The following message was sent by Dean Smith on January 16, 2018.

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Dear Colleagues,
 
I am pleased to announce the 2018 call for applications for the Star Family Challenge for Promising Scientific Research. The Challenge, established in 2013 to provide seed funding for projects in the natural and social sciences, funds high-risk and high-impact research at Harvard University.
 
The Star Family Challenge for Promising Scientific Research is looking to fund research that, because of its originality and high-risk approach, may not receive support through traditional funding channels. With a focus on interdisciplinary and creative work, the Challenge will select up to five projects annually for awards ranging from $20,000 to $200,000. These funds are intended to catalyze cutting-edge scientific research.
 
A committee of faculty from across the FAS will select award recipients, who will be invited to refine their projects and discuss their ideas with an interdisciplinary group of scholars at a Challenge event on April 9 at 4 p.m. The committee will be looking to fund projects that can attain demonstrable results within one year. Longer-term projects will need to show milestones of success upon a one-year review.
 
To submit an application or to learn more about this opportunity, please visit the Star Family Challenge for Promising Scientific Research website. Applications will be accepted through February 28, 2018.
 
It is my hope that the Star Family Challenge for Promising Scientific Research will expand opportunities for Harvard researchers to pursue ever more novel areas of inquiry, unburdened by the constraints of traditional funding and conventional thinking. I encourage all faculty, especially those who are early in their careers in the FAS Sciences, Social Sciences, and SEAS, to apply.
 
Sincerely yours,

Michael D. Smith
Edgerley Family Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences