The New England Botanical Club offers each year up to $2,000 total in support of botanical research to be conducted by graduate students. The awards are made to stimulate and encourage botanical research on the New England flora, and to make possible visits to the New England region by those who would not otherwise be able to do so. It is anticipated that two awards will be given, although the actual number and amount of awards will depend on the proposals received.

The awards are given to the graduate student(s) submitting the best research proposal dealing with systematic botany, biosystematics, plant ecology, or plant conservation biology.

Papers based on the research funded must acknowledge the NEBC's support. Submission of manuscripts to the Club's journal, Rhodora, is strongly encouraged.

Applicants must submit one paper and one digital copy of each of the following:

Proposal of no more than three double-spaced pages, written in a scientific format and with a stated hypothesis

Budget with brief justification, on a single page

Curriculum vitae (CV)

Literature cited, on a singe page

The paper copy of the proposal, budget, CV, and literature cited must be submitted to:

Graduate Student Awards Committee
The New England Botanical Club
22 Divinity Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138-2020

The digital copy (in either MS Word or Rich Text Format) may be copied onto a CD and included with the paper copy, or e-mailed to the committee chair. See the Committees page for the chair's e-mail address.

In addition, two letters in support of the proposed research, one from the student's thesis advisor, should be sent directly by the sponsors to the Graduate Student Research Awards Committee by mail at the above address or by e-mail to the committee chair.

Proposals and supporting letters for the 2008 award were due March 1, 2008. The recipient(s) are notified by April 30, 2008. See below for name of this year's winner and an abstract of his winning research proposals.

PLEASE NOTE: Winners of awards amounting to $600 or more will be required to submit IRS Form W-9 Request for Taxpayer Identification Number (provided by our treasurer) before award checks will be issued. In these cases a Form 1099 will be issued the following January to the recipient reporting the amount as an award (as required by law). Awards will ONLY be paid to the student winners and NOT to any third party (such as colleges, universities, research institutions, employers, family members, etc.) -- NO EXCEPTIONS. For winners who are not United States residents, nonrefundable tax withholding of 30% will generally apply unless reduced or exempted by tax treaty.

2008 AWARD WINNERS

Abstract of winning award proposals (pdf file)

Kelsey Glennon of George Washington University for a proposal entitled "Systematic clarification of the rare New England group of Houstonia longifolia using AFLP with implications for conservation"

Sydne Record of the University of Massachusetts (Amherst) for a proposal entitled "Conservation While Under Invasion: Insights from a Rare Hemiparasitic Plant, Swamp Lousewort (Pedicularis lanceolata Michx.)"

2007 AWARD WINNER

Abstract of winning award proposal (pdf file)

Benjamin E. Wolfe of Harvard University for his proposal entitled "Biogeography, genetic diversity and host specificity of Amanita in New England"

2006 AWARD WINNERS

Abstracts of winning award proposals (pdf file)

Jonathon Schramm of Rutgers University for his proposal entitled "A multiscale analysis of contemporary and historical facilitators of the invasion of an exotic grass into hardwood forests of New Jersey"

Lynn McNamara of the Antioch New England Graduate School for her proposal "The geographic and ecological distribution of wild chervil, Anthriscus sylvestris (L.) Hoffm. inVermont"

2005 AWARD WINNERS

Abstracts of winning award proposals (pdf file)

David Ellum of Yale University School of Forestry and Environmental Studies for his proposal entitled "Acclimation of shade-adapted understory herbs to seasonal canopy disturbances: incorporating physiology into plant conservation strategies for managed forests of southern New England"

David Hewitt of the Harvard University Farlow Herbarium for his proposal "Species delimitations of the ascomycete genus Neolecta in New England based on ITS sequence comparison"

Sara Scanga of the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry for her proposal "The effects of demography and the abiotic environment on the rarity and persistence of a critically imperiled wetland wildflower, Trollius laxus (Ranunculaceae)"

2004 AWARD WINNER

Abstract of winning award proposal (pdf file)

Krissa Skogen of the University of Connecticut for her proposal entitled "Using demography, genetic diversity, and the effects of increased nitrogen deposition to understand the decline of Desmodium cuspidatum (Fabaceae)."

2003 AWARD WINNERS

Abstracts of winning award proposals (pdf file)

Jesse Bellemare of Cornell University for his proposal entitled "The Influence of Life History Traits on Patterns of Holocene Migration and Geographic Distribution of Forest Herbs in the Berberidaceae, Liliaceae and Ranunculaceae"

Julie Dragon of the University of Vermont for her proposal "The Systematics and Phylogeny of Carex lenticularis and its allies, section Phacocystis (Cyperaceae)"

2002 AWARD WINNERS

Abstracts of winning award proposals (Word 95 document)

Lisa Karst of Portland State University for her proposal entitled "Phylogeny of Sisyrinchium (Iridaceae), genetic and morphological evidence"

Isabel Ashton of the State University of New York at Stony Brook for her proposal entitled "Invasive, exotic non-invasive, and native woody vines of the northeastern United States."

2001 AWARD WINNERS

Abstracts of winning award proposals (Word 95 document)

Michael Moody of the University of Connecticut for a proposed study of "Phylogenetics, phenotypic plasticity, and potential hybrids in the aquatic plant genus Myriophyllum (Haloragaceae)".

Valerie Reeb of the University of Illinois at Chicago for a proposed study of "Phylogenetics of the Acarosporaceae (lichen-forming Ascomycetes) and Acarospora, and worldwide revision of the species complex A. cervina-A. glaucocarpa".

Rachel Williams of Michigan State University for a proposed study of "Phylogeny of Pycnanthemum (Lamiaceae) with emphasis on high level polyploidy in the Virginianum complex".

2000 AWARD WINNERS

Dirk Albach of the Universitat Wien (Austria) for a proposed study of "Evolution, biogeography and genetic diversity in Veronica alpina L. and related taxa."

Michael Booth of Yale University for a proposed study of "Material flows across ectomycorrhizal networks and plant diversity in New England forests." [resulting work published as "Mycorrhizal networks mediate overstorey-understorey competition in a temperate forest", Ecology Letters, (2004) 7: 538-546.]

1999 AWARD WINNERS

Joel Gerwein of the University of Massachusetts at Boston for his proposal entitled "Long-term effects of forest fragmentation on genetic diversity of red oak (Quercus rubra L.): A comparison of old-growth and secondary forests."

Julie Ellis of Brown University for her proposal entitled "The role of nesting seabirds in structuring New England coastal plant communities."

1998 AWARD WINNERS

Sonja Schmitz (University of Vermont):   "Inferring evolutionary and biogeographic history from patterns of genetic variation in inland and Coastal Beachpea (Lathyrus japonicus) populations"

David Moeller (Cornell University):   "The ecology and evolution of self-pollination in Blue Flag (Iris versicolor): an island - mainland comparison"

1997 AWARD WINNERS

Tatyana Rand (Brown University):   "Seed supply, habitat suitability and the distribution of halophytic forbs across a salt marsh landscape"

Thomas Vining (University of Maine (Orono)):   "Phenology and hybridization of Picea mariana and P. rubens (Pinaceae) in Maine"

1996 AWARD WINNER

Bruce Henning Lindwall (University of Massachusetts (Amherst)):   "The genetic consequences of long-term habitat fragmentation".

http://www.rhodora.org/Graduate.html -- Revised: April 28, 2008
This page is sponsored by The New England Botanical Club, Inc.

Contact e-mail address: nebc@rhodora.org