ASB Diversity Travel Award

This year’s Diversity Travel Award selection process is complete.

We hope to offer it again next year, so if you missed out, look out for it next year!


 

The purpose of this program is to encourage diversity and inclusion at the American Society of Biomechanics (ASB) annual meeting by supporting attendance of individuals from diverse backgrounds as well as those committed to diversity, at the annual meeting in Columbus, Ohio (Aug. 5-8, 2015). This initiative is supported by the ASB Executive Board and Diversity Task Force, in keeping with our collective mission:

The American Society of Biomechanics is committed to building a professional community that respects and promotes diversity and inclusion. We strive to learn from the diverse perspectives of our membership as we seek common goals for the biomechanics community.

As a Society, we seek to

  1. support career development of all members to achieve their highest potential;
  2. promote sound science and research Justice1;
  3. promote enhanced engagement in the Society of underrepresented groups through involvement in Society activities and dialogue with leadership; and
  4. foster respect for diversity and inclusion in our community among our members and leadership.

1As defined in The Belmont Report, http://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/humansubjects/guidance/belmont.html

These awards are intended to offset the cost of attendance and a portion of the costs of travel to the annual meeting. ASB anticipates awarding approximately 20 travel awards. The award will include free registration (including most meals) and lodging plus a $300 travel honorarium.

Eligibility

To be eligible, an applicant must be from any group that has been historically disadvantaged or underrepresented in research disciplines. Eligibility guidelines for membership of an underrepresented population will follow those used by the Ruth Kirschstein NRSA Individual Predoctoral Fellowship to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research (PA-14-148), namely individuals with disabilities or individuals from racial and ethnic groups shown by the NSF to be underrepresented in biomedical research:

 

  1. Individuals from racial and ethnic groups that have been shown by the National Science Foundation to be underrepresented in health-related sciences on a national basis (see data at http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/showpub.cfm?TopID=2&SubID=27 and the most recent report on Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering). The following racial and ethnic groups have been shown to be underrepresented in biomedical research: African Americans, Hispanic Americans, American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, and other Pacific Islanders. In addition, it is recognized that underrepresentation can vary from setting to setting; individuals from racial or ethnic groups that can be convincingly demonstrated to be underrepresented by the grantee institution are eligible for support under this program.
  2. Individuals with disabilities, who are defined as those with a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities.
  3. Individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds, who are defined as:
    1. Individuals who come from a family with an annual income below established low-income thresholds. These thresholds are based on family size; published by the U.S. Bureau of the Census; adjusted annually for changes in the Consumer Price Index; and adjusted by the Secretary for use in all health professions programs. The Secretary periodically publishes these income levels at HHS – Poverty Guidelines, Research, and Measurement. For individuals from low income backgrounds, the institution must be able to demonstrate that such candidates have qualified for Federal disadvantaged assistance or they have received any of the following student loans: Health Professions Student Loans (HPSL), Loans for Disadvantaged Student Program, or they have received scholarships from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under the Scholarship for Individuals with Exceptional Financial Need.
    2. Individuals who come from a social, cultural, or educational environment such as that found in certain rural or inner-city environments that have demonstrably and recently directly inhibited the individual from obtaining the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to develop and participate in a research career.

Eligibility related to a disadvantaged background (3.1 and 3.2) is most applicable to high school and perhaps to undergraduate candidates, but would be more difficult to justify for individuals beyond that level of academic achievement. Under extraordinary circumstances we may, at our discretion, consider an individual beyond the undergraduate level to be from a disadvantaged background. Such decisions will be made on a case-by-case basis.

 

Applications

The application for the diversity travel award must include the following information and reviewed for specific criteria:

Title Page (1 page, single-spaced)

  • Applicant information (include all that apply): name, address (include country), email, degree expected, program, institution, and academic advisor name and email
  • Keywords that describe your current or future research interests

Application (max. 2 pages, single-spaced)

  • Please describe your individual circumstances which make you eligible to receive this diversity travel award.
  • Describe your experience and interest in biomechanics.
  • How does ASB’s mission & vision (as stated above and on our web site) fit in with your personal experiences, goals, and future plans?
  • How will being a 2015 ASB Traveling Fellow augment your opportunities at your home institution, and how do you plan to leverage this opportunity once you return home from the conference?
  • For faculty/investigators: If you receive the travel award, how would it help with promoting diversity in ASB and promoting biomechanics at your institution? Please list specific objectives and give a corresponding timeline.
    • Include a current CV (not counted towards page limits)
  • For student applicants: Please describe your future plans and how they may involve biomechanics. In addition, please answer these questions:
    • Are you eligible for Pell grants?
    • Have you participated in any competitive programs that benefit under-represented students? (e.g. HHMI, McNair, SROP, etc.)
    • Resume including cumulative/major GPA, general coursework, education/employment/volunteering history (not counted towards page limits)

Application components should be collected into a single PDF file for transmission. Please name the PDF file DIV####_LastnameFM where #### is the current year and FM are the first and middle name initials.Pages of 8.5” x 11” are to be used, with margins of no less than 0.5 inch using Arial 11 point font. Not respecting the above guidelines may warrant disqualification.

Expectations

All recipients will be given contact information for their assigned mentor and encouraged to communicate with him/her both before and after the conference. During the pre-conference discussion, mentors will explain how the conference “works” to the recipient so he/she can be prepared. During the Opening Reception event, mentors and recipients will be encouraged to come to a designated area to “Meet & Greet” one another in person. Following the meeting, recipients are asked to report back to ASB regarding the experience by February 8, 2016. Recipients should report on what they accomplished at the meeting and following return to his/her home institution as a result of the travel award. We expect that these reports will be publicly distributed in ASB newsletters or on the ASB website, at the discretion of the ASB Diversity Task Force & Communications Chairs.

 

Deadline for submission of ASB Diversity Travel award applications is May 8, 2015.

Questions and applications can be submitted electronically to the ASB Diversity Task Force Chair (zhao.kristin@mayo.edu). Please CC Terri Gardner when you submit your application (gardner.terri@mayo.edu). An evaluation committee selected by the ASB Diversity Task Force Chair will review applications, with announcements of awards expected by May 14, 2015.

For a PDF version of this announcement, click here:  DiversityTravelGrant2015_FINAL

And here’s a nice flashy flyer to send to student groups, etc.: 2015_FellowshipFlyer

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