Awards and Scholarships for Students
Charlotte Mangum Student Support Program
The Charlotte Mangum Student Support Program, named in honor of SICB President Charlotte Preston Mangum, awards financial support in the form of housing or waived registration fees at the annual meetings. Those applicants granted housing support will receive housing (with a co-pay of presently $75/meeting) for four (4) nights during the Annual Meeting. For guidelines and application, refer to the webpages for the upcoming meeting. As a condition to receive this award, each student must agree to donate time as an assistant during some of the sessions.
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Grants In Aid Of Research Program (GIAR)
If you are interested in the Grants in Aid of Research program and need either more information or an application form, please visit our online Guidelines and Application Form.- Previous Awards
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Fellowship of Graduate Student Travel (FGST)
The Fellowship of Graduate Student Travel (FGST) is a new award generously established this year (2002) by the SICB. The purpose of these fellowships is to provide student funds for travel and other expenses at distant research laboratories, museums, or field sites. The primary purpose is for travel to "distant" research sites to learn specialized techniques or to use unique equipment or collections. The SSC expects to grant 2-3 fellowships of up to $2000 this year. Click here for Guidelines and Application Form. If you are interested in the Grants in Aid of Research program and need either more information or an application form, please visit our online Guidelines and Application Form.- Previous Awards
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Libbie H. Hyman Memorial Scholarship
This scholarship, in memory of Libbie H. Hyman, one of America's foremost invertebrate zoologists, provides assistance to students to take courses or to pursue research on invertebrates at a marine, freshwater, or terrestrial field station. The amount of the 2009 award was $1000. The Hyman Grant is intended to help support a first meaningful field-station experience for a first- or second-year graduate student, or an advanced undergraduate.For guidelines and online application go to http://sicb.org/grants/hyman/
Further information is available from:
Dr Bruno Pernet
Chair, SICB Libbie H. Hyman Memorial Scholarship Committee
California State University Long Beach
1250 Bellflower Blvd
Long Beach, CA 90840
Phone: 562-985-5378
Fax: 562-985-8878
bpernet@csulb.edu
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Dorothy M. Skinner Award Fund
Dorothy
Skinner, a long-time member of the Society for Integrative Biology
and The Crustacean Society, died on February 12, 2005 from
complications of Parkinson's disease. We have not only lost a
prominent member of our community, but also an influential mentor and
advocate for women in science. As a memorial, a fund has been
established for the "Dorothy M. Skinner Award". The award recognizes women in the early stages of their careers who have demonstrated outstanding scholarship and show high potential for continued excellence in research. It provides travel support to awardees to present their research at
annual meetings of the SICB. To make a donation, go to our
secure Online Contribution Form.
2009 Dorothy M. Skinner Award goes to Jessica E. Garb
Jessica E. Garb has been selected this year's winner of the Dorothy M. Skinner Award. Dr. Garb is giving a paper at the 2009 Boston meeting: Session 26.6, Monday, Jan. 5, 2009, 10:00 am in Commonwealth B. [Read more]
2008 Dorothy M. Skinner Award goes to Deborah I. Lutterschmidt
Dr. Lutterschmidt earned her Ph.D. in 2006 from Oregon State University and gave two papers at the 2008 San Antonio meeting. [Read more]
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Best Student Paper (BSP) Program
If you wish to compete in the Best Student Paper (BSP) Program for the division to which you are submitting your abstract, please check the Best Student Paper box on the Abstract/Transmittal Form. The SICB Business Office will forward a copy of your Abstract/ Transmittal Form to the appropriate division for review. Following are the BSP Divisional Guidelines for your review and consideration. If you have questions about specific division rules and/or need further clarification, please contact the SICB Business Office.
Some awards require that your advisor submit a letter stating the independent nature of your work (Refer to the BSP Division Guidelines.). If your Division requires such a letter, the letter must accompany the Abstract/Transmittal Form on the date the abstract is due for the next year's annual meeting.
Summary of BSP Divisional Guidelines
Division of Animal Behavior
Section 1. Awards
At each Annual Meeting of the Division of Animal Behavior there may be three student paper awards. There may be two Division of Animal Behavior Best Student Paper Awards presented, one for the student making the best oral presentation and one for the student making the best poster presentation. When two awards are presented, each will be $50 and a certificate. Additionally, there may be an Adrian M. Wenner Outstanding Award of $100 and a certificate presented for the best oral or poster paper based upon the strong inference approach in experimental design and execution.
Section 2. Participation Rules
The rules governing participating in the Best Student Paper Award Competition and the Adrian M. Wenner Award Competition shall be determined by the Division Executive Committee.
Section 3. Selection Committee
The rules governing the competitions shall specify that a selection committee be appointed each year consisting of at least three members of the Division of Animal Behavior and/or SICB.
Division of Comparative Endocrinology
Two awards will be given in the Best Student Paper competition at the Annual Meeting: one for the best oral presentation and one for the best poster presentation. The award for the best oral presentation will be named the Aubrey Gorbman Award. In addition to a certificate, the prize will carry with it an award of $100. Students who have not yet been awarded a Ph.D. are eligible for the prize, as are new Ph.D.’s who have received the degree no more than 12 months prior to the meeting and are presenting a paper on their graduate research. The work must be original and must have been carried out principally by the student presenting the paper. The prize can be awarded to any one student.
Division of Comparative Physiology & Biochemistry
Two awards will be given in the Best Student Paper competition at the Annual Meeting, one for the best oral presentation and one for the best poster presentation. Each year the award will be titled in honor of a distinguished comparative physiologist or biochemist. The name of the honored person will be selected by the DCPB Executive Committee. Each award will include a certificate and monetary prize. Undergraduate students and graduate students who have not yet been awarded the PhD are eligible for the award, as are new PhD's who have received the degree no more than 12 months prior to the meeting. The work must be original and must be carried out principally by the student presenting the paper or poster. In any one year, a student can enter either the oral or poster competition. A student awarded either the top DCPB poster or talk prize is not eligible for future DCPB student presentation contests. The DCPB Chair will appoint a DCPB member to chair the student competition and, in consultation with that member, will select the other judges.
Division of Developmental & Cell Biology
An annual prize shall be awarded for the best paper presented by a student at the Annual Meeting. In addition to a certificate, the prize will carry with it an award of $100. Students who have not yet been awarded the Ph.D. are eligible for the prize, as are new Ph.D.’s who have received the degree no more than 12 months prior to the meeting and are presenting a paper on their graduate research. The work must be original and must have been carried out principally by the student presenting the paper and the student must be the sole author of the paper. The prize can be awarded only once to any student. Prior to the Annual Meeting, students who have submitted abstracts will be given the option of competing or not competing for the prize. However, if, in the opinion of the judges, none of the papers presented at a given meeting are deserving of a prize, the prize may be omitted for that year. In the case of a tie, duplicate prizes may be awarded. The Chair of the Division shall appoint annually 3 full members of the Division to act as judges. All papers identified as competing for the prize must be attended by at least one judge and preferably by all three. No member who has a student competing for a prize shall be eligible to serve as judge.
Division of Ecology & Evolution
A certificate and monetary prize will be awarded for the Best Contributed Paper, and the Best Poster presented by a student at the Annual Meeting. Students who have not yet taken the Ph.D. degree, as well as new Ph.D's who have received the degree not more than 12 months prior to the meeting, are eligible to compete for the awards. The work presented must be original and must be carried out principally by the student presenting the paper or poster. Students submitting abstracts of work to be presented at the Annual Meeting may apply to compete for the awards. A student who applies must be a member of the Division of Ecology & Evolution, and a prize can be awarded only once to any student. If in the opinion of the judges, none of the papers or posters presented is deserving of an award, the awards may not be presented that year. In the case of a tie, duplicate awards may be presented. The Chair of the Division will appoint annually a three-person Awards Committee who will act as judges. All papers identified as competing for the prize must be attended by at least one judge, and preferably by all three. No member who has a student competing for a prize shall be eligible to serve as a judge.
Criteria for judging papers and posters are modeled after those used in the judging for the 1989 Best Student Paper Competition. Each judge receives, in advance, an evaluation form that has the name of the student, the paper or poster number, and a copy of the abstract. The form is provided to aid the judge in evaluating the paper or poster for content and presentation. The content and presentation of the paper or poster will be judged upon:
Content (60%)
- Originality of the research
- Efficacy of approach and methods used
- Freedom from statistical or analytical flaws
- Logical connection between conclusions and data
- Importance of research
Presentation (40%)
- Clarity of the objectives
- How well the presenter helped the audience follow the various parts of the presentation and recognize the parts as integrating into a whole
- How well the presenter integrated the presentation into the fabric of science represented by the work and showed the importance of the contribution to the field
- Ability of the presenter to answer questions
- Quality of graphics
- Lack of annoying distractions from the research presented
Division of Invertebrate Zoology
Section 1.
At each Annual Meeting of the Division of Invertebrate Zoology, there may be two graduate student monetary awards for best contributed papers or posters. Each award will also be accompanied by a certificate of achievement. Among those graduate student papers and posters selected by the judging committee to receive the "Best Student Paper Award," one paper or poster may be designated to receive the "Adrian M. Wenner Strong Inference Award," as specified in Section 2. A student who applies to be considered must be a registered graduate student or have received the Ph.D. within 12 months prior to the meeting, and be a member of the Division of Invertebrate Zoology. He or she must be sole author of the paper/poster or, if co-authored with an advisor as junior author, a letter from the advisor must accompany the application. That letter must state that the student alone conceived of and executed a substantial share of the reported research.
Section 2.
The selection of the paper or poster to receive the "Adrian M. Wenner Strong Inference Award" shall be on the basis of how well and explicitly it meets the standards of the strong inference or multiple working hypothesis approach, as described in any one of the following papers:
Chamberline, T.C. 1890 (reprinted in 1965). "The method of multiple working hypotheses," Science 148: 754-759.
Platt, J.R. 1964. "Strong Inference," Science 146: 347-353.
Wenner, A.M. 1989. "Concept-centered versus organism-centered biology," American Zoologist 29: 1179-1199.
To be considered for the strong inference award, the paper or poster must explicitly apply the following steps:
- Clearly state an initial hypothesis
- Explicitly designate alternate hypothesis(es)
- Devise crucial experiment(s) with alternative possible outcomes that will as nearly as possible exclude one or more of the alternative hypotheses
- Execute the experiment cleanly Section 3.
A committee of three judges will be appointed by the Chair to organize the judging of papers and posters at each Annual Meeting.
Division of Systematic and Evolutionary Biology
Section 1.
At each Annual Meeting of the Division of Systematic and Evolutionary Biology, an award of $100 and a certificate may be given to the student making the best presentation during the oral contributed paper or poster sessions.
Section 2.
The Rules governing participation in the Best Student Paper Award Competition shall be determined by the Division Executive Committee.
Section 3.
The rules governing the competitions shall specify that a selection committee be appointed each year consisting of at least three members of the Division of Systematic and Evolutionary Biology.
The competition is open to graduates within one year of receiving their degree.
Division of Vertebrate Morphology
(See also "Student Presentations in the DVM" on the divisional homepage)
Article XVI. Student Award - D. Dwight Davis Award
1. From the D. Dwight Davis fund of the Division a $100.00 prize may be given for an outstanding paper presented by a student (or by a new Ph.D. who received the degree no more than 12 months before the meeting at which the paper is presented). In addition, a certificate will be given as well as an appropriate gift to reflect Vertebrate Morphology. The work must be original, and must have been carried out by the student or students. The award is made only on the unanimous decision of a committee of three appointed before the meeting by the Chair of the Division. The guidelines for the award are as follows:
a. The intention of the award is to recognize significant conceptual, observational, and experimental contributions to he field of vertebrate morphology. These shall be the major criteria for selection. Only outstanding work is to be recognized.
b. Acceptable standards of visual aids and oral presentation shall be required for consideration. Spectacular presentation techniques shall not by themselves qualify a paper.
2. Student Award - for Poster Presentation. A suitable prize, ($100 prize) may be given for an outstanding poster presentation given by a student (or a new Ph.D. who received the degree no more than 12 months before the meeting at which the paper is presented). In addition, a certificate will be given as well as an appropriate gift to reflect Vertebrate Morphology. The work must be original, and must have been carried out by the student or students. The award is made only on the unanimous decision of a committee of three appointed before the meeting by the Chair of the Division. The guidelines for the award are as follows:
a. The intention of the award is to recognize significant conceptual, observational, and experimental contributions to the field of vertebrate morphology. These shall be the major criteria for selection. Only outstanding work is to be recognized.
b. Acceptable standards of visual presentation techniques shall not by themselves qualify a poster.
