Collaborative Research: Catalyzing the Early Career STEM Workforce in Developmental Science

This project advances the scholarship of future developmental scientists by fostering connections between scholars in teaching-intensive and mentors appointed at research-intensive institutions. One strategy is to catalyze opportunities and resources to enhance research productivity of scholars appointed at teaching-intensive institutions. This includes access to library resources; access to statistical/survey software; and access to mentoring pertaining to research development, proposal writing, and grant management. Such access improves the STEM workforce and results in compelling research questions that help shape the future trajectory of scientific discovery. This project pairs early-career faculty or postdoctoral fellows with tenured faculty who share similar areas of research. This pairing catalyzes cutting-edge developmental science research using projects focused on families at pivotal developmental transitions while considering the familial, financial, and other factors impacting those developmental stages. The project brings scholars together to enrich learning and awareness and build strategies for success. The project is designed to provide a supportive scholarly community and mentoring experience to encourage early-career faculty or postdoctoral fellows at teaching-intensive universities to acquire the skills needed to advance the discovery and innovation of future science. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.