Application

Undergraduate Research Mentor Award

The Geosciences Division of the Council on Undergraduate Research has established an annual award to highlight the importance of mentoring undergraduate research activities.

Eligibility: All Geoscience faculty involved in mentoring undergraduate research.

Prize: $500 along with a year-long CUR membership.

Expectations of Awardee: Short presentation when prize is awarded during the NAGT luncheon at the national GSA conference each fall.

Award Citation

The Geosciences Division of CUR annually recognizes an individual who serves as a role model for productive and transformative student-faculty mentoring relationships and for maintaining a sustained and innovative approach to the enterprise of undergraduate research.

Evidence of transformative student-faculty mentoring relationships include: leadership in fostering and sustaining the undergraduate research enterprise, student-mentor collaborations culminating in presentations at national or regional meetings and/or publication with student co-authors in peer-reviewed journals, and innovative approaches to involving undergraduates in research experiences incorporating research activities into the classroom and service learning.

Application Process

Nomination (including self nominations) materials: A two-page detailed narrative exploring how the candidate meets the criteria of the award, up to five-page CV that is focused on interactions with students, and two to five letters of support (at least one letter from a former student). The application remains on file for three years.  Send completed nomination packet to:  GeoCURMentor@gmail.com. Questions and inquiries can be addressed to Erin Kraal (kraal@kutztown.edu) or Dan Brabander (dbraband@wellesley.edu).

The application window opens March 1st and is open for two months. Send materials electronically to the co-chairs of the award committee working group no later than May 1st of each year. An awardee is selected and notified mid-summer and the award is presented at the Geological Society of America Fall Meeting at the GSA Education Division/NAGT/CUR joint luncheon.

Applications from a range of institutional settings are encouraged. GeoCUR recognizes that exemplar mentorship can take in settings ranging from community colleges, primarily undergraduate institutions, research universities, national laboratories, and industrial partnerships. The Geoscience Division of CUR represents a wide range of disciplines and this award follows the AGI definition of geoscience (geology, hydrology, planetary science, marine science/oceanography, atmospheric and space science, climate science, geochemistry, petrology, paleontology, environmental science and related fields).​

Download a PDF flyer announcing this award.

Undergraduate Research Mentor Award Committee:

Dan Brabander (co-chair), Wellesley College (dbraband@wellesley.edu)

Erin Kraal (co-chair), Kutztown University (kraal@kutztown.edu)

Meagen Pollock, The College of Wooster

Lydia Fox, University of the Pacific