The Alaska Section of the American Water Resources Association (AWRA) is committed to supporting future researchers in the area of water resources. In addition to offering travel grants for students interested in attending the 2012 AWRA annual meeting, AWRA is once again offering scholarships to current graduate and undergraduate students working in the area of water-resources research in Alaska.
Applications for all competitive scholarships are due Feb. 1. Awards for graduate students are up to $2,500, meant to support students in completion of graduate studies and research thesis. Undergraduate student awards are available up to $1,000.
Graduate awards
Applicants must be enrolled at least part time (six credits minimum) in a graduate study and carry a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or better. Students’ full or part-time status will be considered in evaluation of submissions. Research topics must pertain to Alaska water resources issues.
An award of $2,500 can be an important contribution to graduate student research. Joel Homan, graduate student studying at UAF in the Water and Environmental Research Center was awarded an AWRA scholarship in 2010 and said it offered an important contribution to his work on the project, “Distributed snowmelt energy balance modeling in conjunction with MODIS-based fractional snow-covered area data.” Homan used the funds to purchase a field laptop.
Courtesy Joel Homan
Joel Homan used his scholarship from AWRA in 2010 to purchase a laptop to use in the field. The laptop, along with other equipment, allowed him to safely measure river discrhage from the banks of the river.
“Using the laptop equipped with Bluetooth, along with fancy stream gauging equipment, I was able to safely measure river discharge while standing on the banks,” Homan explained.
Proposals are limited to five pages, and must include: introduction and research thesis statement; objectives; description of proposed methodology; schedule for completion; and a statement on how the scholarship funds will contribute to the research. The AWRA Awards and Grants Committee will evaluate proposals based upon the following criteria:
- Technical feasibility.
- Contribution to the understanding of Alaska water resources and water-resource management.
- Clarity of presentation (background, objectives, methods such as data collection and analysis).
- Students’ academic achievement (review of transcripts from graduate school).
In addition to the five-page proposal, submission packets should include a cover letter; three letters of reference, including contact information; and transcripts. Packets should be submitted to Jon Zufelt, Awards and Grants Committee Chair. Additional information is available on the AWRA website.
Undergraduate awards
The 2012 Undergraduate Student paper Competition is meant to encourage scholarship in water resources among undergraduate students. Any student in an Alaska undergraduate program with a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher is eligible.
Multiple awards may be given up to $1,000, awarded for best papers. Winners will be announced at the 2012 Annual Meeting in Juneau (March 5-7) and have their registration fees waived if they wish to attend.
Students interested should submit one digital copy of the paper, not to exceed 20 pages. The paper must be accompanied by documentation of current enrollment in a college or university in Alaska, as well as one letter from an instructor documenting that he paper was derived from work discussed or assigned in class or a special project.
The paper should demonstrate insight into current problems or aspects of research, development or management of water resources in the state; clarity of presentation of the topic; logical support of theme or hypothesis.
Submissions should be submitted to Jon Zufelt, Awards and Grants Committee Chair. AWRA website.
