Goodnight Early Career Innovators Selection Process

Details for the 2024-25 Academic Year

Approximately 25 Goodnight Early Career Innovators Awards will be selected. Recipients will receive $22,000 annually for three years. Award funds may be used for, but are not limited to: research materials; travel and meal expenses associated with professional travel; scholarly publications; support for undergraduates, graduate students or faculty working with the professor; and summer salary stipends.

Nominees must be tenure-track assistant professors at the time of application. Their scholarship must be clearly and substantively contributing to innovations and advancement in STEM or STEM education. No faculty member may be selected as a recipient more than once.

To be eligible for consideration, outstanding faculty must be nominated by their college. The number of nominations for each participating college has been set, based on the number of tenure-track assistant professors in that college. Each participating college shall identify a committee of full professors, preferably professors of distinction, to vet college nominees and determine which ones will move forward for university-level review.

In fall 2024, a faculty-driven committee, with representatives from each participating college, will review the nomination materials and make recommendations to Provost Arden. Committee members will be appointed by the provost, based on the recommendations of their respective deans. Each dean will nominate two faculty members, one of whom will be chosen by Provost Arden to serve on the committee for the year. Preference will be given to previous recipients of the Goodnight Early Career Innovators Awards.

Timeline

Individual nominations due to participating college committees: varies
Wednesday, September 18: Nomination submission deadline for participating colleges. Nomination details listed below.
September 19 – October 25: Nomination review period for advisory committee
Late October/early November: Advisory Committee recommendation meeting
Mid-to-late November: 2024-25 Goodnight Early Career Innovator Awards announcement
Dec 1: Funds available for 2024-25 Goodnight Early Career Innovators

Nominations per College

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences: 12
College of Education: 3
College of Engineering: 11
College of Natural Resources: 2
College of Sciences: 8
Wilson College of Textiles: 2
College of Veterinary Medicine: 5

Selection Criteria

Nominees should show outstanding promise for future achievement and impact in STEM or STEM education. A strong nominee will have demonstrated superior scholarly achievement at an early career stage and will have a rigorous research agenda that speaks to the candidate’s potential to advance knowledge in STEM or STEM education. Evidence of early productivity in research and innovation may include a strong early record of scholarly publication or dissemination appropriate to the discipline (including co-authorship with leaders in their field), external funding, or recognition as an early career leader in their field (e.g. NSF or NIH pre- and post-doctoral awards).

Nomination Materials and Submission Process

Nominations from the colleges should include the following materials:

Current CV and SFR (maximum 25 pages total)
Letter of nomination from the nominee’s department head addressing the nominee’s qualifications and potential for future achievement and impact in STEM or STEM education (maximum 2 pages)
Letter from the dean supporting the nomination at the university level and the nominee’s potential for research leadership in the college (maximum 2 pages)
Required nominee information. Use this submission worksheet as a guide to prepare for online submission.

Nomination Package Submission Process

Each college has a limited number of nominees. Nomination package materials for selected nominees should be submitted using the following link: https://go.ncsu.edu/goodnight.nomination.submission.2024
Submit separate PDF files using the proper naming protocol for the nomination components listed above. Information about naming protocol can be found on the submission worksheet.

Submit materials to Internal Awards Coordinator Sherry Bailey at sbbailey@ncsu.edu by due date. Please contact Ms. Bailey if you have any questions or concerns regarding submissions.