Endowment Student Awards
2010 NABS Endowment Student Awards Application Procedures
The Board of Trustees of the NABS Endowment Fund encourages students to apply for the 2010 Endowment Awards. These awards are designed to support student research in a variety of areas. There are no restrictions on how the awards can be spent from the Simpson, Boesel/Sanderson, Systematics and General Endowment funds, but it is assumed that disbursements will be directly related to research leading to student degree programs, including travel to the NABS meeting. Funds from the Americas, Peterson and Fellows funds must be used to support travel to the NABS meeting, i.e. recipients must attend the 2010 NABS meeting and give a presentation relating to their research. The application procedure and guidelines are below. The application MUST be received by 01 February 2010, and applicants will be notified of the outcome of the competition by mid March 2010. If you have any questions, contact the committee chair: David Lenat, Lenatbks@mindspring.com.
NABS Endowment Awards and Application Procedures:
NABS Endowment Awards recognize excellence among our student members. These awards are based on merit and are highly competitive. Approximately 14 awards will be granted and are supported by 6 named funds and the General Endowment fund. The various funds and the eligibility criteria are described below. The number and dollar value of each award may vary depending on the money available in each fund – the information below is based on previous years’ awards.
Some of the named funds went unclaimed in prior years, as students usually decided to apply for the more numerous General Endowment awards. To prevent such problems in 2010, applicants for a named fund will also be considered for the General Endowment awards.
Description of the Funds:
- The Simpson Fund. To support research in applied issues (1 award at $600.00).
Established in memoriam of Karl W. Simpson
- The Boesel – Sanderson Fund. To support research on the natural history of organisms (1 award at $600.00).
Established in recognition of Marion Waterman Boesel and Milton W. Sanderson
- Systematics Fund. To support research in the area of taxonomy and systematics. (1 award at $600.00).
- The Americas Fund. To provide a travel award for a student from Latin America (1 award at $600.00).
- The Petersen Fund. To provide travel award for non-North American students (1 award at $1200.00).
Established in memoriam of Robert (Bob) Carl Petersen
- Fellows Fund. To provide a travel award for a student from Australia - 1 award at $900).
Established in memoriam of Christine (Christy) Susan Fellows
- General Endowment Fund. To support any area of research (8 Awards at $900.00 each).
Eligibility:
- Applicants must be CURRENT STUDENT members of NABS.
- Student award winners should be present at the annual meeting to receive the award.
- Students will only be eligible for one award during a specific degree program, i.e., only one during a B.S., B.A., M.S. or Ph.D. degree.
- A student cannot receive both an Endowment Award and a Conservation Committee Award in the same year.
- Students may receive only one award in an award year and must identify the funds (Awards) for which they wish to apply.
- Students applying for various named funds (Simpson, Boesel/Sanderson, Systematics and travel awards) will also be considered for the General Endowment awards.
- Applicants must supply confirmation of graduate standing by the major professor/advisor.
Instructions:
The awards will be granted on the basis of a description of the research or proposed research. This should be a clear, concise description of objectives or hypotheses, description of methods, preliminary or expected results, and significance of the research. The latter should be a brief explanation of the broader significance of the work to contemporary issues in benthic science. The full description (including significance) should not exceed ONE PAGE. Citations are not necessary, but up to three citations may be included on a separate page. Applications will be reviewed and evaluated by the 5-member Board of Trustees for the Endowmant. Letters of recommendation are NOT requested and will not be considered, but the student’s major professor must send a separate e-mail confirming the applicant’s information and eligibility for the award. The application should be prepared as a pdf file and attached to an e-mail to Lenatbks@mindspring.com with a subject line of “NABS Endowment Application”.
The application should be in the following format:
Page 1–Applicant’s Information:
Name:
Title of the research:
Award being applied for (see award descriptions above):
Institution:
Mailing address:
Telephone number:
E-mail address:
Degree program (B.S., B.A., M.S., or Ph.D.):
Number of years in current program:
Number of years as a NABS student member:
Major professor’s/advisor’s name and e-mail address:
Page 2 – The body of the application (minimum 11 pt font, 1” margins)
Page 3 – No more than three literature citations in J-NABS format.