tamu research proposal template

Education & Human Development

Research Enterprise & Outreach

Proposal Resources

Principal investigator/co-principal investigator timelines, timelines for working with reo on proposal development.

• 1-12 Months
• 3 Weeks (15 Business Days)
• 7 Business Days

Action Required

• As soon as you identify a potential funding opportunity of interest, notify REO for discussions on research alignment, strategy, stakeholder/participant outreach, proposal development planning and needs.
• If you would like REO to schedule a Chalk Talk for you to discuss your research strategy and proposal elements with subject matter experts during the proposal development process, please fill out this form at least two months before the funder’s anticipated deadline.
• Complete PI approvals and FCOI compliance for large center grants at least one month before the funder’s deadline.
• For a complete review of your proposal narrative, email [email protected] at least 3 weeks before the funder’s deadline.
• For course buyouts, cost share, space usage, or signatures needed, notify department chair at least 3 weeks before the funder’s deadline.
• For a final review by REO, final versions of the proposal materials are due.

Clarifying Notes

• At this point in the timeline, proposals will only receive a limited review, consisting of confirmation of documents required for submission.

TIMELINES FOR WORKING WITH SRS ON PROPOSAL SUBMISSIONS

• 5 Business Days
• 1 Business Day
• Contact SRS with your intent to submit at least 3 weeks before the funder’s deadline.
• Provide the information requested in this proposal intake form , along with points of contact for any subrecipient institutions, at least 3 weeks before the funder’s deadline.
• Begin working with your SRS Proposal Administrator on budget development and proposal application forms.
• Complex proposals (e.g. the proposal contains subcontracts or cost share/match, large center grant proposals, etc..) or solicitations containing terms and conditions may need additional preparation time (longer than 3 weeks). Therefore, researchers are encouraged to contact SRS as soon as possible to facilitate the proposal submission.
• See SRS’s full proposal submission guidelines and timelines here .
• All administrative and ancillary portions of the proposal should be completed and provided to SRS to upload into the proposal application package.
• All documents and steps required for the proposal to be routed for approval in Maestro (A&M’s internal system of record) should be completed.
• All subrecipient documents should be received for incorporation into the lead institution’s proposal.
• See SRS’s full proposal submission guidelines and a list of the administrative vs technical components of a proposal here .
• The final version of your Proposal Narrative and all other technical portions of the proposal should be submitted to SRS no later than 1 business day before the funder’s deadline.
• Proposals in final format received at SRS by this timeline will receive a complete and thorough quality review. It is highly recommended that SRS be allowed to start this quality review well ahead of this 1 day deadline to allow ample time for the PI or proposal administrator to address any findings.
• Unless the deadline is specifically defined as earlier than 5 pm by the sponsor, the submission deadline for SRS is 5 pm local time on the sponsor’s specified deadline date (even if the sponsor allows submissions beyond 5 pm).
• If a proposal is submitted to the sponsor without SRS or System Member review, the proposal may be withdrawn if it is determined to be non-compliant with the System Member rules, SAPs or guidelines.
• See SRS’s full proposal submission guidelines, expectations, and a list of the administrative vs technical components of a proposal here .

Subrecipient Process

If you are including another institution as a subrecipient on your grant proposal, please notify your SRS proposal administrator right away so they can begin working with that institution to obtain all the required documents.  The following information is needed:

• Points of Contact (technical/administrative)
• Statement of work
• Budget Justification
• Sub-Commitment Form*

* If institutions are registered in the expanded  FDP Clearinghouse , a sub-recipient form will not be needed. The sub-recipient institution should instead provide a Letter of Intent for our office of sponsored research Download a sample letter .

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• Locate Collaborators at TAMU
• Lead a Research Team (resources for Junior Faculty)
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Steps to Fulfill PhD Preliminary Exam and Proposal Requirements

If you have any questions, please arrange for a meeting with the graduate academic advisor or your faculty chair. Deadlines occur earlier than students often expect!

Review your eligibility for the preliminary examination

To be eligible to hold a preliminary exam, the student:

• must have a current/accurate, approved degree plan on file with the Graduate and Professional School no later than 90 days prior to the preliminary exam (submitted via DPSS)
• must have a graduate GPR of at least 3.0
• must have a graduate degree plan GPR of at least 3.0
• must be registered in the university (in the term the preliminary exam occurs)
• must be within six hours of completing all formal (graded) coursework on the degree plan (i.e., all coursework except 681, 684, 690, and 691)
• must have successfully completed the BME Qualifying Examination

Action items

Once the student has reviewed the above eligibility, the student should:

• establish the time, date and location for the preliminary exam with the student’s committee.
• establish the format and organization of the preliminary exam with the student’s committee. The preliminary exam typically consists of an oral and written component.
• submit the Preliminary Examination Checklist and Report two weeks  before  the exam date.
• submit the proposal to the student’s committee at least two weeks  before  the exam date.
• reserve a conference room, if needed, via the BME front office.

Submit preliminary examination checklist and report

Must be  initially  submitted at least two weeks prior to the preliminary exam date (see below for more details about the preliminary exam and proposal)

• Form to be completed via ARCS. Must be approved by the graduate academic advisor, all members of the student’s committee, the director of Graduate Programs and the Graduate and Professional School.
• Form is due, in fully approved format, to the Graduate and Professional School within ten business days of the preliminary exam. 

Ph.D. students entering prior to fall 2022: are required to complete the preliminary exam and proposal by the end of the 8 th   semester in the biomedical engineering program (summers are included). Failure to meet the required deadlines will result in the student being placed on probation.

Ph.D. students entering fall 2022 and after: are required to complete the preliminary exam and proposal by the end of the 7 th  semester in the biomedical engineering program (summers are included). Failure to meet the required deadlines will result in the student being placed on probation.

Ph.D. Deadlines

Expected Timeline:  Graduate and Professional School preliminary exam approvals, once received in that office, can take several weeks for full approval.

Submit research proposal approval form

Submitted after the successful completion of the preliminary exam

• Form to be completed via ARCS.
• Must attach full .pdf of the proposal. 
• Must include a timeline  for all aims, publishing, defending and graduating. The department requires that the student use NSF/NIH guidelines for formatting. Information on these formatting requirements can be found at https://grants.nih.gov/grants/how-to-apply-application-guide/format-and-write/format-attachments.htm .
• For more details, the student should speak to their faculty advisor before writing the proposal. Must be approved by the graduate academic advisor, all members of the student’s committee, the director of Graduate Programs and the Graduate and Professional School. 

Ph.D. students are required to complete the proposal by the end of the 7 th or 8 th  semester, depending on the term that the student entered the biomedical engineering program (summers are included). Failure to meet the required deadlines will result in the student being placed on probation.

Expected Timeline:  Graduate and Professional School research proposal approvals, once received in that office, can take several weeks for full approval.

Additional information

Preliminary Examination and Proposal submission must be completed before the end of the student’s 7 th or 8 th semester, depending on the term that the student entered the biomedical engineering program (summers are included, please see note above).

The preliminary exam is the oral defense of the proposal.

The requirements listed above are for BME and in some cases, are stricter than the university minimum guidelines. Failure to meet any of the above requirements could result in being placed on probation or dismissal from the program.

After completion of the preliminary exam, students must be continuously registered every fall and spring semester until all degree requirements have been met. 

All documents (e.g. proposal, dissertation) must be submitted to your advisory committee at least two weeks prior to milestone completion. 

The results of the Preliminary Exam must be received by the Graduate and Professional School within ten days of the oral examination date.

All degree requirements must be completed within a four-year time period following the preliminary exam or the preliminary exam is voided and must be repeated.

Common pitfalls

Below are a list of common pitfalls for students.  All students are encouraged to meet with the graduate academic advisor prior to scheduling the preliminary examination:

• Having an inaccurate degree plan on file that makes you ineligible to take the preliminary exam.  All students are encouraged to maintain an accurate and updated degree plan with the university, including the most updated courses and committee membership.  Changes can be made by using  DPSS  and submitting a long form petition.
• Failing to submit the preliminary exam checklist via ARCS at least two weeks before the student’s exam date.
• Not arranging a meeting with the graduate academic advisor to discuss options.
• Applying to take the preliminary exam too soon in a student’s program.
• Failing to include a timeline in the student’s research proposal.
• Failing to calculate summers in the 8-semester calculation to determine when to take the preliminary exam and submit the research proposal to avoid departmental probation.

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AgriLife Today

Texas A&M AgriLife's digital magazine and newsroom

‘Phosphorus lady’ finds home at Texas A&M

Szerlag carving out a niche in the world of soils.

May 17, 2024 - by Kay Ledbetter

Growing up on a dairy farm in Massachusetts, Kate Szerlag, Ph.D., was no stranger to phosphorus, a nutrient byproduct of manure that can have both positive and negative environmental impacts.

Now, the new assistant professor of soil and water chemistry in the Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Department of Soil and Crop Sciences said she is known as the “crazy phosphorus lady” because the study has become her passion.

Plants and microorganisms rely on the soil for essential nutrients, such as phosphorus and sulfur, to synthesize numerous essential metabolites, including DNA, membranes, amino acids, proteins and enzymes.

Building a niche phosphorus research program

Szerlag said she didn’t even think she would go to college growing up on the dairy farm, but about five years after graduating high school, she attended community college and did well. She went to the University of Massachusetts, Amherst for a bachelor’s degree in environmental science and a master’s in environmental conservation, followed by a doctorate in plant and soil sciences from the University of Delaware.

Don Sparks, Ph.D., author of Environmental Soil Chemistry, came to speak while Szerlag was completing her master’s, and “I was hooked,” she said. She reached out to Sparks to continue her doctorate in soil chemistry and was offered a position. Sparks, now a Hagler Fellow at Texas A&M University , is known for using synchrotron-based radiation to study elements in the soil.

Szerlag said it’s a full-circle moment for her. Because if phosphorus is her passion, she will tell you the synchrotron, specifically the National Synchrotron Light Source II , NSLS II, at Brookhaven National Lab on Long Island, has quickly become her “happy place.”

She explained that NSLS II is a giant circular building with a circumference of about one-half mile. NSLS II and other synchrotrons work by speeding up electrons to nearly the speed of light in the storage ring. The electron beam is utilized at individual beamlines that come off the storage ring where high radiation is emitted. This allows scientists to determine things in the sample on the atomic scale.

“I use it for determining the types of phosphorus in the soil,” Szerlag said. “It’s called speciation – just like you have animal species, there are also phosphorus species, such as calcium phosphates, iron phosphates and aluminum phosphates.

“Determining the types of phosphorus in the soil helps us determine the solubility of the phosphorus as it relates to plant availability needed for nutrient uptake. Or it could be susceptible to causing environmental damage because when phosphorus exits the field, it can cause eutrophication in water bodies. The dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico – that’s from excess phosphorus and nitrogen in the water.”

Research studies across the state

Szerlag is also conducting root exudate experiments using synchrotron-based radiation, collaborating with Julie Howe , Ph.D., professor and associate department head for undergraduate programs; Peyton Smith , Ph.D., soil carbon dynamics assistant professor; graduate students Caleb Shackleford and Harrison Coker; and undergraduate student India Reddell, all in the Department of Soil and Crops Sciences.

Plants exude a variety of compounds from their roots into the soil. Work by Howe’s lab found that concentrations of phosphorus and sulfur in root exudates vary with increasing drought stress. However, very little is known about phosphorus and sulfur compounds in root exudates, and their fate in the soil is unclear.

While it is hypothesized these metabolites are strategically released to stimulate beneficial microbial associations in the soil microbiome, Szerlag said very little is known about this process or the fate of released elements and their interactions with soil particles. 

“With this research, we will investigate the chemical speciation of the phosphorus and sulfur compounds in two artificial soils incubated with root exudates collected from aeroponically grown plants under both well‐watered and drought conditions,” she said.

While the experiments are being completed by Shackelford, Szerlag said her role is to look at the phosphorus species. The root exudates will be applied to artificial soil and incubated for several months to form micro aggregates before being taken to the synchrotron to see what species of phosphorus and sulfur are in the soils.

Szerlag said it is important to understand the complete ecosystem of what’s happening between the plant and soil. Preliminary data from the team’s research shows when plants are under drought stress, they release certain nutrients into the soil.

“The team wants to know what nutrients are being released and why,” she said. “What forms of these nutrients are being released into the soil. If plants are leaking phosphorus, why and where is it going? This is a new area of research; it’s novel.”

Another collaboration of Szerlag’s is studying the impact of a dairy waste lagoon on a playa lake near Lubbock. She is working with longtime collaborator Matt Siebecker, Ph.D., assistant professor of applied environmental soil chemistry at Texas Tech University, and his graduate students to examine the playa lake phosphorus, sulfur and potassium speciation. Siebecker and his students collect the samples and then take them to the synchrotron to meet with Szerlag and Reddell to determine speciation at the beamline.

Szerlag also has a unique study concerning the salinity effects on phosphorus speciation and release, relating to sea level rise. She started her salinity work as an assistant professor at Westfield State University in Massachusetts. Her doctoral research showed sulfate can remove phosphorus from the soil, especially from coastal agricultural soils.

“We found sulfate releases more phosphorus from soils than other desorbing solutions,” she said. “We were among the first to note this, and that is prompting more experiments on the phosphate interaction with sulfate.”

She started the salinity work during her doctorate with Sparks and continued at her last position. She now collaborates with Leili “Fatemeh” Izaditame, Ph.D., research scientist at the University of Texas, Dallas, and Felipe Aburto , Ph.D., assistant professor of pedology and soil biogeochemistry in the Texas A&M Department of Soil and Crop Sciences.

Logging time at the synchrotron

Szerlag aims to carve out a niche for microfocused synchrotron work with phosphorus.

Most people do bulk samples with a large beam size of 2 x 2 millimeters for X-ray absorption near-edge structure, XANES, which basically provides a phosphorus fingerprint unique to the phosphorus species present. Szerlag uses a microfocused beam, 5 x 5 microns, to first make a map of the soil and then probe phosphorus hotspots at the micron scale, providing more detailed speciation information.

Additionally, she commonly uses a multimodal approach, meaning using two different beamlines to map the same location on the sample. This approach gives information about phosphorus speciation in relation to other elements phosphorus commonly interacts with – iron, manganese, calcium and aluminum – present at that location in the soil.

To get beamtime, scientists must write a proposal, have it reviewed and scored by a panel, and receive a score good enough to get beamtime. It is very competitive and difficult to get beamtime on her favorite beamlines; the tender energy spectroscopy, TES, beamline and X-ray fluorescence microprobe, XFM, beamline, both at NSLS II.

Szerlag is excited to have two proposals recently get time on three different beamlines.

“I am using novel methods at the synchrotron – multimodal methods to analyze phosphorus,” she said.

First, she uses a very small beam at TES to scan the sample and make an elemental map of the soils to determine the phosphorus co-location with the tender energy elements like aluminum, sulfur and silicon.

But phosphorus also binds to elements like iron, calcium and manganese above the energy range for TES, so she uses the multimodal approach to find the exact location on the soil sample and maps it again at the XFM beamline. Overlaying the two maps, she can co-locate phosphorus with both the tender and hard energy elements.

“By determining the phosphorus speciation at the micron scale, we can get more detailed phosphorus speciation in the soil,” Szerlag said. “Determining the speciation will help determine the solubility of phosphorus and therefore the phosphorus availability to plants and susceptibility to losses to the environment.”

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