Visiting Miller Professorship

The Advisory Board of the Miller Institute for Basic Research in Science invites Berkeley faculty to submit online nominations for Visiting Miller Research Professorships and the Gabor A. and Judith K. Somorjai Visiting Miller Professorship Award. Applications direct from candidates are not accepted. A nominee cannot hold a paid or unpaid position on the Berkeley campus at the time of nomination or throughout the competition and award cycle. Eligible UC Berkeley academic departments are provided in the nomination form.

The purpose of the Visiting Miller Professorship is to bring promising or eminent scientists to the Berkeley campus on a short-term basis for collaborative research interactions within the Institute's interdisciplinary community. The purpose of the Somorjai Award is to support the collaborative research of an early-career visiting scientist within the broad field of chemical sciences for a one-month term. Both programs require that awardees are in residence at Berkeley during their appointment term and that they actively engage in Miller Institute activities. It is the department host faculty member’s responsibility to ensure their presence and interaction on campus. It is stipulated that the appointee do no formal teaching, however public talks and department colloquia are encouraged. Visitors may schedule a longer visit on campus to cover any absences from the Berkeley campus, or absences will result in deductions being made to stipend and living allowance payments. All absences away from the Berkeley campus during the award term must be coordinated with the Miller Institute office in advance.

The Advisory Board of the Institute, which will make the awards, recognizes the problem of ascertaining whether a distinguished scholar would be interested in coming to Berkeley as a Visiting Miller Research Professor. The Board hopes that by indirect inquiry the prospective sponsoring department can determine the likelihood of availability. The Miller Institute, as the sponsor and administrative department, will extend an invitation after advising the department of its selection. Any questions regarding this program may be directed to the Institute's office by emailing the This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Eligibility

Faculty members or research scientists from any place in the world are eligible for nomination by active, full-time Berkeley faculty. A nominee cannot hold a paid or unpaid position on the Berkeley campus at the time of nomination or throughout the competition and award cycle. Non-US citizens must be eligible for J-1 Scholar visa status. Visitors cannot be supported on H1B or B visas. Faculty hosts of non-US citizens are required to attest to visitor's English language proficiency prior to award. Faculty members at other UC campuses are eligible to be nominated for this program only. All UC appointments must be approved by the visitor's home campus. University policy does not permit the Visiting Miller Professorship to be counted toward a sabbatical leave. (See Academic Personnel Manual 740-11-h, Regents' Standing Order 103.4.)

Term of Appointment

Terms of appointment may range from a minimum of thirty days to a maximum of one semester (120 days). Full semester appointments are encouraged; however, such nominations should include justification, within the research proposal, of the need for this long-term collaboration. Each appointment starting date will be negotiated separately, with the restriction that appointments must take place during either Fall 2025 or Spring 2026 of the regular academic year. Visiting Miller Professor appointments must be for consecutive weeks on the Berkeley campus and it is not appropriate to request a starting date between semesters or during the summer. Travel during appointment is not allowed and will result in adjustments to the stipend and living expense payments. When stating a desired starting date, please keep in mind that a minimum lead-time of four months is needed to make J-1 visa and other arrangements for foreign visitors.

The Somorjai Visiting Miller Professor Award term is limited to a 30-day visit and is not to be combined with a regular Visiting Miller Professorship term. All other terms of the Visiting Miller Professorship apply.

Stipend

The stipend is $10,000 per month, up to a cap of $30,000 per campus policy. The Institute will pay for one round trip to and from Berkeley for the appointee, normally up to a maximum of $600 within the U.S. and up to $1,800 for foreign travel, based on advance purchase economy rates.  There is no provision for travel for family members. Federal regulations require medical and repatriation insurances which are provided for our foreign visitors on a J-1 Visa. No provisions are provided for family members. Payment to a faculty member of another UC campus must conform to University and individual campus policies governing additional compensation. The granting of an award is subject to home campus and Berkeley approval of funding arrangements. All financial terms are subject to campus financial policies.

Requirements of the Visiting Miller Professorship

Per the Miller and Somorjai bequests, appointees are expected to be on the Berkeley campus for the duration of the Visiting Miller Professorship term. They have no regular teaching duties, although they are encouraged to confer informally with graduate students and faculty, and to speak before seminars on a limited number of occasions. Visiting Miller Professors are invited to campus to engage full time in research with host faculty, host departments, and others. Full time and effort should be devoted to research and collaboration. Proposals to write books during the term will not be viewed competitively. Travel during appointment is not allowed and will result in adjustments to the stipend and living expense payments. Visiting Miller Professors are expected to attend the Institute's weekly Tuesday luncheons at The Faculty Club. The weekly Miller lunches provide a venue for conversing with other Miller Professors, the Miller Research Fellows, and other Institute members. Appointees will submit an End of Term Report to the Miller Institute in timely manner after the conclusion of the term.

Announcement of Awards

Announcement of the awards will be made in December.

Departmental Guide for the Visiting Miller Professorship Online Nominations:

Deadline for Nominations: September 16, 2024, 11:59pm PDT (-7GMT)
(See detailed instructions on Nomination Form online)

Nominations for the Visiting Miller Professorship must be made online by Berkeley faculty members. Nominations should be written by the nominator, highlighting the value the Berkeley campus will derive from the potential visit. The online system will not accept incomplete nominations. Direct applications are not accepted. Nominations for the Somorjai Award must include all of the VMP nomination materials unless otherwise noted. Nominators will need the following required information prepared and ready for upload before proceeding to the online nomination:

• Nominee's Full / Legal name
• Nominee's active Email Address (notification of award sent to this email address)
• Nominee's Citizenship
• Nominee's Professional Title and Current Institution
• Nominee's current and complete Mailing Address
• UCB Primary Nominating Academic Department
• UCB Primary Host Department Chair Name & Chair Email Address
• If other UC faculty: Nominee's home department chair name, email address and mailing address
• Faculty Host Name, Email Address & Campus Phone Number
• Preferred Semester and Number of Visit Days
• Will the Visiting Scholar be at UCB before or after the proposed term? Dates? Departments?
• List of all visits to UC Berkeley within the past two years.
• Departmental Research Proposal - limit 2 pages, 11 point font or larger (must be written by the UCB nominator)
• Nominations for the Somorjai Visiting Miller Professorship Award must be indicated by selecting the corresponding checkbox located on the Nomination Form.
• Abbreviated Publications: List 10 most representative publications AND all publications in the last 3 years.
• Abbreviated Curriculum Vitae (2-3 pages) - do not include comprehensive publications list
• The terms of the Departmental Host Faculty Confirmation Form must be accepted by selecting the corresponding checkbox located on the Nomination Form.
• Three (3) Support Letters are required for your nomination. Support letters must be saved and uploaded as ONE COMBINED PDF FILE. (Do NOT include Chair Letters here. Chairs will be contacted directly.) Support letters are very important during the review and selection process The Executive Committee needs to be persuaded of the value your candidate will bring to the department and campus. Collect and combine all letters of support into one PDF for uploading into nomination.

The Departmental Research Proposal (prepared by nominator)

The research proposal is the primary department host's opportunity to persuade the Institute's Advisory Board of the value the candidate will bring to the department and campus. These nominations should not be perfunctory; the Institute has to be convinced that the nominee is strong and the proposal to bring the individual here is well considered.

Nominations should be prepared from the nominator's point of view and highlight the value the visitor will bring to the department. Proposals from nominees are not acceptable and will be declined.

The Miller Institute is "dedicated to the encouragement of creative thought and the conduct of research and investigation in the field of pure science ... and investigation in the field of applied science in so far as such research and investigation are deemed by the Advisory Board to offer a promising approach to fundamental problems." Candidate research supported across departments is strongly encouraged. Research proposals meeting these guidelines must not exceed two single-spaced 8-1/2 x 11-inch pages and be in 11 point or larger font. Nominations for a full semester appointment must show adequate justification for such a term.

The Somorjai Award

For consideration for the Somorjai Award, please indicate by selecting the corresponding checkbox located on the Visiting Professorship Nomination Form.

Department Chair Review

After the nomination deadline, Department Chairs will be solicited by the Miller Institute to review online all nominations submitted in their departments. In order to complete the departmental nomination process, the Chair will be required to upload a letter that 1) provides judgment of each research proposal 2) ranks the nominations if two or more nominations are submitted and explains the basis for the rankings, and 3) assures the Institute that departmental space, facilities and research support for the appointee will be available.

If you have questions about:

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