Date Open: 
09/19/2023
Sponsor: 
Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation
ORD Notice of Intent Deadline: 
10/18/2023
Agency Deadline: 
12/13/2023
Limit per Institution: 
2 nominations
Important Notes: 
Candidate’s college must be willing to commit funding of $50,000 per year for three years
Source: 
External

2024 Moore Inventor Fellows

Research Office Internal Notice of Intent due:  October 18, 2023

Nomination due: November 14, 2023

Full proposal due: December 13, 2023

The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation has invited OSU to nominate two candidates for the Moore Inventor Fellowship. 

This competition seeks to identify outstanding early-stage inventors at major research universities who create new tools, technologies, processes, or approaches with a high potential to accelerate progress in the foundation’s three main areas of interest: scientific research, environmental conservation, and patient care.    

Moore aims to support inventions at an early stage that could lead to proof-of-concept of an invention or advance an existing prototype that tackles an important problem. This opportunity is not interested in supporting fundamental research projects or projects already at a stage where significant venture capital is available.

  • Fellows will receive $675,000 in funding over three years at a level of $200,000 per year from the Moore Foundation
  • Moore Foundation will provide $25,000 each year to OSU to cover costs associated with administering the grant award, resulting in a total three-year award from the Moore Foundation of $675,000.
  • In addition, OSU will make a contribution of $50,000 in annual support of the inventor’s work - The candidate’s college must be willing to commit funding of $50,000 per year for three years to support the candidate’s invention research if s/he should be awarded the Moore Invention Fellowship.
  • Nominees must be within 10 years of receiving their terminal degree and must dedicate a minimum of 25% time to the invention during the three-year fellowship. Fellows may use the grant funds to support their own salary to create this opportunity. They may also hire undergraduates, graduate assistants or postdoctoral scholars and purchase services, equipment, or supplies.
    • Candidates must be faculty, research scientists, postdocs or other full-time staff at OSU. Candidates must be no more than 10 years past receiving the terminal advanced degree in their field (M.S., Ph.D. or M.D.). -
    • The eligibility date is calculated in reference to when the awards are made (2023), so terminal degrees need to be awarded in 2013 or later unless parental/caregiver leave is a factor.  
Application Process

Prepare the following information to enter in this InfoReady form:

  1. PI name, title, and contact information
  2. Descriptive Proposal Title
  3. Brief description of invention that can be used in a nomination form
  4. Keywords associated with the invention
  5. PI: 5 or 6 sentences or bullet points that highlight PI expertise as it relates to the project.
  6. Submission history, prior contact, and funding history with this foundation
  7. Please upload the following

Budget Narrative (upload as a pdf)

A one-page budget narrative explaining how the Moore Inventor Fellowship funds would be used and outlines cost share commitment of the College/Unit.

Letter of College Support (upload as a pdf)

A signed letter from the department or Dean that shows the commitment to at least 25% time by the inventor and commit $50k/y in annual direct support for the inventor’s work. The annual $50,000 commitment must come from the inventor's department or college. Each college may submit a maximum of two candidates for consideration.

Statement of Invention (2-page limit, including citations, upload as a pdf)

1. The first paragraph should clearly, and without jargon, describe the invention, the problem it seeks to address and its potential impact.

2. The statement of invention should also include the following information:

Description of invention, stage of invention, feasibility, current funding, Importance to the Foundation’s focus areas (Science, Patient Care, and Environmental Conservation), potential impact, risks, and approach to measuring success and progress over the 3-year fellowship.

Notes: First time InfoReady users will need to create an account following the directions on the InfoReady Home page for Oregon State University users at first use and then will have SSO login.

*InfoReady does not save automatically, so data must be saved while applications are in process.

Problems with the InfoReady platform - or questions. Email research.development@oregonstate.edu

Review Criteria

The following questions will be used to evaluate each application.  Basic research proposals do not meet the solicitation guidelines and will not be approved to move forward.

  • Rate the description of the invention.  Is the problem it solves and the potential to make an impact clear?
  • Rate the potential of the proposed invention to make a difference in the foundation’s areas of interest: scientific discovery, environmental conservation, and/or patient care.
  • Rate the invention invention readiness.  Does the candidate persuade the reader that the invention is at an early stage beyond basic research and not yet supported by venture capital? 
  • Rate the potential for measurable progress within a 3-year period. Are strategies to mitigate risk in the invention process well articulated?