Grants and awards

2008 NABS Graduate student conservation research award
NABS2006 Student Presentation award
2008 NABS Endowment awards

2008 NABS Graduate student conservation research award

The Conservation and Environmental Issues Committee (CEIC) is pleased to announce the annual Graduate Student Conservation Research Award competition for support of the best graduate student research proposal addressing at least one of the following criteria: 1) advancing knowledge of the biology or ecology of an endangered or threatened species or ecosystem; 2) advancing knowledge of conservation of biodiversity at any or all levels of organization (from genes to ecosystems); 3) developing a plan to conserve an aquatic species or ecosystem; or 4) supporting or implementing the conservation or restoration of an impaired or threatened species or ecosystem. Proposals that do not directly address one or more of these criteria will be ineligible for this competition.

The Conservation Research Award is possible because of the highly successful CEIC slide sale effort. Portions of the proceeds from the sales of slide sets are invested in the NABS Endowment Fund, and are then matched by the Society. Thus, students who receive one NABS endowment award will NOT be eligible for other endowment awards in 2008. We anticipate awarding two $750 grants for 2008, and announcing award winners in mid-February.

Eligibility:

Applicants must be CURRENT STUDENT members of NABS.
Only graduate students are eligible to apply.
Applicants may receive only one award during their student career.

Instructions:

Please submit all proposal materials as pdf files.

The proposal should consist of 4 parts: Part 1 should contain applicant information, part 2 consists of the project description, part 3 is the reference section, and Part 4 provides a budget and budget explanation.

Part 1. Include the following applicant information: Name, institution, mailing address, telephone/fax number, email address, current degree program (M.S. or Ph.D.), number of years in current degree program, major professor/advisor's name, project title.

Part 2. The project description must be limited to two single-spaced pages (excluding references) written in 12 point font with standard 1" margins on all sides and should contain sufficient detail for evaluation. Project descriptions should include a clear, concise description of objectives, hypotheses, methods, anticipated results, and significance of the research.

Part 3. A separate letter from the applicant's major professor/advisor confirming graduate status must be submitted directly to Donna Kashian.

Part 4. The budget must contain sufficient detail and explanation of the purpose for which the award will be used. The following items are typically supported: Living expenses in the field or at a research station; travel to study sites (if via automobile, an allowance of $0.45 (U.S.)/mile may be used to estimate costs); consumable supplies or expendable equipment. The following items will not be supported: salaries, manuscript preparation and publication costs

Applicants lacking any of the requested information will not be reviewed.

Application deadline

Application materials should be submitted in electronic form by 15 February 2007 to: Donna Kashian (Donna.Kashian@noaa.gov). The subject line of the email should read: CEIC Research Award Proposal.

All applications will be reviewed by a non-student committee of reviewers appointed by the CEIC committee chairs, and proposals will be rated based on the criteria described above. Award decisions will be made by 28 March 2008 and announced at the Business Luncheon of the 2008 Annual Meeting. The NABS Conservation Fund should be acknowledged for providing funds in support of research.

NABS2006 Student Presentation Awards

NABS offers 7 merit awards (2 of which are book donations) for student presentations at the annual meeting:

Best oral presentation (Basic Research); $400 cash award + 1 book + registration costs for the 2007 NABS meeting
Runner-up oral presentation (Basic Research); $250 cash award + 1 book + registration costs for the 2007 NABS meeting
Best oral presentation (Applied Research); $400 cash award + 1 book + registration costs for the 2007 NABS meeting
Runner-up oral presentation (Applied Research); $250 book certificate + registration costs for the 2007 NABS meeting
Best poster presentation (Basic Research); $250 cash award + 1 book + registration costs for the 2007 NABS meeting
Best poster presentation (Applied Research); $250 book certificate + registration costs for the 2007 NABS meeting
Best methodology presentation (oral or poster); $250 cash award + 1 book + registration costs for the 2007 NABS meeting

Current sponsors for the awards are Frigid Units; Hach/Hydrolab; Camp, Dresser and McKee; Fisher Scientific; Elsevier/Academic Press; Commonwealth Biomonitoring; Ben Meadows (Safety First); Tetra Tech; BioQuip; and University of California Press.

For each of the 7 student award winners at the 2006 meeting, the NABS registration fee will be covered for the next meeting (i.e., 2007). It is incumbent on the 2006 award winners to attend the next meeting - the registration fee waiver is intended as an incentive for the award winners to attend so they can actually receive their award certificates in person at the 2007 Business Meeting.

Eligibility criteria

The research must have been conducted while the entrant was a graduate or undergraduate student.
The research must not have been published prior to December 31, 2005.
The entrant must have been enrolled during the 2005-2006 academic year.
The student must be the senior author and present the paper.
Oral presentations must be given during the normal, 15-minute contributed or special sessions.
A student may enter and thus receive an award for only one presentation in any one year.

How to apply?

Simply select the award category you want to compete in when submit your abstract.

For additional information, regarding student awards, contact one of the Student Awards Subcommittee Chair (Peggy Morgan, 813/744-6100 ext.490; e-mail: peggymorgan@peoplepc.com

2008 NABS Endowment Awards

APPLICATION PROCEDURES

The NABS Board of Trustees encourages students to apply for the 2008 Endowment Awards! The awards are designed to support student research. There are no restrictions on how the funds can be spent but it assumed that disbursements will be directly related to research leading to student degree programs. The application procedure and guidelines are below. The application MUST be received by December 31, 2007 and applicants will be notified of the outcome of the competition by early March 2008. If you have any questions, contact the awards committee chair via e-mail (lakaplan@stroudcenter.org).

NABS Endowment Awards recognize excellence among our student members. These awards are based on merit and are highly competitive. A total of 15 awards will be granted and are supported by 5 named funds. The 5 funds and the eligibility criteria are described below.

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 Conservation Committee Award in the same year.
Students may apply for one award in an award year and must identify the fund (Award) for which they wish to apply.
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 (minimum 11 pt Font, 1? margins). Applications will be reviewed and judged by the 5 member Endowment Committee. Letters of recommendation are NOT requested and will not be considered. Five copies of the research description and one copy of the applicant?s information (described below) should be sent to:

NABS Endowment Awards c/o Dr. Louis A. Kaplan, Stroud Water Research Center, 970 Spencer Road Avondale, PA 19390

Applicant?s Information:

On a separate sheet include - Name: Award being applied for (see award descriptions above): Institution: Mailing Address: Telephone Number: Fax 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: A short signed note at the bottom of the page from the major professor/advisor confirming applicant?s information.

Description of the Funds

General Endowment Fund. Presidents Award to support any area of research (10 Awards at $600.00 each).
The Simpson Fund. To support research in applied issues (1 award at $600.00)
The Boesel ? Sanderson Fund. To support research on the natural history of organisms (1 award at $600.00).
The Americas Fund. To provide a travel award for a student from Latin America (1 award at $1200.00).
The Petersen Fund. To provide travel awards for non-North American students (2 awards at $1200.00 each).