Student Research Awards Program


DEADLINE FOR 2022 AWARDS: Friday, March 25, 5 p.m.

The Kansas Biological Survey & Center for Ecological Research offers awards to support research by KU undergraduate and graduate students. There are two sets of awards: One that is exclusively for students affiliated with our research unit (Kansas Biological Survey & Center for Ecological Research Awards), the other available to any student at KU conducting research at the University of Kansas Field Station, which we manage (KU Field Station Awards). The following individual awards are offered in 2022.

Kansas Biological Survey & Center for Ecological Research Awards
Awards in the following three categories are available only to students affiliated with our research center, the Kansas Biological Survey & Center for Ecological Research, which means that you must be mentored by one of our faculty, scientists or other affiliated researchers. Note: All students affiliated with our research center are eligible for these awards, whether they do research at the KU Field Station or any other location.

1. The Kansas Biological Survey & Center for Ecological Research Director’s Award$1,500 will be awarded to help support the research of one graduate student

2. The Nancy Hale-Martinko Memorial Award (2022 only)$1,500 will be awarded to help support the research of one undergraduate OR graduate student

3. The Nason AwardsSeveral $1,000 awards will be offered to help support the research of undergraduate and graduate students

KU Field Station Awards
Awards of $1,000 in the following categories are available to support KU undergraduate and graduate students conducting research at the KU Field Station. Note: Students from any department or research center at KU are eligible to apply.

1. The Mari F. Pesek Award will support one graduate student conducting research at the KU Field Station.

2. The Kenneth B. Armitage Award will support one undergraduate OR graduate student conducting research at the KU Field Station.

3. The W. Dean Kettle Conservation Award will support one undergraduate OR graduate student conducting research at the KU Field Station in the area of natural resource conservation.

4. The Baldwin Woods Award will support one undergraduate OR graduate student conducting research at the KU Field Station’s Baldwin Woods Forest Preserve.
 

Application procedure: The application procedure is identical for all awards. There is no need to apply for any specific award. The selection committee will consider each applicant for all awards for which they are eligible. Application materials should be submitted via our webform. The required materials include:  

  • A summary of proposed research (three pages maximum) that includes a project title; eligibility statement (your academic department, whether or not you are affiliated with the Kansas Biological Survey & Center for Ecological Research, whether you are an undergraduate or graduate student, whether or not the research will be conducted at the KU Field Station); objectives; methods; expected products and significance of the proposed work; a brief statement of how funds will be used (acceptable uses include materials and supplies, equipment, research-related services and research related-travel). 
  • curriculum vitae.
  • A letter of reference/support from your graduate or research advisor.

Applicants will be notified of funding decisions by mid-April 2022. Awardees will receive a lump sum amount in July 2022, and all funds must be spent during FY 2022-2023. 

Responsibility of awardees: As a condition of receiving funds, awardees must agree to the following: 1) submit a one- to two-page report of research findings to the Awards Committee by May 2023; 2) present the results at one of the Friday Ecology Seminars held by the Kansas Biological Survey & Center for Ecological Research during the 2022-2023 academic year; 3) if the proposed research is to be conducted at the KU Field Station, the awardee agrees to follow all Field Station rules and guidelines linked below. 

General rules for use of the KU Field Station

Rules for research use at the Field Station

If you have questions about the awards application, please contact Bryan Foster, director of the KU Field Station, bfoster@ku.edu.