The Coleopterists Society invites graduate student members of The Coleopterists Society to submit a proposal to the annual Graduate Student Research Enhancement Awards (GSREA).
Award Details:
1. Eligibility: Must be (1) currently enrolled as a M.Sc., Ph.D. or equivalent degree graduate student in good standing at a recognized academic institution and (2) a member in good standing of The Coleopterists Society. Eligible applicants may receive one GSREA per degree (i.e., M.Sc., Ph.D., or equivalent graduate degree).
2. Allowed Requests: Proposals will be considered for costs associated with research concerning beetles (including but not limited to: expendable materials, buying time on analytical equipment, and travel for fieldwork, offsite labwork, and to museum collections). Salary for the applicant is not allowable. The Coleopterists Society will provide award recipients with research funding only (all official/legal permissions and/or permits for travel are the responsibility of the student).
3. Award(s):
A. Program Award. Two awards will be granted for $5,000 each for an outstanding research proposal. The intent of this award is to fund a significant portion of the student’s graduate research.
B. Improvement Award. Two awards will be granted with a maximum of $2,000 each per award, depending on the quality and quantity of applications. The intent of these awards is to assist the completion of a specific objective of the student’s graduate research.
For both types of awards, the proposed research objective must be completed while enrolled as a graduate student. Award recipients will submit a short statement of completion of funded research (a paragraph) to the Secretary of The Coleopterists Society and may be asked to give a short oral report to The Coleopterists Society concerning their accomplishments resulting from the GSREA. It is expected that the student will acknowledge support from The Coleopterists Society Graduate Student Research Enhancement Award in any resulting publications.
4. Applications: Include (single-spaced 12-point Times font, 1-inch margins):
i. 2 pages including summary of graduate research, description of the specific research activity to be funded by the GSREA, and justification for the proposed research.
ii. 1 page detailed budget and explanation of justification for the requested funds. For the Program Award, the budget must be for precisely $5,000. For the Improvement Award, the budget must not exceed $2,000 (it may be less).
iii. Cited references, included on a separate page(s).
iv. A short statement (paragraph) from the student’s Major Professor (or advisor) that indicates student status and how well the proposed activity is integrated with overall research goals.
v. Confirmation that the student accepts responsibility for determining need and acquiring all collecting and/or export permits.
5. Please email applications to Chair of the GSREA committee:
Dr. Marc Branham
Department of Entomology & Nematology, University of Florida
Email (replace “(AT)” with “@”): marcbran(AT)ufl.edu
Deadline: 1 March (annually)
Prior Awardees
2023 Program Award. Iris Bright. Ecology and evolution of beetles in the genus Onymacris Allard (Penrith 1975) (Tenebrionidae) from the Namib Desert. University of California, Davis. $5,000.
2023 Program Award. Rowan French. Evolution of exaggerated male antennae in Cerambycidae. University of Toronto. $5,000.
2023 Enhancement Award. John Paul Kole. Clarifying the Chelonariidae (Coleoptera: Byrrhoidea) of the BMNH Using Internal Morphology. Montana State University. $2,000.
2023 Enhancement Award. Elisa von Groll. Examination of Neotropical shining fungus beetles (Staphylinidae: Scaphidiinae) on the FMHN collection. Universidade Federal de Viçosa. $1,937.
2022 Program Award. Aline de Oliveira Lira. Understanding the Biology and phylogenetic relations in Udeus Champion, 1902 (Coleoptera, Curculionidae). Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco. $5,000.
2022 Program Award. Raine Ikagawa. Molecular phylogeny of brachinine bombardier beetles utilizing ultraconserved elements. University of Arizona. $5,000.
2022 Enhancement Award. Valentina Díaz Grisales. Systematic revision of the genus Heilipus Germar, 1824 (Curculionidae: Molytinae: Hylobiini). Colegio de Postgraduados. $1715.
2022 Enhancement Award. Jordan J. Rainey. Revision of the West Indian Belonuchus (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Staphylininae) and an analysis of their phylogenetic placement in relation to mainland species. Montana State University. $2,000.
2021 Program Award. Olivia Gearner. Untapped potential: Systematics of the African tok-tok beetles (Tenebrionidae: Sepidiini). Purdue University. $5,000.
2021 Program Award. Yelena Pacheco. Evolution of firefly antennal sensilla (Coleoptera: Lampyridae) with a special emphasis on pheromone sensilla. University of Georgia. $5,000.
2021 Enhancement Award. Able Chow. Novel utilization of color characters in jewel beetle taxonomy: From subjective perception to objective definition. Louisiana State University. $2,000.
2021 Enhancement Award. Kathryn Herr. Examining the diversity of burying beetles (Nicrophorus spp.) and their associated Yarrowia symbionts in the Adirondack Mountains. Cornell University. $1,991.
2020 Program Award. Adam Rork. Interference of defensive chemical evolution via comparative transcriptomics in Carabidae. Pennsylvania State University. $5000.
2020 Program Award. Sang Il Kim. Target enrichment phylogenomics of longhorned beetle genus Anoplophora Hope, 1839 (Cerambycidae: Lamiinae) with emphasis on their adaptation to the temperate zone. Harvard University. $5000.
2020 Enhancement Award. Curt Harden. Evolutionary history of the small eyeless ground beetles (Carabidae) in the genus Anillinus. Clemson University. $1807.
2020 Enhancement Award. Colin Morrison. Comparative phylogeny of passion vine specialized flea beetles. University of Texas-Austin. $1961.
2019 Program Award. Christopher Wirth. Resolving Generic Boundaries in the Edrotini (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae). Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona. $5,000.
2019 Enhancement Award. Claire Winfrey. Understanding spatial and temporal variation in the vertically-transmitted gut microbiome of sympatric species of Phanaeus dung beetles (Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae). Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee, Tennessee. $1,989.
2018 Program Award. Gareth Powell. Towards a Stable Classification for Carpophilinae (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae), with Revision of the genus Nitops Murray. Department of Biology, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT. $5,000.
2018 Enhancement Award. Laura M. Vásquez-Vélez. Phylogenetics and morphology related to the secondary sexual characters in the genus Batrisodes Reitter, 1882 (Staphylinidae: Pselaphinae) for North America, north of Mexico. Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Clemson University, SC. $1,960.
2017 Program Award. Margarita María López García. Systematics and Phylogeny of the American genus Tomarus Erichson, 1847 (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Dynastinae). Instituto de Ecología, A.C., INECOL Xalapa, Mexico. $5,000.
2017 Enhancement Award. James Pflug. A novel technique for collecting the defensive secretions of panagaeite ground beetles (Carabidae). Department of Integrative Biology, Oregon State University. $1,667.
2016 Program Award. Brittany Owens. Monography of the New Zealand Pselaphini (Staphylinidae: Pselaphinae) and Phylogenetic Analysis of the Pselaphinae Using a Novel Molecular Technique. Louisiana State University. $5,000.
2016 Enhancement Award. Tommy McElrath. Using Environmental Scanning Electron Microscopy to Unravel the Problematic Genus Crine Pascoe and Evaluate its Limits within a Larger Phylogenetic Familial Hypothesis (Monotomidae). University of Georgia. $1,985.
2016 Enhancement Award. Marianna Simões. Dating the Phylogeny of the Tortoise Beetle Tribe Dorynotini (Chrysomelidae: Cassidinae). University of Kansas. $1,235.
2015 Award. Rachel Osborn. Diversity of Xyleborine Ambrosia Beetles (Curculionidae: Scolytinae) and their Associated Fungi. Michigan State University. $3,158.
2015 Award. Caroline Storer. What is a Species in Inbred Beetles? Testing Species Concepts (Phylogenetic, Morphological, or Biological) in the Xyleborus ferrugineus Complex (Curculionidae: Scolytinae: Xyleborini) Across the Neotropics. University of Florida. $4,674.