Student Research Paper and Poster Awards Committee

Policies

The Student Research Paper and Poster Awards Committee is responsible for judging and deciding awards for the student papers and posters entered into competition at the annual meeting of the Southwestern Branch of the Entomological Society of America.

The Student Research Paper and Poster Awards Committee shall consist of 10 members and a Chair (see Constitution and Bylaws). The President-Elect of the Southwestern Branch of the Entomological Society of America shall select the Chair of the Committee. The Chair of the Committee will serve for a term of three years. The Chair of the Committee should select members so as to achieve a fair representation from different institutions in all states in the Southwestern Branch.

The Program Chair for the annual meeting of the Southwestern Branch of the Entomological Society of America shall furnish in advance to the Chair of the Student Research Paper and Poster Awards Committee the title, names of authors, institution represented, student classification, and abstract for each student paper or poster entered into competition. The Chair of the Committee should distribute this information to each Committee member in advance of the annual meeting of the Southwestern Branch of the Entomological Society of America. The abstract of each paper and poster should be printed in a proceedings for distribution.

At least once each year, the Chair of the Committee should call a meeting of the Committee to discuss any issues and to plan for judging. The Chair of the Committee shall use e-mail, mail, or telephone messages to contact the members of the Committee as needed throughout the year.

The student papers and posters shall be separated for competition into two degree categories: 1) students pursuing a Ph.D. (=Ph.D.), 2) students pursuing a Master’s or lower degree (=Master’s). The four award categories of judging shall be Master’s oral paper, Master’s poster, Ph.D. oral paper, and Ph.D. poster.

Oral presentations will be for a total of approximately 12 minutes, with any questions from the audience to be included in the total amount of time allocated for each presentation. Posters should follow the guidelines specified on the Entomological Society of America Internet site for student posters.

The student shall have been the principal creator of the oral or poster presentation. The student shall have made significant contribution to the work presented. A student is eligible to compete while officially enrolled as a student and for a period extending until 12 months after graduation. The Committee reserves the authority to rule on questions of eligibility.

Included with these instructions are forms to be used for judging oral papers and posters. The Committee may modify the judging forms, if a majority of the Committee members deem it necessary.

As many as three awards may be given in each of the four categories of competition – Master oral paper, Master poster, Ph.D. oral paper, and Ph.D. poster. However, if few students have entered a category, prizes may be awarded as follows:

• one award if three or fewer students competed in a category
• two awards if four or five students competed in a category
• three awards if six or more students competed in a category

Monetary awards will be split equally between the Southwestern Branch of the Entomological Society of America and the Society of Southwestern Entomologists. The Society of Southwestern Entomologists will reimburse the SWB-ESA for half of the amount of total awards presented, and awards will be recognized as co-sponsored by both societies. The prize for first place in each of the four categories shall consist of a check for $200, a year’s subscription to Southwestern Entomologist provided by the Society of Southwestern Entomologists, and a certificate signed by the Presidents of both societies. The prize for second place in each of the four categories shall consist of a check for $100 and a certificate signed by the Presidents of both societies. The prize for third place in each of the four categories shall consist of a check for $50 and a certificate signed by the Presidents of both societies. The award winners shall be notified during the meeting.

Written feedback should be provided to the students entered in the competition. The completed judging forms may be given to the students, if the Committee decides such action would be beneficial to fair judging of the competition.