CONFERENCE AWARDS

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/regions: (1) Using the most recent World Bank classification, all countries/regions in the categories Upper Middle Income, Lower Middle Income, and Low Income are eligible; and (2) Within the High Income countries/regions, those countries/regions 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 2024 investigators are eligible, provided they do not reside in: 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/region 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/region, the applicant’s country/region 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 (2022 and 2019) 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 was accessible within the SMM2024 abstract submission form and is now closed.

Travel grant allocation decisions will be sent out by June 10, 2024, before the deadline for accepting or declining your presentation offer. Please watch for an email from international@marinemammalscience.org. If you no longer require a travel grant, please contact the IRC as soon as possible so they can allocate the funds to others.

If you have any questions about applying for a travel grant, please contact: Lucy Keith Diagne Chair, International Relations Committee (international@marinemammalscience.org).

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:

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!

Presentations that address the Conference Theme will also be considered for a special award.

Please highlight this in your abstract and presentation content if you feel your work fulfils this specific criterion.

Dr. Stu Innes was a vocal advocate for supporting students in their efforts to develop a career in Arctic marine mammal research. He believed that the Biennial Marine Mammal Conferences hosted by the Society for Marine Mammalogy were a good opportunity for young researchers to learn, network, and develop enthusiasm from the leaders in the field. As a tribute to Stu, friends and colleagues established the “Innes Memorial Student Travel Bursary” to help support a student’s travel to this conference. Only one travel bursary is awarded per conference and applicants must be members of the Society of Marine Mammalogy in good standing.

Award Amount: USD1000 (~ AUD 1500).

Application Process: If this award is selected on abstract submission, a field will appear into which the applicant must provide a short paragraph (400 words) detailing what benefits they will gain from attending the SMM conference and how the applicant will use their attendance to highlight research in the Arctic.

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.

This is a new award for the 2024 Conference. The award aims to highlight low-budget and creative marine mammal research. Applicants can be at any career stage but must be members of the Society for Marine Mammalogy, in good standing.

What it is not: The research being considered cannot substantially rely on uncompensated interns, volunteers, or people who have paid to participate directly in the research. It also cannot substantially be the result of direct collaborations with well-funded research collaborators.

Award Amount and Support: Science on a Shoestring winners will be provided their conference registration fee plus up to USD 2000 (~AUD3000) for travel expenses.

Application process: If this award is selected during abstract submission, a field will appear into which the applicant must provide a short paragraph detailing the best or most important results that either involve the least amount of funding, or new and creative ways to fund and supply research, especially if they are transferrable to other regions or fields of study. Only one applicant per abstract submission will be eligible for the award.

Winners of this award will be expected to participate in a panel discussion at the conference on research funding challenges and ways to overcome them.