying for the research planning grant?
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A.
The deadline for the $20k research planning grants was May 1, 2007.
21. I submitted a research planning grant proposal - when will I be notified of the results?
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A.
All applicants for the research planning grants will be notified of the results by June 15, 2007.
22. May research planning grant applications be submitted electronically?
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A.
Yes. The research planning grant applications were available online
, and the applications were to be submitted electronically by attaching the required documents to email messages.
23. When may I apply for the $100k research grants?
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A.
Application forms will be posted on the webpage when available, check back for details.
The deadline for the $100k research grants is November 1, 2007.
24. I am already involved in a research project; would an extension of this project qualify as a STARS research project?
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A.
Yes. A research proposal may describe a research idea which has not yet been started, or it may describe a unique
extension to a previous research project that falls within the guidelines of STARS research.
25. I do not have a Ph.D.; may I still apply for a STARS research grant?
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A.
Yes. Applicants must have a Ph.D. or equivalent, or be an ABD (all but dissertation) status graduate student.
26. I am not at an institution that allows publications; may I still apply for a research grant?
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A.
You may apply but your application may not be ranked as highly as others with publications unless there are sufficient
extenuating reasons.
27. May a STARS advisor, consultant, or lecturer participate in a STARS research proposal?
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A.
STARS policy on Ineligibility for lecturers, judges, advisors,
consultants, and CTNS staff may be found on the website, and is as follows:
STARS lecturers, judges, advisors, consultants, and CTNS staff:
Policy on Ineligibility
1. Lecturers, judges, advisors, consultants, and CTNS staff are
disqualified from serving as a PI or co-PI of a STARS grant.
2. Judges and CTNS staff are disqualified from serving as
members of a research team funded by a STARS grant, but lecturers,
advisors, and consultants are not disqualified.
3. Lecturers, judges, advisors, consultants, and CTNS staff can be
included as an outside resource in a grant funded by STARS. When serving as
an outside resource, expenses incurred in travel / per diem and other costs
by lecturers, advisors, and consultants for their participation in the grant research can
be reimbursed through the STARS grant, but the expenses incurred by judges
and CTNS staff cannot be reimbursed through the STARS grant.
4. There is no limitation or restriction on reference to and the inclusion
of the publications of lecturers, judges, advisors, consultants, and CTNS
staff in STARS research, or of interactions between them and the research
team.
28. May a member of the CTNS staff participate in a STARS research proposal?
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A.
STARS policy on Ineligibility for lecturers, judges, advisors,
consultants, and CTNS staff may be found on the website, and is as follows:
STARS lecturers, judges, advisors, consultants, and CTNS staff:
Policy on Ineligibility
1. Lecturers, judges, advisors, consultants, and CTNS staff are
disqualified from serving as a PI or co-PI of a STARS grant.
2. Judges and CTNS staff are disqualified from serving as
members of a research team funded by a STARS grant, but lecturers,
advisors, and consultants are not disqualified.
3. Lecturers, judges, advisors, consultants, and CTNS staff can be
included as an outside resource in a grant funded by STARS. When serving as
an outside resource, expenses incurred in travel / per diem and other costs
by lecturers, advisors, and consultants for their participation in the grant research can
be reimbursed through the STARS grant, but the expenses incurred by judges
and CTNS staff cannot be reimbursed through the STARS grant.
4. There is no limitation or restriction on reference to and the inclusion
of the publications of lecturers, judges, advisors, consultants, and CTNS
staff in STARS research, or of interactions between them and the research
team.
29. The Research Planning Grants are awarded in June 2007, and the Research Grant applications are due in November 2007.
How much proposal planning and writing can be accomplished in five months?
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A.
While we recognize the short four month time frame between the announcement of the $20,000 grant recipients and the due date
for the $100,000 grant applications, we want to emphasize that much of the initial work a research team engages in when
preparing for a major grant application--background reading and research, communication, and the like--will already be
undertaken during the writing of the Planning Grant Proposal. Additionally, should a research team choose to use some of the
$20,000 planning grant funds to support actual research, the timetable for that work can extend well beyond November 2007.
30. If our team receives the Planning Grant, should we apply for the Research Grant?
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A.
The receipt of a planning grant should indicate to the team that the work undertaken before May 1 is relatively promising to
the judges and continuing it for another four months (July-Oct) might lead to a major grant.
31. Do STARS grants include money for overhead costs?
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A.
Grants from STARS do not include overhead for institutions and/or other organizations with which the applicant is associated
unless negotiated with the STARS Program Director in writing in advance, i.e., during the application process.
32. Can we apply for a Research Grant if we did not receive a Planning Grant?
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A.
Yes. Any qualified research team may apply for the $100,000 Research Grants.
33. If we applied for a Planning Grant, do we need to re-send our CVs and publications as part of a Research Grant Application?
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A.
No, you do not need to re-send your CVs and publication samples, but you are welcome to send an updated CV or different publication samples.
