Research Statement: Applicants should submit a summary of their graduate research not exceeding 1000 words (excluding Literature Cited, figures, or tables) with the following clearly labeled sections: Title, Project Significance/Theoretical Context, Methods, Results, and Discussion/Interpretation. Please include key figures/tables (3 items maximum) with concise captions to support your results. Research currently under review for publication or ‘in press’ may be submitted. Applicants should note that the Honoraria Committee is composed of members from across different subdisciplines of mammalogy, and therefore are urged to write for a broad, scientifically literate audience and to avoid excessive jargon or technical terms. Collaborative work with multiple authors may be submitted, so long as the applicant has played the primary role in designing and conducting the research (the reference letter, see below, should address this issue).

Reference Letter: A letter should be addressed to the committee and be written by an individual familiar with the applicant's research, ideally, the research advisor/mentor or major professor. Beyond comments concerning the student’s general strengths, the letter must address the following: 1) if the student will be prepared to present the research project in the Plenary Session of the upcoming Annual Meeting and 2) the student's role in designing and conducting the research, especially in the case of collaborative research. We seek to recognize students who have been primarily responsible for the design and/or conduct of the submitted research project (normally the student’s thesis or dissertation research). Any letter that does not clearly address the two points stated above will result in disqualification of the applicant.

Evaluation criteria: Members of the Honoraria Committee review and rank applications based on originality, quality, and presentation of the research and the advisor’s letter of support. The three proposals with the highest overall ranking will be awarded. Each award carries an Honorarium of $1000, intended to subsidize attendance at the meeting

Submit your research statement (and ask your advisor to send his/her letter separately) in PDF or Microsoft Word format, electronically to www.mammalsociety.org/applications/ by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on 15 February. Please also email the chair of the committee [Virginia Hayssen, vhayssen@science.smith.edu] at the time that you submit your application. Questions should be emailed to the chair of the committee (or via snail mail to Virginia Hayssen, Biology Department, Smith College, Northampton, MA 01063 [413 585 3856]). Applications that do not meet the above requirements or are received after the deadline will not be considered. Applicants will be notified of the committee's decision around 15 March.

Winners of honoraria will present their research at the Plenary Session of the ASM Annual Meeting. These platform presentations will be 15 min in length (12 min for the oral presentation, 3 min for questions). Regardless of the outcome of the competition, applicants intending to present a paper at the Annual Meeting must submit the usual abstract and pre-registration materials to the local committee before the abstract deadline for the meeting.