Full-time students may apply for a Marcia Brady Tucker Travel Award to help defray transportation expenses to the meeting. Eligible students (see below) may also apply for a Presentation Award. Students graduating the semester prior to the meeting are also eligible for either award. Students must be members of the AOU to be eligible for either type of award; students who are not currently members of the AOU are encouraged to become members, and thereby become eligible for student awards, when they register for the meeting.

In order to compete for Travel and/or Presentation Awards, students must submit the application materials described in the guidelines below to the Student Awards Committee. In addition to award application materials described below, students must also submit standard abstract materials to the Program Coordinator to receive a place on the program (see Call for Papers). Application deadline for all materials is 4 May 2007.

Student Travel Awards

Marcia Brady Tucker Travel Awards can be made to students who are AOU members and who are sole authors or joint authors of papers; in the case of joint authorship the student must present the poster or oral paper. Applications will be judged based on quality of research/abstract and also standing of student (e.g., whether nearing graduation or not). Undergraduate students are eligible for travel awards, though preference will be given to advanced graduate students. The award is issued only after the Scientific Program Committee has accepted the paper (see Call for Papers). Marcia Brady Tucker Travel Awards have a limit of two per lifetime. Students may receive both a research award and a travel award in the same year. Marcia Brady Tucker Travel Award winners are invited to a free luncheon hosted by the AOU Council on Fri, 10 Aug, at 12:00. Details on location (and cost to Council members) will be provided on the Meeting's website as they develop.

Student Presentation Awards

Four awards will be given, including an award (the Robert B. Berry Student Award) for the most outstanding presentation on research pertaining to avian conservation. In addition, there will be a separate competition for best research poster, and undergraduate students (including recent graduates who have not started a graduate program) are encouraged to participate. Awards will be made based on quality of both research and presentation, and preference will be given to students presenting a substantial body of work rather than early progress reports. Eligible papers need not be single-authored papers, but in the case of joint authorship the student must present the poster or oral paper. Each student competing for a Presentation Award will receive a free banquet ticket. Students in symposia are ineligible for Presentation Awards. Presentation Awards have a limit of once per lifetime.

Application Guidelines

Students applying for a Marcia Brady Tucker Travel Award and/or a Student Presentation Award must submit the following items via email (as pdf attachments):

1. A cover sheet giving relevant information including anticipated travel expenses ( transportation only, in U.S. dollars)
2. A 1-page curriculum vitae, including information on membership in the AOU
3. An expanded abstract (printed and double-spaced with 12-point font, 3-page maximum including any references, tables, and figures). The expanded abstract should state objectives, methods, major results, and scientific significance.

Applicants also should arrange to have their academic advisor send a brief email (1-3 sentences) stating that the student is a graduate student in good academic standing (longer letters of support are not required).

All application materials for AOU student awards should be sent by email to AOU Student Awards Committee, c/o Michael S. Webster () by 4 May 2007. Questions may be directed to Michael Webster by phone (509-335-7180) or e-mail (above). Late applications will not be accepted.