Society of Systematic Biologists

The Society of Systematic Biologists (SSB) announces the 2010 annual Graduate Student Research Award competition. The purpose of these awards is to assist students in the initiation (first two years) of their systematics projects and in the collection of preliminary data to pursue additional sources of support (e.g., Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grants from the National Science Foundation) or to enhance dissertation research (e.g., by visiting additional field collection sites or museums). Applicants may be from any country, but must be members of SSB, and are advised to join the Society as soon as possible to facilitate their applications (to join go to: http://systbio.org/?q=node/6). Previous awardees may not re-apply, but previous applicants who were not selected for funding are encouraged to re-apply. Awards will range between $1,200 - $2000 and approximately seven to nine awards will be made. The list of awardees below includes examples of successful proposals for you to download.

How to apply
All application materials must be in electronic format. Applicants and their recommenders are required to use pdf format, rather than Word or some other application, to minimize difficulties in file transfer. Applicants should send all materials (except letters of reference) in a SINGLE pdf file. Letters of recommendation should be sent separately by the referees in pdf format or in the text of an e-mail; please include the FULL NAME OF APPLICANT in recommendation letters.

Applicants must submit

1. a curriculum vitae (one page)
2. brief research proposal including objectives, methods, significance, and schedule (max. three single-spaced pages including literature cited and any figures and tables)
3. budget and budget justification (1 page)
4. and arrange for two letters of recommendation; one letter must be from the student's current graduate advisor.

The research proposal must clearly state the current stage of the proposed research and the current year and status of the student. PLEASE INCLUDE APPLICANT'S CONTACT E-MAIL ADDRESS AT THE TOP OF THE APPLICATION ITSELF. Both Masters and Ph.D. students in their FIRST TWO YEARS are eligible. Systematics is interpreted broadly to include questions below and above the species level, molecular and morphological approaches, and issues of pattern and process. Funding is not limited to any particular aspect of research, but rather is available for field, museum/herbarium, and/or laboratory work.

Please email all application materials and queries to SSB Awards Committee ssb-apps@life.uiuc.edu . IN THE SUBJECT LINE OF THE E-MAIL, PLEASE INDICATE "Student Research" FOLLOWED BY FIRST INITIAL AND LAST NAME.

To be considered for this year's award, application materials, including letters of recommendation, must be received electronically no later than March 31, 2010.

Recent Winners
Some of the successful proposals can be viewed by clicking on the links below.

2009
Jamie Oaks, University of Kansas
Christopher Owen, University of Connecticut
Fernanda Werneck, Brigham Young University
Dawn Xiao, University of Toronto
Rosanne Healy, University of Minnesota
Jozef Slowik, University of Alaska, Fairbanks
Patricia Lu-Irving, University of Washington
Amy Luxbacher, University of Minnesota
Carolina Gomez-Navarro, University of California, Berkeley

2008
Arley Camargo, Brigham Young University
Andres Cuervo, Louisiana State University
Mauricio Diazgranados, St. Louis University
Jessica Davis, Iowa State University
Tom Giarla, University of Minnesota
Zacharias Gompert, University of Wyoming
Amanda Grusz, Duke University
Maribeth Latvis, University of Florida, Gainesville
Chris Muir, Indiana University
Findley Ransler, Cornell University
Benjamin Reinhart, Purdue University
Kevin Weitemier, Portland State University
Tim Whitfeld, University of Minnesota

2007
Heather Shull, Boston University
Tracy Misiewicz, Northwestern University
Anjan Bhullar, University of Texas, Austin
Kate Hertweck, University of Missouri, Columbia
Josephine Rodriguez, University of Illinois
Carl Rothfels, Duke University
Barbara Banbury, Washington State University
David Winter, University of Otago, New Zealand
Amanda Cass, Cornell University
Robert Thomson, University of California, Davis
Emilie Bess, Illinois Natural History Survey
Luisa Montalvo, Universidade Los Andes, Colombia

2006
Stuart Willis, University of Nebraska, Lincoln
Julie Allen, University of Florida
Erik Sperling, Yale University
Seth Bybee, University of Florida
Jacob Esselstyn, University of Kansas
Cameron Siler, University of Kansas
Erin Tripp, Duke University

2005
Kyle Dexter, Duke University
Michael D. Nowak, Duke University,
Randall Langerhans, Washington University
Maxi Polihronakis, University of Connecticut
Catherine Wagner, Cornell University
Timothy D. Swain, Florida State University
Lucía A. Luna Wong, The University of Michigan
Matthew D. Herron, University of Arizona
Daniel Rabosky, Cornell University
Elen Oneal, The University of Michigan

2004
Rachelle Adams, University of Texas, Austin
Ashley Egan, Brigham Young University
Micah Dunthorn, University of Massachusetts
Rachel Novick, Yale University
Elin Claridge, University of California, Berkeley
Jill Holliday, Florida State University
Santiago Ramirez, Harvard University

2003
Rutger Vos, Simon Fraser University
Erica Rosenblum, University of California, Berkeley
Andrew Deans, University of Illinois
Madhava Meegaskumbura, Boston University
Matt Brandley, San Diego State University (although he's now at University of California, Berkeley)
Eric Schuettpelz, Duke University
Cécile Gueidan, Duke University

2002
Edgar Benavides, Brigham Young University
David G. Chapple, Australian National University, Canberra
Melissa A. Frey, University of California Davis
Jeffrey B. Joy, Simon Fraser University
Ashley B. Morris, University of Florida, Gainesville
Diana C. Outlaw, University of Nevada Las Vegas