ESSIC recently donated $5,000 per year to the University of Maryland Department of Geology to use towards student travel and awards.
The Department will use these funds for student activities and to help defray the expenses of Geology undergraduate students who will be presenting their own research at national or international conferences.
Recipients of the award can receive up to $1,000 for travel to a national or international meeting such as AGU, GSA and EGU.
Applications should be submitted to the Chair of the scholarships committee, Dr. Wenlu Zhu, by September 15 of each year. The scholarship committee, Dr. Phillip Candela and Dr. John Merck, will then review all applications and make recommendations to the Chair, who will announce the awards.
The applications should consist of the student’s CV – which includes the credit hours they have completed, the Geology courses they have taken, their cumulative GPA and their GPA for Geology classes – a budget showing estimated expenses for the conference, as well as any other sources of support the abstract or draft abstract of the work they will present and a brief recommendation letter from the student’s faculty advisor.
Geology students, including Geology and Environmental Science and Policy majors, will be given first preference. Non-Geology students who are presenting research with a Geology faculty member may also be considered if sufficient funds exist.
ESSIC Director Dr. Antonio Busalacchi said ESSIC helped initiate the opportunity and made a similar contribution to the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Science.
“I am happy that as a result of the growth of ESSIC’s research enterprise, we are in position to work with our partner departments such as Geology to support and recognize, in some small way, their talented undergraduates that are central to the educational mission of the university,” Busalacchi said.
