Visiting Researcher Program

The Visiting Researcher Program of the Texas A&M Institute of Data Science (TAMIDS) solicits nominations by prospective TAMU hosts for external researchers to engage with activities in TAMIDS and the wider TAMU Data Science community during long-term full-time visits. Visitors will normally hold full-time positions in their home institution that provides full or partial salary support to the visitor for the duration of their visit to Texas A&M, through Faculty Development Leave, sabbatical leave, or equivalent programs. TAMIDS will provide financial support to the visitor through a stipend including a cost-of-living allowance and in some cases partial salary support.

Eligibility: Host Organizations: a proposing host must hold a faculty appointment in Texas A&M University (including Galveston and Qatar campuses), TEES, TEEX, AgriLife Research, AgriLife Extension, or TTI. Multiple related submissions are discouraged, and hosts may submit only one proposal to the program. Visitors: Prospective visitors must hold a full-time position in a university, research laboratory, industry or similar organization, other than the eligible host organizations.

The program has two distinct tracks:

TAMU Visitor TrackAim: this track aims to support full-time visitors who will engage in Data Science collaborations with eligible faculty hosts. Duration: visits between 1 and 9 months. Support: TAMIDS will provide the visitor with a monthly stipend of a $1,000 cost-of-living allowance. Any required additional allowance must be met by the host organization. TAMU visitors will be provided with a shared office in TAMIDS in the Blocker building, subject to availability of space. Expectations: In addition to their host collaborations, visitors should interact with the TAMIDS Staff or Research Affiliates, for example, engaging in group discussions or sharing their research expertise via a tutorial series.

TAMIDS Collaborator Track: Aim: visits are structured as a three-way partnership between the visitor, the host, and TAMIDS, with the research direction within or closely related to TAMIDS research areas. Duration: between 4.5 and 9 months. Support: TAMIDS will provide the visitor with a monthly stipend comprising (i) a $2,000 cost-of-living allowance ($2,500 monthly for collaborators accompanied by family members) and (ii) up to 50% of the visitor’s base salary up to a maximum of $8,000 per month in place of reduced support from their home institution. TAMIDS Collaborators will be provided with a shared office in TAMIDS in the Blocker building. Host Support: TAMIDS will provide the host with a research stipend of $500 per month to support their participation in the collaboration. Expectations: TAMIDS Collaborators will be full-time visitors who work closely with TAMIDS and their local host on the proposed research project, with deliverables such as joint publications and grant proposals. Host are strongly encouraged to discuss proposals with TAMIDS prior to submission.

Submission Deadline and Notification: The program will operate with 3 deadlines for proposal submission each year: March 1, July 1 and November 1, with outcomes communicated by the last day of the corresponding month. All funded visits should be completed within 2 years of the deadline date. Proposers should confirm funding availability with TAMIDS prior to submission.

Visa Procedures for non-US visiting researchers: are detailed in the full solicitation.

Further Details and Application Procedures: can be found in the full solicitation.

Contact Information: Prof. Simon Foucart, foucart@tamu.edu, TAMIDS Associate Director for External Academic Engagement

Link to full program solicitation