Principal Investigatorship at SLAC
The Principal Investigator's Role
The Principal Investigator (PI) or co-principal investigator (Co-PI) is a privilege provided to an individual with the authority to lead the definition and delivery of a research program. This represents an important step in the career of scientists and engineers, enabling them to strike out in new directions based on their own ideas.
Stanford Research Policy grants all faculty the privilege of being principal investigators of sponsored research projects.
Follow the section below to understand the designation of PI or Co PI at SLAC.
SLAC Principal Investigator Eligibility
At SLAC, if the work is funded by DOE and the funding comes to SLAC directly, then any employee, regardless of job title, is PI-eligible.
For grants funded by other agencies, external sponsors including SU seed funds, Stanford’s principal investigatorship policy applies. This policy grants PI-ship to SLAC staff in certain employment categories via several exceptions to the PI eligibility policy, which are allowed under specific circumstances. Further information on PI eligibility is found in the Stanford Research Policy Handbook (RPH) Section 2. This section contains information, policy, and guidance on PI eligibility and criteria for exceptions and is summarized below. An informational resource on Stanford RPH with SLAC-relevant summaries is available in the collection of link buttons further below.
PI-Ship Information
Who is eligible to become a principal investigator at SLAC?
Based on RPH section 2, these categories to PI eligibility are relevant to SLAC employees.
- Regular continuing SLAC scientists or engineers levels three to six (RPH 2.2.C): PI requests are subject to the following conditions:
- The proposed research must be judged by the SLAC Director to be programmatically relevant to SLAC’s mission. Proposals that are not deemed to be consistent with SLAC’s mission will not be approved.
- The proposed research must be carried out on the SLAC site and not require utilization of space on the Stanford campus.
- A member of the Academic Council must serve as mentor for any Stanford graduate students or postdoctoral scholars involved in the proposed research.
- The research must be conducted in accord with the University’s policies concerning the conduct of research and approved PIs must receive PI training.
- Specific projects which are part of large interdisciplinary programs (RPH 2.2.B.2): The PI exception is available for SLAC staff independent of level and job series if they are associated with large interdisciplinary programs. This route is not routine or automatic and undergoes careful review for adherence to the Stanford RPH by the SLAC Office of the Chief Research Officer (CRO). For this purpose, a "large interdisciplinary program" is defined as a research program which: a) is directed by a member of the Academic Council, b) has an expected duration beyond the involvement of any individual faculty participant, c) has more than one faculty member involved, and d) requires expertise in more than one discipline or technical area. All of the following conditions must be met for the department chair and school dean to approve PI exceptions in such cases:
- The proposed project must be a demonstrably important component of the success of the overall interdisciplinary program, as defined above
- There is no member of the Academic Council faculty associated with the large interdisciplinary project who is qualified to take responsibility for the scientific direction of the prospective research project
- No incremental space will be required for the project
For each graduate student participating in the project, a qualified faculty member has been identified to ensure that the student's research program and the education derived from it are consistent with the degree for which the student is a candidate
Exceptions approved under this provision will be reported to the Dean of Research on an annual basis.
Conferences, Exhibits, Workshops or Public Events (2.2.B.1): Researchers who are not faculty or continuing Sci/Eng Levels 3-6 may be approved to serve as PIs on sponsored projects whose sole purpose is to fund short conferences, travel, exhibits, workshops, or other public events of a character appropriate to the University.
To submit a PI waiver under this exception, please follow this guidance (SU login required).
Career Development Awards (2.2.B.3): Researchers who are not members of the Academic Council faculty or continuing Scientists/Engineers Level 3-6 may be approved to serve as PIs on a class of projects generically referred to as Career Development Awards, whose stated purpose is to advance the individual's scientific career. Such petitions may be approved if the project is to be carried out under the mentorship of an established faculty investigator whose expertise is within the overall intellectual scope, and if the project can be conducted without the need of any additional resources. Often in these cases the awards cover only the individual's salary and incidental expenses, but not incremental staff or students. Career Development PI Waiver requests are subject to the following:
- Written approval of a faculty supervisor, the relevant department head, and the CRO.
- A guarantee of space and resources for the duration of the grant by the department head.
- The understanding that the grant may not, under any circumstances, support a graduate student. If the grant will have funding to appoint a postdoctoral scholar, the waiver recipient would be responsible for the day-to-day research supervision of the work of the postdoctoral scholar; however, the overall career mentoring of the supported postdoctoral scholar would be the responsibility of an Academic Council faculty member.
To submit a PI waiver under this exception, please follow this guidance (SU login required).
Please complete the PI Exception application here.
One of SLAC’s strengths is the ability to involve Stanford faculty and Stanford PIs to develop new or contribute significantly to existing research programs at SLAC. To facilitate this interaction, it has become important to provide a mechanism for Stanford PIs to formally integrate into SLAC so they have all of the rights and responsibilities of a SLAC PI. This includes, but is not limited to, the ability to supervise SLAC staff on their funded SLAC programs, obtain the relevant SLAC training necessary to submit proposals and perform work at SLAC, and obtain a SLAC badge.
In order to qualify as a Stanford PI at SLAC, the individual must:
(1) be a member of the Professoriate or have PI privileges at Stanford;
(2) not already have a SLAC appointment; and
(3) have or be expected to develop an ongoing funded program of research or engineering at the Laboratory that contributes to the mission of the Laboratory.
The request for the appointment shall be made by an Associate Laboratory Director (ALD) and sent to the chair of the Laboratory Advancements and Promotions Committee (LAPC) for submission to the Laboratory Director for approval.
The term of the appointment may be up to 5 years with the possibility of renewal. In cases of an initial appointment preceding the development of an ongoing funded program (i.e., one expected to result in an ongoing funded program), an appointment of up to two years may be more appropriate.
This appointment does not impact the individual’s Stanford faculty appointment, or Stanford responsibilities in any way, nor confer any new employment benefits. The appointment is not a SLAC faculty appointment.
The Stanford PI at SLAC responsibilities:
Following all SLAC policies and DOE requirements in executing any awards received through this appointment.
Observing all the training requirements as assigned by the Point of Contact (POC)/Supervisor through the STA process, which will be the same as for SLAC faculty and research staff.
Obtain a SLAC badge.
To ensure the integrity of research performed at the laboratory, SLAC Principal Investigators (PIs) and SLAC researchers intending to apply for outside funding must take additional training.
