TASSA Young Scholar Grants

Preamble

TASSA values the participation of young scientist and scholars in TASSA activities. Active participation of our student members or those who continue their studies as post doctoral fellow will benefit these participants in a myriad of ways.

This sort of gatherings will allow these young scientists and scholars to engage in conversations with their peers and build camaraderie and also give them an opportunity to meet more experienced scientists in their fields. Despite the obvious benefits, many student and post doctoral members of TASSA may not be able to attend our major activities for lack of funds.

Although TASSA may not be able to reach out to all these bright emerging scientists, we should extend some resources to facilitate their participation in our events. Also important may be the notion of bringing students and post doctoral fellows in the US with their counterparts in the far reaches of the heartland Turkey. To these ends, TASSA will offer grants to qualified individuals according to the following protocol for the coming 2008 Annual Conference. These grants are currently ad hoc in nature and may be revised and revamped for the future as we assess the results we will obtain from our experience.

Young Scholar Grants

TASSA will allocate from its own resources a budget, not to exceed a total of $2,000 in the year 2008, to offer grants under the title of "Young Scholar Grant" to individuals who meet the criteria set forth in this document. Specifically targeted donations from TASSA membership which are earmarked for this grant will also be used for this purpose and will help determine the actual TASSA allocation. The purpose of the grant is to facilitate the participation of the recipients in the annual conference rather than to provide an award for their achievements.

Definition

Each TASSA technical group will be allowed to select the recipient(s) of the grant(s) according to the standards outlined below. The award is given to cover the actual travel expenses up to $500 and may be split to cover the expenses of more than one applicant. In awarding the grant, the technical groups will consider;

  1. the scholarly and scientific nature of the work,
  2. the financial need of the participant as assessed from the application, and
  3. a balanced distribution of recipients from different geographical locations including various areas of Turkey. No consideration will be given to gender, affiliation, ethnic background and other such factors.

The award specifically covers travel expenses and may not be used for other purposes. It is given to a specific individual and may not be transferred to or used to benefit other parties. The award recipients will be recognized during the annual TASSA meeting, and the grant recipients and their winning abstracts will be highlighted in the proceedings.

Selection Committee

The selection committee shall consist of the technical group members of the TASSA Board of Directors who will evaluate the applications in their field. In evaluating the applications, the selection committees will consider the scientific merit, importance and impact of the work in the field and will look upon unpublished work more favorably. Favorable consideration will also be given to the financial need of the participant, as can best be assessed from the application, and to a balanced distribution of recipients from different geographical locations including various areas of Turkey. The applicant must register and attend the conference to present her or his work.

Application

In order to receive grants from this program, the applicant:

  1. Must be a paid member of TASSA
  2. Must present a poster, slide presentation, talk, or workshop related to his or her work at the TASSA Annual Meeting.
  3. Should be the presenter of the work and should have accomplished more than half of the work by herself or himself
  4. Must apply for the award before the due date when announced by TASSA
  5. Must submit a recent CV
  6. Must submit an expressed statement for the amount of financial need and may also optionally provide supporting documentation to that effect
  7. May belong to one technical group and participate in another technical group event as outlined in item 2
  8. May not receive this award more than once

To apply, send your

  1. most recent CV,
  2. the abstract of presentation at the TASSA conference,
  3. the technical group that you belong to,
  4. your full contact information, and
  5. an expressed statement for the amount of financial need and may also optionally provide supporting documentation to that effect to grants@tassausa.org by the announced due date of March 21, 2008.