Funder: NRC Research Associateship Programs
Due Dates: May 1, 2025 (Next deadline)
Funding Amounts: Base stipend approximately $95,000 plus $5,000 travel allowance; experience-based supplements available; typical award duration 2-3 years.
Summary: Supports postdoctoral and senior researchers to conduct innovative research on sensor performance challenges aboard hypersonic platforms at Wright-Patterson AFB.
Key Information: Open to U.S. citizens; requires contacting a Research Adviser prior to applying; relocation and health insurance benefits included.
Description
This fellowship opportunity focuses on advancing remote sensing technologies for hypersonic flight platforms, which encounter extreme environmental conditions such as high temperature flows, air dissociation, and cumulative heating of airframes. These conditions adversely affect the performance of onboard sensor systems including GPS, telemetry, communication, command and control, radar, ladar, and electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) sensors.
Key challenges include:
- Signal attenuation and distortion caused by turbulent and fluctuating boundary layer flows.
- Radiation and emission from heated optical windows and hot flow fields affecting EO/IR sensor performance.
- Mutual coupling and impedance mismatch in wideband conformal sensor arrays.
- Nonlinear processes initiated by intense transmitted signals.
- Limitations on receiver processing integration time due to rapid maneuvers and high velocities.
The research aims to develop adaptive sensor systems that use diagnostic tools to sense and adjust to the dynamic hypersonic environment, mitigating these adverse effects. The environment's parameters vary widely during flight, influenced by altitude, velocity, flight duration, vehicle geometry, airframe, and heat-shield materials.
Research areas of interest include turbulent hypersonic flow analysis, diagnostic tool development, adaptive sensor design, nonlinear process mitigation, optical window effects, EO/IR and SAR imaging, and moving target detection.
The fellowship is hosted at the Sensors Directorate, RY/Sensors Division, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.
Due Dates
- Next application deadline: May 1, 2025, 5:00 PM ET
Applications are reviewed in cycles with deadlines on February 1, May 1, August 1, and November 1 each year. If a deadline falls on a weekend or federal holiday, it is moved to the next business day.
Funding Amount
- Base stipend: Approximately $95,000 per year
- Travel allowance: $5,000 annually
- Experience supplements: Additional stipend based on years of post-PhD experience
- Duration: Typically 2-3 years
- Additional benefits: Paid relocation for awardees living more than 50 miles from the host lab (after six months tenure), group health insurance for awardees and dependents in the U.S.
Eligibility
- Citizenship: Open to U.S. citizens only
- Applicant level: Postdoctoral researchers (PhD earned less than 5 years ago) and senior researchers (PhD earned at least 5 years ago or permanent appointment with significant research experience)
- Must not have current or recent prior affiliation with the sponsoring agency that disqualifies eligibility (e.g., current employment or previous postdoctoral fellowship at the agency)
- Applicants must have completed all doctoral degree requirements before starting tenure
- Must contact the proposed Research Adviser prior to applying to discuss research projects and funding availability
Application Process
Steps to Apply
- Review eligibility for the NRC Research Associateship and specific agency requirements.
- Identify research opportunities via the NRC RAP website or sponsoring agency pages.
- Contact the Research Adviser listed for the opportunity to discuss your research proposal and confirm support.
- Prepare application materials, including:
- Profile information (contact, education, transcripts for postdocs)
- Research proposal (max 10 pages) with sections on problem statement, background, methodology, expected results, and significance
- Previous and current research description (max 4 pages)
- List of publications and presentations (max 2 pages)
- Letters of recommendation (minimum 3, including dissertation adviser for postdocs)
- Submit application online before the deadline via the NRC RAP application portal.
Important Notes
- Letters of recommendation must be uploaded by letter writers via the online system by the deadline.
- Letter writers cannot be employed by the sponsoring agency unless they have served as mentors or collaborators during the applicant’s prior research.
- Applications missing required materials or letters will not be reviewed.
- Applicants can apply to up to three different agency opportunities per cycle but only one per agency.
Additional Information
- Awards provide access to state-of-the-art facilities and mentorship at federal laboratories.
- Health insurance is required and available through a group plan shared between the awardee and agency.
- Relocation assistance is provided for awardees moving more than 50 miles.
- Review panels consist of experts from academia, industry, and government.
- Applicants receive reviewer feedback approximately one week after review completion.
- Award decisions are based on scientific merit, feasibility, and alignment with agency mission.
- Previous NRC Research Associateship holders may reapply after a two-year gap.
External Links
Contact Information
| Contact Person | Email | Phone | Affiliation |
|---|
| Saba Mudaliar (Research Adviser) | saba.mudaliar@us.af.mil | 937-713-8948 | Sensors Directorate, Wright-Patterson AFB |
| NRC RAP Program Office | rap@nas.edu | 202-334-2760 | National Academies Fellowships Office |
For questions about eligibility, application process, or technical support, contact the NRC RAP Program Office at rap@nas.edu or call 202-334-2760.