CONFERENCE AWARDS
Conference awards for SMM2022 will reflect the global nature of this years conference!
LOW INCOME COUNTRY TRAVEL GRANTS
The Society for Marine Mammalogy provides conference support for a limited number of scientific colleagues who are full-time principal investigators (PIs) employed by governments, universities or other organizations in countries where scientists have less access to research funds.
The following criteria have been chosen to establish the classification of eligible countries: (1) Using the most recent World Bank classification, all countries in the categories Upper Middle Income, Lower Middle Income, and Low Income are eligible; and (2) Within the High Income countries, those countries that spend less than US $50 million or less than 1% of their GDP on Research and Development (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_research_and_development_spending) are also eligible. Applying these criteria, in 2021 investigators from all countries except the following can apply: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Singapore, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, and United States. This grant is meant for applicants who are primarily working scientists, and who a) are nationals and b) operate in a country where resources to support international conference attendance are inadequate or simply don’t exist. The grant is not open to applicants who are full time students (who are instead encouraged to apply for student travel grants). After screening for eligibility by the Chair of the Committee on International Relations, the applications will be ranked by the Committee and a selection made based on funds available. Selection criteria will address the potential value of the contributed communication to the advancement of marine mammal science and conservation in the applicant’s country, the applicant’s country representation within the Society’s membership, and the perceived difficulty of being a marine mammal scientist in the applicant’s region. Requirements include the following: a) full SMM membership at the time of the Conference; b) first (presenting) author of an abstract accepted by the Conference Committee; c) full participation in the Conference. Colleagues who have not obtained a Travel Grant in the previous two Biennial Conferences (2019 and 2017) will be given precedence.
When requesting support, please try to limit the request to your minimal needs. We have a fixed amount of funding available, and the less we will award pro capita, the more colleagues we will be able to support.
The Low Income Country Travel Grant application window for the SMM 2021 conference is now closed. If you have any questions about applying for a travel grant in 2021, contact: Lucy Keith Diagne Chair, International Relations Committee. Email: international@marinemammalscience.org
STUDENT AWARDS
STUDENT AWARDS
The student awards assessment at the 2019 World Marine Mammal Conference in Barcelona included regions in addition to presentation type, scientific content and impact. This recognition of students’ achievements around the globe received much positive feedback so we shall, again, incorporate regions as part of our assessment framework for the SMM2022 student awards. As such, abstract submission will have a few additional fields, asking for the location from which the presentation data was derived, the home country of the primary author and the institute or entity that supported the work. If the work is of a global or multi-national origin, don’t worry, we shall ensure there are sufficient options in the abstract submission form to capture multi-institutional research. If you have any questions about student awards and how to describe the location or nature of your presentation, please ask the awards committee anytime (awardschair@marinemammalscience.org).
All abstracts are assessed by the conference organizing committee and their review panel but, did you know that your actual presentation is assessed independently during the conference? A team of over 100 judges evaluate every single student presentation, of all formats, against a set of criteria and submit their scores to the awards committee. These scores are used to guide selection of the winners of each category. At SMM2022, judges will assess student presentations using the following five criteria;
- Scientific impact, e.g., do we know something now that we did not know before
- Scientific content, e.g., contains sound logical arguments
- Presentation, e.g., do the title and abstract reflect the presentation content; is the organization clear?
- Sensory Impact, e.g., design, imagery, audio; good balance of composition?
- And finally, Conference Theme, presentations that clearly articulate how the work contributes to the conference theme; A Sea Change: transforming science into stewardship OR if the work is intrinsically multi-disciplinary in nature, for example, a collaboration between social and biological sciences, the student will be considered for the “Hey Wow” Award, a special award that recognizes work that truly rocks the award committee’s world!
To be clear, student presentations of all themes, from all parts of this blue planet, are eligible for student award consideration, however, we are particularly keen to recognize student work that can or has the potential to make a sea change. Please highlight this in your abstract and presentation content if you feel your work fulfils this specific criterion.
OTHER ELIGIBLE AWARDS
There are several other awards presented at the conference or for conference travel, please check if you are eligible and what abstract submission details are required by checking the following text:
AUDIENCE FAVORITE AWARDS
The conference app will provide an option for all conference participants to choose their favourite daily presentation. This is open to all presenters and the judges are the audience themselves!
FREDERIC FAIRFIELD MEMORIAL AWARDS
The award commemorates one of the giants of marine mammal science, the late Dr. Frederic Fairfield, a marine mammal scientist who had a passion for innovative research methods. This award, therefore, recognizes students who have developed or applied pioneering techniques or research tools for studying marine mammals. The winner will be determined based on the submitted abstract, with an emphasis placed on the innovation of the methodology of the study and the potential it may have for making significant advances in our knowledge of marine mammals. This award is open to all students and students must stipulate during abstract submission they wish to be considered for this award. All presentation formats are eligible and data may be derived from the field, the laboratory or both. A small panel of previous Fairfield winners judge the presentations and select the winner this award. There may be more than one winner. (Note: individuals who are directly involved with the establishment or funding of this award are not eligible for assessment).
JOHN REYNOLDS SIRENIAN AWARD
J. STEPHEN LEATHERWOOD MEMORIAL AWARD
The late Dr. Steve Leatherwood contributed to global marine mammal science, however, he was particularly passionate about developing research in Asia. In recognition of this, the Leatherwood Award is given to the most outstanding presentation involving marine mammals of South and Southeast Asia. The award highlights those who have made a specific contribution to conservation and for whom the monetary prize will assist overcoming some of the challenges of working in an under-resourced environment. This award is open to all presenters who live and work in the Asian countries listed below[1]. All presentation formats are eligible. A small panel comprising scientists who work in conservation will assess presentations and select the winner.
[1] Eligible areas include the riverine and maritime areas of Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, China (including Taiwan), East Timor, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam.
IFAW AWARD FOR WELFARE AND CONSERVATION
This award recognizes exceptional contributions to welfare and/or conservation through benign research, public involvement and/or education, e.g., work that demonstrates how new scientific techniques may directly benefit conservation and welfare in the future; or work that tackles an important conservation and welfare problem and highlights solutions. This award is open to all presenters and presenters but the desire to be considered must be stipulated during abstract submission. All presentation formats are eligible, however, only research categorised as benign will be considered. A small panel of animal welfare practitioners and scientists who have contributed to conservation will assess the presentations for this award and recommend a winner to the Awards Committee. (Note: individuals who are directly involved with or are employed by the International Fund for Animal Welfare are not eligible for this award. If you are unsure of eligibility, please contact awardschair@marinemammalscience.org).
Have a question about conference awards or grants?
Contact our Awards Committee at awardschair@marinemammalscience.org