RICHARD E. PETIT STUDENT RESEARCH AWARD FOR REVISIONARY TAXONOMY AND SYSTEMATICS OF MOLLUSKS
This award honors Richard “Dick” E. Petit (1931-2013) and recognizes his taxonomic and systematic accomplishments in malacology and contributions to the Society. Dick served as President of the Society (then AMU) in 1988 and in various other capacities and was named an honorary life member in 1997. The award will be given each year to support student research that focuses on revisionary taxonomy and systematics of a molluscan taxon. One grant of $500 will be given each year, subject to availability of funds; applicants with budgets greater than $500 should indicate that they want their proposal to also be considered for other applicable research awards to supplement funds from this award (see below).- Awardees are encouraged to present the results of their research at an annual meeting of the American Malacology Society.
- The applicant must be a current member of the American Malacological Society. To join, please visit: https://ams.wildapricot.org/Membership
- Institutional overhead is not permitted.
- The research must include an explicit focus on revisionary taxonomy and systematics of a molluscan taxon.
Recipients of awards are expected to submit the following to AMS's Student Awards and Education Committee within one year of the award date: (i) a report that describes how funds were used and (ii) a brief summary of the research and results to be published in the AMS Newsletter. Awardees may apply for additional awards only after these written reports have been received.
HOW TO APPLY
Applications must be received by AMS's Student Awards and Education Committee by March 31st and include the following components:
- A two-page summary of the proposed research, including a title, goals, methods, timetable, plans for publication, and a budget specifying the need for the grant. If necessary, the Literature Cited section may occupy a third page. Possession of any necessary permits should be noted.
- CV of applicant.
All application materials must be sent via email to the chair of the Student Awards and Education Committee, Tom Duda (tfduda@umich.edu). Applicants should attach a single PDF file containing the proposal and CV. Please title the filename with the applicant’s last name underscore “AMS” (e.g., “Jones_AMS.pdf”). If the proposal meets requirements of and so could also be considered for other AMS research awards, the applicant should indicate this in the body of the email (e.g., “I would like the proposal to be considered for the Carriker, Dundee, and Petit Award competitions.”).
Proposals will be evaluated based on the following criteria:
- Novelty/importance of questions/hypotheses
- Appropriateness and feasibility of research activities to address questions/hypotheses
- Clarity of writing and completeness of proposal in terms of background materials/context, methods for collecting and analyzing data, and interpretation and implications of potential results
- Proposed use of requested funds
- Contribution to applicant's development as a malacologist