Grant for Research in Theoretical Physics

[avpol]

Suppose there is a nonprofit that wants to order a piece of research in theoretical physics. The research is rather small; it consists in considering an issue and writing a 8-10 pages article. The physicist to do the research will be from a high income country; he/she should be an experienced one. What would be the amount of such a grant? Approximately.
Thanks in advance!

 

[BillTre]

I don't think that's the way research is usually funded, certainly not for biology, which I am familiar with.
What you describe sounds more like a consultation with short written report.

In biology, research grants cover (most) costs of what's needed to get a bunch of research done, usually over 1-3 year periods.
This would include salaries, equipment costs, materials and supplies and other stuff. I used to make grant budgets using a spreadsheet with >100 lines of items.
Depending on details, the funding organization might also chip in money to the university (or whatever is the appropriate organization) for various reasons (infrastructure and bureaucratic costs). These can add 50%.
Salaries are increased by the cost of benefits (add 50% at the U. of Oregon).
Sometimes the hosting institution will throw in some money for various reasons.

There are many, many details.
An actual answer to your question is not possible without supplying more details.

You might want to look at things like grants/fellowships for post-doc to get an idea for the costs of funding a single person.

 

[berkeman]

What you describe sounds more like a consultation with short written report.

That was my thought as well.

 

[Frabjous]

The big unknown is overhead which can range from 50% to 300%. Universities are on the lower end of this. Assume salaries of $100k to $175k per year (you do not have to buy a full year). Senior people and/or prestigious universities may have significantly higher salaries. Experimental costs are all over the place depending on the topic. An 8 to 10 page report is not that long, so the person can lowball the time percentage of the work if they are really interested. In regards to universities there is also the question if the work will be given to a student to do. Student costs are significantly lower than the numbers above. The cheapest route is if you can find someone who can do it for an honorarium.

 

[avpol]

Thanks to all for your replies!
Now, as for providing more details... Let's say the donor is interested in considering a question like "Lorenzian wormholes and possible making them traversable using electromagnetic radiation"; no experiments, of course, just theoretical consideration and a short article (report) as a result. It won't be a grant, just a fee? Also, this expert shouldn't be a student.

 

[Keith_McClary]

If someone was working in that field and had some original research of that nature, they would want to publish it in a peer reviewed journal.

 

[avpol]

If someone was working in that field and had some original research of that nature, they would want to publish it in a peer reviewed journal.

So?

 

[berkeman]

So?

So that will likely be part of the contract that you sign with them. If you don't want them to publish it, you will likely need to pay a fair amount more.

 

[Frabjous]

I think at best you could get a literature review. Given that people have had to resort to exotic matter to find transversable wormhole solutions, I believe that an em radiation solution would be a full blown research project (expensive and long) with a significant risk of failure because “simple” solutions have undoubtedly already been examined without success.

 

[avpol]

If someone was working in that field and had some original research of that nature, they would want to publish it in a peer reviewed journal.

So?

So that will likely be part of the contract that you sign with them. If you don't want them to publish it, you will likely need to pay a fair amount more.

Thank you for the explanation! No, it is at their discretion. We wouldn't mind:-).

 

[avpol]

I think at best you could get a literature review. Given that people have had to resort to exotic matter to find transversable wormhole solutions, I believe that an em radiation solution would be a full blown research project (expensive and long) with a significant risk of failure because “simple” solutions have undoubtedly already been examined without success.

I mentioned wormholes and em radiation as an example. The idea is to find a physicist who has already published similar papers and to offer him/her to consider a similar problem (theoretically).

 

[Vanadium 50]

If you went to a National Lab as WFO (Work For Others) it would be around $300/hour. I have no idea what the minimum job is; the smallest contract I wrote was maybe $10,000.

If it were me, I'd give this project a wide berth. If, as is likely, the final report says it won't work, it is possible, even probable, that the sponsor would take it badly.

 

[berkeman]

I mentioned wormholes and em radiation as an example. The idea is to find a physicist who has already published similar papers and to offer him/her to consider a similar problem (theoretically).

With respect (and understanding that you don't want to disclose too much of the research proposal), why can't this benefactor just read the published literature to find the answers that they are seeking? If they have the technical scientific background to write a research proposal or a consulting contract, then surely they read the relevant peer-reviewed scientific literature each month.

Do they think they have a new/unique idea that deserves research? If so, have they read this Insights article?

https://www.physicsforums.com/insights/wont-look-new-theory/

And if they do not have the technical scientific background to understand the peer-reviewed literature, perhaps all they need to do is look into hiring a professor or professional physicist to help them understand the topics they are interested in. A graduate school student or post-doc would be a good candidate for that type of work, IMO.

 

[avpol]

If you went to a National Lab as WFO (Work For Others) it would be around $300/hour. I have no idea what the minimum job is; the smallest contract I wrote was maybe $10,000.

If it were me, I'd give this project a wide berth. If, as is likely, the final report says it won't work, it is possible, even probable, that the sponsor would take it badly.

Thanks for the reply!

If it were me, I'd give this project a wide berth. If, as is likely, the final report says it won't work, it is possible, even probable, that the sponsor would take it badly

As I've said, the idea is to ask to consider a topic very similar to ones that have already been considered by the scientist. Basically, it's the desire to promote more active work in this direction. So no outcome will be taken badly.

 

[avpol]

With respect (and understanding that you don't want to disclose too much of the research proposal), why can't this benefactor just read the published literature to find the answers that they are seeking? If they have the technical scientific background to write a research proposal or a consulting contract, then surely they read the relevant peer-reviewed scientific literature each month.

Do they think they have a new/unique idea that deserves research? If so, have they read this Insights article?

https://www.physicsforums.com/insights/wont-look-new-theory/

And if they do not have the technical scientific background to understand the peer-reviewed literature, perhaps all they need to do is look into hiring a professor or professional physicist to help them understand the topics they are interested in. A graduate school student or post-doc would be a good candidate for that type of work, IMO.

Thanks for your advice and for a useful and interesting link!

why can't this benefactor just read the published literature to find the answers that they are seeking?

They do read the literature. They just want to further, to promote research in the area they are interested in.