The CARS Fellowship provides annual support as salary in the amount of $55,000, or the minimum postdoctoral salary rate as stipulated by Stanford, whichever is greater. The Fellowship will also cover the institutional cost for benefits. In addition, $5,000 will be awarded and made available to be expensed during the term of the Fellowship for fellow-related research expenses. Equipment purchased with these funds belongs to and remains the property of the University. Travel directly related to the research project is allowed with prior faculty sponsor approval. The selected Fellow is also eligible for a one-time relocation allowance of up to $3,000 (income tax reportable). Once selected for the fellowship they can apply to CARS for this benefit.
Funding is guaranteed for the first year of a two year award period. Funding for year two is pledged and is not guaranteed by CARS or Stanford. To be eligible to receive the second year of funding, expected progress must be met, program requirements must be completed, and the faculty sponsor must confirm that they can continue to sponsor/mentor the Fellow for a second year.
Applicants should be prepared for the CARS Fellowship to begin within six months of the date of the award selection, if the awardee's PhD has not been conferred at the time of the award selection, they should be prepared to begin within six months of their PhD being awarded. Special exceptions to this may be requested but require the approval of CARS leadership. In addition, applicants must be willing to commit to the appointment for at least one full calendar year. The recipient must be in active postdoctoral scholar status at Stanford University through the duration of the award. The award is suspended during any leaves of absence, including maternity leave, but the funds are not forfeited. Arrangements for re-distribution of the remaining funds or extension of the award year are typically made.
The CARS Postdoctoral Fellowship is intended to provide full support to the scholars rather than add to existing support.
• In accepting this award, the postdoctoral scholar’s home department is responsible for adhering to the funding requirements and guidelines. If overspending occurs above the award amount or if incorrect expenditure code(s) are used, the sponsoring PI and department will be liable for the expenses and for covering any overages by transferring these expenses to an account that they own.
• The postdoctoral scholar may be asked to return all or part of the fellowship if falsified or misrepresented information is later determined that effects eligibility.
Other Concurrent Fellowship Support and Combination of Awards:
If a CARS Postdoctoral Fellow receives another fellowship award from Stanford or from an outside agency, the Fellow must notify CARS staff. If the two awards combined do not exceed the total salary support committed to the scholar as part of the terms of the appointment, the CARS Fellowship full award may be retained. If the two awards combined exceed the agreed-upon salary support for the scholar at any time, the CARS Fellowship award should be adjusted accordingly, up to a complete forfeiture of the award.
The Center for Automotive Research at Stanford relies on faculty sponsors to report in writing the receipt of any other support for the Postdoctoral Fellow, via e-mail to CARS.
