Purpose

The purpose of the CITA National Fellows Program is to encourage professional interactions and to enhance research opportunities by providing partial support for postdoctoral fellows working in theoretical astrophysics or closely related fields at Canadian Universities other than the University of Toronto.

Nomination

CITA Inc members who are faculty at Canadian universities may sign up as potential hosts for CITA National Fellowships.
CITA postdoctoral applicants are required to submit all application materials through the CITA application site and have the option of applying simultaneously for a CITA National Fellowship. Applicants will select from a list of host faculty and associated universities. Potential hosts will be able to review the applications and submit a nomination letter, stating how the applicant is expected to contribute to local research and a ranking of nominees should the host be interested in nominating more than one person.

Financial Support

CITA will notify the nominator of each successful candidate that a CITA National Fellowship has been awarded. CITA will provide matching funding of salary only (no benefits) up to a maximum of $35,000* per year and up to $6,000 for NSERC eligible research expenses, for up to three years. The remainder of the Fellow’s salary must be raised from other grants or by the nominator’s university. It will then be up to the nominator to contact and recruit the applicant. All hiring will be done through the nominator’s university.
If the National Fellows are awarded major research fellowships (such as an NSERC Postdoctoral Fellowship), CITA will not contribute towards the Fellow’s salary during the tenure of the other fellowship. The nominator must inform the Director of CITA if any such fellowship award is made.

Interactions with CITA

CITA National Fellows are expected to visit CITA once a year to give a talk or seminar. These annual visits will be for a minimum of one week and CITA will pay for the cost of travel to and from the University of Toronto and provide accommodation. CITA will also provide full access to its facilities (e.g. computing and office space) to the extent that our resources permit. Fellows should contact CITA directly in September to schedule the seminar dates with our
Seminar Committee.

Location of Tenure and Other Duties

It is expected that the Fellow will spend at least 80% of their time resident at the nominator’s home university unless alternative arrangements are approved in advance by both the nominator and the Director of CITA. Fellows are permitted to supplement their stipends by teaching up to one half-course per year, subject to prior approval by the Director of CITA.

Acknowledgement

The Fellow should acknowledge CITA in all publications, by use of the title “CITA National Fellow” or by an acknowledgement that partial support was provided by a CITA National
Fellowship. The Fellow should not use the term “NSERC Postdoctoral Fellow” as this is reserved by NSERC for a separate award.

*To keep pay scales consistent, CITA will offer a 50% match up to the current amount at the CITA Flagship.