These named awards acknowledge outstanding achievements and contributions by graduate students, providing recognition and encouragement for excellence in their fields.
Edward and Linda Birge Travel Award
A call for applications and instructions will be sent out via email each fall semester. The award will disburse in the fall semester.
The Edward and Linda Birge Graduate Travel Award is one award with an estimated amount of $1,100.00. Graduate student applicants must be in good academic standing to be considered for the award. Applicants must submit an application along with the following materials:
- Proposal for a professional meeting and/or travel plans
- Documentation of registration from meeting announcement
- Description of dissertation research project, including specific aims (1 page limit)
- SOLS grad student travel application - including a thorough explanation of how your trip will benefit ASU or the project
- CV
Preference will be given to students who are currently in the Microbiology graduate program in the School of Life Sciences, but any SOLS graduate student whose research focuses on microbiology should also apply.
Prior to applying, please review the ASU travel guidance policy here. All application materials will be due to our Dropbox by the announced deadline.
Lisa Dent Memorial Ecology Fellowship
A call for applications and instructions will be sent out via email in the spring semester. The award will disburse the following fall semester.
The Lisa Dent Memorial Fellowship is awarded to an exceptional female Ph.D. student studying ecology in any of the graduate programs in the School of Life Sciences. The fellowship is made possible through a fund gifted in memory of Dr. Lisa Dent, a former ecology graduate student in ASU's biology Ph.D. program from 1994-1999. The fellowship, amount varies and will be announced via email, is intended to promote the benefits and educational values of diversity in the student body by increasing the representation of female students. The donors intend for the fellowship to provide support beyond that afforded by teaching and/or research assistantships; specific details of its use are at the discretion of the fellow.
Fellowship Eligibility
Successful applicants will have a high grade-point average (minimum 3.0 GPA), demonstrated leadership potential, a clearly written proposal that outlines a novel research project with a high potential to make a significant contribution to the field of ecology and, it is hoped, a passion for ecology similar to that expressed by Lisa Dent. To be eligible, students must be: 1) enrolled full-time in a doctoral program in the School of Life Sciences on the ASU Main campus; 2) admitted to candidacy; and 3) studying ecology.
Application Information
Application parts 1-4 should be prepared by the student; parts 5 and 6 must be submitted directly by the student's faculty advisor.
Please note: Both student and advisor application parts must be submitted electronically as a PDF file to our Dropbox.
- Part 1: One-page description of the student's research that describes the overall question, hypotheses tested, approach being used, relevant preliminary results, and significance of the research to the field of ecology
- Part 2: One-half-page personal statement describing the student's past accomplishments and career aspirations
- Part 3: One-half-page statement indicating how scholarship funds will be instrumental in helping the graduate student achieve her career goals
- Part 4: CV
- Part 5: Letter of recommendation from the student's major advisor that details the student's academic qualifications and the advisor's opinion of the significance of the research project and the research potential of the student
- Part 6 (not required): Letter of nomination, if applicable, from the student's major advisor. The letter can be the same as that prepared for Part 5, but should clearly state that it is a nomination letter. Only one student can be nominated by any given faculty member (although there is no limit to the number of letters of recommendation that can be written).
Application Review
A three-member committee of ecology faculty members will evaluate the applications. Criteria for selection of the fellow will include:
- Excellence of the student's academic record
- Excellence of the student's research record
- The student's potential to make significant contributions to the field of ecology, as judged by quality of the research and personal statements and the letter of recommendation and/or nomination
- The student's standing in the community of Ph.D. candidates in ecology at ASU and in the broader ecological community
- Evidence that the funds will be instrumental in helping the student achieve her goals
Peabody Family Memorial Fellowship
A call for applications and instructions will be sent out via email in the spring semester. The award will disburse the following fall semester.
Applications for the Peabody Family Memorial Fellowship are due during the spring semester, specific deadline will be announced via email. The award amount can vary year to year and will be announced via email. The fellowship shall be used to help students of promising ability in furthering their studies, research, field trips, and/or publishing texts, etc. in the specialized reptile and amphibian fields of vertebrate paleontology and vertebrate zoology, specifically lower vertebrate, including extant and extinct species.
Students will submit the following application materials to the Dropbox by the specified deadline.
- Nomination Letter/Letter of Support
- Research statement (one page)
- Statement of Use of Funds (one page)
- CV
LoBrutto Family Fund Fellowship
A call for applications and instructions will be sent out via email in the spring semester. The award will disburse the following fall semester.
The LoBrutto Family Fund Fellowship will be awarded to a graduate or undergraduate student studying biology or neurological science. The fellowship provides support for research and the development of research projects, including travel expenses to encourage students to present their research at conferences. The fellowship was created by the LoBrutto family in memory of Dr. Russell LoBrutto, a senior research scientist in SOLS from 1991-2007. The fellowship award, amount varies and will be announced via email, is intended to encourage the pursuit of scientific research, especially for those who have overcome obstacles to attend college, and for those working on ways to advance the understanding and treatment of medical conditions, particularly Parkinson’s disease.
Fellowship Eligibility
To be eligible, students must be enrolled full time in a graduate or undergraduate program in the School of Life Sciences. Undergraduates must have completed at least 60 credit hours to be eligible. Consideration will be especially given to those who are developing innovative techniques, cross-disciplinary collaboration, and/or work related to Parkinson’s Disease, both in terms of treatment and quality of life. The LoBrutto family wishes to particularly encourage first-generation college students, women in STEM fields, and people of color to apply for this award. The award can also be used to help people with extenuating personal circumstances continue their scientific pursuits and study.
Application Instructions
Nominations or direct applications will be accepted until the deadline announced via email. Please submit your application to the Dropbox by the specified deadline. Applications must include the following four parts:
- One- to two-page description of the student's research that describes the main goals and expected outcomes of the work and their intellectual significance. Please note here any relevance to the award goals of developing innovative techniques, cross-disciplinary collaboration, and/or work related to Parkinson’s Disease or other medical conditions. Also, please feel free to describe any extenuating circumstances such as medical needs, serving as a caregiver, being a single parent, meeting military obligations, first generation or underrepresented minority status, etc. that might have impacted your education or scientific pursuits.
- Statement of how the funds will be used
- CV
- Letter of support from the nominating faculty member, the student's major advisor, or another faculty member able to comment on the student's qualifications and the quality of the research project
Michael A. Cichan Memorial Award
The Michael A. Cichan award is a faculty nominated award. Students may not apply themselves and must be nominated by a faculty member to be considered.
A call for applications and instructions will be sent out via email to faculty in the spring semester. The award will disburse the following fall semester.
The Michael A. Cichan Memorial Award was established in memory of Assistant Professor Michael A. Cichan, whose brief but creative and scholarly career in Botany was an inspiration to his botanical colleagues. The award provides recognition and encouragement to a graduate student at Arizona State University who demonstrates outstanding potential for achievement. Recipients of this award may be part-time or full time graduate students in the Plant Biology and Conservation MS.
The estimated amount of the Michael A. Cichan Memorial Award will be announced via email. The recipient must be a graduate student working on research with plants who has shown considerable merit in research and service.
We will accept nomination letters from any ASU faculty member. Faculty will be asked to provide the the student’s full name and submit their nomination letter to sols.grad@asu.edu by the announced deadline.