Advanced Short-Term Research Opportunity (ASTRO)
Appointment Information
Contingencies
All contingencies of an appointment offer must be met before a participant can begin an appointment. Also, if an award is offered to a candidate with a master’s or doctoral degree, the university must present acceptable evidence that the participant has completed all of the formal academic requirements for such a degree before the appointment can begin.
Participants who are foreign nationals must receive approval and clearance from the U.S. Department of Energy. This process is initiated by ORNL and could take more than ten weeks. Foreign nationals must also show proof that they have a valid visa status, which allows ORAU to pay them a salary stipend. ORISE will assist participants who require visas to obtain them; however, this can be a lengthy process.
Appointment Period and Renewals
Appointments are for six months and may be renewed one time for up to three months.
Stipend
Participants receive a competitive monthly stipend based on their research area and experience. The stipend is provided by ORNL but is distributed by ORAU in monthly installments. The stipend is taxable but not subject to withholding.
Obligations
Appointments involve a full-time commitment to the research program at ORNL, and the participant must be in residence at ORNL during the entire period of the appointment unless ORNL locates the participant at another facility. The participant's research must be conducted in a manner and according to a time schedule that meets the overall research needs of ORNL. In order to document the effectiveness of the program, participants are required to submit to ORISE reports when they renew and end their program tenure. These reports include an abstract of their research and copies of publications. If future papers are published as a result of research performed at ORNL, copies should be sent to ORISE.
All published reports, journal articles, or professional presentations that rely on the research conducted during program participation should carry an acknowledgment such as the following:
“This research was supported in part by an appointment to the ORNL Advanced Short-Term Research Opportunity, which is sponsored by Oak Ridge National Laboratory and administered jointly by Oak Ridge National Laboratory and by the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education under contract numbers DE-AC05-00OR22725 and DE-AC05-06OR23100, respectively.”
Participants are required to sign and abide by the appointment letter, terms of appointment, and by the "Department of Energy Contractor and Employee Certification and Agreement Pertaining to Work and Research at the ORNL," which includes an agreement concerning discoveries, inventions, data, and copyrights, and a disclaimer of liability.