Prospectus and General Overview:

The Florida Paleontological Society (FPS) and The Florida Fossil Hunters (FFH) are pleased to announce the 31st annual competition for its student research award. The purpose of this award is to promote a better understanding of Florida paleontology through new research discoveries. Eligible fields of relevance within paleontology include invertebrates, vertebrates, microfossils, and plants. This award is open to any student, undergraduate or graduate, in good standing at any Florida University or College.

For this 31st competition, the FPS and FFH have allocated an award of up to $1000 each. The grant’s purpose is for expenditures such as (but not restricted to) field work, museum research travel, laboratory analyses, research materials, etc. It is not intended to fund travel to scientific meetings, indirect (overhead) costs, salaries, or wages.

Deadline for receipt of proposals is 1 December 2024.

Applications must be submitted on or before the deadline and be sent to the Awards Chairman at the email address listed below. Applications will be reviewed by committee and judged based on the following criteria: (1) merit of proposed research, (2) feasibility of project, (3) clarity of expression, and (4) strength of recommendation letter from faculty sponsor. The screening/award committee shall consist of both professional and avocational paleontologists. The Awardee(s) will be notified after 15 December.

It is expected that, during or after completion of the research, the recipient(s) will present results of their discoveries in the form of (1) a short article of a non-technical nature to be published in the FPS Newsletter and/or (2) a talk presented at an FPS meeting. In the event of the latter, the student’s travel expenses to the meeting shall be paid by the FPS (this expense should not be included in the submitted proposal).

Application Process and Requirements:

The application is intended to be short – thus, items 1-4 (combined) are limited to two pages (minimum 10 point type, standard 1” margins). The application must include:

1. Title of research project

2. Name, address, and phone number of applicant

3. Current college status (where enrolled, major, degree program, anticipated graduation date).

4. Project description written in general, i.e., to the extent possible, non-technical, terms to include a description of what he/she plans to study, why it is interesting or important, how and when it will be done, and a budget of proposed expenditures.

5. Appended to the proposal, a letter from a faculty sponsor who will vouch for the qualifications of the applicant (as well as the importance of the project) and a short statement that the faculty member will supervise the research.

Applications should be emailed by 1 December 2024 to:

Roger Portell, Awards Chairman

morgan@floridapaleosociety.org