The American Elasmobranch Society (AES) supports student and professional development through student, early career, and special recognition awards.
Student Awards
Student Presentation Awards
Interested students must apply for the Carrier or Gruber award at the time of abstract submission – the submission portal will give you the option to enter your presentation. We require all students competing for these awards to volunteer for at least 2 hours in the AES store during the Annual Meeting.
Jeffrey C. & Carol A. Carrier Poster Award
Established in 1999 as the AES Student Poster Award, this award has since been generously endowed by Jeff and Carol Carrier. As a result, AES have renamed the award to honor the Carriers, who have been longtime advocates of student participation in the Society. This award recognizes an outstanding poster delivered by an AES student member during the Annual Meeting.
Award Amount: $300
Samuel H. Gruber Presentation Award
Established in 1988 by former president Samuel “Sonny” Gruber to recognize the most outstanding presentation delivered by an AES student member at the Annual Meeting, this award is funded jointly by the Sonny Gruber endowment and by AES.
Award Amount: $300
To be eligible for the Carrier or Gruber Award, a student must:
- Be enrolled as an undergraduate or graduate student, or have completed their degree within 12 months of the presentation;
- Be a current AES member in good standing (dues paid by Dec 31 of the previous calendar year)
- Be in their second year of AES membership;
- Be the first or sole author of their presented study;
- Indicate intent to compete for this award at the time of abstract submission.
In addition, for the Gruber award only, a student also:
- Must present a completed study (i.e. all data collection and analyses should be finished before the presentation date, the study does not need to be published);
- Must have their candidacy endorsed by their advisor (ideally) or another member of AES who will serve as a mentor/advocate;
- Must not have competed for the Gruber Award more than once before (if an undergraduate or Master’s student), or more than twice before (if a PhD student).
- Indicate intent to compete for this award at the time abstract submission
Please find the guidelines and recommendations for students competing for this award here.
Please direct any questions or comments to:
Kara Yopak, Chair email
Jeffrey C. and Carol A. Carrier Fund Committee
Andrew Nosal, Chair email
Gruber Award Committee
Student Research Awards
Each year the AES Grant Committee presents several awards at the Annual Meeting.
- American Elasmobranch Society Student Research Award: Established by AES to support student research on chondrichthyan fishes.
Award amount: $1,000 - Henry & Anne Mollet Elasmobranch Research Award: Established by long-time AES supporters, Henry and Anne Mollet, the Mollet Elasmobranch Research Award supports student research on chondrichthyan fishes.
Award amount: $1,000 - Donald R. Nelson Behavior Research Award: The Donald R. Nelson endowment was established in 1997 to support student research on the behavior and sensory biology of chondrichthyan fishes.
Award amount: $1,000
To be eligible, a student must be:
- currently enrolled in a degree program (undergraduate or graduate)
- a member in good standing (dues paid by Dec 31 of the previous year)
Selection is based on merit of the proposed or ongoing research. The ranking criteria form used by the Committee is available in the application packet to help students refine their proposals. Emphasis will also be placed on how crucial the additional funding would be to the progress or completion of the research project.
Please see the Student Research Award information and application packet for details.
Please direct questions and submit applications to:
Jeremy Vaudo, Chair email
Grant Committee
If you cannot submit an electronic version of your application, please contact the Grant Committee Chair well before the deadline for other options!
Student Travel Awards
American Elasmobranch Society Student Travel Award: Students presenting a contributed paper or poster as the first or sole author during the AES Annual Meeting are invited to apply for financial assistance to help with travel costs. Typically, 12-15 awards are made each year and are limited to 1 per academic degree, with a maximum of 2 per individual.
Award amount: maximum of $500
When the Society cannot fund all applicants, they give priority to those with demonstrated financial need and completed research projects. The Grant Committee strongly advises all students to seek additional funding sources to attend the Annual Meeting (e.g. departmental funds).
AES requires students competing for travel awards to volunteer for 5 hours in the AES store during the Annual Meeting.
To be eligible, a student must:
- Be a member in good standing (dues paid by Dec 31 of the previous year)
- Be in at least their second year of membership.
Please see the Student Travel Award information and application packet for details.
Please direct questions and submit applications to:
Jeremy Vaudo, Chair email
Grant Committee
If you cannot submit an electronic version of your application, please contact the Grant Committee Chair well before the deadline for other options!