Facebook Reality Labs Liquid Crystal Research Awards

About 

Facebook Reality Labs (FRL) brings together a world-class team of researchers, developers, and engineers to create the future of virtual and augmented reality, which together will become as universal and essential as smartphones and personal computers are today. And just as personal computers have done over the past 45 years, AR and VR will ultimately change everything about how we work, play, and connect. 

We are developing all the technologies needed to enable breakthrough AR glasses and VR headsets, including optics and displays, computer vision, audio, graphics, brain-computer interface, haptic interaction, eye/hand/face/body tracking, perception science, and true telepresence. Some of those will advance much faster than others, but they all need to happen to enable AR and VR that are so compelling that they become an integral part of our lives.

Liquid Crystal (LC) research is one of several research areas in the AR and VR Optics and Display group in FRL. The goal of our LC research is to develop advanced LC optics and display technologies and to integrate them with existing and emerging AR/VR optical and display solutions. Our aim is to provide better user experience, enable breakthroughs in the AR/VR optical design space, and help pave the way to AR glasses and next-generation VR headsets.

The aim of the FRL Liquid Crystal Research Awards is to encourage young generations in the LC field and in other cross-disciplinary fields to help unlock the possibilities of LC technology in the AR/VR field. FRL is pleased to invite researchers, graduate students, and postdocs (who have graduated in the last three years), with research experience in the liquid crystal field, to apply for this award. 

In order to support academic work that addresses our challenges and opportunities while producing generalizable knowledge, FRL is pleased to offer six research awards. The awards include one Diamond Award of $5000, two Platinum Awards of $3500, and three Gold Awards of $2500. 

Eligibility

• Applicants must either be a graduate student currently enrolled in a Master’s or Ph.D.program, or a postdoc in an academic research group who graduated within three years from the application date. 
• Applicants must have a proven track record of achieving significant results  demonstrated  by first-authored publications in leading research journals, or relevant conference presentations organized by ILCS, SID, OSA, SPIE, IEEE, or similar. 
• This award is not open to any current Facebook employees, including STE, FTEs, interns,or contingent workers. 

Regulation

Awards must comply with applicable US and international laws, regulations, and policies.

How to Apply

To apply for this award, please submit the following documents through this link. 

• Curriculum Vitae (CV; required): A CV that lists your research projects and publications to help us understand  the significance of your research for AR/VR application and the quality of your results.
• Cover letter (required): A cover letter to share with us who you are, your research experience and passion,  the connection between your research in liquid crystal and the AR/VR field, and how this award will help you pursue your research goal.
• Prior publications in the AR/VR field (required):  Along with your application, please submit at least one full paper of your prior first-authored publications which can demonstrate the quality of your work in the intersection area between liquid crystal technology and the AR/VR field.
• Recommendation letter (optional): At least one recommendation letter is preferred, but not required, along with  your application. The recommendation letter could come from your professor or your collaborators.

Important dates 

• Application opens on April 20, 2020. 
• Deadline to apply is July 1, 2020, 11:59 PM PST.
• Awards notifications will be sent by email to award winners by September 1, 2020.

Administrative Information

If you are selected, you will be asked to provide the name of your institution, the institution’s tax ID number, and details for both a finance contact and authorized authority that can sign award documentation. Payment will be issued to the awardee’s institution in the form of an unrestricted gift.   

Additional Terms and Conditions 

Facebook’s decisions will be final in all matters relating to this solicitation, including interpretation of these Terms and awards at any time. Awards will be subject to additional Terms and Conditions for awardees which will be communicated to recipients after selection. All items apply unless otherwise stated above. Please Read These Terms Carefully Before Proceeding.

• By submitting a proposal, you are authorizing Facebook to evaluate the proposal for  a potential award, and you agree to the terms herein.
• You agree that Facebook will not be required to treat any part of the proposal as confidential or protected by copyright, and may use, edit, modify, copy, reproduce, and distribute all or a portion of your proposal in any manner for the sole purposes of administering the website and evaluating the contents of the proposal.
• You agree and acknowledge that personal data submitted with the proposal, including name, mailing address, phone number, and email address of you and other named researchers in the proposal may be collected, processed, stored and otherwise used by Facebook for the purposes of administering the website and evaluating the contents of the proposal.
• You acknowledge that neither party is obligated to enter into any business transactions a result of the proposal submission, Facebook is under no obligation to review or consider the proposal, and neither party acquires any intellectual property rights as a result of submitting the proposal.
• Any feedback you provide to Facebook in the proposal regarding its products or serviceswill not be treated as confidential or protected by copyright, and Facebook is free to use such feedback on an unrestricted basis with no compensation to you.
• Applicants represent and warrant that they have authority to submit a proposal in connectionwith this RFP and grant the rights set forth herein on behalf of their organization.

See this page for full Terms and Conditions.

Application Link   https://facebook-research.smapply.io/prog/facebook_reality_labs_liquid_crystal_research_awards_/

Staff Writer

This article was written and edited by a staff writer.