Purpose: The Tschinkel Fund was set up by Walter and Victoria Tschinkel to encourage graduate student research into basic natural history and biology of ants (in the broad sense), areas that have often been neglected. The thinking behind this grant program can be found in two essays: Tschinkel WR and Wilson EO (2014) Scientific natural history: telling the epics of nature, BioScience 64:438-443 [pdf]; and Tschinkel WR (2010) Back to basics: sociometry and sociogenesis of ant societies (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Myrmecological News 14:49-54 [pdf]. Applicants are encouraged to read these papers for guidance.
Nature: The recipient will receive 1) a research grant of up to $2,500 to be applied toward covering research expenses, and 2) a free membership to IUSSI-NAS in 2023. Please note that this grant is to be given to an individual researcher and no overhead will be allowed. The winner will be announced by May 15, 2022. Information on previous recipients can be found on the IUSSI-NAS website.
Eligibility: Any current graduate student who is a member of IUSSI-NAS conducting research on ant biology is eligible, so long as they have not yet completed their thesis work. Contact the Secretary (iussi.nas@gmail.com) or visit the website (http://iussi.cyberbee.net/membershipx/) for membership information.
Applications: Proposals are due April 30, 2022. Late or incomplete proposals will not be considered. Parts 1-9 of the application should be sent as a single PDF file, in the format described below, to Floria Mora-Kepfer Uy (floria.uy@rochester.edu), Co-chair of the IUSSI-NAS Awards Committee. Parts 1-5 combined must be no longer than four single spaced pages with a 12 pt font.
1) TITLE.
2) SIGNIFICANCE. Applicants should include the novel aspects of the proposed research, expected contribution(s) to the understanding of ant natural history (in the large sense), and relation to previous work. The significance statement should include a clearly stated goal, study species (or multiple species), and justification of research methods. Taxonomic or phylogenetic projects are discouraged. Favored projects will be those that consider ants in their social modality, with colonies as functional/developing entities. Emphasis should be a “skin out” approach, including behavior. Questions that focus on metabolic/molecular levels will be considered only if the goal is the elucidation of some aspect of ant natural history. Projects may ask questions such as: What do the ants do? Where and how do they do it? Why do they
do it? What are consequences for the life history, ecology or evolution? Experimental projects are encouraged, but observational projects will also be considered.
3) RESEARCH PLAN. Include the particular species to be studied, methods, analyses, and logistics. The project may be the main dissertation topic or it may be ancillary or supplementary to it.
4) FEASIBILITY. Provide sufficient information to demonstrate the project’s feasibility. Provide a timetable that outlines how the necessary work is aligned with the budget size and a clear path to publication.
5) AWARD IMPACT. Provide a brief statement expressing what, if any, challenges the applicant has faced in conducting research thus far (e.g., limited funding, conflicting family obligations, being of an underrepresented group in science, COVID19-related slowdowns). Explain the anticipated positive impacts this award would have on the applicant’s research and career.
6) CITATIONS. Provide these in the format used by the Entomological Society of America.
7) BUDGET. Include projected costs and justification of items where appropriate. State any other supporting funds that will be used (this can impact feasibility). If currently funded by other grants or other means (including awards or start-up funds of graduate adviser), explain how the proposed work is connected or independent. Travel expenses are allowed but must be detailed.
8) CURRICULUM VITAE. Include present position and start and finish dates. The CV will only be used to determine if students have enough time to complete the proposed project. The merit of past achievements and other activities will not be evaluated.
9) LETTER OF SUPPORT. This is to be written by the applicant’s advisor. Note: This is not a traditional letter of recommendation.
Please address the following:
– Is there adequate support and basic resources to complete the proposed project?
– What is the level of independence of the proposed project from your research program?
– Is this student making appropriate progress on their degree and in good academic standing?
Report: A condition of the grant is that the recipient provides a report on the results of their research. Ideally, this will be a 10-minute oral report at the next annual meeting of the IUSSI-NAS. If the recipient is not able to attend this meeting, a 1-page written report must be submitted for publication in the society newsletter.
Please contact Dr. Floria Mora-Kepfer Uy (floria.uy@rochester.edu) or Dr. Rachelle Adams (adams.1970@osu.edu), Co-chairs of the Awards Committee with any questions.