Heidi Cian, a researcher at MMSA, recently became one of nine early career researchers selected for a highly competitive National Science Foundation fellowship. We caught up with Heidi to learn more about what this opportunity means for her and for MMSA.
What is CADRE?
CADRE stands for “Community for Advancing Discovery Research in Education,” which is a project of the Education Development Center (EDC). CADRE is the resource center for NSF’s DRK-12 program. This year’s fellowship was unique in that it specifically invited EPSCoR region scholars who focus on rural questions. The Fellowship runs from January through June and is oriented around each Fellow’s self-selected scholarly project.
Could you share a bit more about what the CADRE Fellowship entails?
The CADRE Fellows Program is an annual program that supports early career researchers in advancing their research agenda through support from NSF, mentors, and a community of peers.
Are you pursuing the fellowship while continuing with your full-time role at MMSA?
Yes, the fellowship offers a stipend and complements the work that Fellows are doing in their current roles.
What specific goals or projects are you working on as part of the CADRE Fellowship?
Each Fellow selects a career development project to build out during the Fellowship. For me, I am going to work on an NSF proposal for the DRK-12 program that can build on some of the work I have been trying to get started at MMSA with my most recent AISL proposal submission. Specifically, I am interested in elevating the role of caregivers as reciprocal learners and teachers in STEM education institutional contexts.
How does the fellowship align with your current work at MMSA? Are there any overlaps or synergies between the two that we could highlight?
I am going to use the Fellowship to get feedback and guidance directly from NSF on a DRK-12 proposal. The proposal that I hope to develop will build on some of the work that we are starting this year with the Rural Energy Futures project and with another upcoming proposal.
Congratulations to Heidi for joining this selective cohort of scholars! Watch this space for updates about Heidi’s work as a CADRE Fellow as well as all of her important contributions here at MMSA. To learn more about CADRE, visit the website.
