Frank A. Andersen Travel Award

The Frank A. Andersen Travel Award is recognizes Ecology graduate students who have achieved excellence in their research and who will benefit from participation at an approved professional conference. Support for this award has been contributed by F. Alan Andersen in memory of his father, Frank A. Andersen.  

Award Amount

Award amount varies each year with some previous amounts being upwards of $800. The recipient(s) shall be determined by the awards committee comprised of an elected representative, selected members of the Ecology Graduate Student Organization, and a faculty member or program chair. Any available monies not awarded in a particular year shall be added to funds available for expenditure in the following year. The awards committee will announce the amount of available funds early in the spring semester. 

Award Frequency

Each award shall be for one academic year. Further extraordinary accomplishments by a recipient may enable that recipient to be again considered for this award. Preference shall be given to eligible applicants who have not previously received this award.

Eligibility

Consideration for this award shall be given to all graduate students enrolled in the Graduate School who have achieved excellence in their research topic in Ecology and who will greatly benefit from active participation in an approved professional conference where the student will have opportunities to interact with other colleagues and scholars in their field of study. Students must be officially enrolled for credits as a M.S. or Ph.D. student in the in the Ecology program during either the semester in which the paper is presented or the semester immediately prior to the presentation. Priority will be given to those giving an oral presentation at a national or international meeting. Students must be the senior author of the presentation, and the presentation must be based on original ecological research conducted in partial fulfillment of the M.S. or Ph.D. degree in Ecology at Penn State.

Consideration for the Award

A call for applications will be issued early in the spring semester of each year. Please consult the Ecology program emails for specific requirements and due dates. Late requests will not be considered. The application should consist of the following:

  • Candidates will submit a short (< 250 words) abstract for review, along with a funding request for a particular conference to the award selection committee. The abstract may be a copy of the candidate's official meeting abstract or, to remain within the 250 word limit, a summary of said abstract.
  • The awards committee will select the recipient based on abstract quality and available funds by the given due date. 
  • If selected for this award, recipients must give an oral presentation at the conference.
  • Upon returning from the conference, awardees will be required to write a short reflection on the conference for the Ecology program newsletter. This reflection should be submitted to the Andersen Rep with copies to the Ecology Service Assistant and the Huck records specialist assigned to the Ecology program. Upon receipt of the reflection, the Huck records specialist will notify the Office of Graduate Fellowships and Awards to disburse the award.

Amendment

The Board of Trustees of The Pennsylvania State University, in consultation with the donor when possible, shall have the authority to make changes in these guidelines which are necessary to ensure the fulfillment of the above-stated objectives.