Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Research fellowships for US-based scholars at the Needham Research Institute, Cambridge, UK

The Needham Research Institute (NRI), home of the Science and Civilisation in China project, provides scholars with excellent facilities for research into the history of science, technology and medicine in East Asia.

Funds granted by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation make it possible for the NRI to offer a number of 13-week fellowships tenable at the Institute for US-based scholars and researchers working within the broad field of the history of science, technology and medicine in East Asia. These fellowships are tenable during the academic year which runs from October 2012 to June, 2013, and preference will normally be given to scholars who wish to visit the Institute during the Cambridge University terms which run from October through December 2011, January through March and April through June, 2013.

Applications must include CV and a description of the work that will be done during the period of the fellowship, together with two letters of recommendation from qualified persons.  The project description should indicate why it would be particularly helpful for the researcher to be able to work at the NRI.

The deadline for receipt of applications for fellowships to be taken up during the academic year 2012/2013 is Friday 25^th May 2012.

The remit of these fellowships is intended to be as wide as is necessary to maximise the contribution they can make to the development of what is a varied and lively field, however:

1. Recipients should normally be engaged in research using primary materials in East Asian languages. This is not however intended to exclude candidates who are also using western-language materials to carry out research into contacts betweenChina and other countries.
2. Recipients must either hold an academic post in a US university, or be registered for a research degree in a US university.

The fellowships will meet the costs of economy air travel to the UK, together with a grant adequate to cover living costs inCambridge for one semester, and some support for research expenses and travel in the UK.  While these fellowships are primarily intended to fund one-semester visits, under exceptional circumstances they may be held for longer periods.
The fellowships will be awarded without distinction of gender, ethnic origin or other factors irrelevant to scholarly merit. Other things being equal, preference will be given to proposals from scholars at an earlier stage of their careers, but others should not feel precluded from making applications.

Please send applications and enquiries to:

The Institute Administrator
Needham Research Institute,
8 Sylvester Road,
Cambridge CB3 9AF

Email: admin[put the “at” sign here]nri.org.uk
Details of the NRI may be found at http://www.nri.org.uk