The Richard Libby Award supports students who are participating in undergraduate research that incorporates mathematics and visualization of complex data.

Amount & use
Award amount: $4,500 per proposal; multiple awards given

General funds: Each awardee will receive an amount of $4,500 to go towards tuition, living expenses, or research related costs at the students’ discretion.

  • Please note: while this is intended as a summer research award, students may defer their projects until fall quarter if desired. If you receive a summer award and are not enrolled in summer classes, the amount of $4500 will be paid to you through direct-pay. If you defer to fall quarter or are enrolled in summer classes, this amount will instead be applied to your student account, which may impact financial aid. Please discuss specific questions regarding this with the financial aid office directly.

Awards will be announced per the schedule below, with actual funding provided in the quarter when you begin the project, as confirmed by your faculty advisor.

Eligibility & Requirements
  • Any undergraduate from any department who is registered and enrolled at UC Santa Cruz, in good academic standing, and will not graduate before the project is completed can apply
  • You must propose a research project relating to mathematics and visualization of complex data. Preference given to projects that pursue visualization through animation
  • You must have a faculty mentor for your research project

This award is one of several science division summer research awards. You can view each of these research awards and their various eligibility criteria here.

If you have questions, please contact the awards manager at sciawards@ucsc.edu.

Please find complete application instructions below.

**All award recipients will be required to provide a handwritten or typed thank-you note and complete a questionnaire for donor stewardship purposes and may be asked to participate in other recognition events. If for any reason you would be unable to participate in the recognition activities outlined above, we will work with you on an alternative.

Deadlines
The 2023-2024 awards cycle has ended. Applications for AY 24/25 will be posted in early January, and the application deadline will be set in early spring 2025.

Selection criteria
Selection criteria: Proposals will be evaluated based on the quality and strength of the written research proposal, the feasibility of the project, the budget request, and the quality of the faculty recommendation.

Selection process: The Physical and Biological Sciences Undergraduate Award Committee, composed of faculty in the Sciences at UC Santa Cruz, will review the application materials, rank each proposal, and select recipients.

How to Apply
The research awards application will be posted in early January, 2025. Until then, please review the information under “selection criteria” and begin connecting with faculty labs that could oversee your research project.