Scholars invited to apply for NASA-MSU Professional Enhancement Award

Students, post-docs and junior researchers (e.g. assistant professors) across the world who want to expand their professional networks should apply for a 2015 NASA-MSU Professional Enhancement Award.

Scholars who receive the awards give oral or poster presentations at the World Congress of the International Association for Landscape Ecology July 5-10, 2015, in Portland, Ore. The presentations should focus on telecoupling (environmental and socioeconomic interactions over distances, such as human and animal migration, species dispersal, species invasion, disease spread, sound/noise transmission, spread of pollutants and wastes, trade of goods and products, flows of ecosystem services, environmental and hydrological flows, foreign investment, technology transfer, water transfer, and tourism). Topics may include applications of the telecoupling framework to address issues across landscapes or coupled human and natural systems (e.g., cross-scale and cross-border dynamics, pattern, process, structure, function, and sustainability).

"Many promising young scholars who are interested in research on landscape ecology may not be able to attend conferences and other professional events without financial assistance," said Jianguo "Jack" Liu, who holds the Rachel Carson Chair in Sustainability and is director of the Center for Systems Integration and Sustainability at Michigan State University. “This award program was set up to help them connect with leading researchers at a national event."

Approximately 20 NASA-MSU Professional Enhancement Awards (up to $700 each) are given each year to cover expenses associated with attending the conference. Applications are judged based on the merits of the applicants' abstracts, financial needs, and professional backgrounds and goals. Former award recipients are not eligible to apply. Underrepresented individuals are especially encouraged to apply.

These special awards are made possible by the support of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and Michigan State University.

Before starting the application process, applicants should have the following items available:

• abstract (as it was submitted to World Congress)
• resume/CV
• cover letter
• budget for the trip to Portland, Ore.

Each applicant should have discussed the application with her/his supervisor and received approval from the supervisor before applying.

Applications are due by March 1, 2015. To apply, visit the 2015 NASA-MSU Professional Enhancement Award online application form.

To learn about previous awardees, visit the NASA-MSU Professional Enhancement Award page.