On July 1, the official website of the New Cornerstone Researcher Program released the latest application guidelines.
"New Cornerstone Researcher Project" is a new basic research funding project led by scientists and funded by Tencent, with a public welfare nature and independent operation. This project aims to provide long-term and stable support for a group of outstanding scientists to focus on free exploration and achieve original innovation "from 0 to 1". The "New Cornerstone Researcher Program" focuses on "selecting people rather than projects" and supports creative scientists to carry out exploratory and risky basic research. It expects scientists to raise important scientific questions, open up disciplinary frontiers, and promote original breakthroughs.
The project has two fields: Mathematics and Physical Sciences (Mathematics and Physical Sciences) and Biological and Biomedical Sciences (Biological and Biomedical Sciences), and encourages cross-disciplinary research. Among them, physical science includes physics, chemistry and theoretical computer fields that have no immediate possibility of industrialization. The funding amount is: The experimental category shall not exceed 5 million yuan/person/year, the theoretical category shall not exceed 3 million yuan/person/year, and the funding shall be continued for 5 years. If the project passes the evaluation after the funding period expires, the funding will be renewed. The "New Cornerstone Researcher Project" plans to fund 60 people in 2022. The application start time for
and
is July 1, 2022, and the deadline is 24:00 on September 30, 2022 (Beijing time).
Application method
Project application includes two methods: institutional nomination and free application;
Application website:
https://www.newcornerstone.org.cn/
Application conditions
1. Under 55 years old at the time of application (i.e. July 1, 1967 Born after (including) Japan);
2. Serve as a doctoral supervisor for more than 5 years;
3. Work full-time in mainland China or Hong Kong and Macao (no nationality limit);
4. Invest no less than 9 months in scientific research every year;
5. Have experience in undertaking basic research projects and are still on the front line of research;
6. Have not applied for the 2022 " Scientific Exploration Award ".
subdivisions
1. Mathematics and material science include: algebra and number theory, geometry and topology, analysis , differential equations and dynamical systems, probability statistics, computational mathematics, data science and operations research , theoretical physics , particle physics and nuclear physics, atoms molecular physics, plasma physics, condensed matter physics , acoustics, optics, quantum information and quantum control, astrophysics , mechanics, inorganic chemistry, organic chemistry , physical chemistry, polymer chemistry, analytical chemistry, theoretical and computational chemistry, chemical biology, theoretical computer science and others.
2. Biological and medical sciences include: biophysics and biochemistry , genetics and developmental biology , bioinformatics and computational biology , cell biology , immunology, neurobiology and recognition Intellectual psychology, molecular biology , synthetic biology , microbiology , botany and crop science , zoology , ecology , basic medicine , pharmacy and others.
Application materials
1. Basic personal information;
2. Educational experience, work experience;
3. Academic achievements;
4. Academic activities and appointments, honors and awards;
5. Five representative works of papers in the past 10 years, paper innovations and personal majors Contributions;
6. List of papers in the past 10 years;
7. Research projects in progress;
8. Future research plans.
Review
1. The Scientific Committee of the "New Cornerstone Researcher Project" will organize domestic and foreign review experts to conduct reviews;
2. The funding list will be announced in the first quarter of 2023. The specific announcement time is subject to the notice on the New Cornerstone official website.
Notes
1. The application materials shall not contain any content that violates laws and regulations or contains confidential or sensitive information; the applicant shall be responsible for the authenticity and legality of the submitted materials, and plagiarism or fraud is strictly prohibited;
2. Involving scientific research ethics When applying for projects related to scientific and technological security (such as , biosecurity, , information security, etc.), applicants should strictly implement relevant national laws, regulations and ethical standards.
For more information about the project, such as Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ), please check the official website of the project.
"New Cornerstone Researcher Project" Secretariat
July 2022
Frequently Asked Questions
Application conditions
1. What conditions do applicants need to meet?
Applicants should meet all of the following conditions at the same time:
(1) be under 55 years old at the time of application (that is, born after July 1, 1967 (inclusive));
(2) have served as a doctoral supervisor for more than 5 years;
(3) ) Work full-time in mainland China or Hong Kong and Macao (no nationality limit);
(4) Devote no less than 9 months to scientific research every year;
(5) Have experience in undertaking basic research topics and still be on the front line of research;
( 6) Failure to apply for the 2022 "Scientific Exploration Award".
2. How to define being a doctoral supervisor for more than 5 years?
Applicants must obtain the qualification of doctoral supervisor before July 1, 2017.
(1) If the applicant's institution has a doctoral supervisor appointment document/notice, the appointment time shown in the document/notice shall prevail;
(2) If the applicant's institution does not have a formal doctoral supervisor appointment document/notice, the first appointment date shall be used. The time when doctoral students are recruited for the first time shall prevail;
(3) If the doctoral supervisor’s qualifications are terminated, the time when he is first hired shall prevail.
3. What are the specific requirements for "full-time employment in Mainland China or Hong Kong and Macao"?
Applicants must work full-time in mainland China or Hong Kong and Macao before July 1, 2022, and have no formal employment relationship with overseas institutions.
4. Can scientific researchers working in enterprises apply?
No, this project focuses on supporting scientific researchers working in non-profit organizations.
5. Are the "New Cornerstone Fellows Program" and the "Scientific Exploration Award" mutually exclusive?
The "New Cornerstone Fellows Program" and the "Scientific Exploration Award" are mutually exclusive.
(1) In the same year, eligible applicants can only apply for the "Scientific Exploration Award" or the "New Cornerstone Researcher Project", and are not allowed to apply for both projects at the same time.
(2) Previous winners of the "Scientific Exploration Award" can apply for the "New Cornerstone Researcher Project".
(3) Recipients of the "New Cornerstone Researcher Project" are not allowed to apply for the "Scientific Exploration Award".
declaration method
1. What are the declaration methods?
Application includes two methods: institutional nomination and free application.
(1) Institutional nomination: The invited nominating institutions will organize the selection and nomination themselves.
(2) Free declaration: Applicants do not need to obtain approval or recognition from their institution. Both
application methods require the applicant to register and apply on the official project website, and the submission materials are required to be consistent. As long as
applicants have the intention to apply, they can register and apply without waiting for agency nomination. If nominated by an institution, you will be notified by the institution. If you are not nominated, your freedom to declare will not be affected.
2. I am nominated after free declaration. Do I need to apply again?
is not required. Applicants nominated by the agency will be identified in the application system, and there is no need to submit repeated application materials.
3. Compared with free declaration, does the institutional nomination channel have more advantages?
During the review process, the judges will treat applicants of both methods equally and conduct an objective and fair review of each application material.
Application materials
1. What content needs to be filled in for application?
(1) Basic personal information: name, common email address, mobile phone number, current work organization information, etc.
(2) Educational experience and work experience.
(3) Academic achievement.
(4) Scholarly activities and appointments, honors and awards.
(5) 5 representative works of papers in the past 10 years, paper innovations and major personal contributions.
(6) List of papers in the past 10 years.
(7) ongoing research project.
(8) future research plans.
2. Can I only choose masterpieces of papers in the last 10 years?
Yes. Applicants should provide representative papers published in the last 10 years (since 2012). As of July 1, 2022, papers that have been published, officially accepted, or deposited in preprint servers (such as BioRxiv) are accepted.
3. What are the requirements for ongoing research projects?
refers to scientific research projects that are hosted by the applicant or participated as the main researcher and are still in progress.
4. Is there a word limit for future research plans? Do charts and graphs count towards the word limit?
There is a word limit. Future research plans should not exceed 3,000 words, and charts of no more than 1 page can be inserted into the text. Figures and key references do not count towards the word limit.
5. What language should be used to fill in the application materials?
can be in Chinese or English. If you choose Chinese, some key content needs to be filled in in both Chinese and English.
6. Do you need to provide a letter of recommendation?
No recommendation letter is required when applying.
7. Can the application materials be modified after submission?
is OK. Before the application deadline (24:00 on September 30, 2022 (Beijing time)), applicants can log in to the application system to make modifications, and the last submitted materials shall prevail.
8. Is there a template for future research plans?
does not. Applicants are asked to write future research plans based on their own habits.
9. How to define the scope of interdisciplinary research?
refers to interdisciplinary research related to Mathematics and Physical Sciences (Mathematics and Physical Sciences) and Biological and Biomedical Sciences (Biological and Biomedical Sciences), and is not limited to interdisciplinary research between these two fields.
Review
1. How to select grantees?
After the application is completed, the "New Cornerstone Researcher Project" Scientific Committee will organize domestic and foreign review experts to conduct the review.
2. What is the avoidance principle of review?
The review will adopt a strict avoidance principle to ensure the objectivity and fairness of the review process. All experts participating in the review must proactively disclose their interest relationships with the review targets.
3. Will the applicant be given feedback on the review opinions?
will not.
supports
1. How many people are planned to be supported in 2022? How are quotas allocated among various fields?
The 2022 "New Cornerstone Researcher Project" plans to support no more than 60 people, with quotas allocated as appropriate in the two fields of Mathematics and Physical Sciences (Mathematics and Physical Sciences) and Biological and Biomedical Sciences (Biological and Biomedical Sciences), and a certain proportion will be allocated. The quota supports interdisciplinary research.
2. What is the project funding amount?
The funding amount is: no more than 5 million yuan/person/year for experimental categories, no more than 3 million yuan/person/year for theoretical categories, and the funding is for 5 consecutive years. After the five-year funding period expires, if the project passes the evaluation, the funding will be renewed. The Scientific Committee and Review Committee decide whether the applicant's research is experimental or theoretical.
3. If I become a "New Cornerstone Researcher", can I continue to receive government research funding?
is OK.
4. If I become a "New Cornerstone Researcher", can I continue to accept corporate commissions or consulting projects?
Starting from the New Cornerstone Researcher funding period, you are not allowed to accept any new corporate commissions or consulting topics.
Source: New Cornerstone Researcher Project official website
